Special Mass to be held on September 22 at the Heckart Performing Arts Center in Sedalia.

Bishop McKnight has accepted a proposal submitted by Fr. Mark Miller and elected representatives from the faith communities of Sacred Heart, St. Patrick and St. John the Evangelist that will allow these three faith communities “to form a new parish under which the present three faith communities would become ministry sites.”

The three churches will come together to celebrate Mass and sign the documents officially creating the new parish of the three churches. The historic Mass will be hosted at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 22 at the Heckart Performing Arts Center in Sedalia.

As reported in the “The Catholic Missourian”, the name of this new parish will be St. Vincent de Paul, maintaining the history of Sedalia, since that was the name of the first parish in Sedalia prior to St. Patrick.

Sacred Heart, St. Patrick, and St. John the Evangelist will keep their names and continue to be locations for Mass, the sacraments, and external ministries to the community. They will operate as one —  — under the guidance of a single parish pastoral council and parish finance council. Sacred Heart School will retain its name and will continue to be one of the primary ministries of St. Vincent de Paul.

The goal is to bring a renewed emphasis on collaboration and outreach.

In an interview with the The Catholic Missourian, Fr. Mark emphasized that the mission of all parishes, along with the entire Church, is to announce the Good News, pass along the faith, and provide opportunities for the sacraments to be celebrated and received.

“Being part of a parish is still how we get most of our support and encouragement,” he said. “But the center of who we are is not our parish. We are Catholic, with Christ at the center of everything.”

“We are to be in solidarity with one another and connect with one another and recognize that we share in a common mission.”