Sept. 28 was a special day for Holy Angels Parish in Chagrin Falls as parishioners celebrated their 30th anniversary and reception of a new tabernacle. Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost presided at the Mass, with Father Max Cole, pastor, Father George Smiga, Father Jerry Bednar and Father Clyde Foster concelebrating.
Parishioners filled much of the spacious church for the livestreamed liturgy. Father Cole told the congregation that in addition to the bishop, the concelebrants represented some of his seminary faculty members. “They are the people who helped make me the priest I am today,” he said.
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Bishop Woost noted the parish traces its beginnings to 61 families who petitioned the diocese for a new parish in what was then a rural area. Catholics in the area had been worshiping at St. Rita Parish in Solon, but as the population grew, a new mission parish was established in 1977.
On Sept. 29, 1995, the late Bishop Anthony Pilla established Holy Angels as a new parish.
“This is a day for rejoicing and giving thanks to God, for remembering the legacy of the past,” Bishop Woost said. “But we must also reflect on what God is inviting us to do.”
Although the day’s readings may not seem appropriate for a 30th anniversary, “God’s word is always appropriate to our lives,” the bishop explained.
He said those who petitioned for a new parish in 1961 weren’t complacent. They saw a need and took a risk to fill it, “which has resulted in this community of faith here in Chagrin Falls … Look at what’s been accomplished.”
More recently, parishioners invited members of the Hispanic community to join their community of faith, which led to the launch of Holy Angel’s growing Hispanic ministry. “They listened to the movement of God’s spirit and responded,” he said.
The Gospel, which tells the parable of Abraham, a poor man, Lazarus, and a rich man who ignored Lazarus' needs, and depicts the chasm that exists between the rich and the poor. After the two men died, Lazarus enjoyed the good things he did not have on earth while the rich man was cast down into the nether world. He begged for assistance, but there was a great chasm separating the two. Bishop Woost asked the faithful to consider the chasms in their lives and how they could fill them in with caring, concern and a willingness to take risks.
“Don’t just rest on your laurels. Yes, we are blessed, but listen to the spirit of God,” he said, reminding them God is calling them to move forward together and to leave a legacy.
The new tabernacle, which sits on a newly built table of repose in the front of the church, was blessed at the end of Mass. Commissioned in 1961 and built in Italy, it previously was in a Toledo church. It replaces the glass tabernacle that was in the Mercy Chapel, which is being refurbished as an ambry for the parish’s holy oils.