Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,

Within some of our lifetimes, a wonderful realization has taken hold in our collective mind as God's family. For centuries parish sites were thought of as geographic areas with a church, a sacred edifice, but a pile of stones nonetheless. Since Vatican II and the subsequent Code of Canon Law published in 1983 a parish is described as a "definite community of the Christian Faithful established on a stable basis," or as Saint Paul would say, "a building of living stones." This is considerably different from the definition found in the 1917 Code which noted that a parish is "a territorial section of a diocese, with a parish Church, and the Catholic population is entrusted to a proper pastor."

Although this change was underway for some time, the life of SS Philip & James Parish, Exton, Pa nicely straddled the time just before and after this new appreciation of parish, as primarily a gathering of the People of God about a common table-altar.From its inception in 1959, the Catholic Faithful of our parish have given true verve to this later, current understanding. This is evident at the present time from the wonderful subgroups of parishioners who gather for various reasons and common causes, always giving of themselves so as to include more and more people into their midst and ours.
As your pastor, I am grateful to all of you. The pages of this website make it so clear that we continue to build a parish of "living stones." If there is anything I can do to help you in your journey to grow closer to God, please do not hesitate to contact me. Our parish is proud to offer many opportunities for parishioners to come together in faith, and it is my honor to serve each of you!

May God continue to bless our parish with the spirit of togetherness that has been its hallmark.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Reverend Joseph C. Dieckhaus, J.C.L
Pastor