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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, November 14, 2013 | 24 St. Matthew's celebrating its silver anniversary by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver For 25 years, the Saint Matthew Roman Catholic Parish has been promoting goodwill in the community. On Saturday, the Glen Abbey church will celebrate its anniversary with a dinner and dance at Le Dome Banquet Hall, 1173 North Service Rd. E., starting at 6 p.m. The celebration is expected to draw 500 churchgoers, including three bishops and former pastors and priests. Rev. Mark Gatto said the celebration is a reminder for parishioners to be thankful for what they've been given. "Celebrating is always important for any community. It's important for people to have a chance to give thanks and celebrate joyfully what exists here. This will really be the highlight of the year," said Gatto. "We've had a number of events throughout the year, but this is really the climax where we can gather to celebrate and give thanks." The priest noted the church makes an effort to assist with charitable gifts and the less fortunate as a way to "serve the larger com- munity of Oakville." "It's meant to be something that impacts the whole community in a good way. We're not here just for ourselves, but ultimately we're called to be an instrument of good in our community," said Gatto. Established in 1988, the congregation's members originally gathered for mass at St. Matthew Catholic Elementary School because there was no church at the time, said Gatto. "A number of Catholics in the neighbourhood were coming together and really wanted a place to celebrate Eucharist and have a church," he noted. "They canvassed the area to find out how many Catholics there were and if there was an interest (in building a church)." Interest from the community peaked a few years later and led to the erection of the church on Monks Passage, where it still resides. "Rev. Leonard Strohmeyer was always insisted from the beginning that he was here to build a community of faith, not a just building, although a building was going to come too," said Gatto. It's meant to be something that impacts the whole community in a good way. We're not here just for ourselves, but ultimately we're called to be an instrument of good in our community. Catholics here are formed in their faith, know their faith and are striving to live it. I've always said since Day 1 that it's a welcoming parish where there's a sense of hospitality and people who come here feel welcomed and received. Rev. Mark Gatto, St. Matthew Roman Catholic Parish Audiology and Hearing Aid Centre NOISY WORKPLACE? If you have spent your working life in noisy areas, you may be eligible for full coverage. Even if you are now retired, you may apply for benefits if your hearing was damaged due to long term noise exposure in the workplace. We are authorized vendors for WSIB, DVA, ADP, ODSP and NIHB. We are experienced in the application process with a very high success rate. The first step to better hearing is a hearing test. HEARING SCIENCES "Strohmeyer, who was here for 12 years, helped establish the building." Once the church was built, it didn't take long for the parish to grow because the community was also growing, Gatto said. The congregation is now comprised of 5,000 registered families with students attending six Catholic elementary schools and several high schools across Oakville. "We have people from Asia, Africa, South and Central America and Europe. It's a very diverse, but very lively, parish with lots of young families," said Gatto. "I would estimate there are 15,000-20,000 Catholics within this area who come under the umbrella of this parish." While Saint Matthew Parish has its core members who have been with the church since the beginning, Gatto noted there's been a constant turnover because of people moving. So the challenge going forward, he said, will be maintaining the community it has built while continuing to grow. "When we started, there was a much smaller group of people and the community aspect was much easier. Now it's a bigger area and the number of people is so much more," said the priest. "Trying to maintain a community sense is a challenge because of the diversity." In addition to growth, Gatto said the church will focus on two areas in the near future -- adult faith formation and its youth and young adult ministry groups. "Catholics here are formed in their faith, know their faith and are striving to live it. I've always said since Day 1 that it's a welcoming parish where there's a sense of hospitality and people that come here feel welcomed and received," said Gatto. For more information on St. Matthew's parish or the anniversary celebrations, visit www.saintmatthew.ca. Give Them An Experience That Lasts A Lifetime! 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