Pastor using drone to film churchs across central Minnesota as preservation project
In the tiny township of Spring Hill in Stearns County, Minnesota, a church still anchors the rural landscape and the lives around it.
Inside St. Michael's Catholic Church, the quiet is broken by a humming sound. At the controls is its pastor, Father Mitchell Bechtold.
"It is really tricky flying indoors. Especially in these spaces because one crash and you broke a priceless stained-glass window or a one-of-a-kind statue and I do crash…don't tell my bishop," said Bechtold.
It's careful and intentional work.
"I try to find those things that are not only picturesque but significant," said Bechtold.
He studies each space, not just for beauty, but for meaning.
"I look at what stained glass window would stand out to that person that they walk in and always look to it. The statue that was donated by a mother, or father or grandmother," explained Bechtold.
Then, he flies.
"I like to not only come off the choir loft down to the altar, but I like to get angles that people have never seen before," said Bechtold.
What began during the isolation of COVID has grown into something much larger.
Bechtold, who is pastor for four churches in the area, has now filmed more than 40 churches across central Minnesota, with many still ahead.
"We have 16 counties, 131 churches across them. Now to have the opportunity and really the excuse to go to all of these churches and visit them and get to encounter them so intimately has just been a true treasure," said Bechtold.
It is a project of preservation, but also perspective.
"It's really the responsibility of every generation to hand on something of its story to the next generation," Bechtold said.
Because for many of these churches, time is becoming a factor.
Bechtold's preservation project comes as the Diocese of St. Cloud is undergoing a major restructuring that will close several parishes, including St. Michael's.
"Right now, we're seating at less than a 40% capacity across our diocese, so our churches aren't even half full," said Brenda Kresky, director of pastoral planning for the Diocese of St. Cloud.
Kresky says the reasons are complex but clear.
"The decline of priests, the decline of Catholics in our diocese, and demographic shifts," said Kresky.
The plan is to reduce 131 parishes to 48, with some churches closing, others merging and some being repurposed.
"We don't want to have to close any churches. We don't want to have to merge, but it's using good stewardship," said Kresky.
In loss and sadness, there's an effort to move forward.
"There's hope in what is coming. You might be surprised at what is next," said Kresky.
That balance between honoring the past and preparing for the future is visible in Melrose.
"We try to preserve what we can of the past, but we have to build for the future," said Bechtold.
His mission at each church is simple.
"I'm not here to tell my story, but to remind them of theirs," said Bechtold.
After the drone completes its final pass, it gently lands into Bechtold's waiting hand.
Bechtold hopes to have drone video of all 131 churches in the diocese of St. Cloud by the end of summer.