Friends of Corpus Christi

“Miracle on Clark Street”

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With 2020 vision we can say that it has been a most unusual year! Appropriately enough the year of Pandemic Pandemonium started for serious during lent. At Corpus Christi ( 199 Clark St. Buffalo) we tried our best to stay calm and carry on. As we persevered through effectively cancelled Sundays and feasts, we had some time to reflect on why our faith and our faith heritage matter. We received some harsh—but often necessary—reality checks. There is nothing like loss to give us some much needed focus and perspective. Father Michał and Father Jan kept a sacramental life going under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. The Friends of Corpus Christi stayed focused on our fundraising and did not neglect our promise to continue with our repair projects.

We have completed the masonry repairs on the north clerestory level and the church basement waterproofing. Unforeseen complications with both contractor and schedule have postponed the north side aisle roof replacement until 2021. But so far the temporary repairs done last summer are holding nicely. We have also financed emergency roof repairs on the Sears St. Hall.

We keep adding to our priority list of major repairs as they become necessary, such as the center entrance steps to the church. We also need to finally complete masonry work on the south clerestory and the south side aisle roof. We will contract for these repairs as soon as we have the funds to pay for them.

Corpus Christi is very fortunate to have some very talented and dedicated volunteers who give countless hours of their time to Corpus Christi and to other local groups as well. We are ever so grateful to all of you who love Corpus Christi Church and have confidence in us to use your donations for the preservation of this beautiful church. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for. Soon it will be Christmas and we are the most grateful to God for sending his son Jesus to be with us…even if we all may need to hunker down and temporarily keep our distance from one another. God will always remain in charge.

We are truly grateful to you for your unwavering support and for making this “Miracle on Clark Street” continue as an oasis of peace and prayer.

We still have much work to do and we are counting on our community of parishioners, supporters and friends to help us to bring our work to completion.

President Friends of Corpus Christi, Inc., Lucy Ederer

Photo: Lucy Ederer in the church basement

The Friends of Corpus Christi begin significant church repairs

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The Friends of Corpus Christi have successfully raised enough funds to pay for $100,000 worth of necessary church repairs this summer. All of this work is being carried out through coordination with the Order of St. Paul the First Hermit, owner of the Corpus Christi church complex. Basement waterproofing work began in June and is nearing completion. Stonework on the north clerestory wall is set to begin in July. The north side aisle roof is also set for replacement this summer. This work should address water leaks that have been a recurring problem on the north side of the church and make it possible to do plaster and paint repairs inside.

Friends president Lucy Ederer admitted that fall 2019 was not an especially good time to roll out a fundraising campaign, and with COVID-19, timing could not have been much worse for finishing the campaign, especially after a cancelled Easter season. Still, she stated that “We were pleasantly surprised by the number of donations that kept coming in. We are so grateful for the remarkable support of our parishioners and friends.” She added, however, that Corpus Christi’s buildings—one of the few local Catholic Church complexes listed on the National Register of Historic Places—will need continued strong and faithful commitment in order to ensure its future: “Just as in Europe, scaffolding should be considered an almost permanent part of the church’s artwork.” Some of the funds raised came from foundation grants that usually require some sort of matching donation from parishioners and the community.

When asked why people should put so much effort into preserving the building when the church is about people, Ederer gave a detailed response: “The church is first about Jesus saving all of us, and one way that grateful people respond to that good news is to build Him a wonderful temple. This place reminds us that here we encounter the beauty of God’s saving grace in the sacraments, a beautiful place that tells everyone that Jesus lives here and that something important happens here. A church is never just a secular meeting place, no matter how humble. But here, the poor Polish immigrants who built Corpus Christi made big sacrifices so that people who come here can magnificently experience the beauty and glory of God and His love for us. We honor their sacrifices by preserving our church so that it can continue to evangelize new generations. We keep going because our horizontal culture is too intellectually and morally confused to realize that God must be treated as God. We need spaces and symbols and beauty to express our faith and that reality.”

Ederer added that more upcoming projects on the wish list for next year include stonework restoration on the south clerestory wall and a new roof for the south side aisle roof: “We are always grateful for donations, which show us that the community continues to appreciate our faith heritage and our legacy. We always have work, and the Friends have virtually no overhead expenses. Monies received go directly to restoration projects.” Donations can be sent to Friends of Corpus Christi Inc., PO Box 784, Buffalo, NY 14240.

Photo: Friends of Corpus Christi Church – President Lucy Ederer.

FRIENDS OF CORPUS CHRISTI AWARDED EMPIRE STATE DEVELOPMENT GRANT

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Friends of Corpus Christi, Inc. today announced an award of $50,000 from New York Empire State Development to complete a Master Plan as Phase 1 of the Historic East Village Revitalization Initiative, an initiative that will transform the Corpus Christi Church campus, which is included on the National and State Registers of Historic Places and just steps away from the Broadway Market.  The campus consists of five buildings spread over a three-block area, including a green space.   The Friends of Corpus Christi envision providing community facilities for workforce development, recreation, office space for community agencies and professionals, urban greenspace and green infrastructure, lodging and cultural/historic tourism at the site.  The project was included as one of the top 27 priority projects for the Western New York region by the WNY Regional Economic Development Council.

The Historic East Village is envisioned as the hub for a distinct, vibrant neighborhood and potential historic district. “Congratulations to the Friends of Corpus Christi in being selected as a 2015 CFA Awardee.  The church campus is one of Buffalo’s historical, cultural and architectural gems. These funds will help with design costs for the Historic East Village Revitalization Initiative, a project that has the potential to help reshape the landscape of the Broadway-Fillmore community; I look forward to our continued partnership seeing this project through to completion,” stated Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes.

The Corpus Christi campus is poised at the intersection of the past and the future of Buffalo.  “As an enthusiastic supporter of the Friends of Corpus Christi for a number of years, I’m thrilled to see that New York State has chosen to invest in their next phase of renovation and redevelopment,” said Senator Tim Kennedy. “I have no doubt that this funding will be put to good use, whether it be through the remodel of the Sears Street Community Center, the development of urban green space initiatives, or through workforce training and educational outreach. I thank Governor Cuomo for making this project a priority, and look forward to the progress we see as a result.”

Fr. Michal Czyzewski, OSPPE, Administrator of Corpus Christi Church, expressed his appreciation on behalf of the Pauline Fathers & Brothers upon learning of the award.  “We are grateful to receive this news just before the Christmas season.  The grant will help us advance our vision of the Corpus Christi campus as a beacon of hope for our community as we implement the Master Plan in the years ahead.”