Assumption Catholic celebrates centennial

Posted on May 8, 2013 By Editor Neighborhood News

By Lara Patangan
Resident Community News

Assumption Catholic Church celebrates its 100th birthday this year, and parishioners praise its many gifts – the most significant being a place they call home.

“The first time I visited Assumption was on my day off serving in another parish. I came in my lay clothes and sat in the back,” said Father Fred Parke, Assumption’s pastor for the past 10 years. “As I was sitting there I felt like I was home. I think a lot of people feel that way about Assumption.”

A similar sentiment is shared by Angie Fuller, principal of Assumption school, which sits adjacent to the church and is only a decade away from its own centennial celebration.

“There is a feeling you get when you walk on campus,” Fuller explained. “I have worked at other Catholic schools and I feel more at home here than anywhere else.”

That feeling is one the parish intends to celebrate all year long with both school and church activities, including a dinner theater, marriage vow renewals, an alumni dance and many other events that will culminate with a centennial social at the Hyatt Regency on Oct. 5 with a special mass and reception the following day.

Currently, there are 2,300 to 2,400 families in the parish, and the school has more than 600 students ranging from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade and a waiting list for almost every grade, which Parke calls “extraordinary.”

He credits the atmosphere of both church and school to the feeling of family – a gift that promises to endure long after the party is over.
“A very warm experience has been created here,” Parke said. “We are a family.”