ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST Catholic School recently broke ground on a long-awaited gymnasium, with a ceremonial shovel gifted to a parishioner and alumni mom who spent the last 20 years fundraising for it.
FR. DAMIEN GIAP, SCHOOL RECTOR AT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC SCHOOL, POSES WITH A CEREMONIAL SHOVEL. PHOTOS BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
The Costa Mesa school brought together its students, staff, families and community on March 17 to a dirt yard that will become the home of its first-ever gym, a facility that will provide indoor recreation opportunities and gathering spaces. The site of the future gym, which will also host performing arts, was blessed by Bishop Thanh Thai Nyugen, St. John the Baptist’s Fr. Pascal Nguyen, O.Praem, and the school’s rector Fr. Damien Giap, O.Praem.
A PARISHIONER AND FR. BRENDAN HANKINS, PAROCHIAL VICAR AT ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CATHOLIC CHURCH, ADMIRE AN ARTISTIC RENDERING OF THE NEW GYMNASIUM.
“The work we are beginning today should enliven our faith and make us grateful,” said Fr. Pascal during the blessing. “We know the familiar words of the Psalm, ‘If the Lord does not build the house, in vain does its builders labor.’ Whenever we look to the interests of our neighbor or the community and serve them, we are, in a sense, God’s own coworkers.”
JUDITH KELLY, WHO INITIATED THE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR THE NEW GYM, PREPARES TO BREAK GROUND WITH THE FIRST SHOVEL ALONGSIDE FR. PASCAL NGUYEN.
The school community has been talking about building a gym for more than 40 years, said its principal, Paula Viles, who started there in 1983. The long-envisioned facility will host volleyball and basketball, which are currently outside and have to be cancelled when it rains. It will also allow for P.E. to be held indoors during rain or excessive heat. The gym will also have a stage for plays.
“It’s going to be great for these students, it’s going to be great for the fellowship of people here, it’s going to bring the community more together,” said Colin McCarthy, chairman of the St. John the Baptist parish and school finance committee and a parent of two at the school. “It’s going to be a great resource for everyone.”
THIRD GRADE STUDENTS POSE FOR A PHOTO AT THE FUTURE SITE OF THEIR SCHOOL’S GYMNASIUM.
A ceremonial groundbreaking shovel was awarded to Judith “Jude” Kelly in honor of all the work she did to keep the idea of building a gym alive. Kelly and her husband moved to the area in 1968 with three baby boys. Those sons, and the three daughters who came later, all went to St. John the Baptist and played “everything in season,” Kelly said.
It was in 2002, when the Norbertine religious order took over the church administration, that Kelly came up with her idea to start fundraising for a gym. Without asking anyone, she wrote “SJB Gym Fund” on an empty jar and set it on a table where she was selling jelly.
“People started coming up to buy the jellies and they go, ‘Oh, are we having a gym?’” Kelly recalled.
She eventually got official permission to fundraise for the gym. An empty jar on a table turned into rummage sales on Sundays. These efforts have raised more than $150,000, according to Viles.
“She’s been working on the gym for all that time,” Viles said. “We thank her for that. We thank her for being the backbone of the fundraising effort.”
It was more than the money Kelly brought in, but the fact that she never gave up, McCarthy noted.
“What her efforts did made people never lose sight of the fact that we are going to get a gym,” he added. “If she had stopped, people would have said the gym’s never going to happen, but the fact is she kept going and going and going.”
The conviction to persist for more than 20 years was fueled by her love of her parish, which Kelly called a “haven.”
“This, the people, everything,” Kelly said. “The holiness of the priests, the teachers, everybody — it’s all about God, and it’s not like that in the world. It’s just awesome. It’s like an oasis.”