Christ the King Catholic Church Oklahoma City | www.ckokc.org | ADVENT-CHRISTMAS 2016 magazine CK Sacred Space Staff Dear Parishioners Directory It’s hard to believe that Christmas and a New Year are rapidly coming upon us. With the weather that PARISH OFFICE we have had it is not, as the song says, “beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” However, Advent Pastor gives us the opportunity to truly prepare in a Rev. Richard Stansberry spiritual way for Christmas, and a new year gives Business Manager us the opportunity to reflect back on the old year Patrick Cullen and look forward to the new one. The reality of life [email protected] is that one never knows what will happen in a new year and 2016 certainly had its share of surprises. Communications & Webmaster The world that we are living in grows ever more Kelly Fanning complex and, sadly, more and more divided. That is why it is up to us as people of [email protected] faith to do all that we can to help make the world a better place. Certainly there are Membership & Scheduling many challenges, but there have been challenges of one kind or another since the Jayne Clarke beginning of time. I hope that all of you have a wonderful Advent, Christmas and [email protected] New Year’s, and know that as your pastor one of the things I am most grateful for Music Ministry is being able to be here with you and serve you. I know that I cannot be all things Edwin Day, Director/Organist to all people at all times, but I think we have worked well together and together we [email protected] will continue to build the Kingdom of God and go out and make Disciples. Bob Shull, Assistant Director We have received the results from the Gallup organization about our recent [email protected] parish survey and a 3-hour webinar with them to go over the results. While the session was good, it was somewhat over my head (and others, too), so we are still Nursery working with Gallup to help formulate some practices going forward that will position Becky Cornelius, Coordinator us to become a more engaged parish. For the most part the survey confirmed [email protected] what we already knew – only about 20% of our parish is actively engaged in the Discipleship & Evangelization life of the parish, which can be disappointing but is not that far below the average Jenni Butch, Director of most other churches. There were several positives in the survey indicating that [email protected] many of our parishioners are satisfied with their lives. However, there were also Cindy Rice, Secretary areas that most of us can improve upon, such as spending more time in prayer, [email protected] reaching out to others and volunteering. We have a committee which is made up Margaret Tunell, Secretary of members from the Stewardship Committee, Parish Council, as well as the staff, [email protected] Dana Hill and Chip Carter, and we have been working very hard with the Gallup organization to produce a report with more practical and less statistical info, which Parish Life will be easier to understand and act on. Pam Cullen, Director What does it mean to be engaged? Engaged members are engaged not only [email protected] in their own faith life, but in the life of the parish through participation in Mass and Kathy Arambula, Secretary the Sacraments on a regular basis. They also volunteer and encourage others [email protected] to do so. One of the blessings of our parish is that we are somewhat above Youth Ministry average in household income and education levels. On the flipside we all know Antonio Guzman, Director that sometimes that means we are involved in so many activities and events that [email protected] Church gets put on a lower priority. That certainly doesn’t mean that people with higher incomes and education don’t value faith and their relationship with God, SCHOOL OFFICE but it can mean that they are busy with many obligations. We all know how hard Amy Feighny, Head of School, PK-8 it is to juggle family, work and the many other charities and organizations that so [email protected] many of you are involved in. I am always so proud when I go to non-profit and Robert Crump, Head of School, Jr High civic events around the city of how many of our parishioners are involved. [email protected] The reality is that for many people being not that engaged seems perfectly fine. Helen McBennett, Secretary Neither I nor the committee intends to judge people or tell them how to establish [email protected] their priorities. Our goal is to try to come up with ways to encourage more people Vanessa Pierce, Financial Secretary to be involved and actively engaged than the 20% who currently are. It’s rare to [email protected] ever get much above 25-30% in any parish, but the more engaged all of us are, Mary Schrantz, Advancement Director the more we can do. I will give you some examples of things that have happened [email protected] recently that originated with parishioners (rather than from me or the staff). The CK Magazine is a publication of Christ the King Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is edited by Kelly Fanning, printed locally and provided free of charge to all parishioners. On the Cover: Interior of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Photo credit: Fr. Rick Stansberry. No commercial advertising is accepted. Christ the King Catholic Church is part of the Archdiocese of To share your stories of faith, ministry, or photographs that will be appreciated by the Oklahoma City and is located at 8005 Dorset Dr. in Nichols Hills. broader community, contact Kelly Fanning at [email protected]. 2 Jail Ministry, Marriage in His Image (a group that fosters good marriages), St. Inside Anne’s Society (a group of young mothers that meets regularly to support each other and reach out to the community), the expanded Women’s Prayer Breakfast, This Issue Ladies of Grace, renewed interest in the Knights of Columbus and the CK Fun 2 Dear Parishioners... Run, which was a huge success. These are just a few examples of the wonderful 3 Giving Sunday ministries that our parishioners initiated, parishioners who are engaged and get Thanksgiving Thank You others engaged, too. My prayer for the new year is that all of us grow closer to God and to each 4 Personal Prayer other, because the world needs us. And when we are Disciples we can make 5 Comedic Opera Inspired by Art Disciples. God bless you all. Restoration Disaster Youth Choir 7 Sacred Space 8 Georgetown Announces Steps to Make Amends for Slave Sale 10 What Is A Leader? Adoration 11 Human Trafficking and the Consumer 12 Happy Birthday, Pope Francis 14 An Interview with Cardinal Koch Giving Sunday 15 Advent Activities 16 Next Synod Theme: Youth and December 10-11, 2016 Discernment 17 Catholic Thinkers on Contraception pencils 18 Unity Not the Same as Uniformity crayons 19 Catholic Schools Week copy paper 20 MIT Hosts First Gold Mass Leave glue sticks 21 Shenanigans at Mother unwrapped basket balls Angelica’s First Vows donations for North facial tissue 22 Latin Law Modified to Address Highland under the hand sanitizer Ministry to Eastern Catholiccs 23 The Face of Mercy - A Film Advent tree colored markers dry erase markers Christmas Gifts for St. Ann’s 24 Too Ashamed to Go to children’s gloves & hats Confession? electric pencil sharpers Jesus Radically Sets Us Free Christmas Cards for Inmates Marriage In His Image Marriage Preparation Retreat 26 Science of Sexual Orientation 27 Pilgrimage to Fatima, Lourdes Women’s Christmas Coffee A Heartfelt Thank You ! 28 Catholic Bioethics The St. Lawrence Ministry really appreciates the response of the parish to its 30 DiNardo, Gómez Head USCCB Thanksgiving Basket Program. We were able to make Thanksgiving special for Catholic Social Teaching over 70 families. On behalf of our clients, thank you to those who donated dinners and money to this project. The generosity of our parishioners is overwhelming 31 Thank You, Nichols Hills and is appreciated by our clients. Cleaners 3 He invites everyone must seize those moments—and they to be his companion are moments—when short prayers and, in the process, to become gems of prayer. They may become his disciple. express relief, thanksgiving for a favor And then like those received, or help at that moment to first followers, to go restrain our tempers. In prayer, God will out to our world where tell us how to begin. God will teach us “Christ plays in ten- how to pray. thousand places.” Muslims pray five times a day: ‘Allah is great, there is none greater.’ Personal Prayer Their devotion edifies those of us who Friendship with the may protest that there is little or no time Lord is far more during the day for prayer. important than any Priests and those in consecrated other. To cultivate a life should be able to arrange their By Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, CSJ/The Way of Beauty close relationship, time for prolonged periods of prayer it’s essential to in addition to spiritual reading, praying “I’m not a religious person, but I am a spend time alone The Liturgy of the Hours and the daily spiritual person.” So goes a common with him in personal prayer, the time examen. The monastic vocation is protestation among young and old when Jesus transforms us from self- largely one of spending long hours in alike.