First Sunday of Advent, November 29, 1998

The cornerstone contains pebbles, rocks, and sand from every corner of the earth. All those present for the Mass on the first Sunday of Advent and all of us, are living stones that with Christ are the Church, alive and working to bring about the Reign of God in this world. We come together in this new church and make it a sacred place. Here we will meet God in the Sacraments. Here we are born into the Christian Life by Baptism, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we are forgiven our sins, our children are confirmed and married and our beloved are mourned and committed into the hands of our loving Father. Here is a place for laughter and for tears. It is a place of Hope, of Faith, of Love. It is a sacred place. On the very first day we walked on that property our children with branches soaked in blessed water sprinkled almost every inch of land with their enthusiasm and holy water. At groundbreaking a five year old future Pastor dug the foundation with his little shovel he brought from home.

This People's Stone is made from rocks from Jerusalem, from the top of Masada, from the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, from Bethlehem, Rome, Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje, and Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia. Rocks come the Shenandoah River Valley, from Ireland, from Disney Island and from the backyards of those present. Dirt and sand come from Cairo, the Sinai. It contains a bag of The Holy Land given to us by Bishop William Neuman from a recent pilgrimage. Fossil stones, a widow's mite coin from the 2nd Century, arrow heads, chunks of the Berlin Wall and many other objects make up this extraordinary stone which will be part of the wall at the entrance to the church.

The East Wing contains a CHAPEL for meditation, a consultation room, and a parish office for Mass cards and other parish services. The Sacristy, a Bride's Room, restrooms, and an apartment/office with full bath for a priest are also located in this wing.

The West Wing contains a SOCIAL HALL with double doors all along the inside wall that open out onto a patio on the side of the Church. There is also a catering kitchen, a large storeroom and the men's‚ and women's restrooms.

Because of financial considerations the Archdioceses had initially refused to allow us to build these wings. However, due to an extraordinary gift from Mrs. Peg Stine in memory of her husband, we were able to construct them now. The Chapel and Gardens are dedicated in memory of Mr. James M. Stine, who died on January 2, 1998. There is a heavy bronzed marker on the Chapel.

The stained glass windows on ground level in the four corners of the church come from Manresa, the Jesuit retreat house located in Annapolis. Two were offered but we went to beg for the other two from the first owner who had transformed the house into an assisted living facility. The four windows graphically portray the Sorrowful Mysteries: The Agony in the Garden, The Scourging at the Pillar, The Crowning of Thorns, The Carrying of the Cross. These are in the body of the church and represent the still suffering Christ in the people who come to worship.

The twelve windows above the congregation and on the sides were taken from the Redemptorist Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at 61st Street in New York City. It was a cold day after Christmas in 1997, when we crated these windows and brought them to Baltimore to be reworked. Five of these represent the Joyful Mysteries: The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Birth of the Lord, The Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. The other five windows represent, The Adoration of the Magi, The Home at Nazareth (Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, and his grandparents, Joachim and Ann), The Death of St. Joseph, The Changing of the Water into Wine at Cana, and The Crowning of Mary as Queen of Heaven. Also included in the sides at the back of the church are windows representing the Crowning of Thorns and the Scourging, these windows echo the large rose window in the rear of the church which has at its center the Heart of Jesus in a crown of thorns. The Four Evangelists of the Good News of Jesus Christ are place in the comers of this beautiful window.

The organ was brought from a United Methodist Church in Normal, Illinois. It was dismantled and taken to Port Chester, New York, to be renovated. A new console has been built. The pipes are housed above the entrance to the church and the console is in the front. The compressor is below in a trench that runs the length of the church. This trench carries the large plastic tubes which carry the air from the compressor to the pipes. A new piano was purchased which is in the front of the Church by the choir area.

The Stations come from the Church at 61st Street. They are old and painted on canvas. Some amateur touch up was done in the past but the representation remains moving. We have kept the stations as is but changed the frames.

A large Crucifix, also obtained from OLPH on 61st Street, is hanging in the narthex of the Church.

The icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on the altar's left side was purchased from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Center in the Bronx. Our Lady of Perpetual Help is the Madonna to which the Redemptorists have a special devotion.

Although this wall is currently blank, there are a few options under consideration.

The tabernacle door comes from Our Lady of Fatima Church in Baltimore. The tabernacle built into the wall is situated in a separate area behind the sanctuary, yet visible to the main body of the church.

The altar and ambo are constructed from marble and were built by the Paggliaro brothers, a local company. A marble Baptistry is under construction. The relics, embedded in the altar during the Dedication are primarily Redemptorist Saints and Blesseds: St. Alphonsus, St. Gerard Majella, St. Clement Hofbauer, St. John Neumann, and Blessed Francis Seelos, Blessed Peter Donders, Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli, Blessed Gaspar Stanggassinger, as well as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Blessed Kateri Tekawitha, and Blessed Katherine Drexel. A plaque will hang in the rear of the Church listing the saints whose relics are embedded in the altar.

This wall is intentionally left blank for the time being. It has been suggested that we live in the Church for a while before deciding exactly what to put there. A few ideas have surfaced, but no decisions have been made.

At the back of the side corridor on the far side of the church is a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe purchased from Mexico and donated by the Aguilar family. This is The Lady of the Americas and represents the Hispanic Community, as well as Mary, the Defender of the Life of the Unborn Child.