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CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte is the largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte with more than 8,000 registered families. This also ranks it as one of the biggest parishes in the country with more than 28,000 parishioners.

Now they have another distinction.

St. Matthew is among the first churches in Charlotte to offer the "Christ Renews His Parish" program, also known as Cornerstone. Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) is a national program that began in the 1970s and is now active in more than 1,000 parishes across the U.S. St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte was the first to launch the program in 2009 and recently expanded to include retreats in Spanish.

CRHP retreats last 26 hours and are offered for both women and men. They are planned, organized and facilitated by members of the home parish. Seven witness talks are given by team members who reflect on God's presence and action in important moments in their lives. Much like a Cursillo weekend, the retreat involves faith-sharing, Scripture study, personal reflection and the opportunity to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist.

What sets CHRP retreats apart is that it is parish-based and designed to build community within the home church.

"CRHP gives you a sense of connectedness to the people in your own parish. It is meant to renew individual faith and build up community within the church," said Michael Burck, adult faith enrichment coordinator at St. Matthew Church. He has worked with this retreat format for 20 years at various parishes.

"I knew that God was faithful when I started the retreat, but to hear this theme repeated over and over in the very real and intimate stories of women just like me, has strengthened my faith and created an even deeper desire to know and love the Lord," said Jenny Cox, a St. Matthew parishioner since 1999.

Two retreats have been offered at St. Matthew to date: a women's retreat attended by 90 women of the parish Oct. 21-22 and a men's retreat on Nov. 11-12 with 57 men in attendance.

For more information about CHRP, go to www.mycrhp.org.

— SueAnn Howell, staff writer