St. Augustine parish in Minster is taking a clear-eyed at plans to build a “cry room” in the historic church. 

For starters, there be no crying need.

“Some of it’s a question whether it’s warranted,” said Nancy Niekamp, parish council president.

The project originally  constituted part of the proposal for St. Augustine’s parish share from One Faith, One Hope, One Love. But historical preservation issues also complicate matters..

“There’s a question of where to put a cry room without losing what we have,” Mrs. Niekamp said

What they have is a neoclassical-style church, dedicated in 1849 amid a cholera epidemic that killed some 300 parishioners. The building’s Gothic twin spires were completed in 1876 after two years of construction, and account for St. Augustine’s place in the “Land of Cross-Tipped Churches” on the National Register of Historic Places.

Given St. Augustine’s beautiful interior, any reconfiguration of space becomes a bigger question than otherwise. Even a cry room.

“It’s still on the table, but we just don’t know it’s feasible,” Mrs. Niekamp said.

Either way, St. Augustine earmarked its campaign rebate for its capital fund. And with or without a cry room,  the parish remains happy to suffer the little children.

“We get a lot of big families,” Mrs. Niekamp said, “and we want them here, so we can’t complain.”