Mass Times:
Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM
Sunday 8:30 AM / 11:00 AM / 5:00 PM Spanish Mass
Confessions on Saturday 4:00 to 4:30 PM
or anytime by appointment.
Weekday Masses
Monday - no Mass
Tuesday - Thursday 12 Noon
Friday - 8:30 a.m.

We are located in Shelton, Washington at the southern end of the Olympic mountains and the southern end of Puget Sound. Our parish is a growing community of wonderful people who have come to this part of the world to enjoy the beauty of God's creation. Our membership at the present time is about 854 families. We have a large Hispanic community which is also growing and developing into a vital religious community.

Our parish is staffed by the Archdiocese of Seattle. We are a catholic community for just over 100 years . Masses were said in the local area for a number of years and three different sites have been used for our church. The second site was donated by David Shelton for $1.00. The present site was purchased for $100.00 in 1903.

History of St. Edward's Parish

Although the Catholic Church in Mason county was not formally organized until 1890 by the Rev. Father McReavy, information in the parish archives indicates that Mass was offered in Shelton as early as 1884.

During those early years a priest would travel by boat several times a year from Olympia and Tacoma to offer Mass in private homes, in Dan Keelty's Hotel on Oakland Bay, and in Kneeland Hall.

In 1892 a petition was circulated by Thomas O'Neill to raise funds to build the first Catholic Church on the corner of First and San Joaquin Streets (behind the present site of the City Center Motel). The property for the church was donated by David Shelton to the Bishop of Nisqually for the sum of one dollar.

On March 18, 1892 ground for the new church was broken by contractor Eliab Dunbar. The agreement was to build a wooden church for the sum of $585.00 that was 24' x 50' and which would accommodate 150 persons. This did not include a belfry or inside furnishings.

The first services in the new church were conducted on May 20, 1892.

In 1893 Mason County was placed under the charge of the Benedictine Fathers. St. Edward's had no resident priest until July of 1935; but from the time when St. Martin's Abbey was built in 1895, the Benedictine Fathers from St. Martin's have taken care of St Edward's parish.

In 1901, when Father Wolfgang was serving as pastor, church membership stood at 100. Services were held only once a month and later increased to twice a month. It was not until the late 1920's that Mass was offered on a weekly basis in Shelton.

In 1903 the present site of St. Edward's Church was purchased from William Walter for the sum of $100.00, and the wood frame church was moved from its original site to Third and Pine Streets. The property at First and San Joaquin Streets was sold to George Getty for $35.00.

In 1931 the Rev. Father Fabian Sexton, assisted by a committee of seven, undertook the construction of our present church. The brick church, which was dedicated on December 13, 1931, was designed by architect Paul Thiry in Norman Gothic style. The church seats 300 persons and cost $15,000 to build.

A year before the present church was built the original wood frame structure was moved to one end of the church property and was used as a residence for the pastor Father Fabian. During the 1950's this building was sold and moved to Mountain View where it served as residence for the minister of the Church of God and classroom space for Sunday School.

As the years passed and the congregation grew, St. Edward's acquired the half block across the street from the church. During the late 1940's Father Mark Welchman decided to build a Catholic School on this property, but the city of Shelton refused to grant a building permit. Following several suits and counter-suits, the city finally did agree to issue the permit, but by that time St. Edward's had decided against building a school, The present parking lot was paved in the late 1950's.

During the 1950's the rectory which currently stands next to the church was built. In 1951 Father Mark celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest and was honored with a Golden Jubilee testimonial dinner at St. Edward's.

It was with an eye to future growth that in 1964 the parish purchased ten acres in the Mountain View area. Then, in 1965 St. Edward's purchased the old Methodist Church to house its religious education program and various church related activities. This large wood frame structure was located directly behind the church where the gravel parking lot is now located. It was torn down after our new Parish Hall was built in 1984.

After serving as pastor of St. Edward's for a full 30 years, from 1935 to 1965, Father Mark retired at the age of 90. Father Gabriel Donohue replaced Father Mark as pastor. Upon Father Gabriel's death in 1973, Father Michael Feeney took over as resident pastor of St. Edward's. Father Michael was assisted on weekends by Father Placidus Rieschman who had also assisted Father Gabriel.

In 1975 Father Michael undertook the task of having some renovations done in both the church and the parish hall. It was also in 1975 that the parish had grown to a point that it was considered the right time to hire a full-time Religious Education Director to serve the needs of the parishioners, both children and adults. It was also under Father Michael that the Parish Council was re-established in St. Edward's.

On October 2, 1975 Holy Cross Cemetery, which had originally been deeded to the church by David Shelton, was deeded over to the Shelton Cemetery Association.

On January 1, 1979 Father Kieran Cunningham came to St. Edward's and served as its pastor for the following eight and a half years. Under Father Kieran, St. Edward's parish saw the start and completion of the beautiful new Parish Hall in 1984. After the new hall was completed, the old Parish Hall was demolished and the area turned into an additional parking lot.

In July of 1987 Father Edward Receconi became the pastor of St. Edward's Parish. Only five years after its construction in 1984 Father Edward had the pleasure and privilege of burning the mortgage to the new Parish Hall in 1989.

On September 1, 1993, Fr. Dominic Hahn OSB was named pastor by the newly elected Abbot Neal Roth, OSB of St. Martin's Abbey and approved by Archbishop Thomas Murphy, DD. After pushing the community to look toward building a new church the parish community asked Fr. Dominic to begin the process in February of 1988. A building committee had been working on the master plan. See the Building Committee News links on the first page for the latest information on the new church.

The new pastor of St. Edward' Parish, Fr. Ron Belisle, came to Shelton on July 1, 2005.  Fr. Belisle is a diocesan priest who reports to Archbishop Alexander Brunett of the Seattle Archdiocese of the church.  He studied at St. Edward's Seminary and received his doctorate of ministry at St. Thomas the Apostle Seminary, near Seattle.  He also earned a master's degree in education from the University of Portland

.As he steps into a new church he looks forward to serving the people of the congregation, encouraging faith formation and celebration of the liturgy as he teaches people.  Fr. Belisle puts a strong emphasis on catechesis, on teaching people, believing faith education allows people to strengthen their lives.

Fr. Belisle has also been assigned to develop a plan for St. Edward's to replace its existing church, which the congregation is outgrowing.  The current church dates back to the 1930s.

Biography of St. Edward the Confessor

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Photos of our present church building and the Altar.

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Our Parish Hall Was Built In 1984

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Architect's renderings of our present church

 

      

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Organizations

ALTAR SOCIETY
The Altar Society is a group of women dedicated to the Parish. They meet monthly after mass usually on the second Thursday of the month. They support and pay for the hosts, wine and flowers throughout the year and have purchased a number of vestments for the Church. They provide for the graduation breakfast, buy religious education videos and other materials. They raise funds with rummage sales, plant sales, and boutique sales throughout the year. They provide funeral luncheons on a timely basis.

MEN'S CLUB
The Men's Club was formed in 1993 by Father Dominic to help with various projects in the parish. They have put on Crab Feeds, Thanksgiving Dinners, Parish Picnic's, along with monthly Pancake Breakfasts and our Mother's Day breakfast. Various projects around the parish have been sponsored by the Men's Club for instance, paying for the Copy Machine rental. The Men's Club provided funds for the Alleluia Banner which was hung at Easter. Work projects are a vital part of the Men's Club activities.

WOMAN'S CLUB
The Woman's Club is one of the newer organizations begun in 1994. They are the working women of the parish who cannot come to meetings during the day. They will be providing receptions during the year for those who have been baptized. They will also do wedding receptions and the Father's Day Breakfast. They co-sponsor various fund raising activities and spiritual activities during the year. They meet on the first Sunday of the month in the evening.

YOUTH GROUPS
The Junior High School and High School Youth have formed two individual groups that meet monthly on Sunday afternoons for various activities with talks about the Church and theology. Retreats are arranged and youth conventions are sponsored by the Parish and other activities are sponsored by funds raised by the youth themselves.

CHOIR
The Parish Choir is open to all members of the parish who are interested in singing at 8:30 am Mass on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. They practice every other week on Thursday evenings.

LITURGICAL COMMITTEE
The Liturgy Committee meets monthly and is directly involved in selecting the music and planning other liturgical seasonal presentations.

FINANCE COUNCIL
The Finance Council advises the Pastor on all financial matters of the Parish and informs the Parish Pastoral Council about the financial affairs of the Parish. Members are chosen by the Pastor.

MINISTERS OF THE SICK
Members of the parish have been appointed to bring communion to the sick on a timely basis. They sometimes provide a one on one meeting with the shut-ins as needed. Other volunteers help patients at the nursing home by bringing them from their rooms to the place where mass is said once a month. They also help with the communion service on the third Wednesday of the month.

EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS
Eucharistic Ministers are chosen by the Pastor from volunteers from the parish. If you would like to be a Eucharistic Minister please see the Pastor for information and an interview.

LECTORS
Lectors are chosen from volunteers and are trained by John Brown, the Director.

SERVERS
Servers are trained by Don Smith. Both boys and girls are needed for serving. Please make arrangements at the office in the Spring of the year if you wish to serve. Servers should be in the fifth grade in the Fall of the year.

USHERS
The Ushers are selected from the Men's Club and volunteer on a regular basis as needed at Mass.

MEMORIAL GIFTS
St. Edward's Parish accepts memorial gifts in the name of the deceased. Gifts can be directed towards our Building Fund or towards our Scholarship Fund. A yearly award is made to one of our high school youth who is planning to attend a place of higher education, on the AA or BA Degree level, in a College of their choice. The Scholarship fund will use only the interest and invest the principal for future years use.