St. Cecelia Parish

A community of faith, guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

Welcome to the St. Cecelia Parish website

715 East North Street, Algona, Iowa 50511  

Parish Staff:

Father Edward M. Girres
Deacon Robert Larsen
Deacon William Black
Pastoral Associate: Lorri Larsen
Director of Faith Formation:  Darcie Kramer
Business Manager:  June Garman

              

                                                            St. Cecelia Parish Mission Statement

 The Mission of our St. Cecelia Parish Family is to be:

  • a community of faith, guided and inspired by the Holy Spirit
  • dedicated to life long faith formation
  • good stewards by the use of our gifts of time, talent and treasure

We place prayer, active participation, peace and justice at the heart of our mission.
THE CHURCH DOES NOT HAVE A MISSION; MISSION HAS A CHURCH.

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                                                         Welcome, New Parishoners and Guests

We extend a warm welcome to all new memebers!
If you are new to our Parish, please help us welcome you by
coming to the Parish Office to introduce yourself and register.
We look forward to meeting you! 

Prayer to St. Cecelia

St. Cecelia, this parish gladly bears your name.  It is said that during your last three days of life, while mortally wounded, you vigorously witnessed to and shared the faith and brought about hundreds of conversions.  Help us witness to and share our faith with a passion like yours:  in our homes, in our Catholic School and Faith Formation Programs, all our parish activities, and at the work place.  We are told that you heard angels sing, and so have been named the patroness of music.  Bless our worship.  Help us to lift our hearts and voices with Christ in effective praise and thanksgiving to the heavenly Father who has given us every good gift.  St. Cecelia, pray with us and for us, especially when we sing- for we are praying twice.  Amen.

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 About Saint Cecelia

 

 In addition to being the patron of Church music,
Saint Cecelia is one of the most famous Roman martyrs of the early church. 
According to legend, Cecelia was a Christian of high rank betrothed to a Roman named Valarian. 
Through her influece, Valerian was converted and martyred along with his brother.  Cecelia's martyrdom followed.

Since the time of the Renaissance, Saint Cecelia has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ. 
As one writer
put it, "Like any good Christian, Cecelia sang in her heart and sometimes with her voice. 
She has become a symbol of the Church's conviction that good music is
an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the
church than any other art."

 

 

 

 

 

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Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

Contact Lorri Larsen at the parish office.

Parish Directors

Pat Timmons, Chuck Reding

Pastoral Council

Liz Buscher, Matt Even, Chris Gerhardt, Brenda Hamilton, Jean Kramer, Larry Kollasch, Al Laubenthal, Joe Muller, Lori Reding 

Faith Formation Board

Chris Gerhardt, Mary Bleich, Fred Schmidt, Sue Haas, Paul Grein, and the St. Cecelia Parish Staff.

Calvary Cemetery

Cemetery Sexton: Tom Arend(contact the Parish Office)

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Catholic Social Services

Emily McCullough, M.A., CADC,
M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy
Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor

Monday by appointment 295-8840 or 515-576-4156

Parish Health Concerns

Please notify the parish office of any illness or hospitalization.
Drivers available for occasional medical appointments: call the parish office.
Rides available at Region 2 Kossuth County Transit: 24 hour advance needed, call 515-924-3251 Monday-Friday 8:00am-3:00pm
If you know of someone needing a parish visit, God's Helping Hands is available through the parish office.

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Verse of the Day