Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

ENROLLED ORIGINAL

                              A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION

                                            25-101

                   IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

                                      September 19, 2023

To recognize Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church and the church’s 75th Anniversary.

       WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, located at 3800 Ely Place, S.E.

in Ward 7, is pastored by Father Zygmunt Kurzawinski;

       WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church was founded in 1943 by the late

Monsignor Joseph V. Buckley as a mission of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, which at the

time was the largest parish in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C.;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church’s first mass was celebrated in a

storefront building located at 3952 Minnesota Avenue, S.E., and due to large attendance, Sunday

masses were then held at the old Senator Theater while the storefront building continued to be

used for hearing confessions, the Stations of the Cross, and other religious activities;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church celebrated mass for the first time

in the building located at Ridge Road, S.E. and Ely Place, S.E. on Christmas Eve of 1951, and

His Excellency the Most Reverend Patrick A. O’Boyle blessed the cornerstone and dedicated the

church building on January 20, 1952;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church opened the Our Lady Queen of

Peace Catholic School, a vital resource to the church and community in what now houses the

Cornerstone Christian School, in September 1952, staffed by the Daughters of Charity of St.

Vincent de Paul, serving kindergarten through fourth grade and later expanding to include pre-

school through eighth grade with both lay teachers and the Daughters of Charity until their

departure in 2002;

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       WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church created the Our Lady Queen of

Peace Credit Union in the 1960’s for the parish, students, and church community, incorporated

under the Health Education and Welfare (HEW) Credit Union;

         WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church established many faith family

activities in the 1960’s like the Annual Spring Festival, Science Fairs, Art Fairs, and the May

processions; the church became a part of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), allowing all

youth that lived in the church boundary and parishioners to participate in sports no matter their

religious background; and the church also held 3 masses at 8:00am, 10:00am, and 12 noon, with

a combination of guitars and folk songs at the 10am mass;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church introduced catechism class and

the Our Lady Queen of Peace Teen Club in the 1970’s, and the church’s youth also began

participating in Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church started the Our Lady Queen of

Peace Gospel Choir in the 1980’s, adding the drums and other percussion instruments to masses,

including a monthly Sunday Afrocentric musical worship, and a 10:30am Gospel Choir Mass

that drew many of the younger parishioners;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church’s former pastor Pawel Sass

implemented a much-needed renovation project for the Church and the Rectory that included

creating meeting space for parishioners in the Rectory’s basement, re-tiling the church floor,

repairing church pews, and building permanent risers to elevate the choirs for church services, as

well as the beautification of the altar, an uplift to the exterior of the Church and the placement of

beautiful statues of the Blessed Mother in front of both the Church and Rectory buildings;

       WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church’s current pastor, Father

Zygmunt Kurzawinski, was assigned to Our Lady Queen of Peace amid the pandemic in 2020

and has continued beautifying the church;

         WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church and School have had many

priests, seminarians, and deacons to spend time in their community and go on and become

pastors and priests of other churches in the Archdiocese;

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church has continued to nurture and

build a legacy of service and spiritual growth, and through an active and vibrant participation of

thirty-four plus ministries, enabled parishioners to strengthen their faith and the church, serve the

community and demonstrate love and service to God; and

        WHEREAS, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church celebrates its 75th Anniversary

of action through faith, spirituality, and social justice.

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                                                                     ENROLLED ORIGINAL

      IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF

COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic

Church 75th Anniversary Recognition Resolution of 2023”.

        Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes Our Lady Queen of Peace

Catholic Church on the historic milestone of 75 years of “Building a Faith Family for Families of

Faith” and celebrates how the church has contributed to the lives of its parishioners, the

community, and the District of Columbia.

       Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.

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