A Letter from the Pastoral Coordinator
Try it, you might like it.
Dear Friends,
Do you remember your Mom ever saying this to you at the supper table, or maybe you say it to your own kids? Well, what’s good for the goose . . . is good for the gander. I encourage all of us to say yes to a few upcoming invitations to check out St. Rita’s and St. Patrick’s. Our Joint Transition Team has identified several opportunities where we can begin to cross-over and see for ourselves the benefits of the upcoming partnership between our two communities.
This weekend, we invite St. Rita parishioners to join us for Mass at St. Patrick. Next weekend, March 10 -11, parishioners from St. Patrick are invited to attend the 5:00 P.M. or 10: 00 A.M. Mass at St. Rita.
St. Rita has graciously offered to host the first of three communal reconciliation services during Lent. If the traditional 7:00 P.M. evening service (March 14 at St. Leo Parish or March 21 at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church) does not work for you, join us at St. Rita on Tuesday March 6, for Mass at 12:00 P.M. followed by the communal reconciliation service at 12:30 P.M.
Invitations have also been extended to attend St. Rita’s monthly anointing Mass at 12 P.M. on the 3rd Tuesday of each month and for St. Rita’s parishioners to join our monthly First Friday Mass and Seniors Lunch at 11:00 A.M.
Members of our respective Pastoral Councils have started to attend each others monthly meetings, along with joint gatherings of ministry groups. And like Mikey from the LIFE cereal commercial, as we’ve “tried it,” we’ve liked it! The success of our partnership is all about the personal relationships we forge with one another. You will like it they said, so give it a try!
Please join me in welcoming our friends from St. Rita this weekend and consider attending Mass at St. Rita next weekend.
Saint Patrick and Saint Rita – Pray For Us!
Kevin Lovejoy
Pastoral Coordinator
Understanding the Joint Transition Team Changes That Are Being Implemented
To download PDF version click here.
What We Heard at the Listening Sessions
Joint Transition Team Recommendations
Joint Transition Team Update
Joint Transition Team First Meeting Highlights
GLAD YOU ASKED THAT!
What’s happening with the transition and partnership between the parishes of Saint Rita of Cascia Catholic Church and Saint Patrick Catholic Church?
Dear Friends,
On Thursday, September 28, we held the first meeting of our Joint Transition Team (JTT). The JTT is comprised of eight parishioners from St. Rita of Cascia and Saint Patrick Catholic Church, and a representative from the Seattle Archdiocese. Its purpose is to identify all of the critical issues and questions related to this transition and to then gather the information and feedback needed to make informed decisions regarding those matters.
As part of the decision-making process, the JTT will solicit information and input from existing parish staffs, councils, and parishioners at large. Some examples of topics to be addressed include:
- What ministry groups will remain at each parish?
- What will joint pastoral and finance councils look like?
- Will we go to one common bulletin?
- Will Mass times change?
- What size parish staff is appropriate for this new community?
- Will finances be handled separately?
You can see we have our work cut out for us over the next six to nine months. Fortunately, we’ve assembled a great team of leaders who are committed to helping both communities find the glory of God in this process.
Joint Transition Team Member
Saint Patrick Catholic Church
Kevin Lovejoy
Georgeann Cukjati
Jim Rooks
Enrique Llanas
Saint Rita of Cascia Catholic Church
Francie Jordan
Debbie Orlando
Kathy Brands
Noah Reandeau
Seattle Archdiocese
Al Larpenteur
St. Patrick and St. Rita of Cascia, pray for us!
Kevin Lovejoy
Pastoral Coordinator
2017 – 2018 Pastoral Leadership Model Announced
Archbishop Sartain re-appointed Kevin Lovejoy as Pastoral Coordinator for another year at Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School. He has also appointed Father Jerry Graham, S.J. the as Parish Priest.
Acknowledgement of Service
The Jesuit community at Bellarmine requested that Father Graham be appointed as Parish Priest as practical acknowledgment of what has in fact emerged in the past two years. While all three of our Jesuit friends
have rotated in the celebration of Masses, Father Graham has provided the lion’s share of support in terms of Pastoral Care, RCIA, Liturgy Commission, Confirmation, Sacramental Preparation, Baptisms, Funerals and other services at the parish. Father John Fuchs, S.J. and Father Tom Lamanna, S.J. and from time to time, Father Pete Henriot, S.J., will continue to celebrate Mass at the parish in addition to helping with Reconciliation Services and requests for school and parish activities like retreats. With Deacon Bill Eckert staying on board, our existing leadership team stays intact, except for that one change, which is mostly administrative in nature.
A Parish Priest, Not the Pastor
The fact that Father Graham is the only one of the three Jesuits re-appointed as Parish Priest does not mean Father Graham is now the Pastor or in training to become the Pastor. The overall responsibility for spiritual well being of the parish remains with the Pastoral Coordinator. As the Pastoral Coordinator, I will continue to rely on our collaborative leadership model, working together with our Jesuit team, Deacon Bill, our parish staff, all of our commissions and councils, and you—our parishioners. This collaborative model is working well and we intend to continue along this same path.
As always, we are ever grateful for the local Jesuit community’s willingness to support Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School. We don’t know what the future holds beyond the coming year. We can share with you that it remains Archbishop Sartain’s continued desire to send a diocesan priest to serve as pastor at our parish in the future. When that may happen is not known at this time. We’ll have to just wait and see what the future brings our way.
Helping Saint Rita of Cascia Catholic Church
Archbishop Sartain is fully aware of what’s been happening at Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School over the past two years. He knows we
are working on a Parish Long Range Plan with a new Mission, Values and Priorities, and that we have completely revamped our Parish and School Council and Commission organizational structure. Like the parable of the good stewards who minded the vineyard in the master’s absence, Archbishop Sartain is pleased with our efforts and wishe
s us well. In fact, he is so pleased that he has asked us to help our neighboring parish, Saint Rita of Cascia Catholic Church, prepare for transition.
Facilitating Transition
Archbishop Sartain appointed Father Gene Delmore, S.J. and Father Pete Henriot, S.J. as Parish Priests for Saint Rita of Cascia for one year. The archbishop has asked Kevin Lovejoy to serve as Pastoral Coordinator for 2017-2018. These appointments are made with the intent that Saint Rita will transition from a full-fledged parish to the status of a mission or station of Saint Patrick Catholic Church on July 1, 2018. During the upcoming year, we will work together to facilitate the transition between our parishes.
Preparing for a New Structure
Day-to-day sacramental life at Saint Rita will remain generally unchanged in the upcoming year. Francie Jordan, a part-time Pastoral Administrator at Saint Rita , will oversee the day-to-day operations. As Pastoral Coordinator of both parishes, Kevin Lovejoy will work with the parish priests, staff and the Pastoral Councils and Finance Councils of both parishes, to coordinate the steps needed to define and establish the future relationship between Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School and Saint Rita of Cascia that will go into effect July 1, 2018. What this future relationship will look is still unknown. We have a year to figure it out. Transition planning teams are being formed at both parishes.
Let’s Pray
As we have learned, the Archdiocese doesn’t have the resources needed to sustain our traditional parish organizational structures. At Saint Patrick Catholic Church & School, we have learned that change can lead to opportunity, and we can discover in ourselves, new ways of being church and how to serve God and His people. We ask you to pray for our brothers and sisters at St. Rita’s, during this period of transition.
Thank you for your continued support as we work together to be the Church that Christ calls us to be.
Other Appointments within the Archdiocese
The Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, having carefully assessed the needs of the People of God in the Archdiocese of Seattle, and after careful consultation with the Christian Faithful and the Priest Personnel Board, makes the following pastoral appointments in accord with the 1983 Code of Canon Law, effective July 1, 2017 unless otherwise noted.
