Decision #8.3 - Sunday Mass Alternative #2
If you are new to this discussion, you may want instead to read this comprehensive PDF which covers the entire process to-date.
You might also want to review Post #8.0 (original proposal), Post #8.1 (discussion of priest rotations), and Post #8.2 (Alternative #1).
Most Pertinent Feedback
Having now completed listening sessions at Sacred Heart (June 14/15), Blaine/Lummi/Ferndale (June 21/22)*, and Assumption (July 5/6), I have tried to present a new proposal that responds to the following points of feedback:
(*Those sessions were so short I could only hear a handful of thoughts before running off.)
It is not advisable or viable to combine the 8:30 am at Sacred Heart with the 8:00 am at Assumption.
The priest rotation is particularly difficult, and it would be helpful to consider what things would look like without a significant priest rotation.
Blaine would like to know if it is possible for their Mass to move to Sunday morning.
Lummi would greatly struggle with a 5:00 pm Sunday Mass, but is open to praying about a 12:30 pm Sunday Mass.
Modification #1 - Maintain the 8:30 am at Sacred Heart
The solution here is the same one that was presented at https://www.whatcomcatholic.org/updates/2025/6/19/decision-82-sunday-mass-alternative-1. However, at this point it is certain that the 8:00/8:30 combination is not possible.
The on-file Archdiocesan capacity number for Sacred Heart was 322, but after remeasuring all of our churches and using a consistent standard, the seating capacity for that church is more accurately 255. If even a third of the Sacred Heart parishioners who attend the 8:30 am Mass goes to the Sacred Heart 11:00 am, rather than attending at Assumption, then Sacred Heart will exceed its capacity at 11:00 am.
Modification #2 – Significantly Reduce Priest Rotation
Reasoning
During the Sacred Heart listening sessions on June 14/15, 2025, there was significant discussion about the necessity of the priest rotation.
My argument from the beginning of Partners in the Gospel has been that I need to see every Mass every month in order to govern our parishes appropriately. Some parishioners at Sacred Heart challenged this idea and suggested that there are more effective ways of getting to know parishioners and their needs than simply shaking hands after weekend Masses. They further suggested that, given the ability for the Pastor to use other means (like regular Town Halls), the benefit of having a non-rotating priest presence on Sunday is a significant good that should be considered.
Effect on Proposed Mass Schedule
In my original proposals, I assumed the Pastor would not fill the Priest #4 slot very often, so I tried to minimize the number of English Masses covered by Priest #4. I placed Lummi in that rotation because I do most of their funerals and have other ways of interacting with that community.
However, if we abandon the need for the Pastor to see most English Masses most of the time, then we gain the freedom to add another English Mass to Priest #4.
Specifics
The Sacred Heart Masses can now be kept at their regular times (with 8:30 changed to 9:00 to provide proper staggering in Bellingham) and covered by the same priest.
Priest #4 can take both Lummi and Ferndale in the morning, each made earlier by 30 minutes to accommodate the drive to Bellingham.
Visualization
Proposed Priest Rotation
Groupings
Theoretically, each priest could be given one of the Mass groupings, and there could be absolute stability, except those occasional times when the Pastor rotates through.
However, with continued issues with understandability, it does not seem wise to have Fr. Stephan be the only priest a community sees each Sunday. And, even apart from current priests, in a Family with three vicars there will likely always be a priest that is in training or needing special accommodations.
As such, I propose pairing Fr. Moore and Fr. Stephan, who will rotate between themselves, while Fr. Gerardo and Fr. Tyler maintain their own stable assignments.
Specific Assignments
In parish families that do not equally rotate the priests, the Pastor usually covers the largest churches or Masses. In Whatcom County, Assumption represents 35.4% of our English Mass attendees, so it makes sense for Fr. Moore to take the Priest #1 rotation on Sundays.
However, because Fr. Moore and Fr. Stephan are sharing rotations, there must be a second rotation added. That will need to be Priest #2, which covers Sacred Heart. For one, this maximizes the number of parishioners in the Pastor’s rotations. For two, there is already significant enough flow between the two churches to treat them as a semi-unified community, and, administratively, this will help the two churches work together even more in the coming years.
Fr. Gerardo must take the Spanish Mass rotation (Priest #4). This allows Fr. Tyler to cover the Lynden/Deming rotation (Priest #3), an assignment which I hope will help strengthen the English communities in those churches which have had exclusively Hispanic Pastors for almost two decades.
Summary
Fr. Moore & Fr. Stephan rotate between Assumption and Sacred Heart/Blaine.
Fr. Tyler covers Lynden/Deming.
Fr. Gerardo covers Lummi, Ferndale, and the Spanish Masses.
Modification #3 – Move Lummi to 12:30 pm
Reasoning
We receive mixed reports that the 8:30 am Mass time is too early for a number of Lummi elders who might consider coming to Mass otherwise.
Of all of our communities, the Lummi culture seems less activities-based on the weekend (e.g. endless birthday parties and soccer games) than the wider culture, so there is a greater openness to Mass in the middle of the day.
This would allow Lummi to be paired with Assumption, and therefore part of the Pastor rotation.
This would further open up Sunday morning to an additional possibility, either a Sunday morning Mass in Blaine or a Spanish Mass in Ferndale.
Sunday Morning in Blaine
During the June 21, 2025 listening session in Blaine, that community expressed a desire to have a Mass on Sunday morning rather than Saturday evening. The primary reasoning was that Sunday morning is more attractive to families.
Doing so would leave one priest without a Mass on Saturday evening, allowing him to double up on confessions at Assumption, which are often overly full.
Spanish Mass in Ferndale
According to the U.S. Census, Ferndale is 15.9% Hispanic, compared to 10.0% for Bellingham and 11.2% for Whatcom County as a whole. (Numbers were not available for Lynden.) If there is a need for a Spanish Mass in Bellingham, there is a serious need for one in Ferndale.
Also, this maximally utilizes the charisms of our Claretian vicar.
Visualization w/ Blaine in the Morning
Visualization w/ Spanish Mass in Ferndale
Ultimate Schedule Proposal
Given all of the above, including the Vigil and Lynden/Deming decisions from the Original 8.0 proposal, the following is Fr. Moore’s preferred schedule.
By Date / Time
Saturday
4:00 pm – Blaine
4:00 pm – Lynden
5:00 pm – Assumption
6:00 pm – Lynden (Spanish)
Sunday – Bellingham
8:00 am – Assumption
9:00 am – Sacred Heart
10:00 am – Assumption
11:00 am – Sacred Heart
12:30 pm – Assumption (Spanish)
5:00 pm – Sacred Heart (w/ WWU)
Sunday – Northwest County
8:00 am – Ferndale (Sp.)
10:00 am – Ferndale
12:30 pm – Lummi
Sunday – North / East County
8:30 am – Deming
11:30 am – Lynden
By Priest Rotation
Fr. Moore / Fr. Stephan
(Sat.) 5:00 pm – Assumption
8:00 am – Assumption
10:00 am – Assumption
12:30 pm – Lummi
Fr. Stephan / Fr. Moore
(Sat.) 4:00 pm – Blaine
9:00 am – Sacred Heart
11:00 am – Sacred Heart
Fr. Tyler
(Sat.) 4:00 pm – Lynden
8:30 am – Deming
11:30 am – Lynden
5:00 pm – Sacred Heart (w/ WWU)
Fr. Gerardo
(Sat.) 6:00 pm – Lynden (Spanish)
8:00 am – Ferndale (Spanish)
10:00 am – Ferndale
12:30 pm – Assumption (Spanish)
