TO THE HEIGHTS!

Former San Francisco 49ers QB coming to Albany Diocese on Nov. 1

On Sunday, Nov. 1, Christ the King in Albany will host a “To the Heights Tailgate” at 12 p.m. in the parish school gym and will feature a talk from former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Super Bowl champion Elvis Grbac. (Unsplash photo)

Ready, set and hike your way to Christ the King Church because a former member of the San Francisco 49ers is coming to town.

On Sunday, Nov. 1, Christ the King in Albany will host a “To the Heights Tailgate” at 12 p.m. in the parish school gym and will feature a talk from former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and Super Bowl champion Elvis Grbac.

The day will also include lunch (a specialty of chicken riggies from Utica), tomato pie, a photo booth, gelato from the Scene restaurant and Eucharistic adoration after Grbac’s talk.

“We have nothing like this in our area,” said Melissa O’Brien, parishioner for Christ the King, who helped bring Grbac to the parish. 

O’Brien first reached out to Grbac in 2018 about coming to the parish to host a talk. The former NFL quarterback frequently gives public talks on his Catholic faith and he had agreed to come to CTK to give a presentation. 

“He was a Catholic speaker,” O’Brien said. “He was talking about priorities, balancing his witness to Catholicism. … If we bring somebody in like that, that kind of message will lead them to Christ because you can still go to Mass and be an NFL player.”

But due to unforeseen events, the event had to be canceled. 

“I’m like, whatever, God, it’s not the time,” O’Brien said. “I was so disappointed.” 

Then, over the past few years, Christ the King has seen an increase in young male attendance for Mass, much like other parishes experiencing a national resurgence in young adult Mass attendance.

After Mass one day, a group of men noticed the “Wonderfully Made Tea Party” event happening in the church center. A few asked if they could come, but since the event was designed as a women’s gathering, O’Brien said they would work on offering something for the men of the church. 

“I told the guys … we’ll come up with something pretty spectacular for you,” she said. 

That’s when she remembered the plan with Grbac that never happened. She reached back out to his team and he was happy to come again. Since marketing the event, over 175 people have already planned to attend.

“Our goal is to provide great witnesses to faith that have gone ahead of them,” said O’Brien, “and to show that witness doesn’t stop.”

The “To the Heights Tailgate” is free to attend but free will donations are accepted. RSVP to Melissa O’Brien by Oct. 25 at (518) 698-7894 or [email protected]. If students are in need of volunteer hours, set-up assistance is needed on Oct. 31. Contact O’Brien for details.