Our Lady Queen of Peace in Grafton dedicates new office center

GRAFTON — Our Lady Queen of Peace will dedicate a new office complex and gathering place for congregants at the church Aug. 16. The additional space opens at a time when the church is seeing continued growth, said the Rev. John Seabold. "We built the church in 2010 with the plan to build offices," he said. "It took this long to get it going — timing, the economy tanked and the original growth predictions we had slowed down." But with 1,100 parishioners and a continuing growth, the time had come to take action. The project, which includes the main office area for the church, two conference rooms and a gathering room, began in October and will be finished in time for the dedication, Seabold said. "The offices were too small, and as we continue to grow here, we just needed more space as well as privacy," he said. "We serve the Grafton and LaGrange areas, where there are a lot of new developments. We have a lot of young families and a growing community." In 2006, Immaculate Conception and Assumption Church merged to form Our Lady Queen of Peace. The Assumption Church property was sold and the new Our Lady Queen of Peace church was built at the Immaculate Conception property. The former church still stands and is mainly used as a sanctuary. The addition to Our Lady Queen of Peace is a testament to the community, Seabold said. "In many ways, this brings us to be a stronger presence in the community," he said. "It's almost like we've grown up and come into our own as far as the services we offer. We're more accessible to the people, and the offices are more accessible. We are able to serve and help the community more as we continue to grow and be a continued presence here." The build also adds visibility to the church. The dedication takes place at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 16 following the 4:30 p.m. Mass, which will be celebrated by Cleveland Catholic Diocese Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost. A cookout and social will follow on the patio. Tours and a social will take place after the 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Masses on Aug. 17. As always, children are welcome. "People note how many kids are present all of the time," Seabold said. "It's a sign of life we have going on around here, especially during a time when a lot of Catholic churches are experiencing decline. I recently had someone say, 'it's so nice to hear kids. At our church, we don't hear kids anymore." In addition to the offices, the new conference rooms will be used for more ministries to meet in as well as special areas for counseling. Contact Christina Jolliffe at ctnews@chroniclet.com.