Though he said coming into the middle of building a new parish is “not easy,” he helped the church move forward, adding a few of his own suggestions.
Originally, Father Agbakwuo said the ceiling was to be made out of synthetic material to save money.
However, he asked the church’s development committee if money wasn’t an issue, what type of ceiling they’d like to have.
“All of them voted for the wooden ceiling if we had the money and I said, ‘OK we’re going to do it,’” Father Agbakwuo said.
In March 2008, St. James had a new church with 400 seats and a wooden ceiling.
“They are incredible,” he said. “You have really dedicated people here.”
Building up church
Instead of sitting back after completing the new St. James Parish, Father Agbakwuo accepted the request from his other parish community that same year: a larger parish for St. Albert.
Construction began eight months later to create a church capable of seating 500 people, rather than the previous 225.
The dedication Mass took place on Dec. 19, 2009, with more than 300 people, including Bishop Anthony B. Taylor.
“It is a modern church and has many features,” he said. “I’m happy the people are happy with the church … and proud of their church.”
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During construction of St. Albert, his other congregation at St. Richard called on him to help build a new parish hall.
Father Agbakwuo said he celebrates Mass for the roughly 40-member congregation at St. Richard every Saturday. However, no social activities could ever be held because it lacked a parish hall.
“Because it’s a small community, the next step was to get the people committed, not just financially,” he said. “We did everything and it was great.”
The building was completed in early 2010.
Joe Giezeman, who is St. James parish council chairman and chairman of the development committee, said the way Father Agbakwuo took on several building projects is an example of his commitment.
“That’s a handful for anybody,” Giezeman said. “He did a great job leading us forward. He did a very nice job in delegating the work.”