The ringing of bells in the Catholic Church is a call to prayer. Morning, midday and evening, the chimes summon the parishioners. Now, St. Lawrence Church in Heber City will send out its call with new electronic bells.  The bells themselves are a call to faith and a nod to deep traditions held in the Catholic Church. Their electronic nature, however, is an upgrade that adds a touch of modernity to the church’s grand, Gothic design, helping St. Lawrence staff and pastors bring the house of worship into this century.  But, with an ever-increasing number of parishioners, parochial leaders are at the same time looking for ways to raise money to construct a new church.  St. Lawrence in Heber City was built in 1915, originally as a church for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the time, it cost $19,400 to build the English, Gothic-style construction complete with bell tower, massive stained-glass windows and towering central worship space. Stained-glass windows line the worship space inside St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Heber City, casting colored light across the historic chapel’s wooden pews and interior walls. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record In the 1970s, the building was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City and turned into a Catholic church. Church administrator Justin Hibbard said Catholic parishioners have been meeting in the space ever since.  Each year, Hibbard said the worship space that holds just more than 130 individuals has become standing-room only. Church leaders decided that with even more growth incoming, it’s time to look for new accommodations to better serve the Wasatch County community.  So, the church wants to raise $13 million. St. Lawrence has already collected $1 million in donations for the cause. Hibbard said the Catholic church is far off from its goal and will continue to upgrade its space as time and funding allow. That includes accommodating standing-room-only space to overflow rooms and the installation of the new electronic bells.  Ringing bells Hibbard explained that the bells as a call to prayer is a tradition that spans time and crosses religions.  “If you stay at a monastery, they ring every three hours, and those are mandated prayer times,” Hibbard said. “In churches, they’re generally used to remind people to pray or the start to mass.” Church administrator Justin Hibbard stands beside the pews inside St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record St. Lawrence Church starts by ringing the new bells in the century-old bell tower before mass begins and then again at noon. That’s when parishioners are typically told to pray the Angelus — a Catholic devotion that invites the reflection of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Historically, it is repeated at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed,” Hibbard recited.  The prayer is used for daily devotion. It prompts moments of pause and connects worshippers to their savior throughout the day. It is about connection, faith and the mystery of the story of Mary, the mother of God and a great human saint.  Father Arokia Dass is a pastor at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Park City and at St. Lawrence, which is a mission of St. Mary’s. Doss and his family are from India. He said he grew up surrounded by religion and the presence of God and Jesus Christ. “(My faith) has been passed on to several generations, especially the faithful life of my parents and my personal encounter with our Lord,” Dass said. Dass said his faith brings purpose and meaningfulness to his life; happiness is a byproduct. As a pastor, Dass said it is a sin to miss daily prayers. Catholic priests promise to pray five times per day. He said intoning prayers at 3 p.m. is especially important because that is the holy hour when Jesus Christ died on the cross.  The chapel inside St. Lawrence Catholic Church seats about 130 people, a capacity church leaders say the growing congregation has increasingly outgrown. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “Jesus was very strong when he was on the cross, how much he loved humanity,” Dass said, explaining that 3 p.m. is when he most intentionally dedicates time to prayer.  Dass said he enjoys the challenge of being a pastor at St. Mary’s and St. Lawrence.  “People who are in need of God, they come to us, so we try our best to represent God for them and do whatever we can,” Dass said.  He added that it’s clear St. Lawrence parishioners need a space where they can all fit together during mass. “The populations have been doubled, so we need a new church,” Dass said. New horizons Hibbard has been the St. Lawrence church administrator and director of evangelization since October. He is a former Baptist pastor and a Catholic convert who came into the church in 2022. Hibbard even has a podcast, “Why Catholic?,” which discusses the nature of the Catholic church and his faith.  “When COVID started, I kind of put together a mental list of what I was looking for in a church, and I got to the end of that mental list, and I said, ‘Oh my goodness, I think I’m looking for the Catholic church,'” Hibbard said. “It was just months and months of nonstop studying, and I got to the end, and I said, I want to be Catholic.” For Hibbard, it was realizing that mass is “mystical and mythological.” “We’re not just worshipping and singing songs and going through rituals. We really believe that mass transports us through time and space and we’re at the foot of the cross in Jesus’ crucifixion,” Hibbard said. “It is the present moment. … When I understood that, I was just totally blown away by the beauty and the theology of the mass.” In 2022, Hibbard began attending mass at St. Lawrence in Heber City — a church that was added to the national register of historic places in 1978.  “It’s really a beautiful church. There’s stunning woodwork and architecture,” Hibbard said.  The problem now, however, is that the church only seats 130 people.  “This is proving to be a problem because our masses are quite full, if not overflowing,” Hibbard said, adding that there were more than 275 attendees at the Easter Sunday mass. “We are in the process of raising funds to build a new church that will accommodate our needs a little better.” The land is already acquired, Hibbard said. St. Lawrence owns 6 acres of land on Mill Road, but the church still needs about $13 million before any kind of construction can begin.  Dass said the new space is essential for worshippers and will also feature classroom space for young learners.  “The church is completely full. We do not have space for the people,” Dass said. “It’s beautiful, but it’s not enough for us as a space.” Hibbard said the hope is for a new church that will seat about 600 individuals, plus classroom space for more than 100 students at any given time. Parochial leaders are working with an architect to understand what the church may look like. Then, they will “kick off” fundraising efforts this summer.  “Our church is pretty dark as it is; it just has that kind of Gothic style feel to it. … But I think that they’re hoping that the new church will have a much more open feel and take more advantage of the natural sunlight,” Hibbard said.  Though he is not sure of the outcome, Hibbard said a “mountain Gothic” style would suit the style and nature of St. Lawrence while paying homage to its history in Heber City. It should be, he said, a church that you may find in the mountains.  “We’re really excited about it,” Hibbard said. “In the meantime, though, we are continuing to make necessary improvements to the current church as we need.” While St. Lawrence continues to improve and raise funds for a new church, parishioners can enjoy the newly ringing bells that call them to mass times and prayer each day. St. Lawrence Catholic Church occupies one of Heber City’s historic buildings. Originally constructed in 1915 as the Heber Second Ward Meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Gothic Revival-style building was designed by architect Joseph Nelson and built with red brick on a sandstone foundation. The structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record The post St. Lawrence Catholic Church debuts new bells while eyeing a grander future appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less