Kevin Kelly/Key photo As the people of the parish watch, Bishop Raymond J. Boland and Father Joseph Matt June 9 dig the ceremonial first shovels of dirt to break ground for a new St. Sabina Church.

Bishop Boland and Father Joseph Matt, pastor, ceremoniously broke ground June 9 for a new $3 million, 1,000-seat church, just across the parking lot from the parish's 450-seat church built in 1974.

The new church, which could be completed by next spring, will be the sixth worship place for the parish since it was established in 1944.

In his homily at Mass, Bishop Boland called the history of the parish and its many worship spaces "a journey."

"It all started in a Conoco service station 58 years ago," he said. "That became too small, so those early families moved to the White Way Cafe. That became too small so the congregation, still very small, moved to the Belton Public School. That became too small and a second-hand Army chapel, reconstructed on a site on Herschel Street with a capacity of 250, became the next stop on this parish pilgrimage. This served the Catholic community for 26 years until continuing growth resulted in the building of this church in 1974.

"History repeats itself," the bishop told the people of St. Sabina. "You might compose a hymn: 'Dear Lord, Here We Go Again.'"

Jim Ruffini, project coordinator for the parish, said St. Sabina raised $1.7 million in pledges and has funds on deposit to lessen the burden of paying for the new church.

He said that continuing growth in Belton, a small town two decades ago and now one of Kansas City's fastest growing suburbs, made the need vital for a larger Catholic church. He noted that the parish that had 200 families in 1981 will soon have 1,500 registered families.

"We have five Masses now, and all of them are full," Ruffini said. One of those Masses, he said, is in Spanish for a rapidly growing Hispanic population in and around Belton.

Ruffini said the church will not only be constructed to seat 1,000 immediately, but will be expandable to seat another 500 in the future.

Meanwhile, the present church will be converted into office and meeting space, he said.

"We're not tearing this church down," he said.

Ruffini also said that the tabernacle and altar from the present church will be used in the new church. In addition, the people of the parish will choose other furnishings.

"We are going to have a furnishings exhibit," he said. "Contractors will come in with samples, and parishioners will choose which ones they like."

In his homily, Bishop Boland asked the people of the parish to make the new church "a genuine expression of faith which reaches out to the rest of God's people, especially those who know not God."

"This is the kind of spirit we must bring to the major parish event of this day," he said. "In God's providence, we are going to turn over a sod of grass and dirt as a sign that with God's blessing, we intend to build here a sacred place, a holy sanctuary for a community of sinners which is also a community of faith.

"We do not want a beautiful building which merely houses empty rituals," the bishop said. "We need a place where we can come to find Jesus Christ, to know his teaching, to feel his compassion, to pour out our gratitude for his blessings, to seek consolation in our sorrows, to honor him as God."

Referring to the Gospel reading in which Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector and "public sinner," to follow him, the bishop urged the assembly to avoid being judgmental like the Pharisees who condemned that decision.

"The spirit of Pharisaism is still very much alive in the church, even among people who would consider themselves very holy, very self-righteous," Bishop Boland said.

"Quick as a wink, they love to judge others, the motives of others. They have all the answers and those who don't agree with their thinking are absolutely wrong," the bishop said. "They would not be caught dead sitting down with Jesus and his bunch of sinners at dinner.

"So welcome to church this morning," Bishop Boland said. "Look around you at all your fellow sinners, yours truly included. We are all sinners and the reason we are here is because we need Christ to befriend us."

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