Mass Times
The Pastoral Council would like to update the parish on the many activities and projects that have occurred in the past three months through the council and our committees.
The Pastoral Council completed a six-month review of our current Constitution and By-Laws. Final revisions were approved in September with only a few small changes needed to help the function and understanding of the Council to be more reflective of our current processes. Copies of these are available on the parish website. Our council held new officer elections with Gilbert Alvarado elected as Chair, Bo Gilbert as Vice-Chair, and Ashley MacShane as Secretary.
The Pastoral Council hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Mass & Luncheon in August where Fr Chris thanked all volunteers. Our parish does not function without the hard work and dedication of so many volunteers. What an honor to be able to celebrate and acknowledge each of you. The Council plans to make this an annual event.
Our parish was blessed with the opening of our brand new playground! We celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and paletas! Since its completion, the playground has been filled with joy and laughter from all the families. Currently, all money collected in the Children’s Collection at masses goes towards additional tables and benches around the playground. Thank you to Dawson Construction, our Playground Committee, and our clergy and parish staff for all the hard work that went into making this a possibility!
Our 150th Anniversary Committee has been very busy this summer. The Spanish Ministries hosted a first ever Loteria night and served the most delicious food in honor of our 150th Anniversary. The parish hall was packed and many prizes were awarded. As we celebrated our 150th birthday, our nation celebrated 250 years. Our Shine Bright in Faith and Unity Celebration was a great way for families to come together in fellowship for the 4th of July. Many ministries helped provide food and entertainment, the band was fantastic, and the kids’ games were a blast! Our 150th Committee didn’t stop there for the summer as they hosted an Open House and campus tour in August. The entire campus was open for people from the parish and community to explore and hear parishioners talk on the history of our parish, to include the Immaculate Conception Chapel, the Day Chapel, the main church, and our many outdoor prayer gardens. St. John Hall displayed many artifacts from our parish's history and the construction of our main church.
Our Family Life Committee continued their yearly tradition of distributing blessed medals to hang on children’s backpacks. This year, in honor of our 150th anniversary, they used St. Joseph medals. Along with a blessing from Father, our children were ready for the new school year.
As a parish this summer we also celebrated Fr. Chris’s birthday with food, fellowship, and mariachis. We gave thanks for the gift of Fr. Abraham and the blessing that he was able to stay with us another year. We embraced new mass times and welcomed a new children-led Mass. The parish conducted Pastoral Council elections with the election of 3 new members: Robert LeDoux, Deborah Williamson, and Lawrence Stovall, and the re-election of Jorge Canales. Additionally, the parish successfully held the first BEHOLD fellowship celebration with over 470 attendees, thanks to the hard work and effort of the BEHOLD committee.
As our parish continues to grow, the Pastoral Council strives to represent each of our families and help foster the future of our parish.
