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Our History, Heritage & Future
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New Church Construction
The college chapel served as a church for the people of the Lacey area. One
of the priests from St. Martin's made himself responsible for their spiritual
needs. By 1916 the college quarters were too small to be shared by the monks
and the laity. A lot was donated and Bishop Edward O'Dea gave the necessary
permission.
In 1922 a small group of
families began preparations to build Sacred Heart Church. The wooden
church was almost completely built with donated labor and materials. The
little white church, completed in 1923, still stands on the south side of the
church property and bears the name Fabian Hall, in memory of our first pastor,
Fr. Fabian Sexton, O.S.B.
The parish continued to grow and expand during the next forty years, and
by 1964 Fabian Hall was literally bulging at the seams. Permission was given
in 1964 for plans to be drawn for a temporary church and instructional
center (current parish office), with the church to have the dimensions of
a gymnasium and a capacity of 750. Finally on October 16, 1967, Archbishop
Thomas A. Connolly officially dedicated the new structure. Sacred Heart Parish
was raised from a mission to parish status on November 10, 1967. Our pastor
at this time was Fr. Ansgar Hallen, O.S.B.
Our Heritage
Sacred Heart was established as a community committed to family values. This
is a tradition which remains a strong part of our parish life. Our community
consists of long-time family residents, military personnel from Fort Lewis
Army Base and McChord Air Force Base, retired military personnel, retirees,
families who have recently moved to Lacey for a variety of economic and social
reasons. An ever-growing multi-cultural community composed of Swiss, German,
Nisqually Native American, Vietnamese, Korean, Hispanic, Filipino, and other
Asian cultures, brings a unique spiritual vitality to our community of believers.
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Hallen Hall
Fifteen years later the parish was still experiencing tremendous growth.
There was no facility to accommodate any large meetings, educational classes
or social activities. Fabian Hall was used when possible, but the majority
of times such activities had to be held elsewhere, or not at all. The Planning
and Building Committee was formed in 1982 under the Father Neal Roth, O.S.B.
Their continued efforts and hard work produced our beautiful and much needed
Hallen Hall, named for Fr. Ansgar Hallen, one of the previous pastors who
served for twenty-five years. Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on September
11, 1988 and Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen dedicated Hallen Hall on November
19, 1989.
The multi-purpose Hallen Hall hosts a variety of social functions including
dinners, lectures, volley- ball games and receptions. It also supplies
educational areas for our Religious Formation programs. At this time, the
second floor of Hallen Hall remains unfinished.
In January 1996, due to the closing of the St. Vincent de Paul at the parish,
Catholic Community Services opened the Emergency Assistance Office in Hallen
Hall. This program would provide assistance for those in need just as St.
Vincent had done. The CCS Family Center was established in the former parish
rectory in October 1996. At that time the Emergency Assistance Office moved
its services to the Family Center.
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Education
There being no parish school nor any prospect of there ever being one all
religious instruction is given in Sunday school and vacation school. Some
of the older fathers at the college remembered teaching Sunday school in
the college chapel before 1916. In the new church, it was taught between
the two Masses. The number of children in Sunday school has not varied greatly,
usually running between 20 and 30, though in the early 40's, it climbed to
40-45. The number of classes has likewise varied. At this writing(1944) there
are four, three taught by the ladies of the parish and one, the high school
class, taught by the pastor. During most of the period during which the Lacey
church stood the beginning class was taught by Mrs. J. D. Hoffmann, a remarkably
able teacher. Vacation school was held in 1923, 1940 and 1941; in 1943 an
attempt was made but the transportation problem proved too much and the matter
was dropped.
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New Beginnings
On 1 September 1990, the Benedictines withdrew from staffing Sacred Heart
Parish after some sixty-seven years of service. Considering the need for
personnel at St. Martin's, Abbot Conrad Rausch made the decision to recall
community members to assist in operating St. Martin's Abbey and College.
Father Richard Parle joined our parish family as the first pastor assigned
by the Archdiocese of Seattle. He came to us from St. Philomena in Des Moines.
The experience of serving 15 years in Korea as a Columban missionary has
been extremely valuable in preparing our multi-cultural parish for the ministry
challenges in the 21st Century.
Looking to the
Future
Over seventy-five years ago, a small group of dedicated pioneers began our
first Sacred Heart community. Their determination, perseverance and hard
work is the foundation for our present community. In looking to the future,
we realize that now, as in the past, our parishioners are our greatest resource.
May God bless and guide us as we enter the next phase of our history!
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More interesting facts about Sacred
Heart
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