Notre Dame Parish Center is blessed in Price
PRICE — It was an exciting day as the community of Price came together for the blessing of the Notre Dame Parish Center Nov. 23, on the Feast of Christ the King. The new Parish Center is across the street from Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church. "Father Don Hope, we congratulate you and your parishioners for this great accomplishment," said the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, in his homily at a Mass celebrated prior to the dedication. The Mass was concelebrated by Bishop Wester, Vicar General Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald. Father Colin Bircumshaw, pastor of Saint Ann Parish, and former pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish, and Fr. Hope, pastor of Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish, Mission San Rafael in Huntington, Mission Good Shepherd in East Carbon, and Mission Saint Michael the Archangel in Green River. Chancellor Deacon Silvio Mayo was deacon of the Mass. Dignitaries in attendance for the dedication of the Parish Center were Father Athanasios Emmert of Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, Mayor Joe Piccolo, and parishioner Stephen Cha of the Notre Dame steering committee. "After much work and prayer by so many members of your parish, we gather now to bless this new parish center," said Bishop Wester in the ceremony. "Here the young will learn of their Catholic faith and adults will deepen their commitment to live as Christ has taught us." Bishop Wester said blessings are meant for people, but we also bless things in the church that people use, so the classrooms, the chapel, the kitchen, and the social space were all sprinkled with holy water. He asked God to bless this Parish Center and all those who enter its doors, that they come in peace, they leave in peace, God’s spirit will always dwell there, and this will always be a place of comfort. "This catechetical center is a place where this parish and this larger community will center around Christ, the light of the world," said Bishop Wester. "It is a place where children will come to be taught their faith, couples will come to prepare for the sacrament of marriage, families will come to prepare funerals and to grieve or to pray for their loved ones. People will come here to learn about becoming stewards as they prepare for confirmation, learn about the mercy of Jesus as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to praise God, and some members of the community will be inspired to go to the seminary to become a priest, deacon, or religious. Bishop Wester said this is a place that is holy, that is sacred, where people will gather to be nourished, to celebrate joys, sorrows, triumphs, and glories, and just to come together to recognize that Christ is always the unseen host of every meal, table, classroom, gathering, and of every dialog. "I want to thank Bishop Wester, Msgr. Fitzgerald, Fr. Bircumshaw, and Deacon Mayo for coming to be with us," said Fr. Hope. "They have roots of one sort or another to Carbon County. I want to thank Fr. Athanasios. The Assumption Greek Orthodox leaders have been so gracious to us these last several years letting us use their religious education center, and making us feel at home. Words cannot express the thanks we have for your generous hospitality." "I want to thank Franciscan Father Edward Metzger, administrator of Saint Anthony of Padua Parish, Mayor Piccolo, and all the city and county planning agencies who were so helpful and gave us so much support. I want to thank board members Catherine Kane and Judy Beacco. They have a deep and abiding faith, a great love for the Church. I can call them 24 hours, seven days a week, and they would never say no out of their love for the Lord and their great love for the people of Notre Dame. "The Community Center is a beautiful building, but the building is not what makes us church," said Fr. Hope. "It is when we come to worship the Lord that the building becomes church. You are the living stones, and you are the sign of Catholic presence in Carbon County. For 75 years we were privileged to have a full-time Catholic school. Now it is our religious education program, with dedicated teachers who share their faith with our young people. The real presence is in the living stones. We go out from our religious education center now to touch the lives of the community; to make Jesus present in our words and in our actions." Mayor Piccolo said he had the opportunity to become friends with Bishop Wester a year ago during the tragedy of the miners in Crandall Canyon. I have been friends with Fr. Hope for a long time, and the gratitude I have for Bishop Wester goes far beyond construction of this building. This building and Notre Dame Church are an icon of the Catholic community. This is the season for thanksgiving, and we could not have picked a more appropriate time to meet together today with the hopes in our hearts that this community will be made better with this facility standing here. I want to let you know, on behalf of my wife, that we love you and what you have done in our community, and we are part of that. This is a beautiful new center, and it will go forward to help make life better in Price, and in Carbon County." Steve Cha, the son of a coal miner, parishioner, and member of the steering committee, said there are many people who need to be thanked for putting this facility together, who helped with the fund raising, and helped along the way. The Over the Rainbow continuing fund raiser got the parish started with donations. Fr. Athanasios helped us continue our Sunday school program, with Pamela Cha and Roy Nikas, who served on the board of the Assumption Orthodox Greek Church. Cha said this center will continue the heritage Carbon County has had for many years in allowing them to pass on the spiritual understanding and training needed in life. "We are a strong group in Carbon County, made up of various cultures and faiths, and that is what makes this town and our faith so special," said Cha. "This accomplishment will carry on for as long as the church and school is carried on because we have that dedication." "I also want to thank the LDS seminary from Carbon High School, who generously allowed us space so we could continue our released time program for our high school students," said Fr. Hope. "I would like to thank the members of the LDS Church who opened their hearts to us and allowed us to continue sharing our faith in their facilities. "I want to give a special thanks to Fr. Hope," said Bishop Wester. "He is a splendid master in every way. He is a very down-to-earth man, a man of God, a man of the Church. He lives very simply, and he lives simply for you. He is very dedicated to his parish. I want to "I want to say how grateful we are to you Fr. Hope for all that you do," said Bishop Wester. Notre Dame has had 16 pastors since 1873 and many associate priests. There were 103 Daughters of Charity that served Notre Dame Parish from 1927 to 1998. "The Daughters of Charity were a Godsend to Notre Dame," said Fr. Hope. "There needs were probably more than what were met sometimes. They were so generous in giving of themselves." Religious education has been a part of Notre Dame since before 1927, as it started in the church basement sometime before. The crucifixes and the Blessed Mother statues are those that were used in the Notre Dame School. Four bricks from the original school building are included in the structure of the new building. All the furnishings in the classrooms are from Notre Dame School. Parishioner Mario Lopez painted a portrait of Pope John Paul II, which he and his wife donated.
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