Welcome to Faith Quest at Our Lady, Star of the Sea!

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Welcome to Faith Quest at Our Lady, Star of the Sea!"

Everett Morrison
5 years ago
Views:

Welcome to Faith Quest at Our Lady, Star of the Sea! Historic Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, founded in 1888. A small church was erected c. 1895 on the present cemetery site.

This quest begins in the Historic Church. From here, it s a short walk or drive to the new parish church on Alexander Lane.

1 Welcome to Faith Quest at Our Lady, Star of the Sea! Historic Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, founded in A small church was erected c on the present cemetery site. The Historic Church, facing the Patuxent River, was built in We have a lot to show you today and we hope you ll stay a while and enjoy our beautiful setting. This quest begins in the Historic Church. From here, it s a short walk or drive to the new parish church on Alexander Lane. When you re finished at both sites, you can stamp your passport back at the Historic Church. You ll find the stamp in a box in the Fatima Room. Part 1. Historic Church As you look around our Historic Church, you are actually seeing the work and gift of many parishioners who have worshipped here to show their love for God. While you observe the treasures of our church, see if you can answer questions about them -- you ll need these answers for the final puzzle at the end of this guide. Your first mission is to find a pale blue painting of our parish s patron. Look up to see it as you walk into the church. This image was painted by a former parishioner, Kena O Connor. What do you see in Our Lady s halo? Next go to the small Fatima Room, off to the left of the church entrance, where you picked up this guide. Find an artifact here from Rev. Maurice Alexander, who became our first pastor in What is it? A Technically it s called a biretta, and it can be part of the clerical dress worn by priests (black), bishops (violet), and cardinals (red), although it is not as often seen today as in years past.

2 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 2 Now go back into the church. There are more items here that were given or made by parishioners. For example, the wood altars and lecterns were hand made by parishioner Reds Langley. Reds and Pepper Langley also carved the cross and wooden piece behind our large crucifix from wood that was salvaged from the old communion railing that formerly separated the sanctuary from the body of the church. And Kena O Connor, the same artist who painted the blue image of Our Lady Star of the Sea, also made the baptismal font. Look closely at the Christian symbols on font. The creation scene honors Christ s resurrection. Can you fill in the missing meanings of the symbols below? Anchor = Hope Fish = Christians Dove = Lamb = Pelican = Christ There are more Christian symbols and images in the stained glass windows, which were donated by parishioners -- most famously Rose Thurston, who generously paid for the window in the sanctuary (showing Jesus with the little children) with one of the two diamond earrings she donated after Mass one Sunday in the 1920s. Don t miss the beautiful stained glass window of Jesus the Good Shepherd -- can you find it? In the back of the church is something salvaged from the original church built at the cemetery site. After the original church was moved (actually rolled on logs to its new location, approximately where the school is now), it later burned, but this piece was recovered by Maude Langley and kept in her restaurant, which later became Fisherman s Inn and later Langley s Lunchroom. When the restaurant also burned, the piece was given to our former pastor, Fr. Richard Gardiner, and brought here, where it is back in use today as the signal for Mass to start. In 1905 Father (later Bishop) John McNamara, who was one of the priests from Benedict to serve the congregation here, donated a larger version of this item, which is currently in the church tower. What is the item from the original church? It s a Can you find a plaque nearby on the rear wall of the church? In 2000, our historic church was designated as a Pilgrimage Church in the Archdiocese of Washington for what occasion? Year Next, find a statue of St. Joseph. What is written in Latin below his statue? Joseph This means Go to Joseph. As the head of the Holy Family and patron of the universal Church, he is a powerful intercessor. Perhaps you would like to pause here and offer a prayer before making your way over to the new parish church on Alexander Lane. (Nature lovers, see if you can spot an osprey nest along the way.)

3 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 3 Part 2. Present Church This larger, modern church with a seating capacity of 800 was built to accommodate the growing OLSS parish community and was dedicated by Cardinal Wuerl in the year engraved on the cornerstone. What year is on the cornerstone? An interesting note about the cornerstone is that there s a time capsule inside it that contains a commemorative medal of Pope Benedict XVI s visit to Washington in April 2008 (presented by Cardinal Wuerl on the occasion of our church s dedication), a Church Dedication booklet, a pictorial directory of OLSS from 2009, a OLSS School 75 th Anniversary booklet from 2008, a 2010 directory of OLSS parishioners, and the listing of donors and the Memorial Book. The architect who designed the church, Lawrence Cook, FAIA, incorporated as many green considerations as possible, such as using natural materials and natural lighting. (You can read more about it on an information sheet in the lobby.) As with the historic church, the generous response of our parishioners has made a lasting mark on the new church. For example, the baby grand Steinway piano, nearly 50 years old, belonged to the aunt of parishioner Kent Mills. He and his wife wanted to keep the piano in the family, so they gave it to their church family! Parishioners purchased the icons of St. Joseph and St. Therese of Lisieux painted by renowned artist, Br. Robert Lentz, OFM. St. Therese has particular meaning for us as we worship: her relic is contained in the altar, so each time we celebrate Mass on that altar we ask God s grace and blessing through her intercession. The relic is a gift from Christopher, Margaret, and Rowan Reynolds in memory of the Mealey, Weekes, and Reynolds families. While she was in Rome in the mid-1950s, Margaret Mealey, Executive Director of the National Council of Catholic Women from , was given this first-clnass relic of St. Therese, patroness of the missions. The spirituality of St. Therese continues to be an inspiration, and she is recognized as a Doctor of the Church. Her feast day is October 1. But it s likely your attention has been drawn to a particular piece of art in our church, something that has a significant place in all Catholic churches because it is a declaration of our faith in the total love of God revealed in the death of Christ. You see it suspended above our altar. It s called a: This unusual artwork -- which calls to mind the promise of Jesus in John 14 that He is leaving to prepare a place for us, even beginning his ascent from the cross -- was designed and constructed by a local artist and parishioner, Perry William Carsley, and the wood behind it was fashioned by

4 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 4 parishioner Bob Bullock. Perry s studio has created many other works of art, including the bronze installations and some of the stone designs for the 7.2-acre National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. He is currently in the process of producing 14 relief sculptures that will be installed as our Stations of the Cross. Several parishioners have devoted their time to pose for various characters within the compositions, making this artwork truly original and personal to the church. There is another sculpture by the same artist in our church foyer. In this sculpture, Our Lady grasps her veil blown by the wind, yet steadfastly remains as a beacon of hope for souls that may have lost their way in the dark. What is she holding in her hand to light their way? An oil What is carved in the four faces of the stone base? Sea Congratulations, you have finished this part of your quest at Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Now you can complete the final puzzle and learn a little more about the name of our parish by using the answers you ve written down above to decode a special phrase. Step 1. Find each answer on a star on the following page. Step 2. Note the letter of the alphabet that corresponds to that star. Step 3. Write down that letter on the blanks below the stars in order. When you ve written all 11 letters, you will have spelled out the special phrase. Then turn the page to find the answers and read more about it (but no peeking until you re done!). Thank you for coming to visit Our Lady, Star of the Sea! Feel free to send photos, posts, or tweets to share your experience at this site with other Faith Questers: And don t forget to update your status on the Faith Quest leaderboard at

5 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 5

6 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 6

7 FAITH QUEST 2014: OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA 7 Some Interesting Historic Information Catholicism in the United States has its roots here in Southern Maryland. The ships Ark and Dove brought Roman Catholics from England in 1634, and landed on St. Clement s Island off of what is now called Colton s Point in St. Mary s County. The Jesuits among them and those that followed eventually set up missions in what is now St. Mary s, Charles, and Calvert Counties. When a small community of Catholics became established here, Jesuits priests used to come by canoe across the Patuxent River to minister to them. In 1789 (the same year Washington became our first president), John Carroll was appointed Bishop of the newly established See of Baltimore with a diocese that covered the entire U.S. and included 25,000 Catholics. In 1888, with less than 100 Catholics in Calvert County, a parish was established in Solomons Island by Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore. Jesuit priests traveled here by canoe to minister to the people. In 1895, the first church was built on Sedwick Avenue, where the present cemetery is. At that time, it was called St. Mary s, although at some point within a few years, the name was changed to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Priests from Benedict served the Catholic community here. In 1920, Fr. Maurice Alexander became the first pastor. (Later Alexander Lane was named to honor him.) A favorite saint of his was St. John Vianney, whose relic is in the altar of the Historic Church. No wonder when a mission church of OLSS was established in Prince Frederick, it was named St. John Vianney! In 1927, the church was moved (literally -- it was rolled on logs!) from the cemetery site to Clara s Point (approximately where the present school stands) and the cornerstone laid on a new church, which is now known as the Historic Church. In 1933, the first Sisters of Divine Providence arrived to begin the school, which was located in the basement of the Historic Church. In 1939, the old church (the one that had been moved from the cemetery) was destroyed by fire. In 1942, the present school was built. In 1993, the Providence Room and addition to the school were completed. In 2010, the larger, more modern church was dedicated. Thank you for coming to visit Our Lady, Star of the Sea!

Welcome to Faith Quest at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

Welcome to Faith Quest at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. The Cathedral church of Saint Matthew the Apostle is the cathedra (meaning seat