OUR CLERGY
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In today’s gospel, Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. The readings of this Sunday speak to us of the power of prayer. Abraham prayed for the sinful people of Sodom, asking the Lord not to destroy the just along with the unjust. Beneath this colorful description of the story lies the deep conviction of the power of prayer to change things. It is a conviction that Jesus shared with his disciples. Jesus taught them to pray the Our Father. The reason why Jesus had confidence in the power of prayer is found quite simply in the opening word: Abba. God is our father. He is not a remote figure. He is intimately close to us. A person who regards God as a “daddy” is someone who has complete confidence that God will act on his or her behalf. Prayer has the power to change things when we have that intimate, trusting relationship with God who is our father.
Moreover, Jesus did not simply teach his disciples a prayer, he taught them a whole attitude, a way of relating to God. Prayer is what we are about, not just here in Church but as people committed to Jesus Christ, to carry out his mission and to make the Kingdom visible to others. We need to nurture our dialogue with Jesus, to grow in our prayer life. We come to Mass to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a community and to reverence the Lord within us in communion. We call out to the Lord throughout our day to appreciate His loving presence in our daily life. Our days are meant to be united to God in prayer. Prayer expresses who we are, the People of God.
We need to pray. We are to treasure the presence of Christ within each of us, within our homes and in our community. We need to make time every day to recognize this presence within us. We need to pray. We need to stop and hear the Lord in the silence. We shall not allow any concerns of our lives to hide the only thing that matters, the presence of Jesus–His presence within us, His presence in those we love, His presence in those who reach out to us. We pray constantly because we are the People of God.
May God bless us all!
Fr. Joe
Christ the King Church was founded in 1940 to serve the African-American Catholics in High Point, and has since become a multi-ethnic parish celebrating both the diversity and unity of the Catholic faith and tradition. Then-Bishop Eugene F. McGuinness of Raleigh invited the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement of Graymoor, NY to staff the new mission in High Point in 1940. Father Bernardine Watson served as the first pastor, originally celebrating Mass in a funeral home. Through the generosity and perseverance of Father Watson and several benefactors, a clothing shop was acquired for use by the mission. While Mass continued to be celebrated there during much of 1941, the mission community members also turned their attention to building a new church and rectory on Kivett Drive. The new colonial-style church was dedicated by Bishop McGuinness Dec. 14, 1941.
During the 1940s and into the ’50s, the Christ the King parish community continued to grow. A school building and convent were built in 1949, and in 1950 the Franciscan Handmaids arrived from New York City to staff the school. The African-American communities, both Catholic and non-Catholic, of High Point, Thomasville and Greensboro were served by the new Christ the King School, which opened its doors to 50 students in September 1950. The friars continued their pastorate in High Point for the next several decades, cultivating a faith community that became continually more culturally diverse over time. A stained-glass window behind the church’s choir loft depicts that diversity, with Jesus surrounded by four individuals representing the African, Asian, European and Indian bloodlines that make up much of the parish community today.
Lowering enrollment, financial difficulties and the recalling of the sisters to New York forced Christ the King School to close in 1981. The diocesan office of education converted the school for use as a day care center, which began its operation in August 1981. That same year, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement arrived at Christ the King Church to conduct the religious education program and other ministerial work, including assisting at the day care center. The center, still located on parish grounds, is now privately operated and continues to serve the area.
Upon the friars’ leaving High Point in 1991, Christ the King Church became a diocesan parish in December of that year. Fathers Martin Madison and John Hoover served the parish until December 1994, when Father Philip Kollithanath, was appointed to Christ the King Church. Assisting in the advancing growth of the Christ the King community have been many commissions and ministries focusing on the spiritual , educational, multicultural and evangelical dimensions of the parish. Parishioners gather to engage in Bible study , to learn English as a Second Language, to put their faith into action in the local community and to celebrate their ethnicity. A Hispanic center and bilingual religious education program provide sharing and learning opportunities for English and Spanish speaking parishioners, and the parish African-American Ministry offers outreach programs benefiting the local region. The Women’s Guild, Altar Guild, 55+ Club and Young & Spirited Group are active in parish and community services, and the evangelization commission provides for the spiritual needs of homebound parishioners through its Visitation Ministry. The community of Christ the King Church looks ahead to expansion and renovation projects that will accommodate the needs of a growing parish. One hundred and sixty-one households currently make up the parish registry.