The House of God, the Gate of Heaven
As we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (a mouthful), the mother church of all Catholicism and the seat of the pope, we turn our attention to our own parish campus. We intuitively know that St. Stephen Catholic Church is more than just a building. It is the people that give shape to what this parish will become. Without you, we would have a nice, but useless, building because the building exists for the people. That’s why we’re striving to make the campus more and more adapted to the needs of our community as it is today and into the future. We should all be grateful for the many ways that previous pastors like Fr. Liska and other key parish leaders designed and planned many features to our campus that benefit us immensely. We have a large parking lot to accommodate big groups of worshippers. Our grounds are well-designed to be neither overly ornamental or complicated, but pleasing to the eye. The large and open narthex enables people to gather before and after Mass and the glass windows into the church proper allow parents to care for fussy kids without losing sight of our worship. The commons and the kitchen are constructed for robust hospitality events that bring our community together. The chapel with its high altar is both elevated and intimate as we worship there each weekday. The church itself is spacious and warm, emphasizing both the transcendence and the closeness of God.
As I’ve spent more time here at St. Stephen, it’s become more and more clear to me that our church wasn’t constructed to be complete and unchanging when the dedication was celebrated on November 22nd, 2009. There remains the work of adorning and expanding that will enhance and repurpose the space we have to better serve the needs of the present and the future. Stay tuned for more opportunities to support these efforts to make our campus more beautiful and more welcoming to future generations. I am particularly excited for the installation of the stained glass window of Pentecost above the sanctuary at the end of this month (or possibly at the beginning of the next). I’ve attached a few photos of the work in progress. I hope that it greatly elevates the beauty of our church and draws our hearts and minds to God. I also pray it continues to inspire us to act like the apostles on Pentecost and feel emboldened to bring more and more of our family, friends, and neighbors to church with us. God bless!
