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History
As part of the Diocese of New Ulm's Plan for Parishes the Church of St. Mary of Willmar, the Church of St. Patrick of Kandiyohi, the Church of St. Thomas More of Lake Lillian and the Church of Our Lady of the Lakes of Spicer form an area faith community to collaborate in the mission of proclaiming and sharing our faith in Jesus Christ. The process of forming the area faith community began with joint meetings of parish pastoral councils. These meetings shaped goals in these four areas of ministry: word, worship, service and stewardship. The plans shaped in these meetings led to the formation of an Area Pastoral Council in May 2006. The council is made up of three representatives from each of the parishes in the area faith community and the pastoral leaders from each of the parishes. With the establishment of the Area Pastoral Council as the principal focus for consultation on the pastoral direction of the area faith community, parish pastoral councils and parish finance councils were transformed into parish administrative councils which deal with parish concerns. To organize and promote the ministry of the area faith community four committees have been formed corresponding to the four sets of goals, word, worship, service and stewardship. In 2007 the area faith community was named Jesus Our Living Water Area Faith Community. The ministry of the area faith community continues to take shape guided by its pastoral leaders and the Area Pastoral Council. On July 1, 2010, Bishop John LeVoir appointed Fr. Steve Verhelst as pastor of all four parishes in our area faith community. Currently, he is assisted by Fr. Christian Adike as associate pastor. With Fr. Jerry Paulson's retirement on December 31, 2021, we are blessed that he continues to preside at four daily Masses each week at Our Lady of the Lakes. On June 30, 2016, the Church of St. Patrick in Kandiyohi and the Church of St. Thomas More in Lake Lillian were closed. Bishop LeVoir celebrated closing Masses and items were ceremoniously removed from the church buildings. The crucifix from the Church of St. Patrick was processed into the Church of St. Mary in Willmar and now is the main crucifix in that worship space. All parish records from these parishes are now housed at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar. On July 1, 2020, the Church of St. Clara in Clara City joined our area faith community. Parish records are maintained at the Church of St. Mary in Willmar. |
Statistics
We have a little over 2,000 families and 4,800 parishioners. The Church of St. Mary is home to the largest Latino population in the Diocese of New Ulm. Due to the number of lakes in northern Kandiyohi County, Mass attendance at Our Lady of the Lakes surges between Memorial Day and Labor Day. |
