Saint John the Baptist Parish celebrates 10-year anniversary, welcomes new pastor

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester concelebrates the anniversary Mass at St. John the Baptist Parish with (from left) the new pastor, Monsignor Joseph Mayo; Dominican Father Denis Reilly, the new associate pastor; and Monsignor Terence Moore, the parish's founding pastor, who is now retired. IC photo/Chris Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Saint John the Baptist Parish marked its 10th anniversary Sept. 8, with a Mass concelebrated by the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, and present and past priests from the parish.

Bishop Wester also installed Monsignor Joseph Mayo as the new pastor of the parish and welcomed Dominican Father Denis Reilly as the associate pastor.

"I wish you all the best as you begin a new chapter in the life of the parish," Bishop Wester said.

Monsignor Terence Moore retired as pastor Aug. 5.

"The room is painted, the boxes are unpacked and we’re ready for business," said Msgr. Mayo. "We do things as a community here. … We share joys and sorrows," he said, referring to the three schools on the Skaggs Catholic Center campus that participated in the recent funeral procession for Draper Police Sgt. Derek Johnson, who was fatally wounded while on duty on Sept. 1.

Johnson and his fellow Draper officers often provided support during Juan Diego games, dances and peer court, Msgr. Mayo said.

Msgr. Moore, the founding pastor of the parish in 1999, agreed there is "a wonderful synergy between the schools and the parish."

On Sept. 26, 1999, Bishop George H. Niederauer dedicated the Skaggs Catholic Center campus on which St. John the Baptist Parish is located, with Juan Diego Catholic High School and St. John the Baptist Elementary and Middle schools. From 1999 until 2003, when the church was dedicated, Masses were celebrated in the Juan Diego auditorium.

When the parish was started, the immediate goal was to develop a community and set up ministries, "everything from ushers to Eucharistic ministers, to catechists, and to meet the needs of the parishioners," said Msgr. Moore. "The best part is that the mortgage was fully retired on the church about a year ago, and we can’t thank all the people enough who ran all those festivals for all those years, which became a major part of paying down the mortgage."

As founding pastor, Msgr. Moore found it a wonderful experience "to be with so many people who had such a high energy level to engage in different kinds of ministries," he said. "The lay leadership that emerged, whether it was building the church, the capital campaign, religious education or social justice, was so gratifying to see. When I’d be celebrating the Masses for the kids in the schools, I’d be able to talk to them about refugees, the homeless, mothers in poverty or the unemployed, and the teachers would be there and they would do food drives and clothing drives and then take the items to the homeless shelters and nursing homes, and it was so spontaneous. I’d always say, ‘I just learned to stay out of people’s way, as they were taking so much initiative.’ The parents of the kids in the school were also our parishioners, so it was a very good learning environment for everybody."

The parish became an extended family for many as people began to move into Draper from various parts of the country, added Msgr. Moore.

"People sometimes felt isolated from their extended family members and formed social group ministries," he said. "Another aspect was they brought wonderful ideas with them about ministry development, especially in the area of religious education."

Deacon Dale Dillon agreed. "Having the laity come forward deepens their faith as they put it in action," he said. "We have about 25 ministries – everything from Going Green to Refugee Resettlement, and the parishioners initiated most of them."

Yet another aspect is that having the ministries overlap with the schools has built a strong community, said Lisa Smith, St. John the Baptist Parish office manager. "For example, three ministries that were recently set up were the bereavement ministry for parents who lost children at the high school, a youth group at the middle school, and coupon clippings for the military."

St. John the Baptist Parish began as a mission under Blessed Sacrament Parish in the 1970s when Bishop Joseph Lennox Federal purchased a 1.36-acre site at 12900 South 1300 East to provide for the growing number of Catholics in Draper.