Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
After he was installed as Bishop of Charlotte this past June, our Bishop Michael Martin chose as his episcopal motto Jesus’ words to His Apostles, “Put out into the deep.” These words were also favorites of St. John Paul II. He often used the phrase to describe how we ought to respond in faith to the times in which we live. Our society is a challenging one for those who wish to follow Jesus Christ. However, just like the first generations of Christians who were often persecuted and martyred for professing Christ, as our patroness St. Dorothy was; our call is not to retreat or to hide but rather to boldly put out into the deep and to witness to the Good News of the Gospel in our daily lives. One of my seminary professors would often say, “you can’t give what you don’t have.” If we are to bring Jesus Christ to the world, we must first know Him deeply and intimately on a personal level. That is the motivation behind our Capital Campaign and behind any other activity at St. Dorothy’s.
Our goal is to raise $3 million dollars to create a Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel where our parishioners and others can pray before Jesus Christ’s Eucharistic presence 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and there come to know Him more deeply and then experience His presence more profoundly in the celebration of the Mass. It is time spent with Jesus Christ both in His Word and in His Sacrament which transforms us. We will convert some of our classrooms to use for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as well as build new classrooms to address our need for additional space to teach the faith to our children and to those who wish to become Catholic. We will construct a pavilion to support Fraternus, Youth Group and parish wide actives, a new office building so that our staff can serve you more effectively, convert the current office building into a rectory to house the priest, add additional restrooms, and enhance the entrance to our church so that it helps elevate our minds and hearts to God.
Our parish home of St. Dorothy’s has grown much over these 75 years. It began with a few families who met at the old Warlick funeral home, and now is home to over 400 families and counting. Our history is one of steady growth in creating more opportunities to encounter Jesus Christ. Now is the time for us to take the next step in our growth as a parish to better accomplish that goal here in Lincolnton.
My prayer is that you will humbly and prayerfully consider, as I will, how to contribute and support this endeavor for the good of our parish and the salvation of souls. Let us rely on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as our patroness St. Dorothy as we begin this next phase in our life as a parish!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Michael Carlson, Pastor