Denver Catholic

7 DENVER CATHOLIC | OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 13, 2015 • BBB A+ rated and 2014 Gold Star Business • 2013 Best of Service Award – Centennial/Englewood • All our Doctors of Audiology are Board Certied • Call for Available Saturday Appointments More than 100 Physicians have referred their patients... Advanced Audiology, Inc. He a r i n g & Ti n n i t u s C e n t e r Dr. Fatima, AuD, BCABA Dr. of Audiology, HINDI/ URDU Dr. Jenkins, AuD, BCABA Colorado's 1st Board Certified Dr. of Audiology We take your Hearing Seriously. www.AdvancedAudiology.com 303.649.2122 Centennial, Colorado Advanced Partner Siemens Hearing Instruments 3.75% APR * Bringing Catholic Values to Financial Services *APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Some restrictions may apply. See website for more details. Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency NCUA Looking to be Mortgage Free in 10 Years? Rates as low as Call: 303.424.5037 Click: www.nufcu.com or Come by one of our convenient locations. We have an affordable option with lower closing fees than a conventional home loan. Contact us today! a great musicians the only because oppor- said. "God he's also community, together." meant to be was and played in the church, Father extraordinary legacy that "As cities from their think part Church is to of their a good Cattany the city's role as a Denver, just his time. Catholic Father concert area. Any of spir- that the only raise also bring beauty, we CONCERTS Soprano Organist with the Preaching the good news forward Iconic St. Dominic's draws Highlands' young adults W ith the theme, "125 years for- ward: deep roots, endless possibilities," Denver's St. Dominic Parish toasted its yearlong milestone anniversary celebration Oct. 11 with beer—lots of it—at its largest ever Oktoberfest. The parking lot of the stately Gothic church at Federal Boulevard and 29th Avenue teemed with young adults as well as older church members and neighbors, who listened to live music and enjoyed craft beer, sausages and barbecue from popular local vendors. "I live in the Denver Tech Center [area] and came all the way here just for the atmosphere," said Adam Borunda, 30, who went with friends who lives near the parish. "It's great!" Dominican Father Luke Barder, 32, parochial vicar of the church, played host to the event wearing the traditional white robes of his order as well as a colorful bal- loon hat and a necklace of pretzels. "The purpose of Oktoberfest is to reach out to the Highlands neighborhood," he told Denver Catholic. "St. Dominic's has been here 125 years and is an institu- tion of the neighborhood. You come up Speer Boulevard and it's what you see— it's iconic. We want the neighbors to get to know us, we want to get to know them, and we want them to get to know each other. That's the purpose: to build community. "Hopefully, [people] come and they fi nd a spiritual home here." The parish population, which has always refl ected the changing demograph- ics of the neighborhood, is experiencing an increase of young adults as the area has gentrifi ed and drawn an infl ux of new urban professionals. "We're an urban parish and a lot of young people like urban settings and they're just coming," Father Barder said. "Most are renting around here. They like the easy access to downtown and the cul- ture and life, yet they're not enclosed by the downtown city feel." The Oktoberfest, he explained, was the idea of a young adult parishioner. Now in its third year, the latest event exceeded last year's record of 1,000 attendees. Typical of the young adults the parish fi nds itself serving are Elizabeth Frels, a travel writer and convert to Catholicism, and her husband of two years, Jason, a geologist and cradle Catholic, both 29. The Frelses are anchors of St. Dominic's growing young adult community, which organized the Oktoberfest. Three years ago, the Frelses moved to Denver's Highlands' neighborhood. Elizabeth fell away from the Method- ist Church in her teens. She was drawn to Catholicism by the Mass, and to St. Dominic's by its welcoming spirit and depth of preaching and spiritual growth opportunities. "St. Dominic's is the fi rst place I felt that sense of true community and true loving your neighbor," she said. "I knew [it was the right place] by the friendli- ness and atmosphere and the intellectual o„ erings. … I started RCIA immediately and joined the church that spring." Since its fi rst Mass on Oct. 6, 1889—just two years after the Denver archdiocese was established—the parish has been home to immigrants: fi rst the Irish, then Italians, and in the 1970s-'90s, Hispanics, who since the area's redevelopment have moved out in large numbers. "Many of them continue to come back from Thornton and Northglenn," Father Barder said. "They've found a home here." PHOTOS BY BILL SKOWRONSKI/DOMINICAN FRIARS CENTRAL PROVINCE USA BY ROXANNE KING 720-771-3394 editor_king@icloud.com www.twitter.com/RoxanneIKing

• Cover