Bulletin for July 22

Dear friends in Christ,

Our Gospel today from St. Mark contains what I think is one of the most comforting and beautiful lines in all of Scripture: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Those words of Jesus always strike me as being so tender. What a gentle invitation it is to “rest a while.”

Summer is an ideal time to do so, if you can escape the heat of Houston. That’s not always feasible for everyone or even practical when our summer schedules are already packed with so many activities. Still, these words of our Lord deserve to be taken to heart. We don’t have to go to the beach or the mountains to take up Jesus on His invitation. “Coming away” might be as simple as stopping into the Adoration Chapel to spend an hour “resting” with Him, or it might be unplugging from our phone, computer, or tablet (all the noise) and being still in the presence of the One who calls us by name. Try it and discover a rest unlike any other.

At the end of each fiscal year (June 30) all parishes of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are asked to complete a pastoral report that gives a snapshot of the local church. Every year I like to share this information with the parish family as it gives us a good overview of the sacramental life and ministry of our community of Christ the Redeemer.

The first number won’t come as a surprise – we continue to grow at a strong rate. CtR now numbers 7,065 families, an addition of 371 families from last year. For the past several years we have averaged anywhere from between 200-300 new families yearly, so this year’s spike is a little higher than previous and takes us over the 7,000 family threshold. Perhaps it is the uptick in the economy or a post-Harvey jump (or maybe people just like us!), but for whatever reason we continue to see new families every week. As I always say, come one, come all. We’ll make room. All are welcome here!

As we welcome all who have joined the parish in the past year, I also remind you that if you’ve been attending a while and haven’t yet registered, please do so today. It’s quick and easy to do – just stop by the information desk in the narthex (by the welcoming monitor) after any Mass and pick up a form or register online at our parish website.

We baptized 160 babies this past year, which is 29 less than last year, but we also baptized an additional 60 children aged 1-7 years old. Given that the U.S. birth rate has dipped the last several years it may not be that surprising that our overall number of baptisms will fluctuate somewhat from year to year. This Sunday we begin a new aspect of our baptismal ministry with the sacrament now being offered in Spanish. ¡Bienvenidos los ninos!

In regards to adults in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, we continue to grow through that wonderful ministry. We baptized 20 adults and teens at the Easter Vigil and then welcomed another 16 adults into full communion with the Catholic Church. We have approximately 75 people at some stage of preparation in RICA at the moment, including 14 who were formally recognized last week at the 9 a.m. Mass as part of the Rite of Welcome (they’ll be received into the Church just before Advent). Perhaps you know of a family member, friend or co-worker who has asked you what the Catholic faith is all about. Invite them to come to RCIA and learn more about it. Of course it would be great if you would accompany them on the journey as a sponsor.

One area we saw a noticeable drop was in our Religious Education program. It’s still one of the largest programs in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, but it was down about 225 kids to 1,953 enrolled. One major reason for the drop was Hurricane Harvey, which as you will recall hit in late August last year, right before the start of our R.E. year. Every pastor I’ve spoken to said their parish saw a similar decrease. We were all in such flux for a few months after Harvey that it seems a number of families, having missed the start of the year, opted to forego registering at all. That’s unfortunate, but perhaps somewhat understandable. Our R.E. Department is going to re-double its efforts to contact those families and invite them to rejoin us this year.

We helped 382 children celebrate First Reconciliation and First Communion this past year, a slight increase over the previous year. We also had 214 teens, mostly sophomores in high school, along with 24 adults receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. When you factor in the enrollment in our CtR Catholic School (which is projected to be right at 450 students this fall) and the number of parents who choose home-based educational opportunities (approved by the Church) for their children, we are ministering to about 2,500 children. We owe a great deal of thanks to our hard-working R.E. and Youth Ministry departments who help catechize all these children and their parents throughout the year.

To do all of that, we need committed parents who will bring their kids to both Mass and class, along with faith-filled catechists to help us pass on the love of God to our children. If you have young children, please make religious education a priority for both them and yourself. The new R.E. year will begin this fall on Catechetical Sunday, Sept. 16. R.E. registration will open on Wednesday, Aug. 1 and run throughout the month of August, so put it on your calendar and join us. Register online.

Finally, we celebrated 70 marriages at CtR this past year, a big jump over the 47 from last year, and we commended to Almighty God the souls of 48 of our brothers and sisters in Christian funerals, eight more than the previous year. Usually, for some strange reason, the number of weddings and funerals closely parallel one another. It’s one of the odd quirks of Church life, but this year the weddings far outpaced the funerals, which I guess is a good thing!

Statistics like these are interesting to track from year-to-year but in the end they are just numbers. We know the real beauty of our church is in the people behind the numbers. Every person in every one of our more than 7,000 families has a story to tell about what God is doing in his or her life. God has called each of us by name. How will we respond to that call in our lives? It will differ for each one of us no doubt, but we all must respond. Make it your solemn pledge this year to grow in your own journey with the Lord. Deepen your prayer life, get involved in a ministry or two, become more generous — in short, pledge to be an intentional disciple and a good steward of the gifts that God has given you.

Next week I’ll share with you the second half of our annual report which will include a deep dive into our budget and an overall look at our financial report. Operating a parish like CtR requires the generous sacrifice of everyone and I am forever grateful for your weekly Stewardship that enables us to provide so much for so many who call CtR home.

Peace,
Fr. Sean