The ministry that owns the building where the faithful gather says insurance is covering work to shore it up.
By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published October 26, 2004
[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
Brent Jones, who works for engineering firm HSA, watches Monday as workers fortify the
building with steel underpinning down to the bedrock. Tests found a potential sinkhole under
the Clearwater structure, which has windows that are believed to show the Virgin Mary.
CLEARWATER - The last few years have not been kind to the Virgin Mary.
In March, a teenage vandal destroyed the upper part of the image, which had appeared on the side of a glass building at Drew Street and U.S. 19 and was likened to the image of the mother of Jesus.
And nearly two years before - unbeknown to most people - two panes in the front of the building broke.
Fearing the structure was unstable, the building's insurance company hired a firm at that time to test the stability of the soil around the building.
"They found a potential sinkhole," said John Weickert, president of Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the building.
"They haven't found any evidence the building itself is sinking," he said.
Weickert said the insurance company also hired a firm to fortify the building, installing a steel underpinning down to the bedrock 60 feet below.
The estimated $140,000 cost of the fortification will be covered by insurance. The project is expected to be completed by Thanksgiving.
During the repair, the organization has boarded up the window panels that contain the remainder of Mary's image, as well as the image of Christ that some people claim they can see in other panes.
Still, on Monday, a worker accidentally sprayed wet concrete on part of the rainbow-colored image that was not covered. He was able to hose off the concrete, then wipe the remainder clean with a cloth.
As he worked, a member of the ministry could be seen bowing her head and praying through the clear glass that replaced the panes shattered in the spring.
"Everything is in God's plan, and what's happened is in God's plan, too," said Rosie Reed, site leader for Shepherds of Christ.
Reed said although the group is hurting for money, the latest problem will not end the ministry. "We're struggling," said Reed. "But I don't think we're going to go under."
She said the faithful assemble to pray, even amid the upheaval of construction and noise of heavy machinery. They must sit outside the chain-link fence while the work is under way. But after engineers leave for the evening, chairs are set up inside the fence so they can light candles at the base of the images.
"They still come," Reed said.
She is hoping for a big turnout at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 5 for a regular prayer service.
"It's still a holy place," Weickert said. "The face of Jesus is still there to lead people to God."
When the repair is completed, Shepherds of Christ will install several panes of bullet-proof glass over the image of Christ and what remains of the Mary image at a cost of $75,000, for which they are still seeking donations.
