"A church is an extremely complex entity that means different things to different people. While the essayists have worked hard to portray the past with accuracy and insight, there is an implicit (and occasionally explicit) subjectivity to their portrayal of this Church's first century. Along with the communication of factual information and names, each writer has reflected their own personal vision of St. Mary's. I hope that each of our readers will find his or her own vision of St. Mary's reflected somewhere within these pages." (excerpt, page 2)