A Legacy of Faith - Raising up a Holy Place
Since 1964, we have been worshipping in a building that was constructed as a temporary church structure, for it was intended to be a permanent gym and parish hall. A parish planning process in the 1990's identified two major needs: a new school building and a new church building. A new school was built and completed in 1997, and the debt on that building was paid off in the Fall of 2007. Both the 2001 and 2004 Pastoral Plans for our parish identified a new church building as a top priority. The New Church Design Committee completed a schematic design which was revised in the Spring of 2008.
Thousands of vehicles pass our parish property every day on Hefner Road, and a beautiful new church would not only let people know we are here, but also draw them in to pray and to worship. Our new church design gives us a building with great acoustics, an abundance of natural lighting, and a beautiful space that is large enough (seating for 800 persons) for our community of faith. Our present structure only seats 475, which is too small for special functions at our main Sunday Mass at 10 a.m., and too small for the most important services of the year during Holy Week. With two priests serving our parish, we presently have five Masses on a weekend with attendance between 1700-1800 people. However, if only one priest served St. Eugene Parish, the Mass schedule would need to be reduced, with fewer Masses, a new church would be come a necessity.
I am grateful to the members of the New Church Design Committee for designing a church building that speaks to us of the beauty and wonder of God, will elevate our worship of God, and will strengthen our community of faith. I ask you to prayerfully consider a generous gift to help us raise up a holy place for those faithful people who will come to worship at St. Eugene in the next 50 years.
May God bless you,
Rev. Joseph A. Jacobi, Pastor
New Church Updates