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Wednesdays at the Cathedral: Savoring God’s Graces and Fostering a Community of Formation
Thanks to ministries like Wednesdays at the Cathedral, our parish is more than just a church building. It is an oasis of spiritual graces, a guiding light, a refuge of hope, and a spiritual home filled with brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Wednesdays at the Cathedral gives parishioners the opportunity to get to know one another and form community while fostering their ongoing faith formation and conversion,” Fr. Kastl says.
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When the ministry was first launched in 2015, it included a weekly evening of formation and fellowship for the whole family. The evening began with Mass, followed by a family-friendly meal served in the Parish Hall. After dinner, children attended Religious Education classes, and parents were invited to hear a speaker. At the time this ministry was launched, our parish was the only one in the area offering a program of this nature. Some of the local presentations that were offered included an ecumenical panel of local pastors discussing the Reformation and presentations about Fr. Stanley Rother, as well as a live local Catholic radio program, The Catholic Man Show. Some of the outside speakers included Dr. Edward Sri, Fr. David Meconi, and John Martignoni. On occasion, the speaker and topic would be geared for audiences of all ages. One such time was when the ministry invited a local expert, Joey Spencer, to give a presentation on angels. Many of our parish school families attended that night.
“About once a quarter we did a service project as an outreach of this ministry,” says Ministry Coordinator Monica Conro. “For example, we served a meal and did manual labor at Catholic Charities. We occasionally took field trips, as well. For example, we were hosted by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. We said evening prayer with them, listened to a presentation, and were treated to customary Greek desserts.”
Sadly, most of our parish ministries were paused in January 2020 while our campus underwent major renovations. With the onset of the pandemic just months later, our parish was not able to offer any in-person ministries until Advent of 2020.
The great news is that Wednesdays at the Cathedral will now be meeting regularly again, although with a less encompassing, yet more specific focus on adult faith formation.
“Looking to the future, we hope to re-launch Wednesdays at the Cathedral as a monthly speaker series,” Fr. Kastl says. “To simplify it, it will be reopened with a different format. It will be once a month and will feature a speaker and heavy appetizers. The topics covered will range from faith and morals to spiritual topics, such as how to better foster faith in your home.”
