Hello. I'm Fr. Steve Merriwether, pastor at Most Holy Redeemer Church in Castro of San Francisco. Most Holy Redeemer's a unique parish, I think it would be fair to say, in that it serves a population that is very diverse, both in age, economic status, certainly also in terms of its composition of gay, straight, bi, transgender populations. As the Archbishop of San Francisco would say, Most Holy Redeemer is not the gay parish of San Francisco, but it serves a very large gay population. Also, and I think unique for us is that so many of our parishioners, whether genuinely or simply perceived, found that at one time or another that the Church was not only not helping them but was quite dismissive of them. And so for various reasons they had left the Church at some time and then came to the realization that no, they wanted to be at Church. And so here at Most Holy Redeemer, it's a congregation that's very involved, both involved in the liturgy and in the various ministries of the Parish. It's a parish that's not simply inward looking but is outward involved in the greater community. I mean, we have so many parishioners here are on the various boards and panels of charitable organizations in the archdiocese, or even within the archdiocese. We have parishioners who are on the board of Catholic Charities, on the Financial Board of the Archdiocese, on the various issues and organizations that help to serve the population of San Francisco. I believe that it's correct, that people who come here will say to me afterwards they've never been to a parish quite as warm and welcoming and so enthusiastic in their celebration of the liturgy. Those are all characteristics that make Most Holy Redeemer unique to San Francisco and perhaps to the Catholic Church.
