Focus on Church: St. Ignatius of Antioch spruces up church in honor of 30th anniversary

Congregation: St. Ignatius Parish of Antioch

Address: 3351 Contra Loma Blvd., Antioch

Web site: www.stignatiusofantioch.org

Established: An Episcopal Degree was signed in 1979, establishing boundaries of the new church within the Oakland Diocese. The church on Contra Loma Boulevard opened in 1987.
Religious affiliation: Roman Catholic Diocese Oakland

Services: Weekday Eucharist Monday through Friday 8 a.m.; Saturday Vigil Eucharist 5 p.m.; Sunday Eucharist: 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Faith community: 1,050 member families for a total of 3,500 members

Spiritual leaders: The Rev. Robert Kenneth Rien, ordained priest 1974 assigned as Parochial Administrator January 2006; The Rev. Thomas Peter Bonacci, ordained priest 1972; Gary Hack and Jerry Waters, deacons; Burt Smith, Faith Formation director; Don Pearson, music director; Lorraine Lohmeier, pastoral secretary; and Beverly Iacona, financial secretary.

Motto: "We live to be a reflection of the life of living Christ" is the church's mission statement.
"The Oakland Dioceses has been changing their mission and we recently revised ours to be in harmony with the Dioceses and supporting their mission," said Rein, who recently celebrated his 35th anniversary as a priest.

Community outreach: St. Ignatius adopted St. Peter Martyr School, a private Catholicschool in Pittsburg. The church provides financial support. The church also supports organizations like Habitat for Humanity by building houses. It also builds at least one house a year in Mexico.

Currently it is supporting the Cancer Relay for Life program by providing a team of the church's members.

The church also supports various organizations like Winter Nights Shelter, and provides a Baby Shower for Mother's Day for Birth Right of Brentwood and offers several food drives and holiday support for local families.

In honor of the St. Ignatius' 30th anniversary the church is giving a gift to the Bay Area Crisis Nursery in Clayton.

"We are really excited about this. This really forms right under our mission of helping others and working together. Sister Ann does such great work," Rein said.

New look around the church: Over the past year the church has made several improvements. One of the biggest projects has been to add new stained glass windows throughout the building. The 12 new windows were designed by church member Sherry Morris. A church family donated each window. Rein said that the church is also sporting a new icon. The new painting was hand-painted by 80-year-old Sister Ann Davidson. The Icon is an addition to five other icon pieces that decorate the church. One of the icons is of the St. Ignatius of Antioch. Rein said that there are no statues in the church. During the redesign he followed the decor of the first priest who added the icons instead of the statues seen in other churches.

"It might have had something to do with the fact that this was the theme of what was around when St. Ignatius of Antioch was around in the first century," Rein said.

Youth outreach: Rein said that the church works with children through high school age. Currently St. Ignatius doesn't have a youth minister, but Rein said that they hope to work on that in the near future. At this time they recommend Antioch's Holy Rosary Church, which provides an academic program.

Family support: St. Ignatius has a faith education program that is run by Burt Smith. The group works with families and then the parents and children split off and attend their own classes.
Ministries: One of the biggest ministries through St. Ignatius is its Music Ministry. The program added a new director last December, Don Pearson. When Pearson came to the church, Rodgers Organs, a large manufacturer, upgraded the church's organ from a 37-spot organ to an 85-spot design. In March the church offered its first concert with the organ and more than 250 attended the event.

"We want to have more events like this and invite all the other churches to attend," Rein said.

"We may disagree with some of our beliefs, but music is the one area we all have in common."
Future activities: The church holds many activities each year and is looking for more ways to bring people together. It also plans a Parish Fest, Beer and Brats Fest in the fall, a St. Nicholas Day in December.

On June 6 the church will host a 30th anniversary celebration that will include music and activities.

Related Contra Costa Times stories to this church.
May 20:
Arrests made in Antioch church burglaries

May 19:
Burglars strike again at Antioch church

May 17:
Antioch Catholic Church the target of second burglary in recent years