Has it been five years already? When our Facilities Manager, Jim Nakoneshny, announced a few weeks ago that Holy Family Cathedral's five year anniversary was coming up on December 18th, it took me by surprise. Not in a shocking way, but a good way. I suddenly realized I had become very comfortable in my surroundings. The old church, office, and rectory on a 110th Street had become a bit of a blur.
Not that I could ever forget that my office at the old church was in the far north corner of the basement of the bi-level rectory. When Fr. David needed me, I would run up one flight of stairs to the back door, another flight to the main office area, another flight down, then two more flights up and I reached his office. It never seemed to fail that I would inevitably forget the one file he needed and would have to turn around and repeat the process a couple more times. Back then, I didn't need a gym pass or my Fitbit to tell me I had walked 10,000 steps or earned my New Zealand badge because I had walked, jogged, or ran enough kilometers that week.
It’s hard to believe we moved to the Cathedral nearly five years ago. Christmas time comes with its own busyness, let alone moving a church community, office, and a rectory, but we did it. I feel comfortable here and comfortable is the realization that the Cathedral is not just a building or location. Comfortable is the sense of belonging, of being part of a family, and that is how I feel when I come to work every day, but especially when I walk into Cathedral on Sunday.
