Catholics are members of the Church that Jesus originally established by His life, death, and resurrection more than 2,000 years ago. The Apostles are the original Bishops, with Peter as the head, our first Pope. We are the first Christians who have the teaching office, or Magisterium, continually guiding us through the Holy Spirit who will be with us until the end of time, as Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18. As members of fallen mankind, we can only hope in our salvation through the Sacraments that the Church provides to us and to all people. We always hope and pray for all Christians to unite in one faith, one hope, one baptism in Christ. We pray that anyone who reads this will want to investigate with an open heart the claims of the Church and will be moved to reach out to us at the parish so that we can share our faith with you. There are many ways to reach out; you can call Kim Walker at the parish office at 360-734-2850 ext. 304, you can attend Mass, or come visit the parish office and someone will be there to talk with you Mon-Thurs, 10-4.
If your heart is leading you to seek a deeper relationship with God, or if you are simply curious about what Catholics believe, then the Rite of Christian Initation of Adults, or RCIA, is the place to start. It is the process by which the Church teaches the tenets of the faith and how to live the life of a Catholic.
There are three sacraments of Christian initiation that will bring you into Full Communion with the Catholic Church. These sacraments are Baptism, the Eucharist, and Confirmation.
Depending on what sacraments you may have received, the RCIA process will be modified for you in order to receive the remaining sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church.
The RCIA process lasts for a year, however some may choose to take another year in their discernment process. The final decision of readiness is ultimately made by you in discernment with your sponsor, the RCIA team, and the priest.