A Letter from Fr. Paul

Dear Fellow Parishioner, 

Our parish has a long history, dating back to 1882. It is a history of “holy striving” for all the souls that have passed through the doors for these 142 years and have thus entered our church, God’s house among us. There have been Masses offered, sacraments given, celebrations had, and events taken place in numbers untold with no end in sight – until, of course, Our Lord comes the Second Time and wraps up human history. 

In the meantime, as we don’t know when that magnificent event will take
 place, we need to take care of what we have – and although none of our parish buildings that we presently have are as old as the parish itself, they are certainly not new, and frankly, some of them are old, our church itself going back over 100 years. We need to repair, fix, and maintain so that those who will be coming through our doors in the years to come – not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren, and those to follow – will find the same “good ol’ St. Catherine’s” welcoming them as it has for us. 

All that being said, this fall our parish will be engaging in a capital campaign to raise the funds we need to make those repairs and fixes. I am pleased to have this opportunity to inform you concerning our parish’s Repair My House Capital Campaign. Please take some time to read through the brochure thoroughly. You might be surprised by the infrastructural needs of our parish. It will give you some idea in a detailed and visual way what our parish needs to do, and the part you can play in making this parish effort a success and the up keeping of our parish buildings a reality. As good stewards of the blessings we have received, and with God’s help, we can make our church and our parish worthy of the worship and the good works for God and the community that happen here. 

I have now been in our parish for a little over two years - not many compared to most of you. But I am impressed with St. Catherine of Alexandria parish in Valley City. The parish I had come from in south Fargo was - and still is - the newest parish in the Diocese of Fargo. This is one of the oldest. I am a history major - I appreciate history. And I appreciate the history of St. Catherine’s. Now it’s OUR turn to be part of the history of this parish - both in our lives of worship and service, and also in our lives of stewardship in taking care of and passing on this parish to those who will continue its history. 

Our Lord Jesus is asking us to “Repair My House.” Let’s do it. 

Yours in Christ, 

Fr. Paul Duchschere Pastor