From the architectural “Second Spring” department comes good news on a recent church renovation. Architect James McCrery of McCrery Architects in Washington, DC sent this photo of a new altar for an existing church which he is renovating: Saint Bernadette in Linville, North Carolina in the highest peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The new altar, made of Italian marble, is shown here on the left in the church which is still under construction. Notice to the right the old altar, made of slabs of sawn tree trunks.

The pastor, Rev. Christopher M. Gober hired McCrery to do a substantial interior renovation with Architect of Record, Robert Salisbury. The church renovation is part of a larger project of parish improvements including a new rectory, new parish hall and new landscaping. The new altar is the centerpiece of an entirely new sanctuary, and McCrery promises photos forthcoming in late September. McCrery recently started his own firm after working on such projects as the Nashville Dominican Motherhouse Chapel and a new friary for the friars of EWTN with the firm of Franck, Lohsen, McCrery. He is currently at work on the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy project in Chicago.