Bulletin for July 15

Dear friends in Christ,

On this 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time we hear in the Gospel of St. Mark of two very specific actions that Jesus initiates with His disciples. First, He “summoned” them. Sometimes we say that Jesus “called” His disciples, but I like how St. Mark uses the word that is translated for us in English as “summoned.” A summons carries with it some weight or stamp of official business. It’s done for a specific purpose and you best answer a summons. A call can easily be ignored (I get perturbed whenever someone calls my cell phone - how dare they call me when a text will suffice!), but a summons requires a response. And the disciples respond beautifully to that summons of Jesus.

Having thus been summoned, the disciples are quickly met with the second action of Jesus – He “sends them out.” Again there is movement. Being a follower of Jesus is never a static proposition. We are summoned and we are sent. We are to be in motion bringing the Good News to others. Notice how the disciples were to travel. They went in pairs, not alone, and they were instructed to travel light with “no food, no sack, no money in their belts.” Nothing is to encumber them in their mission to the world. The same is true for us. Listen for the “summons” of God in your prayer. He’s calling each of us by name. And then go to make His mercy known as one sent in His name.

Some of you who follow us on social media have seen this news, but if not, let me ask you to mark your calendars for Sunday, Aug. 12 for the dedication of our new Redeemer Activity Center. That’s just four weeks from today, believe it or not. Cardinal DiNardo will be with us that morning to celebrate the 11 a.m. Mass in the church, and then afterward we will walk over to the RAC for the short dedication ceremony. The Cardinal will lead us in the prayer of dedication and then make his way through the building sprinkling it with holy water. Everyone is invited for this momentous event in the life of our parish, and of course, it provides you with an excellent opportunity to see the building up close. The RAC will remain open throughout the day for you to walk around and see it all.

With just four weeks to go, the construction team is in hyper-drive to finish all the little details. We are awaiting delivery of the seats, all 651 of them, for the auditorium. They are scheduled to be delivered and installed beginning the last week of this month. The gymnasium is coming along nicely, too, with the basketball goals already installed. The actual gym floor is a synthetic rubber material this is poured into place and then it is “cured” into its final form before the competition lines are painted directly on the surface. Right now when someone asks where the gym floor is, I’m able to point to several dozen 5-gallon containers and say, “It’s in the bucket.” It’s a delicate process which will take place over several days in the coming weeks, but in the end will give us a durable floor able to stand up to multiple events over time. Elsewhere in the RAC, the rooms for music, fine arts, and our S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, art and math) lab are being painted and primed for the new CtR Catholic School year that will get underway a few days after the dedication. 

The Youth Ministry center, which occupies the entire 2nd floor, is coming along nicely. The four Evangelists windows that were a feature of the previous incarnation of the Youth Room in the Parish Life Center have been put into place so that the new space has a bit of feel of the old one. The entire space itself, however, is nearly twice the size of the old, giving our ever-growing Youth Ministry program plenty of room to engage our junior high and senior high youth and help them grow in their faith. It’s an incredible space and one the entire parish can rightly be proud of as we seek to make disciples and keep our youth centered on Christ.

It’s probably the number one question I get as pastor – “How can we help our young people stay connected to the Church?” While there is no magic formula, we have found that parents who make Sunday Mass a priority for themselves and their children on a weekly basis, coupled with a dynamic Youth Ministry and confirmation program, is one sure-fire way to raise kids who know Christ and are on fire to make Him known to the world. The new Youth Ministry center of the RAC is just the place for that to happen. Come by and check it out! 

The whole building is coming together beautifully and I think you’re really going to love it. There will still be a few touch-ups and additional items to add as we move along (like moving into a new house, there’s always “something” that needs to be done), but it’s going to look great for the dedication. Paradigm Construction, our general contractor, has done a fine job with delivering the building to us on time and on budget. I’ll have more details to share with you soon about the dedication, but for now please put the date (after 11 a.m. Mass on Aug. 12) on your calendar and make plans to join us. It will be a very special moment for our community.

My sincere thanks to all who have sacrificed so generously through our  “Living Our Mission, Shaping Our Future” Capital Campaign to make it possible. I invite you to join our campaign by making a pledge if you haven’t done so already. Just because the building is built doesn’t mean it’s paid for –far from it. We will need to continue to service the debt for years to come, much like we all do on a mortgage for our house. We did the same thing when our new church was built in 2008, and again when the new Parish Hall and Parish Life Center was constructed in 2013. Now is the time to again to come together for mutual sacrifice so that we might have a space that serves our community for generations to come.

You can make your pledge online on the parish website at  ctrcc.com/campaign. It’s quick and easy, and all size gifts are welcome. Also on the website you’ll find information on our Paver Program which affords you the opportunity to purchase a brick to go in the plaza in front of the RAC. You can customize it with a personal message and it will be a lasting legacy for all to see as they enter the building. We’ll have more information on the Paver Program at the dedication ceremony, but if you want to get a jump start on the process, visit our website today.  

Peace,
Fr. Sean