St. Andrew Parish in Holts Summit celebrates 50 years of faith, family, fellowship

CLICK HERE to see a gallery of photos from this event.

God is everywhere, but he reveals himself uniquely to Sandy Rackers through her fellow members of St. Andrew Parish in Holts Summit.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: This parish is a family!” the charter parishioner stated.

“We’re very close. Whether we’re working or just spending time together, we always have a good time,” she said.

Present at the parish’s first Mass 50 years ago, Mrs. Rackers clearly recalls how the winds whipped through Father John Buchanan’s vestments.

Her brother, Timmy Wilbers, was an altar server that day.

Fr. Buchanan, now deceased, who was pastor of  neighboring St. Peter Parish at that time, was the celebrant.

“A thunderstorm was brewing and we couldn’t get into the Fire Department, so we all stood outside and had the Mass,” Mrs. Rackers recalled.

The storm held off until after Mass, one of many favors God would lavish on St. Andrew Parish in its first five decades of existence.

Bishop W. Shawn Mc­Knight joined parishioners on July 13 in celebration of the parish’s 50th anniversary.

Joining him at the altar were Father Christopher Cordes, pastor, and several previous pastors.

“The essence of your parish is the people and the parish’s mission to proclaim the kingdom of God by being a center of charity and sanctuary of mercy,” Bishop McKnight stated in his homily.

He said he’s grateful for St. Andrew Parish’s shining example of the Church in line with the teachings and pastoral emphasis of the Second Vatican Council — “both in terms of the style of your liturgy and in the active works of the good stewards of this parish.”

He spoke of the importance of collaboration and mission in the Church.

“Jesus taught us the importance of not trying to do it all alone,” he noted. “He designed his Church for its mission — to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has arrived in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! — and our communion as a Church is essential to this mission.”

That good news must be proclaimed primarily through action, he stated.

He cited as examples the community soup kitchen that St. Andrew parishioners helped establish; lively religious education the parish provides for children and adults, robust interest and participation in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults; the commitment to quality liturgies and worship; and numerous occasions for hospitality and fellowship.

Furthermore, “your support of our pro-life values are seen not only in advocating for just laws that respect the dignity of all human life, but also in the care and concern you have shown to those who are in need,” the bishop stated.

“These things help to solidify the character of your parish as a thoroughly Vatican II parish!” he said.

Keys to the kingdom

One hundred forty-four people participated in the parish’s first Mass outside a Holts Summit fire station on June 30, 1974.

“This historic event took place in the vicinity of Jesuit Father Ferdinand Helias’s mission at Hibernia, an Irish settlement which he had served a century-and-a-half earlier,” observed parishioner Marguerite Williams in a 1982 article in The Catholic Missourian.

The diocese first established St. Andrew Parish as a mission of St. Peter Parish in Jefferson city.

St. Peter parishioners started raising money in November 1973 to support the mission, which was intended to become a parish for Catholics in southern Callaway County.

At that time, 130 families in St. Peter Parish had Holts Summit addresses, and 30 had New Bloomfield addresses.

The first Mass was celebrated outside, because no one present had a key to get into the dry, air-conditioned fire station.

People from the Holts Summit, New Bloomfield, Hartsburg, Tebbetts, Wainwright and Cedar City areas gathered for worship under ominous storm clouds.

Attendance jumped to more than 200 for the following Sunday’s Mass, celebrated inside the fire station.

The Masses were moved the following summer to the roomier Holts Summit Civic Building to accommodate more congregants.

The mission became a parish in 1977. The late Holy Cross Father Patrick Daly, who had been an associate pastor at St. Peter Parish, was appointed St. Andrew’s first pastor in 1980.

Herman Schulte of Marshall donated property for a parish multipurpose building. Ground was broken on July 8, 1978.

Parish volunteers dug the foundation, installed the wiring, heating and plumbing, painted and finished the building, landscaped the grounds and worked on the parking lot.

Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe of Jefferson City, now deceased, dedicated the completed building on May 17, 1981.

Welcome home

Looking back on those early days, Earl Pabst recalled how Fr. Daly, encouraged everyone in the fledgling parish to become well acquainted with one another.

“After Mass, everyone would put the folding chairs up, and we would have coffee and donuts,” said Mr. Pabst.

Nearly everyone would stay around, meet and visit with fellow parishioners.

“As the parish grew, everyone continued to have that fellowship,” Mr. Pabst stated. “St. Andrew’s became known far and wide as a welcoming parish.”

He now recognizes that time-honored charism as the first of the Four Pillars of Stewardship: Hospitality.

“The other pillars of prayer, service and formation followed,” he said.

When parishioners began planning for a new church, they insisted that the building have a spacious gathering area so they could retain their penchant for fellowship.

Ground for the new church — a cross-shaped, contemporary edifice with large, arch-shaped windows and seating for about 600 people — was broken in January 2001.

Bishop John R. Gaydos of Jefferson City, now retired, dedicated the church in October 2003.

“It’s almost as beautiful as the people who come here,” parishioner Candy Smith stated at the time.

“God’s work”

Mrs. Smith and her husband Britt said they were delighted to make St. Andrew their parish home when they moved to the area over 30 years ago.

Mr. Smith had not been raised Catholic but decided to join the Church shortly before he and Mrs. Smith were married.

They moved around a bit with the military after that but eventually settled down in Holts Summit.

“I soon found what I termed my first church home — a home I chose,” said Mr. Smith. “The community was so welcoming, I couldn’t help but begin to feel like I was part of the family.

“Over 30 years later, I still feel the same,” he said.

“It’s an amazing community!” said parishioner Chris Kennison, who produced a parish history video to be shown at the reception after the anniversary Mass.

He didn’t know a lot of the history until he started gathering information and interviewing fellow parishioners.

“It’s amazing to me how it started in a yard outside the fire station — and here we are now, in this beautiful church,” he said.

“I think a lot of it comes from the great people who have stepped up and done great things,” he stated.

Mr. Kennison’s family moved to Holts Summit when he was 12.

“I came to church here when I was in high school, and then I went to college,” he said. “I wasn’t a very good Catholic for a while.”

He gradually felt drawn back and finally responded to that call a few years ago.

“And that’s when I remembered why I missed it so much,” he said. “As soon as I came back, I walked into church every Sunday and people were talking to me and saying ‘hi’ and asking me how I was.”

Their kindness was contagious.

“When we come here, it’s like we have friends everywhere and we look forward to coming to church and seeing our friends,” he said.

That, he believes, has helped the parish thrive for half a century.

“I will probably always remember my decision to start coming back here with my mom and my sisters, because it changed my life and made me a better person,” he said.

He’s gotten more involved and is spending time with more people and helping out.

“I think that’s part of God’s work — making us feel like we’ve got a hand in it,” he stated.

A lot going on

Fr. Cordes became pastor of St. Andrew Parish this January. Previous pastors told him wonderful things about the parish before he arrived.

“I’ve found them all to be true!” he stated. “It’s a welcoming, faith-filled parish that I’m thankful to be part of.”

Deacon Ed Stroesser, who has been assigned to assist the pastor of St. Andrew for the past 11 years, called to mind a few impressive things worth noting and celebrating:

• how volunteers from throughout the community, many of them from St. Andrew, help parishioners Mary Steck and Pam Brauner host dinner for 200 or more people every Tuesday and Thursday evening at the local Soup Kitchen;
• how a men’s choir and a women’s choir, directed by Jim Haslag and Belinda Heimericks, respectively, offer an occasional, added degree of choral beauty to Masses and special celebrations;
• how the Children’s Liturgy offers age-appropriate teaching to children ages 3 to 5 while the Liturgy of the Word is taking place at Sunday Mass;
• how young people ages 8 to 18 serve in all available liturgical roles (except Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion) at Youth Masses celebrated on the first Saturdays and Sundays of each month;
• how the legendary Knights of Columbus Lenten fish fries, often ranked No. 1 in local surveys, helped pay off the construction debt on the church;
• how the parish’s 50+ Club serves up monthly lunches and fellowship for older parishioners;
• how Welcome Renewal Weekend retreats provide spiritual renewal for men and women and help them find their place in serving the parish;
• how the Ladies Altar Sodality provides beautiful seasonal decorations and altar furnishings for the church.

Barb Hartman, a member of the 50th anniversary steering committee, noted that people of many ages are active in the parish.

“St. Andrew is a growing parish of young and old,” she said, adding that children of the parish can attend neighboring St. Peter School in Jefferson City.

She said St. Andrew has been fortunate to have had wonderful pastors through the decades.

“Each one has brought his special gifts,” said Mrs. Hartman, who has been a parishioner for 33 years. “I always think the Holy Spirit guides our bishop to send us what we need.”

She also lauded the deacons:

• Deacon Dan Ramsay, who with his wife Bobbi have been coordinating the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at the parish for many years, and
• Deacon Ed Stroesser, who with his wife Valda coordinate the process for preparing young people for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Mrs. Hartman also commended the parish’s liturgical music program coordinated by Belinda Heimericks, with volunteers leading and accompanying the music at each weekend Mass.

Joyful occasion

A reception after the anniversary Mass was held in the elaborately decorated parish hall.

All the flowers came from parishioners’ gardens.

Women of the parish worked together on the quilt mural adorning the wall behind the head table, with window panes by the same parishioner who designed the two large windows in church.

A large table bathed in light was filled with framed photos of parishioners who had passed away since the parish’s founding.

Another table was laden with historical ephemera and mementos, including yellowing editions of The Catholic Missourian.

Parishioner Becky Webb prepared a cake with an intricate rendering in icing of St. Andrew Church, similar to the one she baked for the church’s 2003 dedication.

St. Peter Parish presented a framed print of Jesus calling St. Peter and Andrew as an anniversary gift. It will be displayed in a prominent place in St. Andrew Church.

“How appropriate,” said Bishop McKnight, “that the name chosen for your parish is the brother of St. Peter. Ever since the founding of your parish, your two parishes have existed in close cooperation.”

Fr. Cordes marveled at the cavalcade of families and individuals who comprised St. Andrew Parish in the past and the present.

“Whether you’ve been a charter member of 50 years, joined last week or came along somewhere in between, I’m thankful that you’re a member of St. Andrew Parish and also thankful for all who came tonight who are maybe coming back or joining us for this special celebration,” the priest stated.

For St. Andrew Parish’s jubilee, Mrs. Hartman requested prayers for the people of the parish to remain humble and grateful for everything God has given them, for the continued sharing of gifts among parishioners to keep the parish great, for new parishioners to feel welcome, for those who became inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic to return, and for young adults to remain interested in their faith and active in the parish.

Bishop McKnight added his own prayer intention: “for the parish of St. Andrew over the next 50 years to be a network of living relationships, in which people not only learn about God and the details of our Catholic faith, but they feel the love of God and their Church for them.”