CatholicWeb Demo Church Web Site at 108 Chapman Ave, Sanford, FL 55555 US - Our Church History

Come Join Us!

Sample History Page (EZ Tip: This is a sample "About Page" item. This item should also display on the About page when completing the "Teaser" paragraph.) Our Parish began as a mission on September 1, 1990. Meeting in the cafeteria of the local Elementary school, we quickly grew to two hundred families before December of 1990. Today, we have over 2,800 registered families. When the Bishop designated our church to start a mission, members of the new community formed a building committee, representing various aspects of parish life. Representatives were chosen from Liturgy, Religious Education, Administration/Business, Social Development, Finance and others. The members attending the mission voted on everything from the names of the new parish to be submitted to the Bishop to the style of the building. The bishop selected our Church name -from the top five recommendations submitted by the parish members, and the pastor approved the final design of the structure. When the building was completed, a dedication rite was celebrated. The bishop blessed water, sprinkled the people, who are the temple of God, and then the walls of the building, which houses the people of God. The bishop recited the prayer of dedication. He then anointed the altar and walls with sacred chrism oil making it a perpetual symbol of Christ in Christian worship. The church was filled with incense, symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ and our prayers rising to God. The turning on of the lights and bringing in of living plants and flowers symbolized the life within the church. Places of importance: Blessed Sacrament Chapel - Eternal Light - Chapel - Designed by a local Architect and built by a the general contractor who is also a parishioner. Crucifix - Sanctuary - designed and created by one of our parishioners. Stations of the Cross - located along the back wall of the Nave, beginning from the Choir side, and finishing over windows looking into the chapel. Created by a Chicago artist. Donated by members of the parish. Statue of the Image of Mary with the Children of the world: Located in the chapel - dedicated to the blessed mother. Stained Glass - The main window, a six-sided (hexagon), has long been a church symbol for the six days of creation. We combined the outward shape with a modern day rose window. This circular design is centuries old and encompasses symbolically the whole of our faith. Often the cross of the resurrection was used as the center of the rose. The light blue cross is the focal point of the window with rich jewel tones surrounding it. Deep reds, roses, golds and blues are symbolic of the glorification of Christ and the Virgin. The rose represents Mary and the cross represents our Lord. The window embodies the beginning of our Father’s creation to his fulfillment of our salvation in our brother's death and resurrection. The Baptistery Window - The symbolism of water and fire - one window depicts a descending dove with living waters streaming forth against a cross form, which would be abstracted and used through out the church, acting as a unifier. The second window shows baptism by fire, a purification symbol used in the early church. In both windows, the circular back of the symbols represents the womb. This chapel echoes with the mystery faith acting as a sheltering womb-like place, a place where energy and new life emanates. The windows to the right of the Sanctuary - Music plays an important role in our worship. We have a strong presence of music and song in our liturgies. When selecting a theme for the window, the pastor received many opinions encouraging him to have music depicted in the window. The artist added a more personal aspect when she incorporated a French horn, and a mandolin, a personal favorite of the donor. Again following the theme of "Lord may our prayers rise like incense in your sight, may this place be filled with the fragrance of Christ". The window to the left of the Baptistery - depicts six doves entwined with incense rising to God. Blessed Sacrament Tabernacle - Windows reflect wheat (bread) used in the recollection of the Last Supper as the body of Christ; and grapes (wine) used to represent the blood of Christ out poured. The History of Our Sanctuary Crucifix A local artist and member of our parish, created the crucifix. The cross is 16-ft. tall, 9 ft. Wide, 4 in. thick. It is made of cedar. The risen Christ is 7 ft. High. The body of Christ and drape are made from a block of foam 4' x 9' x 2'. After carving the design, it was covered first with bondo putty, then a resin fiberglass compound. A primer with a base coat of white for the body and baby blue for the shroud was applied. A wash of blue on white and purple on blue followed to give the effect you see. The sculpture is called "The Rising". The feeling that you have should be a private one. Whether it is a good feeling or bad. The sculpture is only designed to make you think and feel.

(Back)