"Not to resist an error is to approve it; not to defend a truth is to reject it."
- Saint Augustine
In centuries past most masonry churches were built with stone rubble walls faced in quarried limestone. The walls needed to be very thick to support the weight of the church and resist the outward pressures of the roof. In modern times the same thing is accomplished by substituting for the stone rubble poured concrete or concrete block, reinforced with steel, which can then be faced with a quarried stone.
In our church both clerestory walls are supported by a row of reinforced concrete columns. Since the stonework in the cloister was largely finished by the end of 2006, we have spent most of our time this year laying the heavy stones which clad these columns, and form the pointed arches on each side of the church, separating the nave and choir from the side aisles. When these arches are complete, only a few major tasks will remain.
Chief among them are the installation of the heating pipes on the church floor, and the pouring of the concrete which will cover them; the purchasing and laying of the marble tile for the floor of the church and cloister; and the designing and commissioning of a new marble altar, along with several smaller liturgical appointments.
For the paving of the church floor we hope to be able to use a beautiful stone from the Holy Land called Jerusalem Gold, which is quarried near Bethlehem. We have been offered this stone, as well as another stone quarried just north of Jerusalem, which is a beautiful gray color, at a very reasonable price. In fact these are cheaper than many domestic stone tiles we have seen. The gray stone will be used in the cloister walk and for the steps to the west door of the church.
This page will be regularly revised as this work is accomplished, and as soon as it becomes possible to photograph the finished product.