By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As Ash Wednesday starts worshipers’ journey through the season of Lent, two of West Seattle’s Catholic churches continue with another journey.

Unless you worship at Our Lady of Guadalupe or Holy Rosary, you might not have noticed signs of the two Catholic churches’ slow-motion merger.

But there are signs. Literally. Outside each church, you’ll find signage like this:

Since last July, the two have been one “parish family,” as part of the Archdiocese of Seattle initiative Partners in the Gospel. That initiative has turned 136 parishes around the region into 60 parish families, with eight stand-alone parishes (including Holy Family at the south edge of West Seattle), as announced in February 2024. By summer 2027, Holy Rosary and Our Lady of Guadalupe must become one parish, with a new name; West Seattle Catholic Community is the current “working title.” They’re already sharing pastor Father Phuong Hoang and parochial vicar Father Tim Clark.

We sat down recently with both of them at OLG’s offices in High Point, along with parish administrator Michelle Scheving and pastoral associate Helen Oesterle. On behalf of both churches, they had contacted us asking to share a simple message to the community that changes were in progress, and we asked for the chance to talk in-depth.

At its heart, this is the Catholic Church’s way of dealing with challenges described in an Archdiocese-provided FAQ as “a decrease of engaged parishioners, fewer priests, dwindling finances, deteriorating campus conditions, and more.” Oesterle noted that the merger movement started on the East Coast and “the wave has worked its way across the country, so we’ve been able to learn best practices.” But, she observes, “we’re one of the easier parish-family pairings.” Like theirs, in most parishes, new pastors came with the new “families”; Holy Rosary’s previous pastor Father Matthew Oakland moved to another assignment, while OLG’s previous pastor Father Kevin Duggan had been “planning on retiring anyway,” Scheving notes.

As they work toward unification, the parishes are taking “baby steps,” as described by Fr. Hoang. “With a predetermined end goal,” adds Scheving. “The ultimate goal is one parish with two campuses,” continues Oesterle. Decisions on property, schools, buildings, etc., are being left to the parishes, not dictated by the Archdiocese.

So they’re eight months into what’s expected to be a three-year process. For the priests, there’s been a lot of “jumping back and forth,” since both have offices at both churches. Fr. Hoang previously served multiple churches on the west side of Puget Sound, “so that’s a gift for us,” Oesterle says, “he comes with wisdom and experience.”

“I know it’s not easy, but it’s doable,” Fr. Hoang adds.

Fr. Clark agrees, especially considering “we’re both West Seattle,” unlike some “families” with churches that are a ferry ride apart (Vashon Island and Tacoma, for example).

So what are these two “family members” doing together so far? we wondered.

To start with, in August, a parish picnic welcomed the two newly arrived priests. Since then: “We’re slowly starting to worship together,” replies Scheving. Fr. Clark mentions a November 2nd liturgy for remembering the dead. “We did that together.” They’re moving toward some consolidation of the daily Masses rather than redundancies; Oesterle sys times will change gradually, and not before talking with parishioners. Currently, the two churches have six weekend Masses.

“These are two parishes still growing,” observes Fr. Clark, which is counter to the trend in some areas of the country. But, he muses, “Each parish has its own feel” – including architecturally – and each has its own history – Holy Rosary dates back to 1909, Our Lady of Guadalupe to 1960 – created, in fact, notes Oesterle, from parts of Holy Rosary and Holy Family‘s then-parish territories.

As they “deal with the reality of coming together,” there’s a leadership team with not only the four people who talked with us but Holy Rosary reps too, meeting twice a month. And as of a few months ago, they now publish/distribute a combined bulletin each week (see the current one here); Scheving says that’s been really helpful, because any questions/concerns that arise regarding the consolidation can be addressed there, along with the standard kind of announcements you’d find in a church bulletin.

They’re also forming a Parish Family Advisory Council with “members of both communities, who will create this one-parish plan, who do we want to be, where are we growing,” Scheving explains. That’s expected to be up and running by early April. There are still many details to work out over the next two-plus years, but “it’s not an option NOT to do it,” Oesterle reiterates.

How has this been received by parishioners? Mixed feelings, according to the leadership. Some sadness and anger, some confusion, some going through a “grief process,” but also some excitement, especially about the possibilities opened up by shared resources. Church leaders hope the “re-visioning” will help people adjust, as will synergy and support for both churches/schools’ traditions – “We supported WestFest, they’re supporting Loop the ‘Lupe,” offers Oesterle as an example.

Speaking of schools, they’re not planning to consolidate; Fr. Clark observes both are “very good schools.” (Both serve students up to 8th grade; Holy Rosary’s enrollment is about twice that of OLG’s.) The Archdiocese’s FAQ affirms, “Joining together does not necessarily mean any church building or schools will close.”

And of course they’ll eventually have to work out the parish’s combined finances and staffing. So far, they say, they’re not expecting layoffs, but some positions might eventually be lost to attrition. “There’s enough work for everyone!”

They hope the consolidation also will lead to more involvement in, and with,the wider West Seattle community. They’re also hoping community members from outside the churches will participate in the upcoming listening sessions, “even if they’re not Catholic.”

Oesterle observes, “It’s a unique moment – it’s been so ‘top down’ for so long.” Scheving has appreciated the chance to talk with parish families; this one has learned it’s ahead of the curve in some ways – for example, few others have moved to combined bulletins.

And in this week’s combined bulletin, you’ll find an update on what the “parish family” members are supposed to be doing right now: “… welcoming and getting to know each other, assessing the current parishes, and developing a current understanding of each parish’s gifts, needs, and hopes for the future.”