St Joseph Catholic Church as it has been known since 1909 will cease to exist next summer. Greene County Catholics learned this past weekend that the church, along with St John in Ogden, Sacred Heart in Boone, and St Malachi in Madrid, will become worship sites in one large Boone/Greene County parish. The larger parish will have a new name that has not yet been announced.
Fr Jeff Schleisman, pastor of the Greene County Catholic Cluster, briefed parishioners of the final version of the Diocese of Sioux City’s Ministry 2025 plan as the second part of a homily about the promise of life after death.
The new parish will have one pastor and one associate pastor. Fr Schleisman will not be one of them, but will be assigned to a different parish effective next July 1.
It was announced in June that St Brigid in Grand Junction and St Columbkille in Churdan will be put into oratory status as part of the plan, which seeks to reorganize the diocese so it can be served by the number of priests available.
Fr Schleisman also shared a “use it or lose it” message. The mass schedule for the new Boone/Greene parish has not yet been determined, but it’s possible there would be only one weekend mass in Greene County. There are currently three masses, with a Saturday evening mass in Churdan and Sunday masses in Grand Junction and Jefferson.
He said that attendance at mass in the months ahead will be critical in coming up with the new schedule. “We need to fill the church to demonstrate our viability and the need for two masses. Spread the word: If we don’t show need for a second mass, it will be taken from us.”
