Dr steward paradise ca8/26/2023 ![]() ![]() The church offering the comfort of something familiar. “Orland, Oroville, Chico,” parishioner and Paradise High School graduate Jacob Weldon said. Thomas every Sunday now from their new homes. Some displaced parishioners drive many miles to St. “I’m grateful to God that this did survive,” Kidder said. “It was so wonderful to come home, and to see our church and to see that it was intact,” Judy Walker said. “There’s always light in them to move on to move forward.” And there is this enthusiasm, desire,” he said. “I just love coming up here, celebrating with the people. Ramat comes in, making the most of his weekly visits. The appointment essentially put Kidder in charge of running the church, just without the sacramental duties of a priest. He came up with this idea of appointing me parish steward, a very unique position. “His comments, he said, ‘Paradise is still a parish.’ When he said those words, that we are still a parish, I knew that we needed to stay together or we would lose this parish. Instead he recognized, this parish needs to be here for this community. He could have decided there simply aren’t enough parishioners anymore to justify keeping it open. Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto could have closed the parish. “A lot of these people were really good friends of ours. “We miss the people that can’t come here anymore,” parishioner Judy Walker said. You seen how many were here today,” parishioner Tom Walker said. “We used to fill this church up every Sunday. mass on Sundays, attended by about 150 people. Now, Father Martin Ramat, pastor of a church in Chico, drives up for a single 1 p.m. They used to have 733 registered families and four masses each weekend. The congregation is too small now to have a full-time priest. Many others have moved away because of it. “The first question, obviously, ‘where is everyone? Did they make it out okay?’” And you have to responded to that,” Kidder said. “Actually, it’s interesting how God puts in front of you something always bigger than yourself. But yet they were very committed to the recovery of this parish,” close friend Jim Collins said. “He and Yvonne day to day would wonder where they were going to sleep the next night. ![]() They were hosing it down.”īefore the fire, Kidder was the parish plant manager. It was the only thing between us and destroying the entire church inside. “This wall actually collapsed, ignited this bush here, and cracked that window. But it was very, very intense,” Kidder said. “The fire department was here the night of the fire. Longtime parishioner Greg Kidder and his wife Yvonne lost their home in the fire, but he says during that crisis, what was on his mind even more was the church. Many of the buildings belonging to the parish, including the priests’ residence, were destroyed. 8 last year, the church was surrounded by fire. ![]() When flames engulfed the town of Paradise on Nov. It’s not a stretch to say it’s a miracle they’re here, gathering for Sunday mass. They have literally been through fire together. Thomas More Catholic church share much more than a common faith. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |