Rose Creek Historic Church Renovations
Donation protected
Greetings,
The Rosary at Rose Creek is a special building that has been vacant for nearly 30 years. Please help me bring her back to life and restore this historic gem!
Facebook Post from August 2020:
New chapter has arrived! I am buying a church. Yes, a church!!!!
But first, the contextual backstory.
As most of you know, I lost my job a little over two years ago when the company I worked for sold for $5B and moved it's HQ to Atlanta. I decided to side hustle jobs to be able to be flexible to go to Minnesota every few months to check in and take care of my elderly and aging parents. I knew they were in their final stages. So the decision came with financial setbacks, instability, and craziness which allowed me to be there for my parents. They passed away in the fall of 2019, 28 days apart after 67 years of marriage.
Call the vegabond lifestyle what you will, and it was a strange plan indeed, but I figured there would be plenty of opportunity to get another job, grow roots and reconnect with friends. Being in Minnesota for my parents in their final days was worth every sacrifice.
Their house closed March 20, 2020 and guess what, covid! We all have a covid story, just like a 9/11 story.
Five days earlier, on March 15th, my car was packed and I had a goal of returning to Virginia, get a job, and a new home. Ha! How things turn on a dime. I wanted to start a new chapter. I was ready. I needed a new beginning. I craved stability.
So with the uncertainty of being unemployed for even longer and now officially homeless, I received a welcome call from a dear friend in Belize to house sit for him while he returned to the USA to take care of his daughter during Covid. Ok, so now I have a tentative, filler plan.
Upon returning to the USA in mid May, I settled my parents' estate, repacked the car and took a road trip to Virginia. At this point, my friend from Colorado called and said it was time to do the kitchen project that I designed for him in August 2018. Yay! I can do this! More experience! My first full kitchen remodel from design, utility relocation and install. So I took a hard right turn! And experience I'll need for the church.
So exactly how does the church come into play? Well;
I got a call from the church seller while awaiting pushback from the Belize airport on my repatriot flight home to Minnesota in May. He wanted to know if I was still interested. I looked at it originally in March in 25 degree temperatures. We scheduled another walk thru the following week.
Just a church, not any ole church, my Mother's childhood church. The United Congregational Church in Rose Creek, Minnesota. It was built in 1922 and has been vacant for nearly 30 years. After the church closed, it was purchased by a guy who used it as a woodshop and storage facility. Call it the original man cave.
Not just any guy, a guy that was a brother to my dad's cousins. The McCloud family of LeRoy can chime in here. Bill and Meda McCloud's brother. Ummm, Meda's brother.
It would also be great to hear stories from the Kasten family!!! Their family church.
So after nearly 3 decades of vacancy, I'm bringing her back to life. All the original stained glass windows are intact; bell still rings in the belfry; four original pews remain as well as the tin ceilings hidden underneath the fasle drop acoustic ceiling tile.
The plan: A single family structure. For me! For the community! For historic preservation! For the love of old churches! For a new beginning and challenge of all things re-newed!
Goal: Complete renovations in 2022, the 100th anniversary of the church. And on June 15, 2022, the grand opening celebration! Just so happens to be the 70th anniversary of my parents' wedding day in said chapel!
Mark your calendars for the ribbon cutting, and follow the progress on the page: The Rosary @ Rose Creek.
New chapter has arrived! I am buying a church. Yes, a church!!!!
But first, the contextual backstory.
As most of you know, I lost my job a little over two years ago when the company I worked for sold for $5B and moved it's HQ to Atlanta. I decided to side hustle jobs to be able to be flexible to go to Minnesota every few months to check in and take care of my elderly and aging parents. I knew they were in their final stages. So the decision came with financial setbacks, instability, and craziness which allowed me to be there for my parents. They passed away in the fall of 2019, 28 days apart after 67 years of marriage.
Call the vegabond lifestyle what you will, and it was a strange plan indeed, but I figured there would be plenty of opportunity to get another job, grow roots and reconnect with friends. Being in Minnesota for my parents in their final days was worth every sacrifice.
Their house closed March 20, 2020 and guess what, covid! We all have a covid story, just like a 9/11 story.
Five days earlier, on March 15th, my car was packed and I had a goal of returning to Virginia, get a job, and a new home. Ha! How things turn on a dime. I wanted to start a new chapter. I was ready. I needed a new beginning. I craved stability.
So with the uncertainty of being unemployed for even longer and now officially homeless, I received a welcome call from a dear friend in Belize to house sit for him while he returned to the USA to take care of his daughter during Covid. Ok, so now I have a tentative, filler plan.
Upon returning to the USA in mid May, I settled my parents' estate, repacked the car and took a road trip to Virginia. At this point, my friend from Colorado called and said it was time to do the kitchen project that I designed for him in August 2018. Yay! I can do this! More experience! My first full kitchen remodel from design, utility relocation and install. So I took a hard right turn! And experience I'll need for the church.
So exactly how does the church come into play? Well;
I got a call from the church seller while awaiting pushback from the Belize airport on my repatriot flight home to Minnesota in May. He wanted to know if I was still interested. I looked at it originally in March in 25 degree temperatures. We scheduled another walk thru the following week.
Just a church, not any ole church, my Mother's childhood church. The United Congregational Church in Rose Creek, Minnesota. It was built in 1922 and has been vacant for nearly 30 years. After the church closed, it was purchased by a guy who used it as a woodshop and storage facility. Call it the original man cave.
Not just any guy, a guy that was a brother to my dad's cousins. The McCloud family of LeRoy can chime in here. Bill and Meda McCloud's brother. Ummm, Meda's brother.
It would also be great to hear stories from the Kasten family!!! Their family church.
So after nearly 3 decades of vacancy, I'm bringing her back to life. All the original stained glass windows are intact; bell still rings in the belfry; four original pews remain as well as the tin ceilings hidden underneath the fasle drop acoustic ceiling tile.
The plan: A single family structure. For me! For the community! For historic preservation! For the love of old churches! For a new beginning and challenge of all things re-newed!
Goal: Complete renovations in 2022, the 100th anniversary of the church. And on June 15, 2022, the grand opening celebration! Just so happens to be the 70th anniversary of my parents' wedding day in said chapel!
Mark your calendars for the ribbon cutting, and follow the progress on the page: The Rosary @ Rose Creek.
Organizer
Sheryl Taylor
Organizer
Rose Creek, MN