Alex Paul
SWEET HOME – August 20, members of St. Helen Catholic Church in Sweet Home celebrated the 70th anniversary of the parish and the feast day of Saint Helen, its patron saint.
Rev. Father Jossey Kuriakose and Deacon Skip Malone celebrated Mass at 3 p.m., which w as followed by a barbecue picnic cooked by the Knights of Columbus Council 8624 with fixings provided by the Saint Helen’s Women’s Club and potluck dishes from parishioners.
Dawn Shaver organized the event that included music by Ray Novencido and games for young and old alike organized by Jessica Allison. The festivities included some old-fashioned games such as carrying an egg on a spoon while running, a sack race and a tug-o’-war and an old-fashioned version of cornhole.
In honor of the special day, Deacon Malone presented Father Jossey with a hand-made wooden plaque depicting the church. Father Jossey is new to the parish, serving for a month before the picnic. Rev. Father Fred Anthony served the parish for almost 14 years until being reassigned to parishes in southern Oregon, closer to his family.
Catholic missionaries arrived in Linn County about 1839 and in 1884, Catholic families, including a priest, from Minnesota settled in the Jordan area. The first Mass celebrated in Lebanon was in 1903 and in 1949, two acres of land were purchased on Sixth Avenue for development of a Catholic church.
In the interim, Mass was celebrated on Sept. 25, 1949 in Milburn Hall on Main Street by Rev. Carl Wachter, who was the pastor of St. Edward Catholic Church in Lebanon. Some 168 people attended that first Mass. They often had to clear the floor because the night before, a dance had been held there.
In September 1952, ground was broken for the new church and construction began. Estimated total cost was $32,000. In 1953, Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Brownsville was added as a mission parish, which continues today.
In the early 1990s, parishioners paid for and used their own hands and equipment to completely remodel St. Helen’s, including turning the sanctuary around, adding new pews, a new entryway and church hall.
St. Helen’s is a small, but active parish that supports an award-winning Knights of Columbus Council 8624, an active Women’s Club, a growing American Heritage Girls chapter and programs for children from pre-school through high school.
Numerous members of the parish have been recognized at the annual Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce community awards banquet including Junior First Citizen, First Citizen, Distinguished Citizen, Woman of the Year and Business of the Year. The parish as a whole was also honored as organization of the year.
Several of the original parish families still attend St. Helen’s or Holy Trinity Mission including the Melcher family, the Thums family and the Karo family. Many others have been parishioners since the 1970s and 1980s.
At St. Helen, Mass is celebrated at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. on Sunday. At Holy Trinity, Mass is celebrated at noon on Wednesday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Saint Helen was the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great and was born in 246 AD. She is admired by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Anglican Communion.