As I wrote last week, the Christ Cathedral Parish Assembly held on July 12, 2017, was an exciting and energizing evening. About 350 parishioners gathered in the Arboretum for the assembly which was designed to foster a sense of parish unity and to give participants an opportunity to ask questions and offer ideas for the immediate future of the parish. Since September 3, and continuing over the next few weeks, I will be using the Rector’s Column to answer the questions that were raised at the assembly that I did not get to that night.
Again, I am so inspired by the commitment to and concern for our parish that is exemplified through the many questions put forward. I hope you are finding these responses helpful and I look forward to continued conversation as we journey together as Christ Cathedral Parish.
Together in faith,
Very Reverend Christopher Smith, Rector
LITURGIES
Q. What will the new Mass schedule be?
A. The new Mass schedule has not yet been formulated. We will soon begin that process in consultation with Bishop Vann, the Parish Pastoral Council,Parish Finance Council, and other leadership within the parish.
Q. Will all the Masses be trilingual?
A. No. Although we want to express and achieve parish unity through Masses in multi-languages, having monolingual liturgies is also important.
Q. What will happen to all the choirs?
A. With a new Mass schedule, there will be some reorganization of the choirs. The specifics of that cannot be determined until the Mass schedule is developed.
Q. How will we consider the language needs of the younger generations of parishioners and visitors?
A. This is an important item which will be considered in the development of the Mass schedule for Christ Cathedral as well as the future development of our faith formation programs.
Q. Can we have a 6:30 am English Mass on Saturdays and holidays?
A. This is not realistic since we have a total of seven Masses on Saturdays. This includes two morningMasses, four time slots for weddings, quinceañeras or other celebrations, and the SundayVigil Mass. Combined with Sunday Masses there are 17 services on the weekend.