Spiritus Christi is an attempt to be the continuing presence of Jesus in the 21st century.
By following Jesus’ words and actions, we work to be a community that is both inclusive and mission-driven.
Jesus said, “No one who comes to me will I ever reject”
To be “inclusive” means to offer everyone a place at the table:
❖ People of all gender identities can be ordained as priests
❖ LGBTQ+ people and divorced people (without annulments) can get married
❖ Everyone can receive Communion
❖ Everyone can fully participate, whether they are baptized or not, believe in other faith traditions, or no traditions at all
To be “mission-driven” means:
❖ We have an outward thrust to transform the world
❖ We are an anti-racist church, committed to dismantling white privilege
❖ We are committed to Mother Earth by reducing our carbon footprint
❖ We value the spirituality of the laity in the workplace, home, and neighborhood
Jesus said, “I have come to bring good news to the poor”
➢ As they say in Latin America,“ We are here for those who are not here.” The majority of our resources serve people who don’t belong to our church:
❖ Immigrants who need help getting settled
❖ Children in public city schools who need one-to-one reading assistance
❖ People transitioning out of prison who need shelter and supportive living
❖ People who need free mental health counseling because they are under or uninsured
❖ People who need structured housing and programs to help them recover from drug and alcohol addiction
❖ Communities in Borgne, Haiti, and Chiapas, Mexico, who need our solidarity
❖ In addition to supporting our outreaches and ministries, we tithe 15% of our weekend collections to assist the poor around the world
We call ourselves a Catholic church:
❖ Catholic means universal, all-encompassing, all-embracing, welcoming of all (James Joyce called the Catholic church “Here comes everybody!”)
❖ Catholic is what the church was called the first 1000 years before any denominations
❖ We are not Roman Catholics (anymore than we are Rochester or Buffalo Catholics)
❖ Our boundaries are the Himalayas to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east
❖ Sometimes we call ourselves an independent Catholic church
❖ But mostly we emphasize Catholic as universal, all-embracing, and welcoming of all
We believe strongly in our young people:
❖ We have a vibrant Religious Education program for children in pre-K to 6thgrade
❖ We offer exciting Junior High and Senior High programs for older children, including Mission Trips
❖ Our growing Young Adult ministry serves people in their 20s and 30s
❖ All our programs emphasize Jesus’ values of caring for the sick and underprivileged, and of being inclusive and mission-driven
We value lifelong spiritual development:
❖ We believe our faith life needs continued attention and enrichment
❖ We strive to offer an Adult Enrichment Program that helps participants connect to our faith/scriptural tradition, but also to their own lives and the world around us
❖ We utilize bible study, reflection, guest speakers, prayer, movement, artistic expression and small community experiences to guide us on our way
Our liturgies emphasize the 3 Hs: Homilies, Hospitality, and Hymns:
❖ Our diverse preachers seek to offer scriptural inspiration (Homilies)
❖ We actively welcome parishioners, visitors, and those who feel they are outsiders (Hospitality)
❖ Our musicians and singers provide a variety of music including Gospel, Contemporary and Traditional (Hymns)
Sacraments:
We offer all the sacraments, including baptisms, first communion, reconciliation, confirmation, marriage prep, weddings and funerals, free of charge
The Eucharist:
Is the most important gathering in the parish and the goal is to inspire people to leave church better equipped to change the world
We are ordinary people, joyously celebrating the opportunity to follow Jesus’ radical message of unconditional love.