Well, that’s using the old dome.

Project managers had to innovate amid extensive repairs to the bronze crown atop historic Immaculate Conception Church in Celina. The problem: a recent repaving at the church-school complex prevented workers from adequately placing a construction lift onto the new surface.

“The lift would’ve just busted up the new concrete, so they couldn’t reach everything on the dome,”said Lindsey Lunz, parish business manager.

Luckily, the dome-repair strategy wasn’t itself set in cement. Planners were able to procure a lift equipped with a swing seat, allowing workers to adjust their staging areas.

While preliminary estimates for the renovation project ranged as high as $38,000, Wellman Brothers Inc. of Coldwater completed it for “just under $24,000,” Ms. Lunz said. Repairs were partly funded by the parish share from One Faith, One Hope, One Love.

Preservation concerns for Immaculate Conception extend well beyond the parish itself. The domed building is among 60 structures, each listed on the National Register of Historic Places, composing the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches in the rural northwest region of the Cincinnati Archdiocese.

Celina’s church, built in the Romanesque Revival style, opened in 1903 after three years of construction costing $85,000.

The landmark dome hadn’t received significant work since the 1980s when temporary repairs were needed after a windstorm. Immaculate Conception Church itself underwent extensive renovations in 2003.

More upgrades are in the works. The parish has set aside an additional portion of its share from One Faith, One Hope, One Love toward energy efficiency improvements.

“We just received a load of LED lighting,” Ms. Lunz said. “Our big push is going to be the light upgrades.”

Improvements also will include automated air conditioning. Total savings from the upgrades are expected to be about $18,000 a year.

Other uses of the parish rebate from One Faith, One Hope, One Love include bolstering Immaculate Conception’s Religion Education Fund Endowment and its twin parish in Guatemala.

Immaculate Conception, one of 25 parishes in St. Marys Deanery, has been a strong supporter of the One Faith, One Hope, One Love campaign. To date, its pledges have exceeded the local goal by almost 25%, and members already have redeemed 60% of those promises. The parish is home to a little more than 1,300 members.