Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C. PP.S. Pastor

Dear Friends and visitors,

Welcome to the website of St. Edward Catholic Parish in Newark, CA. We hope that you will join us for prayer and Eucharist as we seek to be family, disciple, servant and friend to all who gather to celebrate the Word of God and the Precious Blood that brings all people near.

We are Family. We are a Christian family, a communion of persons related to one another in the Blood of Christ. We foster wholeness within and communion among diverse individuals, families, households and communities of our parish, celebrating a variety of spiritual, social and recreational events. A spirituality of the Blood of Christ calls us to gather and include all people, facilitate the experience of community, and encourage and celebrate a New and everlasting covenant for all.

We are disciple. Enlivened by the Blood of Christ, we are a community of disciples, handing on the Catholic Faith, centered on the Word of God, opening the door for Christ in this post modern age, celebrating the sacraments, inviting all to Christian community as apostolic and missionary witness. Our Adult Formation programs, our Catholic School and Parish Catechetical experiences strengthen the personal and spiritual lives of all the members, calling all to the blessings and responsibilities that come with Baptism.

We are servant. The Blood of Christ is that expression of God's love which provides belonging for the broken and invites solidarity with the suffering. We delight in fostering the spiritual and corporal works of mercy: instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The whole parish shares in the mission of the church to build up the kingdom of God by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Those we serve in Christ's name are never strangers but always family and friends.

We are friend. The Blood of Christ is that gift of God that brings all people near. Our members are active in the larger community and in the Diocese of Oakland, sharing the benefits of the kingdom of God with all in need. We strive to be good neighbors and friends, sharing the amazing generosity of St. Edward parishioners with all who are called to be children of God. In a church and in a parish family that understands itself as Communion, "the Blood of Christ is the foundation of the absolute certitude that in God's plan life will be victorious." (John Paul II)

Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C. PP.S.
Pastor