The Situation Today
Over the past five years the St. Therese family has nearly doubled in size, with over 800 registered households. As we have grown we have strived to offer a welcoming community that develops, reinforces and shares our Catholic faith, values and collective gifts.
To provide a more beautiful and fitting space to celebrate the Sacraments we recently invested in our worship space to provide a new Reconciliation Room, stained glass window, tabernacle, organ and improvements to our Sacristy. We placed a cross on the peak of our roof.
Focus groups several years ago identified a desire for more parish social activities, an increased focus on faith formation for children and adults, and a greater commitment to outreach and service. Thanks to the support of outstanding committee members and our generous parish family, the church has seen significant growth in each of these areas. The Parish completely supports the need for greater usable space.
The Wine & Cheese Socials on the first Saturday of each month and social events sponsored by the Knights of Columbus provide important opportunities for parishioners to come together. Our Outreach Committee is providing leadership and volunteers too many area ministry partners, such as Habitat for Humanity, the International Seamen’s Center, and St. Joseph Food Pantry in Burgaw. As a parish family, we provide 10% of our annual Offertory income to serve others in need.
We are assisting families to share our Catholic Faith and Values with the children and youth by renewing our Sacramental Preparation programs and providing opportunities for intergenerational Faith Formation through our Called Together program. Several opportunities for Adult Faith Formation are offered at St. Therese and more are being planned.
We are blessed with a beautiful setting on the beach, but it does have some severe limitation. As we have experienced increased membership in our parish, and growth in ministry activity, we are consistently experiencing a shortage of space.
