St. Louis Company Proud To Do Woodwork Projects for Catholic Church
What would you most like to do as a woodworker? Some people get to do woodwork projects that give them great pride and a sense of spirituality. One such person is Bill Kennebeck of Classic Woodworking, Inc. in St. Louis. Classic Woodworking, Inc. recently created a wooden coat of arms plaque for the installation of Archbishop Robert J. Carlson at St. Louis’ Cathedral Basilica.
Classic Woodworking Inc. is located in South St. Louis and has been in business for more than thirty years. They have done a variety of woodwork projects for commercial and residential clients, from St. Louis Rams executive offices to high-end residential work. Bill Kennebeck, the project manager, takes particular pride in the work they have done for the Catholic Church. He is a member of South St. Louis’ Saint James the Greater Parish himself.
The company created a coat of arms for Archbishop Robert J. Carlson this week. It is an oak plaque with hand-painted brass pieces that was hung at the Cathedral Basilica for the archbishop’s installation ceremony on June 10th. It includes his coat of arms, a “gallero” (bishop’s hat), and the archbishop’s chosen Episcopal motto, which is “Ante Crucem Nihil Defensionis,” meaning, “Before the Cross There is No Defense.”
Creating the plaque was a labor-intensive process. The 24” x 36” piece of oak first had to be cut and stained. The approximately sixty pieces of metal that went into making up the coat of arms had to be hand-painted. Local artist Sister Jeanne Derer did the work. She said that the humidity required her to put several applications of paint on the metal, which was attached to the plaque with brass tacks.
This plaque is not the first work for the Catholic Church that has been done by Classic Woodworking. They have done other coats of arms, work on buildings for the archdiocese, and even created some liturgical furnishing for the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to St. Louis in 1999. The Secret Service was involved in the design of the papal projects, several of which had to be bulletproof.
Classic Woodworking, Inc. of St. Louis had the opportunity to create a liturgical plaque that had special meaning to them. Hopefully all of us will have the opportunity to do projects in which we can take that kind of pride.
