On the fourth anniversary of the fire that destroyed this faith community’s previous church in the early morning hours of March 18, 2002, St. Michael Church celebrated its inaugural mass on March 18, 2006 in its newly constructed worship space.

Pastor Don McLaughlin and St. Michael Building Committee members commissioned RuckPate to use our participatory approach to involve parishioners in creating a common vision for the new church. Our Visioning Sessions gave parishioners opportunities to express their aspirations for the church. Many spoke of their desire for the church to be more prominent in the Wheaton community. This goal became a central feature of our design. Most participants expressed their preference for a more traditionally-inspired design, with features that would accommodate contemporary worship practices. RuckPate completed the conceptual design in May 2003 and provided presentation materials to assist in the fundraising phase of the project. The fundraising necessary to support the project achieved over fifty percent participation. The Wheaton City Council unanimously approved this project on September 24, 2004.

Michael DeSanctis served as the Liturgical Design Consultant, and General Contractor Paul H. Schwendener, Inc. led the construction effort.

Features include:

•  New 1,050-Seat Worship Space
•  Reservation Chapel
•  Family Chapel
•  Special Acoustics with Combination
   Pipe/Digital Organ
•  Large Gathering Space
•  Parish Administration Center
•  Pre-School and Kindergarten Rooms

For more information on this project,
contact RuckPate at info@ruckpate.com.

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