Being a Project Coordinator has many perks. I am responsible for guiding a project from start to finish. While creating a personal relationship with our customers. Even though I work with churches and their leadership, I had yet to experience seeing the church once the pews were completed and installed. On November 3rd Sauder Worship Seating gave me the opportunity to see a finished job for myself. I was able to experience an installation photo shoot.
Early Friday morning I got to ride along with Amanda Opdycke, our Market Manager and Emily Lantz, our Production Artist to Granger, Indiana. Once there, I was in awe of St. Pius X Catholic Church. The outside alone was enough to make my jaw drop. I wasn’t ready for the amazement I was about to feel once in the sanctuary. From the first step inside to every inch of the sanctuary there is beautiful art and incredible architecture. As you walk down the aisle way you will notice Sauder all wood pews. As well as 6 Mosaics, each representing the covenants of God.
The Sauder Worship custom pew ends match the crucifix that is suspended from the ceiling. 
The crucifix is a focal point for the altar in this Romanesque style church. For me, the most incredible part of the building was the arcades and the Triumphal Arch. The Triumphal Arch is a mural of paintings and scriptures behind the altar. In the mural there are a variety of different saints from Mother Teresa to John XXIII. I was interested to learn that Catholic churches like St. Pius X, the murals all tell stories of Christ.
There is wall to wall iconography and no matter how many times I looked at an image I discovered something new each time. For example, the mural above the altar, at first glance you notice Jesus and the two archangels Michael and Gabriel but the closer you look you notice four more angels followed by sheep. Each individual is depicted to be going toward Jesus to meet at the top of the mural where there is a dove, which I later learned is the representation of the Holy Spirit.
While there we spoke with Pastor Schooler. He shared how happy he was with Sauder WS and that in the midst of construction he never had a problem with Sauder WS. Pastor Schooler was not the only one who shared their experiences with Sauder WS. During the photo shoot, a woman from the congregation asked to walk through, during that time she told us how everyone in the church love the pews and how glad she is that we could provide exactly what they wanted.
The opportunity to experience another part of Sauder WS made me extremely proud to be a part of this company. I cannot wait to see what other churches come to us for church furniture. I am confident we will continue to provide quality service and help make amazing churches like St. Pius X even more beautiful.
Megan Keifer, Project Coordinator
Sauder Worship Seating
