MCHENRY—It all came down to a feeling of “family” as the Church of Holy Apostles celebrated its 25th anniversary with Mass, dinner and dancing on Sept. 20.
“It’s like a family,” said parishioner Sandi Freund-
Echelmeyer who stood ready to assist guests and parishioners as she staffed the information center in the parish foyer, something she does at every third Saturday evening Mass.
Parishioners at Holy Apostles, she added, are there for each other, and “you don’t hesitate to ask someone to help with something.”
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History sidebar
The Church of Holy Apostles was established in July, 1989, in McHenry, and its first Mass was held Sept. 23, that year. For two months thereafter, Masses were held in a hotel. That was followed by four years of Masses held in a 6,000-square-foot building in the Tonyan Industrial Park. |
That family feeling was evident in the multitude of hugs and handshakes as parishioners welcomed Bishop David Malloy, past associates and deacons, visiting priests and, most heartily, Father Robert Sherry who founded and pastored the parish for its first 23 years.
In preparing for his homily, Bishop Malloy said he had looked up the price of silver, which was $5 in 1989 and now is $17. He said that he hoped “the beauty (and) magnificence … of something even more valuable than silver” was evident as parishioners celebrated 25 years of prayer and sacraments.
“Be grateful,” he said, “not just for the biggest moments (but also) be grateful for the small moments (like) the quiet, morning Masses …”
At the dinner following the Mass, Father Paul White, pastor at Holy Apostles since Father Sherry retired, said he absolutely wanted the focus of the evening to be on his predecessor who was at the forefront of the parish history. Shortly thereafter, amid applause and cheers, 25-year parishioner Larry Drake and two other members of the parish council came to the center of the room and presented a plaque naming the parish hall for Father Sherry.
Father White escorted a surprised Father Sherry over to them.
“You know, you look pretty good,” he quipped, gesturing toward the plaque’s carved face of the founding pastor, adding, “You are the Dick Clark of priesthood.”
In his remarks at the Mass and at the dinner, Father Sherry called forth memories from parishioners. “Do you know what you were doing 26 years ago?” he asked. “I had a desk job in Washington, D.C. (and) was saying to myself, ‘I hope I don’t ever get assigned to a parish again. I wouldn’t know what to do.
“It’s because of people like yourselves who made all this possible, you know. People who were dreamers. People who were implementers. People who maintained (what was begun).
“Life is like a train ride,” he said, quoting one of his long-time parishioners. “Thank you for coming on this train ride, whenever you got on.”
Noting that Bishop Malloy spoke in his homily about all the little things that make up a parish, Father Sherry added that there was “a lot of that at the beginning” as people stepped forward to do the work that came along. The one word to say in prayer is “thanks,” he concluded.
The Church of Holy Apostles is known for evangelizing through technology, and that was evident in a slide show of parish history projected after Mass in the church and in the hall during dinner.
Among the slides was one for the Tamara Royale Inn, where Father Sherry held the first parish Masses from Sept. 23 to Thanksgiving 1989. For next four years, until Thanksgiving of 1993, services were held in a warehouse while the first parish church was planned and constructed. That first church is now the Father Sherry Parish Hall.
“This (hall) right here is the epicenter of all those good memories,” Father White reminded the dinner crowd. He asked them if they thought another celebration in 2016 would be appropriate. “We’ve celebrated his (past) 25 years,” he said of Father Sherry. “Do you think we can do his 50(th anniversary of priesthood) in 2016?”
A roar of agreement reflected again that parish sense of “family” at The Church of Holy Apostles.