Parish Council
John Gomez
Trustee
Why did you want to serve on council?
To serve our Parish and to help bring about a new beginning as one community.
What is your vision for the parish?
To be united in faith and to serve one another for the greater glory of God.
What area would you like us to come together in and why?
Community building and making us a welcoming parish. I would like to work towards more parishioner involvement.
Deb Peterson
Trustee Secretary
Why did you want to serve on council?
I am willing to listen and share information and ideas. I am anxious to help MPH to move forward as a vital community member.
Gary Jensen
Chairperson
Why did you want to serve on council?
To utilize my 25+ year experience in parish and business leadership to support the mission of MPH in a successful and professional manner.
What is your vision for the parish?
One of unity and visionary actions to grow the Parish into a dynamic worship place that is the pride of its parishioners and attracts new members to join us in enjoying the blessings of Jesus.
What area would you like us to come together in and why?
Outreach in any form; be it feeding the hungry, a thriving youth ministry program or evangelization efforts.
Donald Pederson
Vice-Chairperson
Why did you want to serve on council?
I feel I can bring fresh ideas to the Council. My past experiences as a Vice President of Operations and a Cub Scout Master will bring valuable leadership to the Council. I bring a passion
to see the parish grow and thrive.
Susan Scharmach
Secretary
Why did you want to serve on council?
Because I have the energy and enthusiasm to work together as a team to build a strong faith community.
What is your vision for the parish?
That as we experience the “hills and valleys” of change, we come together as a family.
What area would you like us to come together in and why?
I would like us to come together as one Parish Family and help each other embrace change.
Deb Morgan
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on council?
I am willing to listen and share information and ideas. I am anxious to help MPH to move forward as a vital community member.
Sharon Anderer
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on council?
I bring a positive attitude, a willingness to participate in and to work on finding solutions to the challenges that our young, newly reemerged parish faces (in order to survive as a parish moving forward).
Karen Brah
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on the council?
I feel I should be on Council to contribute whatever I can into
making our parish one that will be more vibrant and holy.
What is your vision for the parish?
To help in continuing to bring our parish together and build our community into one that will be a light for all.
What area would you like to see us come together in and why?
I believe the entire parish needs to participate in adult formation and enrichment to become more spiritual. It’s something that needs to be made more available to bring us together.
Devan Gracyalny
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on the council?
I was asked by several people to run for the council. I had no intention to serve prior to that. I feel that maybe I can offer a unique perspective in moving forward with our blended parish(es).
What is your vision for the parish?
My vision is growth for our parish. Both spiritually (catechesis) and numbers of our community.
What area would you like to see us come together in and why?
Of course, more Youth involvement in our parish community. This includes young family involvement in all aspects of our aging community.
John Weber
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on council?
To be a voice for all parishioners and help unify our parish.
What is your vision for the parish?
Spiritual growth and building a strong parish community.
What area would you like us to come together in and why?
Equally shared services (funerals, masses, fundraisers)
Why! We are one parish with two sites and need to work together and compromise when needed.
Dave Shook
Pastoral Council Member
Why did you want to serve on council?
The reason that I want to serve on council is that this parish has been my faith home for most of my life. It has served me well. I have served it as well by participating in various ministries. The joining of the three into one demands that we step back and reexamine our own priorities and build up a new parish that serves us all.
What is your vision for the parish and what area would you like us to come together in and why?
My vision is that we can come together and work as a team.
We need to hold onto our faith and our values. Work together for OUR parish. Remember our past and build our future. If we can’t or don’t work together, I fear this will be a short experiment.