Committee presents an eight-step plan for new St. Michael Church in Pawcatuck

Stonington - The committee charged with building a new St. Michael Church in Pawcatuck has come up with an eight-step plan which church pastor, the Rev. Dennis Perkins, distributed to parishioners at this weekend Masses.

The committee is finishing up its request for proposals, which it will soon be sending to a list of architects who have experience in Catholic Church design and traditional New England-style buildings. The request includes items the parish would like to see in the new buildings. The committee will then choose an architect that will develop several designs.

Meetings will then be held to get input from parishioners. At that point more information will be available about costs and fundraising.

Perkins stressed in his letter to parishioners that the committee wants to keep everyone informed through each stage of the process.

"We are taking such care in our decisions because we realize this will not only be our church but the church for future generations here in Pawcatuck," he wrote.

Parishioners have been attending St. Mary Church in the borough since April when an engineer discovered structural problems that made the building unsafe. Parishioners overwhelmingly favored building a new church over other options.