ST. JOAN OF ARC (1967)

Arvada's second parish was created by Archbishop Casey on August 22, 1967, with the appointment of James W. Rasby as the pioneer pastor. "I was in the right place at the right time. I was at St. Anne's in Arvada and knew the territory," recalled Father Rasby, who named St. Joan's for the French martyr because of his special devotion to her.

Parish organizational meetings were held in the Arvada Square Shopping Center on Wednesday evenings, and charter members of the parish met for Mass in the gymnasium at Arvada West High School. Father Rasby struggled not to laugh every time the congregation stood up or sat down--and the bleacher seats either groaned or breathed a loud sigh of relief. For Easter, Christmas, and other special services, the baby parish borrowed the King of Glory Lutheran Church, whose five-sided sanctuary inspired a similar floor plan for St. Joan of Arc Church.

St. Joan's celebrated the first Mass in the new church on Thanksgiving, 1968. The 900-seat church contained oak pews wrapped around a semicircular altar. Despite the decidedly modern architecture, the interior artwork included some traditional elements, such as the peacocks symbolizing the Holy Eucharist.

Father Rasby was named rector of Immaculate Conception Cathedral on March 26, 1969, and was succeeded at Arvada by Robert I. Durrie. Father Durrie replaced the old $22,000 rectory at West 58th Avenue and Independence Street with a new one next to the church. A youth center, a convent on Vivian Street, landscaping, and a paved parking lot were completed during his time.

"Many of the youth of Arvada come here," Father Durrie remarked after the St. Joan's Youth Ministry began sponsoring weekly dances. Some 250 youngsters, aged five to eighteen, also attended the religious education classes launched at Campbell Elementary School in 1968 and continued in the parish center after its construction. Sisters Andrea, Rita, and Ricardis began the program, assisted by lay teachers, to be followed over the years by Sisters Louise Skoch, OSF, Mary Cohara, SC, and others.

When Father Durrie was transferred in 1982, he was followed by a hearty Irishman, Michael A. Walsh. In 1988, Father Walsh officiated at the dedication of Orleans Community Center for a parish that had grown to over 2,200 households.

"I want people to look on the parish as something more than a place to go on Sunday," Father Walsh commented. "Our goals are evangelization, education programs, and better Sunday attendance. Whereas the first decade at St. Joan of Arc's was organization and the second was consolidation, the third decade will be expansion."