Year of Faith Utah Pilgrimage: Saint Paul Catholic Center

Intermountain Catholic

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Saint Paul Catholic Center in Hurricane is housed in a former doctor's office. IC photo/Marie Mischel

(Editor’s note: For the Year of Faith, which ends Nov. 24, Bishop John C. Wester has designated 12 churches in the Diocese of Salt Lake City as pilgrimage sites. This article is one in a series about the sites. More information can be found at http://www.dioslc.org/images/year-of-faith/pilgrimage/Year%20of%20Faith%20Passport%20Booklet%20Version%20English.pdf.)

HURRICANE — One aspect of pilgrimages that can be either a pleasure or a pain is the change of routine. Another difficulty is adjusting to the unfamiliar.

I encountered both when I visited Saint Paul Catholic Center in Hurricane as part of my pilgrimage to the 12 churches in the Diocese of Salt Lake City that Bishop John C. Wester has designated as Year of Faith sites.

Attending Sunday services at St. Paul made a sharp change in my routine, because they have only one Mass time, and that is 12:30 p.m. For someone who likes to attend Mass first thing in the morning, that was quite an adjustment.

Then, when I arrived, I found that I wouldn’t be attending Mass at all, but a Sunday Celebration Absent a Priest.

This isn’t an uncommon service in Utah missions, where priests are spread thin.

A SCAP service, as it is commonly called, does meet the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, and I also encountered the Word of God in the readings and Deacon Mark Bourget’s powerful sermon. The lively music ministry, too, helped draw me into the worship, while the greeters made me feel welcome, so I enjoyed the experience.

Still, it felt odd to go to church on Sunday and not participate in the Eucharistic prayers, which are omitted from the SCAP because, obviously, without a priest there can be no consecration of hosts.

But the St. Paul congregation told me that today is a vast improvement from five years ago, when they had to drive 30 minutes to attend Mass in St. George. Then, in the congregation’s early days, SCAPs were more common than Mass, unlike today, when the SCAP is the exception rather than the norm.

Like many mission churches, St. Paul began with local people offering their homes as a place for Sunday worship. Later, when Deacon Joseph Regan (now deceased) agreed to come from St. George Parish twice a month for SCAP services, they moved to the American Legion Hall in Hurricane.

Then a couple of families who had children in the religious education classes started the push for a local church. Five years ago they began a capital campaign, with Earl Bond as the chairman. A year later, the diocese purchased a building that had previously been used as a doctor’s office. The interior transformed into a church that seats about 100 people. Bishop Wester dedicated the center on May 17, 2009. When Father Martin Picos and Father Tai Nguyen were assigned to St. George in 2010, they committed to regular weekly Mass in Hurricane. Now it’s usually standing room only on Sunday.

"These two priests, as far as we’re concerned, they walk on water," Bond said. "They’re the most fantastic thing that ever occurred to us. … They have really brought the group together."

St. Paul also operates a thrift store, open four days a week and staffed by about 30 volunteers, that helps pay down the debt. They’re in the process of recruiting other volunteers so another day can be added to the schedule.

Bond now serves at the center’s administrator, a position he took about a year ago from Toni Foran. Like all the other volunteers at the center, he is unpaid.

Despite that, the church is active: on Monday nights, Deacon Rogaciano Telles from St. George offers a Holy Hour; RCIA is on Tuesday night, Wednesdays are set aside for meetings of the Knights of Columbus and the advisory board; the Women’s Club meets on Thursday, and they have begun to offer Bingo in Friday. Saturdays are reserved for baptisms, ("We had three last month," Bond told me), while CCD and Mass occur on Sundays.

This is the first year the center will offer RCIA, it will be led by Gene and Judy Coryell. The CCD is in its second year, led by Mary LeBaron. Also new this year was a golf tournament, chaired by Fred Hawkes and Gene Coryell; it raised $7,200 to pay down the debt. Judy Greene schedules the ministers needed for the Mass, and Barbara Markus and the Women’s Council visit shut-ins, bringing small gifts and prayer.

"We have a real team esprit de corps," Bond said. "People are getting involved," even some who are in the area during only part of the year. For example, the website www.stpaulcatholiccenter.org is run by someone who lives in Idaho, he said.

IF YOU GO:

Saint Paul Catholic Center is located at 171 South Main, Hurricane. Mass or a SCAP is celebrated at 12:30 p.m. Sundays. The thrift store is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays.