Tenth Anniversary Update

For the first anniversary, it’s paper; for the fifth it’s wood.  There is a traditional gift material for every significant anniversary celebration.  So as Ss. Robert and William Parish prepared to enter its tenth year, tin and aluminum, symbols of durability and flexibility, marked the occasion in two significant ways.

Recognizing that all the chalices at the church came from one of the merged parishes or were personal possessions of the priests, Fr. John Betters, the pastor of SRW, suggested we purchase one.  That prompted a trip to Don Drumm Studios and Gallery.  Drumm is an Akron artist who began working with cast aluminum in the 1950s and we were confident that we would find what we were looking for among the vast displays of his unique creations.  We were right!  It didn’t take long before we were headed back to Euclid with a beautifully unique vessel that would become Ss. Robert and William Parish’s first chalice.  Years earlier, Fr. Betters was gifted with a paten created by Drumm that he generously donated to the parish.  Both pieces would be used for the first time at the January 5th 4:00 PM Mass to begin the year-long celebration.

Cleveland State University art student and SRW parishioner Olivia Kijauskas helped to carry on the theme and conceived a piece that is now a permanent installation in the church’s gathering space.  For several months parishioners were given the opportunity to inscribe their names on maple leaves made of tin.  In November they were given to Olivia with the request that she create some type of tree-like structure to display them.  Three days before our opening Mass a graceful, abstract branch of metal was hung on a section of the north wall of the church, and reaching from it are the signed leaves.

“It was a real honor to be able to make the tree for Ss. Robert and William,” said Olivia.  “The parish has given me so much space to deepen my faith over the years.  It feels good to be so supported by the parish during this time when I am trying to navigate how God is calling me to bring beauty to the world.”

You can see more of Olivia’s work at the Merit Show at the Galleries of Cleveland State University this May when she will be showing a series of bronze and granite sculptures inspired by Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.

Durability and flexibility; two adjectives that describe why Ss. Robert and William Parish joyfully celebrates ten fruitful years. 

For more information about Ss. Robert and William Parish and School go to www.srweuclid.cc

Nathan Raddell

Renee Barber

Read More on Ss. Robert & William
Volume 10, Issue 6, Posted 4:12 PM, 06.05.2019