Celebration, Florida Church Dedicated
March 18, 2010 by Jim Siegel
Filed under Around Town
Father Gregory Parkes (left), pastor of Celebration’s Corpus Christi Catholic Church, leads an overflow congregation in thanking Orlando Diocese Bishop Thomas Wenki (seated, third from left) on the occasion of the January 16 formal dedication of their new church on Celebration Avenue. It was Bishop Wenski who created the parish, directed the purchase of the land, and supported the parishioners during the fund-raising and construction phases. The two-hour dedication rite that makes a structure and altar sacred is heavy on both ritual and prayer, and its purpose is to prepare the faithful to receive the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is Christ’s body and blood. The dedication ritual originated in the fourth century and has evolved since. Over time, more expressive and ceremonial elements were added to the dedication, including the sprinkling of holy water, rubbing the top surface of the altar with scared chrism, and the anointing of the church’s walls with oil. Said Bishop Wenski at the conclusion of the Dedication Mass, “God really does not need this temple — the earth and all that it contains is his temple. No, God didn’t need this church. You did. The people of Celebration needed this new temple … so that you could worship in better surroundings, with more adequate seating, so that your celebrations would be more fitting for the Sacred Mysteries that you are celebrating.” Weekend masses are 5:30 pm Saturday, and on Sunday at 8:30 am, 10:30 am, and 5:30 pm.
Originally posted 2010-02-11 23:01:53.
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