New churches planned for St. George area: Washington Fields project calls for 25,000-square-foot building
ST. GEORGE — Fundraising has begun for what is hoped to be a 25,000-square-foot church in Washington City, about five miles northeast of St. George.
The new church is needed because of the growth in the area.
“It’s estimated that there’s about 4,000 Catholic families here,” said Fr. David Bittmenn, pastor of St. George Parish, adding that the existing church can hold only about 600 people.
In addition, “anybody who’s tried to schedule anything at the parish in the way of group meetings or gatherings or retreats knows that it’s a complicated process because of space limitations,” he said. “So we need to have another spot.”
That “other spot” will be on the 4.54 acres that the Diocese of Salt Lake City owns in the Washington Fields area of Washington City.
“We’re going to try to build it as big as we possibly can,” Fr. Bittmenn said.
The plans as they stand now are to build a church of 20,000 to 25,000 square feet that will hold about 1,500 people, he said.
St. George Parish began fundraising for the new church about three months ago through its regular second collection. In addition, donors have contributed to an existing endowment with the Catholic Foundation of Utah, and some special fundraising events are planned.
About $400,000 already has been donated, “which is a good start, but there’s a long way to go” toward the estimated $5 million project, the pastor said.
With fundraising under way, the planners are working with architects to have a preliminary drawing of the church by the end of December; the consensus is that the building should be in the Spanish Mission style, Fr. Bittmenn said.
The new church will be a long-term project, he added, because once the church itself is constructed they will begin work on a social hall/classroom building on the same lot.
Bishop Oscar A. Solis was in St. George the weekend of Nov. 6 for two fundraising efforts dedicated to the new church: a golf game and a dinner.
At the dinner, the bishop shared the vision and mission of the diocese that are outlined in the five-year Pastoral Plan and in his 2017 pastoral letter, “A Springtime of the New Evangelization.” The priorities listed in these documents include the need for spiritual renewal and faith formation, the importance of Catholic identity and an emphasis on the baptismal call to be missionary disciples. These “constitute the basic life of the parish,” he said.
The laity play an important role in the life of the Church, he said, and he expressed his gratitude “for their active participation in their parish as responsible co-workers, fellow disciples of Christ and close partners in the Church’s mission of evangelization.”
In his comments at the 11 a.m. Sunday Mass, the bishop said he was in town primarily for a pastoral visit – as a bishop, he tries to visit each parish at least once a year “to get to know the people of God here in the local diocese of Salt Lake City,” he said, adding that that afternoon he would celebrate the Mass in San Pablo Mission in Beryl Junction, and the previous week he had visited St. Paul Catholic Center in Hurricane to meet with the congregations in those places.
He also mentioned that plans were developing on how to “expand the pastoral outreach of the Catholic Church to all the Catholics coming in here.”
To achieve those plans, “you will be instrumental,” he told the congregation. “The people here in St. George, we appeal to your generosity to see to it that we can create more places of worship that people can come together to celebrate our faith – our Catholic faith as a family.”
In an interview, Bishop Solis said his continued pastoral visits to the various parish and mission communities throughout the diocese “has been a beautiful experience. I was able to meet and get to know the people of God and celebrate with them the Holy Eucharist as one faith family, one Church, the Body of Christ.”
His visits also provide him the occasion to support the ministry of the priests in their leadership role as shepherds of their communities “and affirm their sacred responsibility in carrying out the Church’s mission of evangelization, especially during trying times,” he said.
“Our faith communities, even in the small missions, are alive and continue to grow,” he said. “In my recent visits with St. George Parish, St. Paul Catholic Center in Hurricane and San Pablo Mission in Beryl Junction, I sensed a Church full of hope and potentialities. I was overjoyed to see the number of churchgoers, old and young, who filled their small worship space, actively participating in the Mass with great joy and gladness.”
A common concern expressed by the churchgoers in southern Utah was that they have outgrown their current space and need a bigger place to gather for worship and for faith formation, the bishop said.
“It was impressive and gratifying to see how the local lay ministers managed with other challenges to keep and share their faith to the members of the community with enthusiasm and dedication,” Bishop Solis said. “Even with limited resources and capabilities, these communities are the living sacrament of God’s presence with us and in the world.”
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