Parishioners of Sacred Heart Church celebrated a tri-lingual Mass June 9 to mark the 25th anniversary of when the mission became a parish.

Members from the Anglo, Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking communities within the parish came together for the celebration called “Unity in Diversity” and under the motto of “Moved by the Gospel to Live Together/Build Together/We Are United in Diversity.”

Carol Ford, along with her husband, Joe, served on the planning committee that began meeting in late winter. She recalled the event, whose date unfortunately conflicted with the archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress.

“We decided to go ahead,” said Ford, who then chuckled as she commented on the melding of their distinct ethnic groups within the parish, “I guess we did our own eucharistic congress.”

Parishioners Jo and Bill Fritsch and Pat and Tom Christman also served on the planning committee for the event, which included the anniversary Mass with the Knights of Columbus present in full regalia, a social hour with entertainment by a mariachi band, a sit-down dinner with entertainment by Bill Buziak, and ended with lively music from the Laguna band.

“It was truly beautiful to see everyone together,” said Ford, a transplant from Connecticut who has attended the parish for about nine years.

Leading up to the event, Ford compiled and shared “historical moments” about the parish in the church bulletin “to get everyone up to speed.”

She enjoyed everyone’s team spirit, as representatives of each ethnic community were involved in the process.

While she’s glad the event is over, she understands the value of community-building events like this. “We need to do something like this once or twice a year. It’s important to get together as a whole group.”