News/Events Category: Featured Announcements

OLPH Sponsorship of Upper Room: Sept 23, 2023

Join Fr Leo and Fr Alfredo this Sept 23 at the Upper Room Conference. We want to tap into a wealth of knowledge, resources and inspiration that will propel our faith and leadership skills forward at this annual event organized by the Archdiocese of Vancouver.  It features two keynote speakers, great breakout sessions and Mass with Archbishop Miller.

If you’re a parishioner, OLPH parish would like to offer you a partial sponsorship to attend this event.  We’ll cover $40 of the $75 ticket.  A follow-up meeting at our parish hall is scheduled for Sat Sept 30, 10am-11:30am to exchange thoughts and ideas over coffee. We hope you’re as excited as we are about unlocking the full potential of this parish. Find out more about the conference at upperroom.rcav.org  and contact Bertilla  bwatanabe@rcav.org about sponsorship details.

Dear Parishioners,
Every year after Easter, the Archdiocese of Vancouver begins its annual Project Advance Appeal. The theme of this year’s Archdiocesan appeal is Empowering Our Parish Vision.  I am pleased that this is especially appropriate for us this year as we celebrate our centennial.

You may recall last September we announced the plans for our Centennial project.  We identified essential sanctuary upgrades and design improvements, some mandated by the Archdiocese, others to improve our overall liturgical experience and participation as a prayer community.

A rough estimate of projected costs for these renovations was set at $220,000 which we hoped to raise through Project Advance over two years. With more details about the work involved and the enlarged scope of work, the estimated cost for the sanctuary renovation is $336,600.

Here is a summary of the renovations:

  • Redesign of the sanctuary with new furnishings, including reflooring,
    millwork for the repositioning of the tabernacle & new lectern
  • Cladding of existing pillars
  • Improved lighting in the side aisles and better overall sound system
  • Organized seating for the choir area
  • Four new stained-glass windows

This estimate does not include the work of installing an elevator in the church foyer. After discussion with the Archdiocese building team, it was decided a platform lifter rather than an elevator, would suit our needs adequately and would cost a lot less. 

How do we raise these funds?
Firstly, here’s a summary of last year’s Project Advance appeal. Our ‘allotment’ is the funds we have to raise for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Amounts raised beyond this, minus expenses, are rebated to the parish.
Archdiocesan allotment for OLPH: $49,800 | Total raised $120,735.00 |
Share of expenses billed by PA Office $6,770.13 | Total PA 2022 rebate to OLPH: $64,164.87

Target for this year:
2023 Archdiocesan allotment for OLPH: $49,800 | Parish Target: $130,000 |
Estimate of expenses by PA Office $7,000 | Estimated PA 2023 rebate: $73,200

As you can see, our goal for this year is $130,000. My hope is this would enable us to gain at least $70,000 in rebates. The remaining funds for the work would be taken from the Infrastructure Renewal fund. If we work together, we will most certainly hit our target.

Dear friends, we are making important changes this Centennial year which would impact the parish for a long time in very positive and faith-fulfilling ways. With prayer and discernment, I hope all of you will share in the vision of Project Advance this year to make our church a better place for Mass, prayer and faith development for all.

Your Centennial contribution will be remembered for generations to come. To make a donation now, please click here.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor, OLPH

 

CENTENNIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Share a Story, Share A Photo
If you’d like to share a story/photo of interest or historical significance  about OLPH, please feel free to submit it to us. It could be:
1. An anecdote or testimony about a faith-affirming experience or happy memory at OLPH Parish related to the Redemptorists, devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a sacramental experience such as Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, wedding  or your involvement with an OLPH  ministry or parish group. Anecdotes must be no longer than 150 words.
2.An OLPH anecdote relating OLPH parish to World War II,  Expo, the  2010 Olympics or other significant event that OLPH Parish had a part in, please email them to us. Speak to your parents, grandparents or relatives if they were part of this parish. Anecdotes must be no longer than 150 words.
3.If you have  interesting, good quality photos taken in and around the church in the last 100 years preferably with dates and captions of the people in the photo and its significance to the parish and its history, please feel free to email them to us. High resolutions images are preferred.
Please submit stories/photos before February 20. Please send stories and/or photos to us ONLY IF  you are permitting the parish to use it in parish-generated print materials and media.  Your anecdote/testimony or photo may or may not be used but we do appreciate your sending them in and they will be filed in our records. Email:OLPH100Story@gmail.com

Dinner With the Redemptorists
Over the next few months of our Centennial celebrations, Fr Babu and Fr Alfredo will be hosting dinner every Sunday from Jan 22 for three families. It’s a great opportunity to get to know our priests and fellow parishioners better!  Use this link to sign up and indicate what you would like to bring.

 

Make an Insta Video and Win a 3-Day Stay in Birch Bay, Plus Go-Kart Passes
Are you ready to share your faith and inspire others? You can do that on OLPH Parish’s new Instagram page with your cool videos! The prize for the winning video is a free 3-day stay at the Redemptorist cottage in beautiful Birch Bay, WA and Go Kart passes for the whole family! The theme of the video is OLPH – My Spiritual Home. It should be a family project no longer than 2 mins in length.  Send a link of your video to olphcentennial@gmail.com by Monday Jan 30.

Called & Sent: A Centennial Journey 
Dear friends, as we approach our Centennial Milestone, I’d like to encourage the entire parish to join Called & Sent: A Centennial Journey.  It involves a commitment of only two hours a week over 3 Thursdays in November, concluding on Saturday morning Nov 26. Redemptorist Fr Ed Eherer will be here to inspire us all. We need to be a community that goes beyond the Eucharistic celebration. What we receive in the Eucharist must shine through in everything we do! —  Fr Babu Mathew
Thursdays Nov 10, 17, 24  In-person: 9am-11am Parish hall  or  Zoom: 7pm – 9pm
Concluding Session In Person For All: Sat Nov 26, 10-12pm.
S
ign up and be part of our Centennial Journey!

CALLED & SENT GUEST SPEAKER: FR. ED EHERER, CSsR
Father Ed Eherer CSsR was born and raised in the Peace region of northern Alberta, the third of five children.  Following graduation, he attended the University of Alberta and received a B.A. (Hon.) in History and a B.Ed.  After teaching for a few years, including a two-year posting in Botswana, Africa,
Fr. Ed entered the Redemptorist Congregation in 1995 and was ordained in 2000.  Fr. Ed has worked in several apostolates across Canada, including parish ministry, youth and young adult ministry, vocations and formation.  He is currently Associate Pastor at St. Joseph’s Church in Grande Prairie.

 


Formed is a Catholic streaming service free to all OLPH parishioners for a year starting Sept 1, 2022. It offers over 4000 titles of Catholic content from movies, faith studies, audio books and children’s programs. To sign up go to signup.formed.org/ and join the parish account. To make sure you have the correct Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, please use our parish zip code V6R3V9. Once you’ve signed up on your web browser, you can download the Formed app on your favourite devices and sign into the account easily.

 

New Parishioner Welcome 
If you registered at OLPH Parish in 2020, 2021 or this year, we would love to meet you! A Welcome Luncheon is being organized after the 11am Mass on Sunday October 2, 2022 in the Parish Hall. It would be great if you could join us. Please click here to let us know you are attending. RSVP by Friday 23 Sept 2022!


Sunday July 24 is the 2nd World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly instituted by Pope Francis. Families are invited to bring their grandparent(s) to Mass on that weekend if these seniors are well enough and comfortable about gathering in-person. A special prayer and blessing will be given at all Masses that weekend. Also, we are preparing a small gift to show our appreciation for grandparents and the elderly attending Mass that weekend. Please use this link to sign-up so that we will know how many gifts we need. A maximum of two gifts will be handed out  (one for each grandparent). You can also sign up for a gift for yourself if you are over 65 years old. Sign-up closes on Monday July 18.

Children, here’s something fun you can do for your grandparents. Make a lovely drawing or sculpture of your grandparent(s) with a nice message on it, then send us a photo of it. If there’s room, we may run it in next week’s bulletin. Email your photos by July 18 to Bertilla: bwatanabe@rcav.org.

 

Marian Study: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother
Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother is an extraordinary pilgrimage that reveals Mary’s unique role in God’s kingdom and in our lives. Filmed on location in the Holy Land, Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother will place you in the midst of the powerful drama of her earthly life, taking you through her joys … and her sorrows. You will learn how she works in our lives today, drawing us ever closer to her divine Son. Seeing Mary in this way will change you forever. Mary will become a part of your daily life, and in your daily life, you will become more like Christ.
Join Fr Alfredo at 9am – 10am on Thursdays June 2, 9, 16 & 23, Madonna Room. No charge for attendance.