Welcome! - ¡Bienvenido!
Reverend Gordon Mann
Welcome to Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church!
For those who are new to the Catholic Community of Washington, we are a thriving, strong, and faith filled body of believers, grounded by our 35 different ministries including a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, St. Vincent de Paul Society and Store, Knights of Columbus, and Latino outreach. Our Washington Catholic School System is 151 years old and boasts the highest state rankings in the area. We educate students, Pre-K through 12 and provide a Cardinal Day Care program. We have been blessed to share in the work of the Holy Spirit in building God's kingdom here in Washington, a town of 12,000.
Over the past four years, many of us have been asked to involve ourselves in countless endeavors in order to refocus the Catholic Community of Washington on the central mission of the Catholic Church: To educate our future generations in the ways of Faith. Some of these undertakings have required great sacrifices, innumerable volunteer hours, and a plethora of prayers in order to get us to the point to which our community is presently. Among the ventures we have addressed to continue Christ's mission include:
- Shoring up the financial needs of our Catholic cemetery.
- Combining our parishes to share the Catholic Faith together and one united family.
- Mingling the best from both parish heritages to strengthen the beauty of our worship.
- Reducing the debt of the parishes to the Diocese for unpaid school assessments to our schools.
- Proudly displaying our Catholic identity through the spiritual exercises of our Corpus Christi celebrations, our outreach to our Latino brethren, and the visibility of our Knights of Columbus.
These accomplishments have not been easy to complete, nor have we run out of tasks to fulfill the central mission of the Church in Washington. However, we are closer than ever to reaching the goal of directly focusing on the calling of Christ. We are in the middle of a capital campaign, against all odds, to eliminate our debt and pay this year's Catholic Parishes Campaign amount. The mark of a good steward is in recognizing whose the gift is and who is the receiver.
If you are a member of our Catholic family I trust in your love and support for what we have accomplished, and for the Church itself. If ever there has been a time to step up and assist Jesus Christ with his redeeming work in Washington, it is now. The future of the central mission of our Lord in this area depends on us completing this task. I am not unaware of the financial concerns that presently plague all of us. At the Diocesan level, the C.P.C. has been reduced due to layoffs and budget cuts. Here in Washington, we have taken similar steps to ensure that we have a viable community to continue the mission of the Church. We are reminded at these times that God is really in charge of our lives, and replacing fear with trust in Him will lead us to all that is good. Now is the time for all of us to put this faith into action.
The goal of this campaign will be reached with 100% participation from our members. Not everyone may be able to contribute the same amount, but everyone can contribute an equal sacrifice.
Our ancestors looked to the future and gave their all for what we possess today, and their means were meager compared to what we own. May our faith be as great as was theirs for our future generations of the Catholic Community of Washington.
Yours in Christ,
Father Gordon Mann