Guided by the Spirit

After 82 amazing years, the end of the 2005-06 school year saw the closure of St. Margaret Mary School. While it is impossible to point to any single reason, the closure was necessary when it became apparent that closing the school was in the best interest of being able to continue to provide our parish families with a Catholic education while being financially responsible as a parish. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, our parish students began attending Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, the new Regional School formed out of a combining of St. Margaret Mary, Little Flower, Assumption and St. Ann Parish schools. The Catholic school of the past is being transformed to meet the challenges of educating our children in the 21st Century. The model may be different but the mission of providing Catholic education remains steadfastly the same.
 
Changes have taken place at the parish level as well. As the shortage of priests continues in the Catholic Church across the country, we have been called as parishes to work together in a spirit of cooperation to study and plan for a future that will eventually require a sharing of priests as well as ministries and facilities. In 2010 St. Margaret Mary and Assumption parishes officially became a Pastoral Region. Fr. Jerry Gardner was named pastor a both parish began the slow task of adjusting to a new kind of parish life, seeking to identify ways that our two parishes can harmoniously work together to address the sacramental, spiritual and social needs of all our parishioners in a future with fewer priests.
 
In 2020 we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of St. Margaret Mary Parish. There is a spirit of determination, quality and pride that has prevailed through all the years at St. Margaret Mary. It is hoped that this same spirit will carry us with enthusiasm into the future, whatever that may be, making our founding families (in many cases our own parents, grand-parents and great-grand-parents) proud.