The anniversary Mass is one in a series of events the parish has planned for the year. Anniversary events will also include a concert in the park in September and Family Fun Festival in October before ending with a parish retreat in February 2014. As Fr. Felker prepares to retire, the new pastor is expected to organize other anniversary events.
In anticipation of the parish’s anniversary, a video showcasing the history of the parish was created and made available on the parish’s YouTube channel in September.
“We started in a nothing area and 110 years later we have a very large parish community,” Fr. Felker said in the video.
In recent years the parish has focused its attention on reaching out to the community. Volunteers commit themselves each week to collecting and preparing food for the needy. Close to 30 percent of volunteers from the city’s Meals on Wheels program are parishioners, Fr. Felker said.
As the parish looks to the future, it looks forward to continued growth in its ministries.
“I see that we need more space. We hope to add a preschool and day care in the school,” Fr. Felker said.