On August 26th we said our farewell to our Franciscan Friars of the Atonement as they leave the Parish after 46 years of faithful ministry.  Please read excerpts from the tribute below -

How can we possibly put into words how thankful we are to the Friars?  Since the very beginning of Christ the Redeemer the Friars have been our shepherds. Under their leadership we started as a humble community as we celebrated our first Mass in 1972.  As the years flew by, we added Masses to the schedule and were able to build our first church building with Fr. Bill Schmidt leading the project.  

As our Sterling community grew, we were blessed to add a regular Spanish Mass to the schedule on Saturday nights to meet the growing needs of our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters.   In the year 2000 with Fr. Donald Howard as our Pastor we were blessed to dedicate our new Church, Chapel, offices and classrooms.  His words on that joyous occasion will stay with us forever, “Blessed is the Lord for his past kindness and may we walk in the unity of faith for years to come.”   

The Friars not only guided us as we worked to put this beautiful roof over our heads but more importantly, they were there at the milestones in our lives. During their 46 years here at Christ the Redeemer they baptized 13,470 of our babies, distributed first communion to over 7,000 of our children and celebrated confirmation with 4,500 of our young people.  They were smiling when 1,373 couples said “I do” and were right there by our side to dry our tears as we laid to rest over 900 of our beloved dead.  

We can’t thank you enough for your unending love and support through the years.  

Thank you for reminding us that there’s nothing too big for God’s mercy when hearing our confessions. 

Thank you for teaching us THAT ALL MAY BE ONE.

We especially thank you for teaching us to be like St. Francis: instruments of justice and peace by feeding the poor and welcoming the stranger which is so very evident by the diversity in our pews. 

Thank you for praying over us, with us and for us.

Thank you for all of your homilies that gave us something to think about during the week – but most of all, thank you for the greatest gift, the gift of the Eucharist which you celebrated under this roof thousands and thousands of times.

We want to extend our thanks and good wishes to Fr. Frank as he discovers what his next assignment will be and to Fr. Bob who is going to Toronto to be a Parochial Vicar at St. Joan of Arc parish.  You will be missed.

We'd like to recognize our visiting Friars that came to celebrate with us today. Fr. Dennis Polanco was on staff here and often came to help on the weekends when he lived in DC. Fr. Jim Loughran was a Parochial Vicar here and the wonderful Priest that guided many of us through the RCIA program. Our gratitude goes to Fr. Bill Schmidt, for overseeing the building of the original church and for shepherding us as Pastor and Parochial Vicar for many years. And many thanks to Fr. Brian Terry, Minister General of The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement for COMING HOME to Christ the Redeemer where he grew up, was ordained and celebrated his First Mass as an Atonement Friar. 

On behalf of all your parishioners, this prayer for you. God our shepherd, you care for your flock with trustworthy care. Our hearts are filled with gratefulness as we say goodbye to our beloved Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.  

We ask for your blessings on all of us now and forever through Christ, our Lord. Amen.