St. James the Just Parish will celebrate 50 years

Friday, Apr. 29, 2016

OGDEN  — This year marks the 50th anniversary of St. James the Just Parish in Ogden.

Founded in August of 1966 by the late Father David C. Goddard, for four decades St. James Parish centered its ministry in a temporary building.

After being ministered to by six pastors, the parish grew, and its people became more and more eager for a larger, permanent church. 

When Father Donald E. Hope, pastor from 1996-2002, initiated a capital campaign called “Dream to Reality,” the plans to build a new church got underway. 

Father Michael Sciumbato, who followed Fr. Hope as pastor, did a stint on the television show “Who Wants To be A Millionaire?” to help with the fundraising, but the actual building project didn’t begin until 2005, under current pastor Father Erik J. Richtsteig. 

In 2006 the new parish dedication took place, with the new St. James Church at the center of the building complex. 

What makes Fr. Erik Richtsteig most proud, he told the Intermountain Catholic in a past interview, is “it looks and feels like a church, a place for the worship of God. It isn’t about us or our needs. It’s about God, all about him.”

Since its new beginning, the parish has been challenged in many ways.

In 2007, a preschool was started at the basement parish after a couple of parents asked Fr. Richtsteig for it. 

The pre-school is open for children of all faiths. “I have some LDS kids, and the parents are very receptive to what we teach,” said  Terri Ward, a St. James the Just parishioner who is director of the preschool program, which at the beginning was just for 3-year-olds but now also is open to 4-year-olds, with morning and afternoon sessions.

The congregation faced a different kind of challenge on Father’s Day in 2013, when Charles Richard Jennings Jr. walked into the Mass and shot his father-in-law, James Evans, in the head as he was standing to take communion.

Attending that Mass were about 300 people, including dozens of children.

When they heard the gunshot, parishioners hit the floor, said Fr. Richtsteig, who himself ducked behind the altar.

“They were a mess — they were worshipping God and this man came in and did an act of violence,” said Fr. Richtsteig.

After the initial shock, many parishioners came to the aid of the wounded man. Others ran after Jennings, who fled the church but later was apprehended by law enforcement. 

Evans has since made a significant recovery from his injuries.

That was a time, Fr. Richtsteig said, when the parish learned that the parishioners could focus on the positive, and that they unite in times of crisis.

Now, after many other events, recognitions, hosting retreats and presentations, St. James the Just Parish is preparing for its Golden Jubilee, which will be celebrated on Aug. 20. 

During that celebration the parish would like to recognize the original members who helped build the parish in 1966, so they are asking people who are original members, or who know an original member (living or deceased), to contact the St. James office at 801-782-5393.