St. Mary's a welcoming place for newcomers

Name of church: St. Mary Catholic Church

Location: 225 South Hartwell Ave., Waukesha, WI 53186-6402

Denomination: Catholic

Mission Statement: We, the prayerful Catholic people of St Mary's Parish, Waukesha, strive to be a welcoming, responsible, faith-filled community by…

• Making the Celebration of the Eucharist the source & summit of all we are and all we do;

• Meeting the Lord Jesus and each other through celebration of the Sacraments,

• Fostering servant leadership, life-long faith formation and spiritual development,

• Supporting the needs of the Church responsibly through our time, talent and treasure, and

• Responding to the needs of others in our families, our neighborhoods, our communities, and indeed, the whole world. May the Holy Spirit guide us in all that we do.

Contact person: Kris Jamieson, Director of Administrative Services

Phone number: (262) 547-6555

Web site: www.stmarywaukesha.4Lpi.com

Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pastor: Fr Howard Haase

Service times: Saturday 5 p.m., Sunday 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m. and 11a.m.

Brief history: In September 1949 the Archdiocese officially established "St Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish." On Jan. 1, 1950 St. Mary's charter day was established. In the fall of 1950 the first St Mary's Board of Trustees was established and 229 children were enrolled in the parish school grades 1 through 8. By the time the school was completed 401 pupils were enrolled. In 1960 St. Mary's held its first annual Fall Festival. Mass was held in the Catholic Memorial High School gym and in the spring of 1963 Fr. Robert Enders, pastor, began the process of planning a new church building. Ground was broken on Dec. 8, 1963 and the building was completed and the dedication Mass was on Jan. 14, 1965.

During the 1960's the parish continued to thrive and additional classrooms were built and a school board was established. In the 1970s the first parish council was formed. In February 1974 St. Mary's celebrated its 25th anniversary. During the first 25 years, St Mary's Parish celebrated 3,274 baptisms, 711 marriages and worshipped with nearly 1,700 contributing members. In the fall of 1990 the Waukesha Catholic School System was formed to serve the children of the four city parishes. In 1993 St. Mary's began planning an addition to the church. Ground was broken on March 29, 1998 and completed with a dedication Mass on Jan. 23, 2000.

The church continues to thrive with a membership of 1,450 families.St. Mary's is often complimented on how welcoming and comfortable visitors and new parishioners feel when they join the community for liturgies.

Ministries: Faith Formation, including sacramentals, Work Camp (youth mission trip); Human Concerns including food pantry, Eucharist to the homebound and hospital, meal ministry for those recovering from surgery, St. Vincent de Paul; Prayer and Worship including music ministry, anointing of the sick, lectors; Stewardship and Evangelization; Christian Women Society, Holy Name Society, Social Club.

Wish List: We are always grateful that our parishioners continue to support the church and our hope is for world peace and the overcoming of the priest abuse scandal. Those priests who are innocent of these accusations work tirelessly in their vocation to assist parishioners.

Upcoming Events: Ongoing events are listed in the weekly bulletin. Major events include the Parish Festival in June (the biggest event), fish fries twice a year, and a Holy Name Society's Mother's Day Pancake Breakfast.