History & Art

DescripIn November, 124 people interesed in liturgical ministries met at Seton to prepare for the first Mass.  Brad Meyer took charge of Lectors, Robin Phelan Tuggle became head of Extraordinary Ministers, John South volunteered to lead the Ushers, and Dan Eckelkamp led set-up and take-down.  The room was filled with excitement and anticipation, as everyone looked forward to meeting new friends and starting this journey together.

In December, 389 gathered in the Skaggs Elementary School gym to celebrate the first Mass.  Fr. Henry Petter was the presider and Msgr. John Bell concelebrated.  Throughout December, parishioners submitted suggestions for names for the parish.  The ballot included 55 names, inadvertently omitting “Our Lady of Angels” which had been suggested and was subsequently included as a write-in.  The three top names, “St. Andrew,” “St. Nicholas,” and “Our Lady of Angels,” were submitted to the Bishop, who selected “Our Lady of Angels” as our name.  By the end of 2000, we had 322 registered families in our parish.tion text goes here

By May, the Finance Council was formed with the immediate task of buying land, which needed to be purchased within two years according to our rental agreement with the Plano Independent School District.  The Parish Pastoral Council was named shortly thereafter.  On the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary (August 15, 2001), the parish of Our Lady of Angels became a canonical entity.

In February, Mia Marie Heber was the first person baptized at our parish.  We gathered for our first parish picnic at Russell Creek Park on July 1.  And in December we celebrated our first anniversary with Bishop Grahmann present.  By the end of 2001, we had grown to 477 families.

The first Parish Pastoral Council meeting was held in January, and they soon created our Parish Mission Statement.  During the coming year, we held our first Bible study, parish outreach projects, and First Communion.  We held our first Easter Vigil Mass with 76 parishioners in attendance.  In September the first small faith group was held and we began our first religious education program for grades K through 8 th with families hosting classes in their own homes that first year.

In March, we received a letter from Bishop Grahmann naming Msgr. John Bell as our pastor.  He was installed as the first pastor of Our Lady of Angels parish on June 2, followed by a huge reception in the Skaggs gym, which we still called home at the time.  Later in the month, Deacon John O’Leary was assigned to our parish following his ordination.

Up to that point, the only property we owned was the storage shed behind Skaggs Elementary.  Each week, a parade of volunteers, brought in the altar, ambo, chairs, banners, vases, tables, cups and bowls, and everything we needed to celebrate Eucharist.  The parade was reversed each week at that end of the last Mass.  At first, our altar was a folding table on bricks, cleverly hidden by a long altar cloth.  It was replaced one week by our beautiful wooden altar, crafted by Dan Eckelkamp, who seemed to show up every other week with a new wooden furnishing to help transform the school gym into a place of worship.  In October, we purchased a house to serve as a rectory, with parishioners gathering to paint, clean, landscape, and prepare the house for Msgr. Bell.

In the fall, the Finance Committee completed the purchase of a 21-acre site on Ridgeview Drive for our parish property.  Though the location was one-half mile outside the parish boundaries, the Diocese encouraged us to purchase it and reset the eastern edge of our parish boundary to include the Ridgeview Drive site.  By the end of the year, we had over 500 families in our parish.

In February, we moved into our own office space on Alma Drive in Plano, where we held our first daily Mass in the chapel.  A Building Committee was also formed in February, tasked with building our first permanent structure, our Worship Center.  During the summers of 2003 and 2004, Saturday Mass was celebrated at 5:30 p.m. in the chapel.  A formal groundbreaking and blessing of the land was celebrated with Bishop Galante, area pastors, the Mayor of Allen, civic leaders, and the parish community in December.  Our first RCIA class was held with twenty adults and four children joining the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass.  By the year end with 530 families in our parish.

Construction on our Worship Center began in February.  The parish celebrated an outdoor Mass to bless the construction site in February.  The following day, construction trailers were moved in and the dirt began to move.  Despite record rainfall during the summer of 2004, construction stayed on track and the building was completed in November.  We celebrated our final Mass in Skaggs Elementary on November 14 and concluded the liturgy by solemnly processing out for the last time with everything we used in Mass.  For one week we lived as people without a parish home.  Then on November 21 we processed into the Worship Center with everything from altar to banners to dress the sanctuary for its first Mass.  We finally had a place to call home!  We ended the year with 560 families.

Our Worship Center was officially dedicated on September 30.  The Catholic Foundation provided a grant for the stone marquee at the entrance to our parking lot.  Brick pavers were placed to commemorate parishioners and their loved ones.  And in August, our stained glass two stained glass windows created by Albuquerque artist, Linda Dabeau, were installed.

We expanded to celebrate Mass on Saturday evenings and continued to set up and take down chairs in our Worship Center to accommodate our ever growing Religious Education program.  Youth retreats were held, and we had a monthly faith formation program for the entire parish on Sunday afternoons called “La Mesa,” or “the table.”  By the end of the year our parish had grown to 661 families.

Our parish has always been noteworthy for it warm, welcoming spirit, and for the large proportion of parishioners who serve our community through a variety of volunteer activities.  In September, volunteers were celebrated with a thank-you dinner at Twin Creeks club.  We continued one of our earliest parish traditions, the annual family picnic and our Knights of Columbus took the prize for “Best Religious Entry” in the Allen Rotary Christmas Parade.  We had 724 families by the end of the year.

In July, we held our first Vacation Bible School headed up by Angie Jakubik, who was assisted by a large group of adult and youth volunteers.  A Welcome Dinner was held Julyfor the many new parishioners.  We selected the Feast of the Guardian Angels in early October to reach out to those in our community who had suffered the loss of a child.  And the Women’s Club, led by the enthusiasm of Sandy Chicoskie, worked tirelessly for many months to produce the first parish cookbook.  We ended the year with 818 families.

We began construction of our own office and classroom building, adjacent to our Worship Center.  Msgr. Bell and the Building Committee agreed on a two-story Education and Formation building, with the ground floor built out with fixed and flexible classroom space, offices, cubicles and an open gathering and reception area.  Our vibrant parish life continued throughout the construction.  Under the creative guidance of our Music Director, Nina McKay, our first annual “OLA’s Got Talent” dinner and variety show was a huge success.  We recognized our graduating high school seniors with a special Mass in May.  Our Religious Education program was restructured under the guidance of the newly-formed Parish Catechetical Council.  After the opening of the Education and Formation Building, we moved out of our temporary offices on Alma Drive in Plano, celebrating our last daily Mass in the chapel in December.  Now we had become a completely Allen parish with 886 families.

The Women’s Club held its first Wine Tasting event in October with a silent auction and delicious meal.  The “Big Kids”,  a group of people over age 50 formed for both fellowship and service, headed by Annie McGraw, had its first overnight trip in the summer, to Palo Duro Canyon, Texas.  We continued to beautify our property with the installation of our magnificent “Our Lady of Angels” statue, designed and created by the artist who made our two stained glass windows, Linda Dabeau of Albuquerque.  The statue was blessed in October and instantly became a favorite spot for children to gather. 

By the end of the year, we had 975 families.

Many of our traditions continue today, as we still have coffee and donuts, children’s breakout, our parish picnic, Angel Tree, collection for Allen Food Pantry, pastor’s bridge night, our children’s pageant at Christmas, and volunteer appreciation dinners.  Newer traditions that are starting to catch on fire are:  Big Kids social events, collections for the troops, Vacation Bible School, Mass of Remembering, and OLA’s Got Talent.  Our first Parish Mission was held in May, with Gene Giuliani from the University of Dallas School of Ministry. 

As we celebrate ten years as a parish, we currently have over 1,000 registered families.

We began our celebrations on our 10th Anniversary by giving each family a decal for their car and celebrating the birthday of the Church on Pentecost by presenting to each family a commemorative Anniversary Bible.  The Women's Club sold blue parish t-shirts featuring our Marian stained glass window.  The blue t-shirts were visible at our annual parish picnic.  Summer also saw the wildly successful Sonsurf Beach Bash for VBS.  High school youth sponsored a group of teens to Memphis, TN for SHINE camp, enjoying prayer, fellowship, and service together. RCIA and adult faith formation blossomed with Scripture study and education opportunities, and more than 25 volunteers helping lead 11 people into the Church at the Easter Vigil.  In October, members of the Big Kids group took a bus tour to visit the painted churches of Texas.  

By the end of the year we had nearly 1,100 families in our parish.

Our year started with a challenge for all parishioners - adjusting to a new wording of our liturgies.  We proved that we were up to the task so that, by the end of the year, "and also with your spirit" was rarely heard.  Seven new Catholics were welcomed into the Church at the Easter Vigil and at Pentecost we introduced a multi-lingual petitions led by parishioners in our parish who come from all the corners of the globe.  The joy continued with multi-lingual prayers and rosaries at other occasions throughout the year.
 
Our Lady of Angels knows how to put the "fun" in fundraiser, starting with the annual Texas Hold 'Em Tournament sponsored by the Men's Club. The Women's Club raised $25,000 for the 2nd floor campaign with their Wine Tasting event in April.  This campaign, to complete the build-out of the 2nd floor of the Education and Formation Building also added a Car Raffle and Las Vegas trip, and our commemorative brick fundraiser.  Continuing a long tradition in the parish, the Knights of Columbus held their 11th Annual Golf Tournament in September.
 
185 children and 130 volunteers participated in VBS.  Middle School students kept their cool at the Middle School Summer Socials.  And a High School team served the needs of the poor in Chicago on the SHINE Camp trip in June.  The Big Kids group took a trip to Westfest in West, Texas to enjoy some brats, polka music, and the annual Polka Mass celebration on Sunday.  The Big Kids also sponsored a fun Trivia Night for the whole parish.
 
Parishioners "gave of themselves" at the fall blood drive, monthly collections to the Allen Food Pantry, and the Angel Tree at Christmas.  We supported our military members stationed overseas with goody boxes and words of encouragement by sending 11 boxes of coupons and 59 boxes stuffed with goodies to service men and women who then shared with others in their company.
 
We said good-bye to Nina McKay, our choir director for more than four years and Deacon John O'Leary and his wife Shirley in December.  Deacon John served at Our Lady of Angels since his ordination and was named as the Director of the Diaconate for the Dallas Diocese this year. 

By the end of the year, we had more than 1,150 families in Our Lady of Angels parish.

The Men's Club kicked off the fun for the year with their Texas Hold 'em Tournament while the Newcomers were welcomed at a social and dinner a few weeks later.  Fellowship continued in Lent, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus and their three Lenten fish fry evenings that followed a Friday evening Mass and Stations of the Cross.

We proved once again that "OLA's Got Talent" with a fun evening showcasing the musical abilities and other "interesting" skills of our parishioners and we also enjoyed delicious Mexican cuisine at our Cinco de Mayo celebration. Then we were blessed to be able to welcome ValLimar Jansen for our parish mission, in which we saw Scripture stories told in a unique way through lively acting and exciting music... and colorful scarves! 

Meanwhile, the youth of our parish participated in Action, Antioch, and "MogWog" (Men of God/Women of God) retreats, they attended Souled out and J-Walk, and served in such events as Souper Bowl of Caring and senior visits - and they had a lot of fun along the way.  In May, they traveled to Oklahoma for a little outdoor adventure on the EPIC canoe and camping trip.  In June, 49 high school students and 11 adults traveled to Memphis, TN to serve the community through SHINE. In July, 16 middle and high school students served others through a week of Mission Possible. High school students also got to attend World Youth Day at Six Flags in October.

The Big Kids sponsored a very enjoyable "Trivia Night" and worked on a huge effort for a successful parish yard sale to raise money to help complete the second floor of the Education and Formation Building. The Women's Club released a new edition of the parish cookbook and commemorative apron in November as a fundraiser, as well.

With autumn, came the annual Knights of Columbus Golf Tournament at Ridgeview Ranch in September, and the annual Parish Picnic in October. The Knights put on a "Trunk or Treat" event before Halloween which was well attended - even if the weather had other plans. And a good time was had by all at the Wild West Shindig, Chuck Wagon BBQ Dinner and Car Raffle Drawing in November! 

By the end of the year our parish had 1170 registered families.

The Men's Club hosted its 10th Annual Texas Hold-em in January, and the Knights of Columbus hosted its 13th Annual Golf Tournament in September.  In addition, the Women's Club held its biennial Wine Tasting Dinner and Silent Auction, raising more than $20,000 to benefit the building fund and the service needs of the organization. These fundraisers, along with the parish car raffle in November  helped support our parish goals while providing fellowship and FUN!

Summer was an especially active time, with VBS and Mission Possible, as well as SHINE Catholic Work Camp, where the youth and their chaperones helped fix up Moore, OK, which had been overwhelmed by trying to recover from tornado damage. In May, 106 children made their First Communion and 82 youth receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The Knights of Columbus and the Men's Club hosted summer games which they called the "Peter and Paul Games." In September, musician Kevin Keil held a concert to help the parish raise funds for new hymnals. The Knights held the second annual "Trunk or Treat" Halloween event for the kids in October. And, in December, our first Parish Retreat, presented by Fr. Jude Siciliano, OP and Sr. Patricia Bruno, OP. 

At the end of 2014, our  parish had 1190 registered families.

And as our parish grows, so must our building!  On June 7, Father Bell broke the elevator wall in the Education & Formation Building and we began the process of finishing out the 2nd floor, adding office space, classrooms, large gathering spaces, and a lending library. Our Men's Club hosted the 11th annual Texas Hold’em tournamenta and KCs sponsored the 14th annual Golf Tournament.  We also enjoyed the Big Kids Trivia Night, the parish picnic, and many other fun social occasions.

Our prayer and learning experiences this year often were quite musical, including welcoming Michael James Mette, a Catholic musician and speaker who travels the country sharing his music and faith and Choir Camp was held for kids. We had other guests visit our parish this year, such as Fr. Stephen Sanchez, O.C.D., who presented a 3-part Summer Lecture Series, and Fr. Tom Cloherty, who led our parish mission.The Catholic Biblical School, sponsored by the University of Dallas, School of Ministry, began meeting weekly at Our Lady of Angels. Not all the special educational events were for the adults: “Son Spark Labs” Vacation Bible School was a fun way for the youngest members of the parish to learn about Jesus.

We continued our tradition of service to our community in many ways in our parish this year with parish-wide events such as Bundle Sunday, blood drives, Angel Tree, troop shipments, and monthly food pantry drives, among many others. Our young people participated in service weeks like Mission Possible, as well as SHINE Catholic Work Camp, which took place this year in Houston.

Our parish lives out a vibrant sacramental life, too. We baptized 44 babies and children throughout the year, and 6 adults were received into the Church at Easter.  In February, 157 8th and 9th graders were confirmed, and 111 young people received their First Communion in May.

At the end of 2015, Our Lady of Angels parish had 1,224 families registered.

We grew in faith and fellowship in 2016 in Our Lady of Angels parish, thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff and dedicated volunteers.  CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) began in March with a retreat for 27 men and a second retreat in August for 33 men.  37 women attended a retreat in June and 35 women another retreat in November.   Our Evangelization Team presented parishioners with inspirational and educational material from Matthew Kelly, which helped renew interest in adult faith formation in our parish. Fr. Ron Hoye led our parish mission in February with record attendance, Fr. Jason Cargo led a 3-session summer series for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, and Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) took hold in Our Lady of Angels with two men's and two women's retreats in 2016.
Our service to God's people also expanded in 2016. In addition to such events as Angel Tree, Mission Possible, and SHINE Catholic Work Camp (in St. Charles, Louisiana, this year), we formed a team to bring Stephen Ministry to OLA. Under the guidance of Sue Parker, the core team of Sue, Cecelia Anderson, Cheryl-Ann Monteiro, and Kathleen Hileman will provide care and mercy one-on-one to those inside and outside the church, a ministry which will certainly grow in our parish!
We were treated to some beautiful music in September as a group of Dallas musicians held a fundraiser for Sudanese refugees. Our younger members enjoyed "Cave Quest" at Vacation Bible School in July.  We celebrated the “Grand Opening” of the Education and Formation Building’s expansion of the second-floor with a Marti Gras dinner, celebration and car raffle.  And a fun time was had by our over-21 crowd as the Women's Club held another successful Wine Tasting event in April.

2016 saw the addition to our staff of Christian Origines as our new Youth Ministry Coordinator. And on July 24, we added a fourth Mass to our weekly Sunday schedule, this one at 5:00 pm Sunday evenings. Kevin Lovett brought his musical talent to this Mass with a "praise and worship" flavor.
We baptized 41 babies and children throughout the year, and 3 adults were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. In February, 100 middle schoolers were confirmed, and 98 young people received their First Communion in May.

At the end of 2016, Our Lady of Angels parish had 1,237 families registered. 

Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church has had an overwhelming year in 2017, all thanks to the tireless efforts of our staff and many dedicated volunteers. With new programs and new parishioners, we are blessed to share the love of Jesus Christ with all whom enter our house.
 
CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) Retreats for men and women continue into their second year to inspire all who attend.  New retreats are scheduled for 2018 on February 3-4 and July 21-22 for women and May 19-20 and October 6-7 for men.   Our adult faith formation hosted the annual Lenten Journey, Fr. Chris Schroeder, SJ, Retreat Director at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House, for 3-session summer series, and Bible Study Classes on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings.
 
In service to God's people, our Stephen Ministry program commissioned 18 men and women. New training sessions will begin in early 2018 for lay-people who would like to provide one-on-one Christian care for individuals in our parish who are experiencing difficult times.  Our Outreach Ministries have assisted with Christmas Angel Tree, Food Pantry collections on a monthly basis, Guardian Angel Ministry (Benevolent Fund), Mission Possible, and SHINE Catholic Work Camp.  Our Military Shipment Ministry packed and mailed 21 Christmas boxes and 18 July Fourth boxes from the summer for soldiers serving stateside and in foreign lands.  Over the summer a large shipment of coupons was also sent to one of our U.S. Military Base to assist military families. 
 
Thirty volunteers in our Rosary Makers Ministry produced over 8400 rosaries for local and foreign missions, including our own First Communion students, OLA parishioners, CRHP retreatants, evacuees of Hurricane Harvey, a local nursing home and hospital, and for our military soldiers.  Our Meals and Rides ministry prepared over 40 meals for individuals after hospital stays.
 
OLA men in Knights of Columbus Council 13044, are always ready to support our parish and its ministries.  In 2017, they donated over $10K to local charities and to OLA.  They also helped sponsor our Parish Picnic/Trunk or Treat, the Easter Egg Hunt, CRHP meals, Priesthood Sunday, Mother’s Day Roses, Donut Sundays, Food Pantry, Blood Drives, Helping Hands, Golf Tournament, Flag Retirement Ceremonies, and our new Worship Center sound system.
 
OLA’s liturgical ministries participate at all weekend and holy day Mass.  We are so fortunate to have 100 Extraordinary Ministers of Communion, 56 lectors, 38 ushers, 28 welcome committee members, 61 altar servers, and 18 sacristans.  There are eight members of Art & Environment team who keep the flowers and church environment ready for our liturgical settings. Our Sacramental Sewing ministry of nine volunteers prepare the baptismal bibs and RCIA stoles, while 13 members of the Altar Linen Angels clean and iron the purificators and altar linens. 
 
Our faith formation classes continue to instruct and form our children in PK3 classes through High School thanks to over 200 catechists.  As the year ends, we have 55 in our Early Childhood program, 340 in Elementary Classes, 230 in Middle School Classes and 120 participating in High School Ministry.  Our K-5th graders, teen volunteers, and adult volunteers enjoyed "Maker Fun Factory" at Vacation Bible School in July.
 
We baptized 33 babies and children throughout the year, and 7 adults were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil. In February, 100 middle schoolers were confirmed, and 72 young people received their First Communion in May.
 
At the end of 2016, Our Lady of Angels parish has 4,217 members registered in 1,248 families.