Dear parish family,

Beginning this week, renovations are being made to the church sanctuary to further beautify it. That place where we pray and worship God, where we celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass, and where Jesus himself rests in the tabernacle for our benefit, must be a place of inspiration and simple beauty. We come to worship in order to find the peace and joy that comes from our Father only through Jesus Christ. Our goal will always be to enhance our focus on Jesus and on the altar that represents his sacrifice for us, “once, for all.”

I am also happy to inform you that we will be renovating the office building in the coming months. What used to be the rectory and is now the parish office will be transformed into a multi-purpose activity center to serve our parish. The office part will be updated with a reception area and offices for myself and office staff, in order to better serve you. The rest of the areas will be made into an education center with movable walls giving us the ability to have one large room or two or three smaller rooms and will include a proper public-style restroom. For the success of St. Christopher as a parish, ongoing religious education is essential. I look forward to seeing our parish thirst more and more for knowledge about God and his Church in both youth and adult religious education programs.

I am most excited to announce that the office building garage will be transformed into an adoration chapel. It is not our power or abilities that bring forth the Kingdom of God, it is God himself who provides the grace we need. What we must do is cooperate and act upon God’s plan. Contemplative adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is a most excellent way to ensure we keep him first in our lives and in our plans. “When, in adoration, we look at the consecrated Host, the sign of creation speaks to us. And so, we encounter the greatness of his gift; but we also encounter the Passion, the Cross of Jesus and his Resurrection. Through this gaze of adoration, he draws us toward himself, within his mystery, through which he wants to transform us as he transformed the Host.” -Pope Benedict XVI.

All of this is only possible through great generosity of time, talent and treasure from the Body of Christ, his Church: you! I am so grateful for the kind and giving hearts that make all of this possible. Significant sacrifices of time and money have been received from our brothers and sisters at Our Lady of Fatima and Saint Thomas the Apostle parishes, but it is the giving spirit here at St. Christopher parish that will carry us forward into the bright future intended for us. I thank you for your generosity in the past and in the future. It is a great comfort to know that I have been brought to a place that is so filled with kind and giving people. I invite each one of you to seek God’s guidance, asking what gifts he wants you to give of your time, talent and treasure. It will take sacrifice in order to build his Kingdom at St. Christopher parish in the months and years ahead. Let us build treasure in heaven together by saying yes to God’s plan. And always remember, don’t forget to SMILE!

In Christ,

Fr. Edson