A history of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community

In 1980, people living in the area served by Prince of Peace Catholic Community received the news that a new parish would be established in Cypress and the surrounding area.  Fr. George Sheltz, named to be the new pastor, met with key ministers living in the new boundaries to begin the process of making this dream a reality.  To choose a name for the new parish, it was decided if this is Christ's church - it should be named after Him.  The name Christ the Redeemer was recommended and submitted to the Bishop for confirmation.

Before CtR was built, Mass was celebrated at Millsap Elementary School, lovingly referred to as "St. Millsap."  Each Friday afternoon, volunteers carried all necessities for Mass to Millsap, set up chairs in the cafeteria with the altar on the stage for Sunday Mass.  Then, after the last mass each Sunday, volunteers took down all the chairs and altar, reset the tables for school the next day, and carried all the necessities back to the store front - quite an undertaking, but everyone pulled together.  Thus, the true spirit of Christ the Redeemer was born.

Store front space had been rented in an old Gerland's shopping center at Huffmeister and Fleur-de-lis to be used for daily Mass, office space, religious education classes, meetings, youth activities, and dances.  The space soon limited what could be accomplished.  As construction of the church started, two double trailers were placed on the Church property.  During the day these served as parish offices and a place to house the social services which were soon to become Cypress Assistance Ministries; and in the evening, it was quite a site to behold as every available nook and cranny, even the hallway, were used for religious education classes for our growing parish.

Our contemporary mission style church building and community center were completed in 1984 and officially dedicated on August 19, 1984.  Fr. George's parents donated the altar for the church.  It is made of different types of wood, one of them being cypress, in recognition of the area.  The Stations of the Cross are also carved from cypress.  The partial circles around each station become completed circles on the 12th, 13th, and 14th stations to symbolize that Jesus Christ thorough his death, burial, and resurrection completed our redemption.  The church originally had a cross in the sanctuary until Good Friday of 1996 when the large crucifix that hangs there today was unveiled.  The large stained glass windows depict village scenes from the time of Christ.  In the day chapel, the four seasons are depicted in the stained glass.  The circular window above the chapel doorway symbolizes the Trinity - the circle represents the father's love, the cross, the redeeming love of the Son, and the flame, the active love of the Spirit.

In July of 1990, Fr. Dominic Peluse, SCJ, became our second pastor.  Pressed by the need for more space, the store fronts across the street from the old Gerland's on Huffmeister were leased.  The offices and Cypress Assistance Ministries moved there from the trailers.  In 1995, the office and education building were constructed with the help of a core group of parishioners and occupied by the parish staff.  Cypress Assistance Ministries remained in the leased buildings.  This gave much needed space for religious education, meetings and other activities.  To meet the needs for future expansion, the land next to the church was purchased in 1998 and a temporary parking lot was built at the end of 2000.

July of 2001 marked the installation of our third pastor Fr. Leonard Elder, SCJ.  The meditation garden in front of the church was built and the Parish Council was revived.  Many ministries, including Welcoming Committee, Stewardship Committee and Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration were established and organized during his assignment to our parish.

In July 2004, Fr. Sean P. Horrigan and Fr. Ryszard Kulma were welcomed to the parish to continue to build and strengthen our faith and community.  Again, pressed by the need for more space, a master plan was developed in 2005. Every parishioner and visitor was asked to complete a survey.  The master plan survey asked what was our greatest need at the time, dreams for the property, strengths, weaknesses, etc. The overwhelming response to the survey was a need for new worship space and an onsite rectory.

August of 2006 kicked off the 'Our Faith, Our Future' Capital Campaign to raise the funds needed for Phase I of the master plan. The rectory was completed first and Fr. Sean and Fr. Ryszard happily moved into the new home in the Summer of 2007.

On 07/07/07 we held a groundbreaking ceremony to bless the ground and begin work on our new worship space. Construction began on August 20, 2007 and our new sanctuary is currently underway.

God has blessed us with beautiful facilities for worship, education, and social functions.  But, even more importantly, He has provided us with the warm and loving community who carry on the spirit of Christ the Redeemer Catholic Community.