OUR CLERGY
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Father Joseph Dinh
Emmanuel Ukattah, Deacon
Enedino Aquino, Deacon
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This Sunday let us consider the parable of the mustard seed: “The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds yet it grows into a large bush” (Mt. 13:31-32).
We begin this reflection with our daily routine: reading. Every morning we pick up a newspaper, a magazine or look at an informative website to read the news. Through reading, we can be aware of things going on around the world, we can learn new things, or we can develop our own knowledge and intelligence. How did we learn how to read? We started, most of us, with letters. We learned ABC and then we put these letters together and we learned new words. We put the words together and learned new concepts.
It all began in a small way. It all began with small letters. The Kingdom of God is like a child learning letters. Time goes on and Mom and Dad and teachers work with the child, and the child’s ability to read grows so great that the child becomes a teacher.
And so it is with the Kingdom of God. Grandparents taught their children their prayers. They brought their children to Church and taught them to value their relationship with the Lord. And their children became parents and did the same. The Church is full of good Christian men and women, people of all walks of life, all living the values of the Kingdom of God, the spiritual realities of life.
And we all are doing the same. We are teaching the small letters ABC’s of faith to our children. We do have faith that the values of the Kingdom of God will come to them. Let us trust in the power of the Lord. Don’t allow yourself to think that maybe nothing is happening for our children. If a child who begins learning small letters can become a professor, then a child who learns the simplest lessons of faith can become a great witness for the Kingdom of God. So be with your children, teach them the values of faith, pray with them at home, take them to church to worship the Lord and to be with the Mystical Body of Christ, and then allow God to turn the tiny mustard seed into a great plant.
The point from the parable of the mustard seed is clear: the little efforts we make for the Kingdom of God have a tremendous impact upon our children and the world.
May God bless our parish family with His wisdom and peace!
Fr. Joe
Christ the King Church was founded in 1940 to serve the African-American Catholics in High Point, and has since become a multi-ethnic parish celebrating both the diversity and unity of the Catholic faith and tradition. Then-Bishop Eugene F. McGuinness of Raleigh invited the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement of Graymoor, NY to staff the new mission in High Point in 1940. Father Bernardine Watson served as the first pastor, originally celebrating Mass in a funeral home. Through the generosity and perseverance of Father Watson and several benefactors, a clothing shop was acquired for use by the mission. While Mass continued to be celebrated there during much of 1941, the mission community members also turned their attention to building a new church and rectory on Kivett Drive. The new colonial-style church was dedicated by Bishop McGuinness Dec. 14, 1941.
During the 1940s and into the ’50s, the Christ the King parish community continued to grow. A school building and convent were built in 1949, and in 1950 the Franciscan Handmaids arrived from New York City to staff the school. The African-American communities, both Catholic and non-Catholic, of High Point, Thomasville and Greensboro were served by the new Christ the King School, which opened its doors to 50 students in September 1950. The friars continued their pastorate in High Point for the next several decades, cultivating a faith community that became continually more culturally diverse over time. A stained-glass window behind the church’s choir loft depicts that diversity, with Jesus surrounded by four individuals representing the African, Asian, European and Indian bloodlines that make up much of the parish community today.
Lowering enrollment, financial difficulties and the recalling of the sisters to New York forced Christ the King School to close in 1981. The diocesan office of education converted the school for use as a day care center, which began its operation in August 1981. That same year, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement arrived at Christ the King Church to conduct the religious education program and other ministerial work, including assisting at the day care center. The center, still located on parish grounds, is now privately operated and continues to serve the area.
Upon the friars’ leaving High Point in 1991, Christ the King Church became a diocesan parish in December of that year. Fathers Martin Madison and John Hoover served the parish until December 1994, when Father Philip Kollithanath, was appointed to Christ the King Church. Assisting in the advancing growth of the Christ the King community have been many commissions and ministries focusing on the spiritual , educational, multicultural and evangelical dimensions of the parish. Parishioners gather to engage in Bible study , to learn English as a Second Language, to put their faith into action in the local community and to celebrate their ethnicity. A Hispanic center and bilingual religious education program provide sharing and learning opportunities for English and Spanish speaking parishioners, and the parish African-American Ministry offers outreach programs benefiting the local region. The Women’s Guild, Altar Guild, 55+ Club and Young & Spirited Group are active in parish and community services, and the evangelization commission provides for the spiritual needs of homebound parishioners through its Visitation Ministry. The community of Christ the King Church looks ahead to expansion and renovation projects that will accommodate the needs of a growing parish. One hundred and sixty-one households currently make up the parish registry.