Columbia River Catholic 2.0
November 10, 2024
Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today, and Forever ~
A little over a month ago (9/29/24) I wrote a pastor’s column about us calling ourselves “Columbia River Catholic.” This pastor’s column is a follow up to that one, furthering clarifying who we are, where things stand right now, and where we’re going into the future.
Because some were confused by my previous pastor’s column on Columbia River Catholic, I need to clarify some things. The three communities that share clergy and staff -- Holy Redeemer Parish, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and Our Lady Star of the Sea Mission -- are called by the Archdiocese of Seattle (to which we belong) “Parish Family #46”. That’s not a name that engenders any sentimentality, attachment, or identity. Nor is it natural for people to remember. So, I propose, until we get our permanent religious name in 2027, that we call ourselves “Columbia River Catholic”. In 2027, all three communities will be canonically suppressed, and we will become one parish, with one religious name, with three different campuses. In a couple of years, we will all participate in a process to find a new religious name to call our new parish. Until then, we are forbidden to start that process, and we are forbidden to collectively call ourselves a religious name, but we can give ourselves a regional name. The Columbia River is something that all three communities share in common, and so it makes sense as a name until 2027. I hope that clears up any confusion that some had about wanting to participate in finding a religious name for our community and not a place name. We can only do a place name at this time.
What follows is an update on where things stand with Columbia River Catholic or CRC.
Your pastor (me) and the regional staff have been overwhelmed. Imagine an employer telling an employee that their responsibilities will double or triple, and the number of meetings they will have to calendar with others will double as well, and that none of their current responsibilities will be taken from them. Under the circumstances most employees would move on. Well, I’m not walking off the job, and those members of the staff whose responsibilities are now regional aren’t either. We work for God and know that we are doing far more good than we can see. With that said, we are at “red line” and there is only so much a person can take before cracking. Mid-September thru October was awful because there were so many meetings and action items to work through to get three communities under regional management and to our new normal. I’m hopeful that we’ve turned the corner, having been able in the first four months of CRC to consolidate a number of meetings and re-allocate human resources and responsibilities. The staff and I have a long way to go but the foundation is well on the way.
A word about the role of our priests. As pastor, I have responsibility for the leadership of CRC as well as the other clergy in CRC, supervisory staff, councils, decision making, and of course the execution of six of the seven sacraments across three communities (18 scheduled Masses per week). It takes a toll on me. I could do none of it without our amazing staff and an army of amazing volunteers. Yet my most important jobs are prayer, the pursuit of personal sanctity, and accompanying you on your journey with Christ to His Kingdom. Having Fr. Bala finally get here, and getting his driver’s license (11/05), is going to be helpful for me personally. Parochial vicars (or just vicar) are parish priests who assist the pastor. Fr. Bala’s responsibilities will be performing five of the seven sacraments, mostly through St. Thomas Aquinas Parish (“St. Thomas”) and Our Lady Star of the Sea Mission (“Star”). He lives in the rectory at St. Thomas and will spend most of his time accompanying the parishioners at St. Thomas and Star. I’m also putting him on sick calls for CRC, as that will free up some of my time. Fr. Bala’s contribution will be a big help to me. Without our foreign priests being here to help us out, we would lose at least eight of those 18 Masses.
In time, I would like to get a deacon who resides in Clark County to commit to a ministry of presence at Our Lady Star of the Sea Mission in Stevenson. The same deacon being present at most Sunday Masses at Star, would be a significant help for those parishioners. Star has a nearly fifty-year history of having a resident deacon. Regardless of ability, by virtue of their ordination, a deacon can provide a sense of connection and accompaniment that a rotation of priests cannot offer.
A word about our regional staff. Everyone who has a job within CRC is an employee with CRC and not a particular parish within it (Holy Redeemer, etc.). With that said, some employees spend more time or almost all their time with one community, and the funding for those hours of labor are carried by the parish that they proportionally spend their time with. This fiscal year, Holy Redeemer is carrying a higher percentage of staffing costs as per man hours of labor at a given parish, than the percentage of parish revenue would dictate. When we set the budget in the Spring of 2025 for next fiscal year, that imbalance will be rectified.
A word about finances. Until we are canonically suppressed in 2027 and reconstituted as one parish, each communities’ finances within CRC will remain separate. For example, the revenue and savings at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish campus remains with St. Thomas Parish campus and is not shared with Holy Redeemer Parish campus, nor vice versa. So do not pull back on your tithe thinking that the given community within CRC that you belong to, is pooling their money with the other two communities, and therefore a portion of your contribution is being used somewhere else. Until 2027, your tithe is only being used in the one community within CRC that you are giving at and is not being shared with either of the two other communities.
Now a word about councils. Each of the three communities within CRC has a pastoral council. The pastoral councils meet when we have an agenda item or items that would justify meeting. The frequency of these meetings is once a month or less. Both Holy Redeemer and St. Thomas Parishes have finance councils, while Our Lady Star of the Sea rolls financial oversight into their pastoral council. The finance councils meet quarterly to review the previous quarter’s financials.
Finally, a word about being a steward of the Church. Life is filled with commitments and responsibilities. Without them marriages, families, government, farms, places of business, and the Church would all collapse. Without making commitments and fulfilling our responsibilities, the human race would have ended with Adam and Eve. We need every household in Columbia River Catholic to make a commitment to this year’s annual Stewardship drive. Not only does the Church need those commitments to survive and grow, but each one of us needs to make a commitment to the Church to grow in our own communion with God. All of the saints were stewards of the Church, and Christ is calling all of us to be saints. If you have not yet made a commitment to this year’s Stewardship drive, please do so now. It’s simple and enjoyable. Just go to your parish’s website and click on the Stewardship button or scan the QR code on the stewardship brochures that are in the pews or fill out one of those stewardship brochures and put it in the collection basket. If you have already done so, thank you.
In Christ, I Love You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
