Interviews
My apologies for a relatively short Pastor’s Note. This week and next week we are interviewing candidates for the Regional Director of Facilities position, and each interview requires 90 minutes on my calendar. That is 4.5 hours of my already limited office time spent elsewhere this week.
However, I always prioritize interviews. Over my 6.5 years as Pastor in Whatcom County, I have become more and more convinced that personnel is policy. The people we hire at our churches set the tone for the staff, for the parishioners, and for parish life as a whole. I try to be involved with nearly every interview (including all of our Assumption school homeroom teachers). I have never regretted being part of an interview and I have a few times regretted rushing the process.
Family History
This Tuesday, I had the incredible privilege of celebrating the funeral Mass for my 103-year-old Grand Aunt (my Great Grandfather’s sister) at St. Joseph in Ferndale. It was a blessing to have my family in town (my mother, uncle, aunt, and grandmother attended, as well as many once-removed, second/third cousins, etc.).
It also gave me an excuse to preach (recording) about my family’s history at St. Joseph Parish.
If you are curious where I found the articles that I cite in my homily, they come from the archives of the Catholic Northwest Progress, our Archdiocesan newspaper until about a decade ago. Reading through the Progress archives is fascinating. Even doing an article search on “Ferndale” or “Lynden” or “Bellingham” turns up a lot of interesting stuff from the very early years of the church in Whatcom County.
You can find the archives at: https://washingtondigitalnewspapers.org/?a=cl&cl=CL1&sp=CATHNWP
You can find a small selection of articles about the Matz family of Ferndale here.
Fr. Moore 
Saturday 17 January 2026
Fr. Moore:
What an amazing story! “Beautiful” Father, that’s why we enjoy you so much!….with genuine roots in St. Joseph Catholic Church-Ferndale…In 1940-1950’s, a small lovely Church with genuine stain-glass windows, dark wood pews, “Mary” & “Joseph” on each side of the altar….Yes, recently my brother, Wayne Harkleroad & I were talking about our early years in St. Joseph Parish(1940-1967)- our childhood attending Mass on Sunday morning, we knew “where” each family would sit….The Sisters of St. Joseph-Convent in Bellingham, taught Catechism during the early 1940’s-50’s.. , my Baptismal and First Holy Communion was in St. Joseph Catholic Church…Reverend Father Joseph Dakin was our Priest when I graduated from high school in 1960…Fr. Dakin awarded me a small scholarship of $50..I attended Mt. Angel College, Mt. Angel, Oregon 1960-64.. My three brothers and I are quite “grateful” for the support, the discipline, and most important the “Spirituality” within the early Catholic Community in Ferndale. During those early years, it wasn’t always easy growing up “Catholic” in Ferndale.. Patricia Ann Harkleroad birthdate: June 16, 1942