Parish Transition

Dear Parishioners,

It is with mixed emotions, sadness, and pride, that I say Goodbye to you.  OLA has been my home for over 25 years and we have seen each other grow not just in age, but in Grace and

commitment.  I give Thanks to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon our community!

I return the parish back to the Archbishop with pride. The Parish has grown from 800 families in 2000 to 1750 families now.  There is no debt and we have 70 vibrant ministries.

I will let you know that my success was in delegating and tapping other persons’ talents and letting them use them, taking ownership of the Parish.  My Staff, all who are self-starters, fostered growth.

The School, from when I became pastor, had an enrollment of under 400 students and 60-70% were not parishioners. It took 8 years to reverse this trend, and now we have 85% who are parishioners and we are the largest Elementary School in the Archdiocese (585 students currently; 587 students next school year).

We have built the Columbarium and Rectory, converted the old rectory to our Parish Offices, and we now have a new Pipe Organ.

And so I say Thank you again because it was not me who did all of this, but it was you! Your commitment, your time, your talent and treasure made all of this possible!My prayer for you is to keep growing in your faith and good works.

It is with sadness – and also hope for the future – that I will leave OLA at the end of June when we Marists return pastoral care of the parish to the archdiocese. It as been an honor and a joy to serve you these past 25 years.

I am happy to inform you that we are leaving OLA in very good hands. I have just received confirmation of the priests who will be coming to OLA in July. Those priest assignments are as follows:

• Father Daniel Ketter, JCL, Pastor,

• Father Nicholas Le, Parochial Vicar,

• Father Robbie Cotta (Chaplain of St. Pius X High School), IN RESIDENCE, and 

• Msgr. Richard Lopez (Senior Priest), IN RESIDENCE.

We will provide more information on these assignments in the near future. Please keep them in your prayers. 

Yours in Mary, Our Mother, Fr. Jim