May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus be
with you! This quote from Pope John Paul's encyclical on the
Holy Spirit is a reminder to us, especially as we approach the
end of this millennium, that the Holy Spirit, Who is the soul
of the Church, is very much alive and active and in fact it is
His power through which the Church lives today. This is especially
important to us as a charismatic parish. While we are open to
all who wish to join us and we are deeply appreciative of all
our valued parishioners who have chosen to join the parish even
if they do not share fully in the charismatic experience, that
special way of the Spirit's acting is the hallmark of our foundation
and the reason for our continued existence as a parish. Our Bishop
has recently reconfirmed this charism of ours during his canonical
erection of the Parish and he took that opportunity to remind
each of us: "The parish's reliance on the power of the Holy
Spirit will offer a fresh vibrancy to the lives of your parishioners
and to those in the wider community." Each one of us, indeed,
as the Holy Father's encyclical points out, all Christians, are
called to rely on that power of the Holy Spirit. To the extent
that each of us yield to the Spirit's movement in our lives, we
will receive more and more of that vibrancy the Bishop spoke of.
The canonical erection of the Parish is the final stage in a
long evolution that began almost 20 years ago. As a reminder
to all of us of how the Lord Jesus has guided us, here are the
steps He has led us on that brought us to this point:
January 6th, 1979: Bishop Kenneth Povish establishes us as the Catholic Fellowship of the
Word of God.
Pentecost, May 18th, 1986: Bishop Kenneth Povish establishes us as a diocesan Catholic
association of the faithful and changes the name from the Catholic Fellowship of
the Word of God to the Christ the King Catholic Association.
Solemnity of Christ the King, November 24th, 1991: Bishop Kenneth Povish changes our
designation from that of a Catholic association of the faithful to that of a personal
parish and changes the name to Christ the King Catholic
Center.
September 9th, 1997: Bishop Carl Mengeling formally erects Christ the King as a
personal parish of the Diocese of Lansing and changes the name to Christ the
King Catholic Church.
During our evolution from the Catholic fellowship
of a charismatic covenant community to a personal parish of the
Diocese of Lansing, this process has had two very strong and consistent
features: first, the constant affirmation of our charismatic identity
and the support of that identity by our local Bishop and second,
whole-hearted participation by men and women dedicated to surrendering
to the Lordship of Jesus in the power of the Spirit in the heart
of the Church. All are welcome to join us, all are welcome to
come and "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!"
I commend you to the care of the Mother of God and the protection
of St. Michael.
Fr. Ed