April 23, 2010
Topping ceremony held at St. Clement Church, Boonville
Kurt Knight, an employee of Peyronnin Construction Company, guides the lift during the topping ceremony. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Father Lowell Will, pastor of St. Clement Church in Boonville and of St. Rupert Church in Red Brush, presided over a “topping off” ceremony — literally from the top —- for the new church building under construction in Boonville, April 14.
A Peyronnin Construction company employee, Kurt Knight, guided the platform lift up 53 feet, so that a freshly cut evergreen could be placed on the top of the structure. Dan Harpenau, who chairs the parish planning committee and serves as liaison with the construction company, also went up for the ceremony.
According to Wikipedia, a topping off ceremony is common in England, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland. It has long been a custom upon completion of a timber frame building, or at some significant point in completing the roof.
The tradition migrated to America with European craftsmen. A tree or leafy branch is placed on the topmost beam, often with flags and streamers tied to it.
The new St. Clement Church has a steel beam structure, with laminated wooden beams for the roof.
Following the ceremony, all of the workers were invited to a luncheon at the parish, along with parishioners and invited guests.
The new church is expected to be completed in the fall, Father Will said, noting that the feast of St. Clement is celebrated on Nov. 23.
Statues, Stations of the Cross, stained glass windows, the crucifix and the high altar from the current church will all be used in the new building. If the structure is sound, and the plan is feasible, the current bell tower will remain standing after the original building is demolished.
Father Will said Mass will continue to be celebrated in the current building as long as it is possible. At some point to be determined, the last liturgy will be scheduled there.
Father Will anticipates having a procession from the church at that final liturgy, to carry small items to the basement of the parish building, where Mass will be celebrated until the new building is ready.