DEFOREST — A warm gathering occurred on the frigid morning of January 25 at St. Olaf Church in DeForest.

The people of Nativity of the Lord Parish celebrated the installation of their pastor, Fr. Jim Leeser.

Nativity of the Lord Parish consists of St. Jerome Church in Columbus, St. Joseph Church in East Bristol, St. Joseph Church in Rio, St. Olaf Church in DeForest, St. Patrick Church in Doylestown, and St. Thomas Church in Poynette.

Fr. Joji Thirumalareddy and Fr. Bala Kasipogu serve as the parochial vicars.

St. Jerome School in Columbus is also part of the parish.

Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison presided to install Father Leeser.

Fr. Raymond Dischler was also present as a concelebrant, lending his support.

The Knights of Columbus honor guard helped convey reverence and respect at the 11 a.m. Mass.

After Father Leeser read the Gospel, the bishop commended Father Leeser to the faithful and then gave a homily.

“We celebrate the creation of your parish, Nativity of the Lord. It’s a moment just to thank God for the gift of our Faith and the gift of the Church. It means your patronal feast day will be Christmas. You’ll have the most people attending Mass on your patronal feast day of anybody in the diocese, right?”

The congregation laughed, acknowledging the truth of that.

“The wonder of the Incarnation, the center of our Faith, that’s what your name lifts up to the world . . . “Today, we ponder the wonder of our call to discipleship within the Church. I know Into the Deep has had its challenges, and your parish is big and spread out, and there are a lot of communities, and yet, in all of that, we’re seeking to build a future that’s stable.

“So we don’t want to just survive. We don’t want to just hang on by our fingernails. We want to flourish . . . our parishes will be stronger. Our schools will be stronger.”

This strength creates an openness that allows our parishes to cooperate with the work the Holy Spirit is already doing, as He brings many converts to the Church.

“There are people all around us who realize the emptiness of our culture and the challenging moment we’re in, and that faith, this perennial Faith that we’ve been given in Christ, is the answer to all of our problems and questions.”

After the homily, Father Leeser renewed his ordination promises and took the oath of fidelity to the Magisterium with his hand on the Book of the Gospels.

He also welcomed the parish staff, councils, and trustees, who were commended to him by the bishop. Father Leeser said formally to the councils, “My friends, I pledge to seek your counsel, guidance, and advice in the spiritual and temporal care of my pastorate.”

As the Mass concluded, Father Leeser shared his thankfulness with the congregation.

“I could probably be up here for a half hour . . . just the gratitude and thanks for everyone that’s here, and everyone that was thinking about me and praying for me in this last hour . . . I’m glad to be here, and I’m glad to be the pastor . . . I’ll continue to work hard for the Lord . . . I thank all of you.”

The congregation, in turn, shared their enthusiasm with Father Leeser.

Cards were being collected in the narthex before Mass, and afterwards, a celebratory reception was held. Desserts and appetizers helped to warm the parishioners and express the gratitude of the new Nativity of the Lord Parish.