SPARTANBURG — One of the first things that Father Mike Polewczak noticed when he became administrator of Jesus Our Risen Savior Church last year was that the church had no flagpole, despite the fact that the campus sits on a main thoroughfare.
After the parish completed a major parking lot renovation recently, some parishioners and the contractor gave additional money to install a 35-foot pole on the site’s highest spot.
“You can see it from Reidville Road, from the rectory and from the new parking lot,” said Deacon Bob Sturm. “Father Mike thought the place looked empty without one and the contractor wanted some way to say thank you to the parish for all the work we gave him.”
The administrator dedicated the pole and a new flag on June 14, Flag Day. Boy Scout Troop 79 raised the flag. An honor guard from the fourth degree Knights of Columbus was in attendance.
Bill Corso, a 30-year U.S. Army veteran, thought the flag and pole were attractive additions to his church.
“I’m going to suggest to my wife that when I die she give my burial flag to the church,” he said. “If you give it to the kids, it’ll just end up in a closet somewhere.”