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St. Maximilian Kolbe
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St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Community was formed in July 1983. The first Mass was held at Post Elementary School that same month at which time about 175 families made up the community. Our first pastor was Father Pat Meister. By summer of 1985, our parish had grown to approximately 500 families and our temporary location had moved to Emmott Elementary.
During the first eight months of the life of our parish, we went through a process called “Becoming a People,” which consisted of small groups gathering for prayer and discussion of our mission as a parish community. We then formed a Parish Convention where the ideas from all the groups were assimilated and the Parish Mission Statement was developed and finalized. It is the key document that guides the programs, goals and priorities of the parish.
Once the Parish Mission Statement was complete, we elected our first Pastoral Council as well as a Building Committee. In March of 1985, the process of developing the building program began. The building committee was dedicated to a process that would include input from all members of the parish. A series of workshops was conducted in which ideas were shared and decisions were made as to what we wanted our building to be. Once consensus was reached, the architectural team submitted the detailed drawings and specifications for the building to the parish for comments and suggestions.A drive to raise funds for the building process began in November 1985, and construction of the permanent facility began in November 1986. On November 1, 1987, we gathered together with our guests to give thanks and praise to God as Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza dedicated our church building.In June 1989, with over 700 families in our community we welcomed Father Adam McClosky as our new pastor. Later that same year, Deacon George Trosclair joined the staff of our parish and our Pastoral Council grew from five to seven representatives. In October 1989, our parish held its first annual Fall Festival. This event has been a great success each year in bringing about a sense of fellowship and community in the parish. In June 1990, Deacon Carl Williford was ordained a permanent deacon and was assigned to our parish. That same summer, a committee was formed to plan activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of our patron saint.
One of these was the completion and blessing of the Marian Grotto in March of 1991. A special Interfaith Service was held in August of that year and our Memorial Bell was installed in our bell tower that summer.
In September of 1990, a Stewardship Committee was formed to provide more awareness and education in Christian Stewardship of time, talent and treasure. That fall, we also began our program of monthly CCE classes for elementary and middle school in order to accommodate the growing number of students with limited space.
In February 1991, we started Children’s Church, which enables children ages five through nine to gain a better understanding of God’s word. In October 1991, the men of our parish formed a Knights of Columbus Council.
In early 1993, we began an ongoing process called “Becoming God’s People” with a theme of building a Christian Community. There were four evening services during the Lenten Week of Renewal followed by small group home meetings in the weeks following. The notes from these small group meetings were collected, summarized and given to Pastoral Council for future planning.
In the Spring of 1993, construction began on our storage and barbecue facility. This building, which provided much needed additional space for parish activities, was built almost entirely by the volunteer parishioners. The building was completed in time for the 1993 Fall Festival and its official dedication was held on October 23, 1993.
In July of 1993, St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic community celebrated our 10th anniversary as a parish with a dinner/dance and silent action. Our first ten years as a parish saw a great deal of growth and many accomplishments. We were now a community of over 1200 families.In June 1994, Deacon Ron Fraser was ordained and began his diaconate ministry along with his administrative work here at St. Maximilian Kolbe.
We found ourselves, once again, outgrowing the facilities we had available for our many activities, and a Building Committee was discerned.
With renewed commitment of the Parish members, a new education building was built and, in November 1997, it was dedicated and named “The Gajowniczek Building.” The Mothers’ Day Out (MDO) program, which had been established in August of 1997, and CCE made good use of this building from the very beginning.
In January 1999, Deacon Auburn Higgins was ordained and joined the community. And in July 1999, Father John Francis Ulm became our third Pastor.
In May 2010, we dedicated our new church.