St. Augustine Church is a parish with 1,100 families. Our church was built in 1957 and had no renovation in the ensuing years. The sanctuary floor was neither level nor safe, the sound system was unreliable and the antiquated lighting cast a pale yellow hue over hymnals, missals, and parishioners.
Fr. Marek Dzien, our pastor at the time, working closely with our Parish Council Worship Committee, and chair John McKinney, researched liturgical design companies and selected Baker Liturgical Art, LLC to redesign the sanctuary. The goal was to unite the sanctuary with the style of the church. Baker Liturgical Art presented several options and, after consulting parishioners, the final design was selected and construction began.
Life-size statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint John were placed next to the crucifix within the altarpiece. The design included an altar, baptismal font, and ambo. The tabernacle was returned to the center of the sanctuary and a new presider’s chair was purchased.
Initial gifts of $150,000.00 made it possible for us to begin the renovation and obtain a loan of $300,000.00 from the Diocese of St. Augustine for completion