and welcome to our community !

Welcome to our home on the Internet. Here you will find the latest news and information about our community.  Please take a moment to visit the online calendar for upcoming events and our News page for featured articles as well as view a slide show of our church..  We hope you enjoy your visit and encourage you to check back often for updates!

PASTORAL PLAN

  2008 and beyond

VISION STATEMENT:

As a Parish, we the members of Pope John XXIII Catholic Community, share in a broader vision of where we have come from (our origins), who we are as a

people (our identity), and where we are going (our final destiny). This vision is articulated in the inspired writings of Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels, and in the practices and teachings of the Catholic Church down through the ages, especially the directives of the Second Vatican Council

MISSION STATEMENT:

Pope John XXIII Catholic Community is a newly formed parish dedicated to blending the plurality and diversity of our parishioners into the unity of the Body of Christ. We are dedicated to living the teachings of Jesus Christ and the practices of Catholic sacramental life in the midst of our modern society. We commit ourselves to the rich variety of lay and clerical ministries within and beyond our parish community. As a people under the patronage of Pope John XXIII, we realize the need to be especially concerned with the spiritual life, liturgical renewal, ecumenism, justice and our relationship to the world in which we live.

Goal I          To further develop and expand the vibrant, Christ-centered ministerial life in our parish in order

                     to help build the kingdom of God in the Canal Winchester/Lithopolis area, we commit to:

Objective 1        provide opportunities for our parishioners to grow spiritually by gathering with each other in a wide variety of small groups,

                         focusing on many different interests

Objective 2        expand our ecumenical involvement by continuing to work with the area ministerial associations and to explore the possibility of

                         developing deeper involvement of the lay members of the various churches

Objective 3        deepen our understanding of our parish community’s relationship with other groups within the broader civic community

                         and thus to increase our participation in more community events and social services activities

Goal II       To continue to build unity, hospitality and fellowship in our parish family by continually involving, supporting and appreciating all our parishioners and by lovingly recruiting, welcoming and integrating new parishioners into our community, we commit to:

Objective 1          be more sensitive to the makeup of our parish regarding age, life experience, family status, occupation, physical ability,

                           etc. in order to better support and involve all members of our parish family

Objective 2           review and evaluate our current approach to welcoming new parishioners and look at creative new ways to integrate them

                            into our parish family

Objective 3           increase hospitality and fellowship within our parish by providing a wider variety of social activities

Goal III      To insure that we properly fund our parish life and programs that we reduce the debt on Phase One in

                    a timely manner and that we continue to develop the long range campus plan, we commit to:

Objective 1           develop a wide variety of fundraising activities to fund the continuing development of Phase One site improvements

Objective 2            periodically review, evaluate, and update our long range future master plan

Objective 3           continue to monitor the long range financial stability of our parish by annually assessing the results of our "Pledge Sunday" program

HISTORY OF OUR COMMUNITY

Several years ago, Pope John XXIII Parish was merely an idea...today it is a living, ever growing actuality!  Monsignor Anthony Frecker, filled with the love of Jesus Christ, and a total commitment to build God's church, began gathering his flock in the spring of 2000.  The 'parish office' consisted of Monsignor's car, and a cell phone.  We've come so far since then.  Twenty two families registered at the first of three Town Hall Meetings which were held in the Canal Winchester High School Cafetorium.  At the conclusion of the third meeting, the number of families registered had grown to fifty three.  After prayerful consideration our Parish took the name of Pope John XXIII...a very humble and holy man who championed the love and compassion of Jesus Christ with his every word and deed.  Our first Mass as a parish family was held in July, 2000.  Our parish continued to grow, and by October 1, 2000, the number of families totaled one hundred and sixty eight.   On October 13th, 2000, Bishop James Griffin formally installed Monsignor Frecker as our Parish Pastor.  In the meantime, the new parish rectory was nearing completion, and a second Sunday Mass was added.  We began celebrating Mass at 5 p.m. on Saturday evenings at Faith Methodist Church, and two Masses on Sundays in the Canal Winchester High School Cafetorium; the first at 9 a.m. and the second at 11:30 a.m.  Parish Council, its commissions, PSR, RCIA, Adult Sunday School, Small Group Faith Sharing, Community Ministry, Youth Ministry and many other programs were up and running. The parish family continued to grow, and as it did, and continues to do, our bond grows stronger.  In late April of 2004 our Phase I Building was completed and we began gathering for Mass as a church family in May.  We now have our own church home located at 5170 Winchester Southern Road NW, Canal Winchester, Ohio.  Our growth is such that we have added another Mass to our Sunday Mass schedule.  We continue to have Mass at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and our new Sunday Mass schedule is 8:30 a.m., 10:15 a.m. and 12 Noon.   In all this, our main focus continues to remain that of mirroring the gospel of love and compassion (to ALL people) as demonstrated by Jesus Christ.  Our parish theme song is "ALL ARE WELCOME" and assuredly, everyone is!  We have been blessed indeed!

HISTORY OF OUR PATRON, POPE JOHN XXIII

Pope John XXIII reigned for only five years, but left an indelible mark on the Church.  He was born Angelo Roncalli, one of thirteen children to a peasant farm family in northern Italy.  He was a very humble man of God and acutely aware of the problems of the poor, the suffering, the horrors of war, and the gap that existed between the Church and the common man.  In 1958 he ascended to the papacy taking the name of John XXIII.  Many saw him as an interim pope, but three months into his reign he astounded his colleagues by calling a council of all the bishops to "open the windows and examine the state of the Church."  This was the birth of Vatican II Council.  On October 12, 1962 John XXIII delivered the opening address at the Council, saying its chief duty was to protect the truths handed down but "at the same time (the Church) must look to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced into the modern world which have opened new avenues to the Catholic apostolate."  John XXIII opened the door to ecumenism which today can be seen throughout the church as we openly communicate with our Protestant brothers and sisters in Christ. From his earliest days, he cultivated a cheerful but powerful spirituality that tied him intimately to Christ and allowed him to trust the impulses of the Holy Spirit as they arose in his heart.  John XXIII goes down in history as "The Pope Of The Modern Church."  On the way to sainthood, he was beatified by the Church on September 3, 2000.  Thus we honor him by taking his name for our Parish as we continue his mission.  We are equally honored, and humbled, to have been granted his name.

WE ARE...

We are a close, loving, enthusiastic Catholic community of  believers who strive to serve the Lord in all that we do by mirroring the gospel of love and compassion demonstrated by Jesus Christ.  We are your neighbors, your friends, and your family; brothers and sisters in Christ.  Our ministry encompasses not only outreach to the members of our parish, but to members of the civic and ecumenical communities as well. 

Contact Information:

Telephone

614-920-1563

FAX

Postal address

5170 Winchester Southern Road NW, Canal Winchester, OH  43110

Click here for map to the church.

Electronic mail

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Last modified: 09/20/09