Fall/Winter 2018

11507 Huffmeister RoadHouston, TX 77065

281-469-5533

Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church10th Dedication Anniversary of Our Church Building

Nov. 16-18, 2018Friday, Nov. 16

Celebrating 10 Years: Praying Together7 p.m. Solemn Evening Prayer

Saturday, Nov. 17 Celebrating 10 Years: Serving Our Community

8 a.m. Family Service Day5 p.m. Mass followed by a Birthday Reception

Sunday, Nov. 18 Celebrating 10 Years: Giving ThanksBirthday Receptions after all Masses2 p.m. “Our Heritage” Choir Concert

Celebrating 10 Years!

In this Issue

Letter From Your Pastor, Fr. Sean Horrigan 2

Teams Of Our Lady at the HoustonFood Bank 3Annual CtRCS ChiliCook-Off 3Choir Donates Books to Kenya 3 Advent Services, Liturgies & Giving 4Opt-in to Flocknote 5New RedeemerActivity Center 6

Dear friends in Christ,

I remember it like yesterday. It was October 13, 1975, late in the night. As I lay in my bed, I cried like a baby. The next day I would be 10 years old and I was not happy about it.

I didn’t want to be “double-digits” old. I was determined to stay nine forever. Ten years old seemed really old! Who would want to be 10 when you could remain a single digit forever?

Alas, when I awoke the next morning I was indeed 10 years old. It was the first of many lessons I would learn that time marches on. You can look back, but time is always pulling us forward. (For the record, now I’m happy to just wake up every morning, regardless of age!)

On Nov. 16, our beautiful church building will turn double-digits – it was 10 years ago on that day in 2008 that Cardinal DiNardo joined us for the dedication. Looking at that now iconic image on the front cover of this newsletter (a picture that has been around the world and featured in any number of stories about Church architecture), I’m moved with only good memories – no tears here!

I invite you to join us this year to celebrate 10 years of our “new” sanctuary. We’ll be celebrating the entire weekend of Nov. 16-18, with an evening of prayer on Friday, a day of service on Saturday, and then, of course, our celebration of Mass, and finally, a wonderful choir concert on Sunday afternoon. We’ll have receptions after all Masses (you can’t have a birthday without cake) and it promises to be a memorable weekend as we honor our sacred space.

Of course, a church building is but stone and wood. The Church itself is you! You are the Body of Christ! We are the Body of Christ! As we celebrate our home and recall how it came into being, we also look to the future with great hope. How can Christ the Redeemer go forth in mission? That’s the reason we gather every week in this beautiful space, so that we can give God fitting praise and then move outside the doors to bring Jesus to a world longing for His presence.

So while our anniversary celebration is but one weekend, our work as Church continues until Christ comes again in His glory. That’s why I’m especially excited about our Vision 2020 Strategic Plan that will help shape our mission at CtR in 2019 and 2020. We’ll be rolling that out when the new year gets underway, but I invite you to join us now as we celebrate our past with grateful hearts. By the way, in 2020 our community will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding. That’s another celebration that’s going to be great.

Don’t forget another terrific event happening the week before our anniversary celebration – the 5th annual Chili Cook-Off! This has quickly become the “must do” event on our fall schedule every year. We take up the entire back parking lot with 28 teams vying for the title of Chili Kings (or Queens). You can sample them all while enjoying a night of fun for the entire family. There’s music, live and silent auctions, food and drinks, games, and plenty of activities for young and old alike. Get your tickets now and don’t miss it!

Following all that fun in November we will turn our attention to the holy season of Advent in December. Page 4 of this newsletter has a listing of our many services throughout the season, including our Christmas Mass schedule. Please join us as we celebrate the great love of God who has given us the incarnation of His son, Jesus Christ.

That love of God is found everyday at CtR. It’s my prayer that you and your family will come be part of all the wonderful things happening at our parish, both under our now 10-year-old roof and out in the community. We may be double-digits, but that’s O.K. We’ve only just begun to grow! †

Peace,

Fr. Sean

2 www.ctrcc.comChrist the Redeemer Catholic Church

Fr. Sean teaching 2nd grade students aboutbaptism during their “Teddy Bear Blessing.”

From Fr. Sean Horrigan, Pastor

6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 The fifth annual Chili Cook-Off supports our students, staff and purpose - and continues a legacy of excellence in our learning environment. We can’t wait to see you Saturday, Nov. 10!

Chili Tasting * Food & Drinks * Entertainment *

Live & Silent Auction * & More!Buy Your Tickets - ctrschool.com/chili

Child Admission (ages 3-18): $12

Adult Admission: $22

Underwriting and Sponsorships are available online!

Florence Ojowa, a member of the Redeemer Choir, is a former teacher from Kenya. She led an effort to raise money for books for her previous school. She talked about how difficult it was for the students as several kids would try to gather around one book in a school room. The choir was very generous and donated many books to help these students! †

Teams of Our Lady members and their families volunteered at the Houston Food Bank recently. They made more than 1,500 boxes of food for senior citizens in our community.

“It was a wonderful experience to serve together as a group,” said leader Michele Snyder. “One of the most beautiful things about Teams of Our Lady is that we are continuously serving one another’s spiritual needs. Beyond ourselves, however, we desire to be able to physically serve God’s people side by side.”

Snyder said she believes there are two reasons why events like this are important for the Teams movement.

“First, it is critical that our entire sector feels connected as one body,” she said. “These events allow us all to come together, get to know one another, and feel linked with everyone in the Cypress Sector. It is team building for sure, but our individual teams are not islands.”

Snyder said these events remind them that they are

part of a larger, global movement through Teams of Our Lady. It also fosters the desire to participate on regional, national and international events. Secondly, she said it is important for Team members to serve the community and be the hands and feet of God who wants us to go and “love one another.”

“Serving others and helping them meet their needs is a call for all Christians,” Snyder said. “In our Team gatherings, we are always praying for the less fortunate and those in need or crises. At this event, we all experienced a very tangible way to do something that really matters. ”

Married couples are always welcome to inquire about joining a Team to connect in their marriage and further be the hands and feet of Christ. Visit ctrcc.com/teams. †

3 www.ctrcc.comChrist the Redeemer Catholic Church

Teams Of Our Lady Volunteers at the Houston Food Bank

Annual Chili Cook-Off Brings the Parish Together for Catholic Education

Choir Donates Books to Students in Kenya

Nov. 10

2018ctrschool.com/chili

4 www.ctrcc.comChrist the Redeemer Catholic Church

Advent Services & Liturgies

Giving at CtR During the Holiday Season

Thursday, Nov. 22 9 a.m. Mass Celebrating Thanksgiving

Sunday, Dec. 2 First Sunday of Advent

Friday, Dec. 7 5 p.m. Vigil Mass for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saturday, Dec. 8 - (Holy Day of Obligation) 9 a.m. Mass for the Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary

Monday, Dec. 10 6:30 p.m. Advent Penance Service (All Are Welcome!)

Wednesday, Dec. 12 8:30 a.m. Mass (with school) for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Monday, Dec. 17 7 p.m. Mass Celebrating Simbang Gabi (a Filipino Tradition)

Monday, Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve 4 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., Midnight Mass - in the Church Additional 4 p.m. Mass - in the Parish Hall

Tuesday, Dec. 25 - Christmas Day 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Masses only

Monday, Dec. 31 5 p.m. Vigil Mass for Mary, Mother of God

Tuesday, Jan. 1 - (Holy Day of Obligation) 9 a.m. Mass for Mary, Mother of God

The Our Mother Of Mercy Toy Drive is a CtR Christmas tradition! We donate toys to our sister parish, Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church. Drop off your toys in the narthex in December!

Help with The Giving Tree Project! CtR participates in a Giving Tree Project through Cypress Assistance Ministries (CAM). Give a Wal-Mart or Target gift card for $15 or $20 for distribution to families in need.

Give a financial Christmas gift to CtR through the Living Our Mission: Shaping Our Future Capital Campaign! This supports the Redeemer Activity Center. Give online at ctrcc.com/campaign.

We are excited to offer a Christmas ornament of our beloved CtR church building this year! The $15 ornament is a beautiful rendering of our 10-year-old church building. Be on the lookout in November!

Opt-in to connecting with Christ the Redeemer through Flocknote!

Text ctrcc to 84576 Join the more than 2,000 people who have connected with CtR for a new way of learning more about our Catholic faith!

Bishop Robert Barron of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has created a great ministry called Word on Fire (WoF). His knowledge and eloquence, coupled with top-notch video production, enables WoF to spread the Good News of our faith to people throughout the world. This library of video production is made available to Christ the Redeemer through Flocknote.

We offer mini- and full-version courses from WoF to all of our parishioners. We aim to send you a link to a new video every Tuesday and, as with all messages from Flocknote, you can opt to receive it via text or email. We will begin a new study in Advent, so opt-in to Flocknote today!

The WoF team is continuously adding new courses and videos so stay tuned for some great offerings. There will also be discussion questions to help focus your reflection as well as opportunities to ask questions, get feedback, and share observations with other members of the community.

We look forward to connecting with you and helping to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. †

5 www.ctrcc.comChrist the Redeemer Catholic Church

Fall/Winter 201811507 Huffmeister Road

Houston, TX 77065281-469-5533

www.ctrcc.com

Mass ScheduleSaturday, 5 p.m.

Sunday, 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 9 a.m.

Wednesday, 8:30 a.m., 7 p.m.

We opened our brand new facility, the Redeemer Activity Center (RAC), in August. The dedication and blessing with Cardinal DiNardo was a wonderful testament to our parish community and a great gift we can all enjoy. We’ve had several events in the gym, the auditorium and in the art room. Visit ctrcc.com/campaign for upcoming events in the RAC! †

Our Redeemer Activity Center is Up and Running

www.ctrcc.com6Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church