Newcomers Ministry

Mission Statement
To welcome newcomers to Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church and provide them a means of orientation to our church. “Newcomers” are generally those who have joined us within the last two years.

We explain what the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is, and how our parish differs from Archdiocesan parishes.

We strive to inform newcomers what our parish has to offer, and to provide a platform for fellowship to help all newcomers feel comfortable here as members of the Atonement family.

Our History or Patron Saint

The Newcomers Ministry was formed in March of 2022 by a newcomer to the parish, and the first Newcomers Ministry meeting was held on March 19, 2022.

We chose as our patron saints the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux, Sts. Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin (better known as St. Zélie.) Louis and Zélie Martin were models of charitableness, well known and loved for their generosity and hospitality to others.

Meetings

Meetings are held quarterly, on Saturday, from 10 a.m. until Noon. We start and end with prayer. We have a short “icebreaker” exercise to put all at ease, and this is followed by a presentation by one of our deacons on the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Normally, three different ministry coordinators are invited to give a brief overview of their ministry. Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church has around 20 ministries, and these brief ministry presentations are different for each meeting.

The meetings are structured to provide enough break time for fellowship, which is vital for the newcomers. Refreshments and coffee/water are served at each meeting.

At the conclusion of each meeting, there is an optional Church Tour, for those who want to tour the Church grounds, Main Sanctuary, and Sacred Heart Chapel. It lasts about half an hour and is a most excellent way to learn about the history and beautiful statuary, stained glass windows, art pieces, the unique Casavant Organ, baptistery, and other unique facts about our beautiful church campus.

We welcome all newcomers to attend our meetings. Please bring your children as well!

Contact Info:
For questions or to join us you may contact us at [email protected]