Our Lady of Plains created, Spencer Sacred Heart assumes Hartley

By DAWN PROSSER
  Director of Communications

As of July 1, a new parish will be erected and another will assume a second parish as promulgated in two decrees from Bishop Walker Nickless, published in this edition of The Lumen.

The merging of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Rockwell City, St. Thomas Parish in Manson and St. Mary Parish in Lake City will create Our Lady of the Plains Parish, with administration centered in Lake City. The new parish territory “shall comprise the territory of the extinct parishes of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas and St. Mary, namely the entirety of Calhoun County and the city of Auburn in Sac County,” as defined in the decree.

Sacred Heart Parish in Spencer will merge with St. Joseph Parish in Hartley with administration centered in Spencer and retaining the name Sacred Heart Parish. “The parish of Sacred Heart in Spencer shall now comprise the territory of the extinct parishes of St. Joseph in Hartley and Sacred Heart in Spencer,” from the June 6 decree.

The rationale for the mergers outlined in the decrees includes population declines in both areas for several decades and a decrease in Mass attendance and participation in the sacraments in the parishes.

Leaders of the parishes involved described the process as relatively smooth due to previous mergers and groupings in the same areas.

Our Lady of the Plains

Father Lynn Bruch, pastor of the parishes in Rockwell City, Manson and Lake City that will make up the new parish, said the merger discussions with the finance councils and parish councils started a few months ago.

“They were pretty supportive,” he said, noting they knew the priest shortage was part of the concerns. “They said we are willing to do what we can to make this happen.”

Parishioners were asked to recommend potential names for the new parish, and three were submitted to Bishop Nickless for his selection, which was Our Lady of the Plains.

Father Bruch said the process went smoothly as the parishes had already experienced changes in 2017 when he arrived as pastor. He said some consolidation occurred at that time after meeting with each parish and assembling a pastoral council team.

“People did okay with it. We did have to change the Mass schedule at that point. People didn’t like it exactly at first, but they got used to it,” the pastor said.

Lay director for the new Our Lady of the Plains, Jerry Chizek, pointed out that the area consolidations in 2017 did cause “some animosity” and feelings of loss by some. He did say he felt “the upcoming official merger is being accepted better than the initial 2017 clustering,” noting the shortage of priests and future projections “is clearer today.”

Chisek said the involvement of the parishioners in naming their new parish “provides a fresh start and sense of equality.”

“The new parish provides a chance for new working relationships and growth in parishioner involvement,” he said.

Father Bruch explained with the July 2024 merger into Our Lady of the Plains, there will be no change to weekend Mass times, as they did not increase the number of Masses when Father Brian Feller, parochial vicar, was assigned to the area parishes in 2023.

“People in the pews will see little change from what is currently happening with Mass times and locations with the new combined parish,” the lay director explained. “Behind the scenes, administrative positions and parish committees will be restructured for additional efficiency.”

In mid-July, Father Bruch will hand the reins of the Calhoun County Parish to Father Feller when the current pastor retires from active ministry.

“He’s ready for it,” Father Bruch said of his successor. “He should be able to move in and take over.”

Spencer gains Hartley

Father Kevin Richter, pastor of parishes in Spencer and Hartley, said town hall meetings were held in Spencer, Hartley and Primghar prior to the merger decree.

“They were fairly well attended at each site,” he said, noting the rural parishes had better attendance. “The biggest concern was the Mass schedule. That was the biggest conversation we had.”

Originally, the parish grouping had two Masses on Saturday evening and two on Sunday morning. Due to canon law and local diocesan policy, the pastor was directed to change the schedule to a single Mass on Saturday to allow for weddings and funerals as well as the weekend Mass for a maximum of two Masses. The Saturday Mass at Primghar St. Anthony was moved to Sunday morning.

“It’s really gone very smoothly and I think we’ll have people have a certain amount of grief at having to make these changes, but they also understand,” Father Richter said.

Rob Jacobson, lay director from Hartley St. Joseph Parish, agreed that the Mass schedule was of great interest to the parishioners.

“I believe that’s extra work for Father (Richter), but the schedule is as good as we can expect through the process,” he said. “It’s important that we remain in these communities for our parishioners and provide them the time and location to come to worship together.”

The pastor noted that the area parishioners had experienced recent mergers, such as the Hartley parish assuming Primghar St. Anthony, so he didn’t receive much feedback on the July 1 merger.

“People were pretty open to that possibility once they understood what it meant and that they would continue to have weekend Masses,” Father Richter said. “A lot of it is administrative change with the merger … I think they were pretty comfortable.”

Parish administration had already been centralized in Spencer, including the bookkeeping, Father Richter said. The Knights of Columbus have merged, but there are women’s groups in Spencer and the O’Brien County churches. Religious education programs operate in Spencer and O’Brien County due to geographical distance.

Jacobson said he and others raised questions about the bank accounts of the different parishes and how the cash would be allocated but felt that the pastor answered the questions and communicated the administrative plan well.

“We were being told the money currently in our savings and checking accounts will be used for the parishioners in our communities. We understand the desire to consolidate the financials,” the lay director said. “The people have all supported the church very well and we want that to continue.”

The faithful that will be members of the merged Sacred Heart Parish will include those of Hartley and Primghar, which each have weekend Masses, but also those from Sutherland and Sanborn, Roberts pointed out.

St. Cecilia in Sanborn, Sacred Heart in Sutherland and St. Anthony in Primghar parishes were merged into St. Joseph Parish in Hartley as of June 30, 2018.