St. Andrew Catholic Community

History of St. Andrew

Jesus said to his disciples

 "You are the light of the world!"
(Mt. 5:14)

 May the Holy Spirit continue to guide us in remaining faithful to this exalted vocation.

The St. Andrew Community began as a mission of All Saints Parish in Puyallup. In 1920, however, several families in the Sumner area petitioned Bishop O'Dea for a parish of their own. This request was granted by Bishop O'Dea, and the first Mass at the Parish Church of St. Andrew the Apostle was held on April 19, 1921. The parish included some twenty families, about one hundred parishioners in all. In 1925, St. Andrew Parish gained its won priest when Father Kornke arrived. Frances Murphy remembers that we had a choir made up of parishioners from both Buckley and Sumner.

Father Hamilton arrived in 1949, and the parish hall was built under his guidance in 1952. The church was enlarged in 1953, increasing the seating capacity from 144 to 260. Even with the bigger church, we needed two Masses every Sunday to meet the needs of our growing parish. Anticipating further growth, we bought two houses between the hall and the church. They eased the overcrowded parish hall with more room for CCD classes. We also bought approximately ten acres on Valley avenue in case we might eventually have a need for more room. Holy Name men began to sponsor a monthly dinner, and the CYO, the St. Andrew Guild, and the Altar Society were formed. We began to celebrate summer with an annual picnic.

The CCD program overflowed the hall and filled the two houses. In order to accommodate the increase in the number of students, the two houses were torn down and the Faith Formation (CCD) building, was built. It was constructed with completed classrooms on the lower floor, but the upstairs was unfinished to allow for expansion at a later date.

Growth and changes continued after Father McAllister arrived in 1961. The liturgical changes from Vatican II were being implemented. the altar was moved from the back wall of the church. The priest now celebrated Mass facing the people. The language of the Mass was changed from Latin to English. Lay persons became more involved in the Mass by serving as lectors. We added the second story to the Faith Formation (CCD) building in order to accommodate our expanding Youth Ministry programs. The hall was remodeled so it could comfortably accommodate smaller groups. We began coffee hours after Sunday Masses, and Monday morning coffee.

The First Friday Club was started for retired parishioners, and in 1977 we began the tradition of the graduation Baccalaureate and breakfast. It also became necessary to add a third Mass. Father Patrick McDermott started a Spanish Mass for eastern Pierce County, to better serve our growing Hispanic community. Father Woody McCallister was assigned as parochial vicar from 1991 through June 1994. Since then, we've celebrated Spanish Mass every Saturday.

It was during Fr. Tom Belleque's service as pastor (1989-2002) that the parish experienced a rapid increase in the number of registered families. To support these families in their faith the two spiritual avenues of Stewardship and Small Christian Communities were implemented. In addition, a long range master plan for the development of the Valley Avenue property was created. A full scale, parish wide discernment process was conducted throughout much of the 1990's, and the first piece of the master plan, the construction of the new church, was completed in the summer of 1999. Archbishop Brunett dedicated the Church on August XX, 1999. It was also under the leadership of Fr. Tom that our parish's association with and support of the Neustros Pequenos Hermanos was initiated.

In the spring of 2002 Fr. John Carroll, S.J. was appointed as our new pastor. In a tragic accident, however, he drowned in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Mexico, prior to his arrival to the parish. In his place Archbishop Brunett appointed Carol Guenther, who had been serving as a member of the parish staff since 1990, to server as Pastoral Coordinator, beginning in July of 2002. For sacramental ministry Carol was assisted by Fr. Clyde V. Peterson and Fr. Adrian Leuvano Carillo. It was during this time that the parish inaugurated the weekly "LifeTeen" Mass, in November of 2002.

Fr. David Young, the current pastor, arrived to St. Andrew's in July of 2003. Since that time he has been slowly learning the ropes and meeting the families of the parish and the surrounding region.

At present, we look forward with great optimism to the development of the remainder of the Valley Avenue property, in order that we can consolidate our parish at one address and have enough space for all of our parish needs. In the meantime we continue to celebrate the Sacraments, teach the faith, server the wider community, and share our pilgrimage of faith with one another.

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