51¶ÌÊÓƵ

The solar-powered kiln hadn’t yet been built behind the rectory. And parishioners hadn’t learned to use orbital sanders and the church basement wasn’t being stacked with burr oak.

In the beginning, Father Troy Schweiger simply prayed about his plan.

“I said, ‘OK, God. How are we going to do this?’�

St. Patrick Catholic Church was replacing its old building, which had served Havelock for more than a century. Parishioners were emptying their pockets to pay for the new $5.5 million church, but they asked to do more.

“Almost universally, they kept saying, 'Here’s our contribution.' But they always followed up with: 'If there’s anything I can do to help,'" Schweiger said. “People really wanted to do something that was substantial and meaningful. They wanted to be a part of building the church.�

So he came up with a plan: Parishioners could get involved by building the 69 pews for the new church. And the altar, pulpit, trim, baseboard and baptismal font.

The priest had another motive. By his estimates, the church could save more than $200,000 if it did the work itself.

So in November 2012, Schweiger scouted a creek near Palmyra, found a suitable oak and started his chainsaw.

They would harvest 60 burr oaks and 20 walnuts in Otoe County, and also near Lincoln and along the Missouri River. They would mill 35,000 board feet and cure it in the church basement. They would spend months straightening and shaping the wood, sanding and staining it.

In the end, more than 100 volunteers would devote well over 10,000 hours. And Schweiger would marvel at their loyalty, and how it brought the parish together, and the many unexpected blessings that visited this project, like the free use of equipment, offers of work space, and this:

The 104 rings on that first tree they cut down.

“That tree started to grow the year the foundation of the old church was laid,� the priest said. “That epitomized the whole process.�