August 25, 2010

Rifle parish to mark 100th anniversary

By John Gleason

Nestled in the Colorado mountains just west of Glenwood Springs, in the community of Rifle, parishioners of St. Mary Church are gearing up to mark the 100th anniversary of their parish. 

The celebration will include a Mass at 7 p.m. Sept. 1 celebrated by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. All are invited to make the scenic drive to Rifle to join in the event. The church is located at 761 Birch Ave.

 “Following the Mass, we’ll have a reception and champagne toast to honor the history of the church as well as the next 100 years,” said Kathy Hill, an organizer of the anniversary events. 

 “We’ve gone all out,” said Hill. 

From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sept. 4 the Knights of Columbus will host a breakfast to commemorate the milestone anniversary followed by tours of the church. From 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 5 a parish picnic will be held where people can come to eat, enjoy music and share stories of the church.

“We’re having lots of food and everyone is pitching in, along with games and dancing.  We want all past parishioners to come up and join us,” she added. 

Established in 1910 by Father Christopher Walsh, Masses were conducted in private homes for the first two years until a building could be constructed in 1912.  That building was expanded to seat 180 people in 1983.  In 1996 several acres of land was purchased for a new church. Construction began in February 2000.The initial phase of the project included a church shell, basement and classrooms.  It was finished in 2001.  In 2003 work on the interior of the worship area began with parishioners performing a lion’s share of the work.  The new 325-seat sanctuary, along with parish office and library, was dedicated in 2004.

Father Robert Hehn has been pastor at St. Mary’s since 1990. 

“This is a very close-knit community,” he said. “One where people all know each other; a place where generations of the same family come together to worship.  We’re looking forward to a great celebration of the anniversary of the parish.”
Jo Diaz, 81, is a lifelong member of St. Mary’s.  She said that among the changes she has seen over the years, the increase in families is most notable.

When the parish first started, they’d have a Mass one Sunday a month,” she said.  “Today we have three every Sunday.  I don’t know how to describe the people here in one word, but our parishioners are very much involved in all aspects of parish life—service groups, religious education, and working parish dinners.  We have a growing number of young families always willing to take part.”

One of Diaz’s responsibilities is to prepare the parish scrapbooks for the celebration.  Asked what she thought St. Mary’s might look like a hundred years from now, she laughed and said, “Considering the growth, we’ll have a cathedral on the Western Slope.”