Text Box: November, 2011    As we approach the Thanksgiving break and the beginning of Advent, there is anticipation in the air about the changes that will be implemented in the new English translation of the Mass. The students have been doing a great job in learning some of the chant versions of the Mass parts. I have been working with them during classroom visits with the original Latin Mass parts and it is really neat to hear their little voices learn the Latin. I wonder if any of the students have been sharing their new “language” vocabulary with their parents? It has been a good time to work with them in class, and they are doing a great job of singing!    On Tuesday, November 1, our St. Wenceslaus Parish Facilities Planning Committee met with Kevin Hittle, of Schoenleber, Schriner, and Hittle, an architect from our parish. We began the long-awaited planning for the replacement of the portable classrooms and the parish hall facilities. Kevin has been doing a lot of work with the county surveyor and mayor to study our boundary issues that we face with our properties.    At present we have been looking at the addition of a parish hall that would be connected to the Church and to the School that would allow access from either the church or school without going outside. The hall would also allow us to have a satellite feeding station for the elementary students in the hall without having to trek to Neumann in all kinds of weather and across the busy 1st Street. The attached parish hall would also be a tremendous help to people who attend functions in church (e.g. funerals/vigil services) followed by receptions or luncheons, etc. In the new addition we are hoping to house the pre-school, the music room, a larger technology facility, resource room, testing areas, speech and Title I room(s), CCD classrooms, more restrooms and storage as well as meeting rooms, a conference room and whatever else is affordable and feasible for us to consider. As part of the research we are looking into long-range needs (perhaps as far out as 2030) of the elementary school for additional classrooms. One thing is for sure, we want to be thorough in our investigation and research so that we are not too short-sighted for the need of the generations to follow. We are trying to do research on the statistics for Saunders County (Wahoo) regarding births and growth potential and development. Likewise we can do a study of baptismal records for school candidates for the next five to ten years. This will take some time, but is fascinating work to look into.    When we surveyed the parish a few years ago, there was also interest in doing something with the north entrance of the church—primarily the steps to make them more secure to access the building. We are looking into what can be done with regard to them as well. Over the years and more recently, I have been asked about the renovation of the church to restore its original integrity as a 1921 gothic church—this is being considered as well—in fact is the most reasonable thing to consider—cost-wise. The renovation or redesign of the current church basement is also something up for discussion.    We are meeting again on Tuesday, November 15 with the architect to see what preliminary ideas he has for the space we have to use. As soon as a little more research is completed, we hope to have a parish meeting to seek out more input from the parish. We know there are good ideas that need to be incorporated. We are just looking for time now to gather preliminary information to present. This is a great time for us to be planning for the years and generations to follow. As I have said, we are grateful to those who have gone before that planned this beautiful church to maintain and uphold. Please pray for our predecessors who did so much to provide for us! God bless you all!      Fr. Charles Townsend  Pastor and Superintendent  St. Wenceslaus Church and School  214 East 2nd Street  Wahoo, NE 68066  (402) 443-4235  FrCharles-Townsend@cdolinc.net