Listen to this note instead: https://morefrmoore.podbean.com/e/october-28-2026-pastors-note/
Listening Session Thank You
First, thank you to everyone (and especially our PFAC) for everything you did to make our Listening Sessions a success. I was able to attend 5 of the 8, and each one had good energy and good reports. Parishioners tell me they had spirited and meaningful discussions. I have high hopes that the feedback received from these sessions will be high quality and actionable. The PFAC tells me that they hope to provide an initial summary before Advent, and then the deliverables (i.e. Vision Statement and Initiatives) sometime in late January or February.
Maintenance Volunteers
One question I got a lot after the Listening Sessions was about whether we might rely far more heavily on volunteers for maintenance projects. Unfortunately, we are severely limited by Archdiocesan policy on this one. It is helpful to remember that (1) people really love to sue the Catholic Church and (2) the Archdiocese is mostly self-insured, so liability settlements come from our savings accounts not some far-off insurance company. I think this policy is overly draconian (no ladders? no electrical?), but there is very little I can do about it.
From the Archdiocesan Safety Manual, Appendix E:
Many parish activities including minor repairs and maintenance projects can be completed using parish volunteer labor. The type of projects done with volunteer labor should not be hazardous or require work at above-ground level. Competent supervisors are to be on site at all times.
All electrical and plumbing work must be performed by licensed, bonded workers and electrical or plumbing permits must be obtained.
Which means: no ladders, no lifts, no plumbing, no electrical.
Sacred Heart Seminarian
If you look through the list of our Archdiocesan seminarians, either on the posters in our churches or online, you will see that Daniel Vereen lists his home parish as Sacred Heart in Bellingham. This might come as something of a shock to Sacred Heart parishioners, who are probably scratching their heads and wondering who he is. (He should not be confused with Steven Locke who lists St. Luke in Shoreline, but who just graduated from the WWU Newman Center.)
I had the chance to meet with Daniel online last month and he explained that he chose to study for the Archdiocese of Seattle because, once his parents retire, they plan to move up here from California. Diocesan priests (like myself and Fr. Tyler) make a commitment to a specific diocese, meaning that we are limited to one geography for the rest of our lives. I discerned my vocation in Boston but chose to study for Seattle because this is where my family lives. Daniel is making a similar decision – his family will be in this diocese, so he wants to spend his life here. Daniel chose Sacred Heart because his (non-Catholic) grandparents live in Bellingham and he attends Sacred Heart when he is up visiting.
Daniel told me that he plans to spend a number of holidays with his grandparents and us, so please make him welcome when you see him serving Mass. And in the interim, please pray for him.
Christmas Schedule
I have now finalized our Christmas Mass schedule. You can read my Pastor’s Note from January 08 about the decisions we needed to make this year. Remember, the problem is that each priest is only allowed to celebrate two Masses on Christmas Eve; and that Vigil Masses can be no earlier than 4:00 pm without permission from the Archbishop.
After considering the feedback from the survey and weighing it against the long-term needs of the county, I decided to rip off the band-aid and create a schedule that did not require an extra priest or annual permission from the Archbishop. That will allow us to begin to stabilize and not have to rethink this every year.
I focused on capacity with this schedule: our largest churches have the 4:00 pm Masses, as these are the most popular times. Our smaller churches have the 7:00 pm times. That said, I am still worried about having enough capacity in Bellingham and would really like an additional Mass at Assumption or Sacred Heart. I have asked the staff to be attentive to 7:00 pm attendance this year – if one of those Masses is underfilled, I might move that church’s 2027 Christmas Mass to Christmas morning, allowing me to add a 7:00 pm to Bellingham.
Christmas Eve
4:00 pm – Assumption – Fr. Moore
4:00 pm – St. Joseph/Lynden – Fr. Stephan
4:00 pm – St. Joseph/Ferndale – Fr. Gerardo
4:00 pm – Sacred Heart – Fr. Tyler
7:00 pm – St. Joachim – Fr. Moore
7:00 pm – St. Anne – Fr. Stephan
7:00 pm – St. Joseph/Ferndale (Spanish) – Fr. Gerardo
7:00 pm – St. Peter – Fr. Tyler
Midnight – Assumption – Fr. Moore
Christmas Day
9:00 am – Sacred Heart – Fr. Tyler
10:00 am – St. Joseph/Ferndale – Fr. Stephan
10:00 am – St. Joseph/Lynden – Fr. Gerardo
11:00 am – Assumption – Fr. Moore
