Honoring the past, embracing the future

 In 1871, eighteen years before North Dakota became a state, Father Ignatius Tomazin came to the eastern part of the Dakota Territory to offer Mass in a dugout along the banks of the Red River north of present-day Wahpeton. That first Mass formed the beginning of what we now know as the parish of St. John the Evangelist. On June 28, the St. John’s parish faithful gathered to observe and celebrate the parish’s sesquicentennial, marking 150 years on the eastern North Dakota prairie.
 
From St. John’s first pastor Father Joseph Freund to current pastor Father Greg Haman, St. John’s Church has endured. The current church building which dominates downtown Wahpeton was built in 1896. Over the last 130 years, the church has seen expansion, remodeling and complete renovation. Through it all, the magnificent twin towers have remained, proclaiming the presence of God and his Church.
 
“[The church] is always calling the community, whether they are Christians or not, to remember that God is calling them just by the presence here, the presence of the steeples,” said Father Haman. “People are coming in here because they're friends. This is a place they see each other. This is a place where they worship the Lord. This is the place where they serve the poor. There's just a vibrancy to it and a generosity in people here. And I love that about our parish.”
 
At a celebratory Mass, Bishop John Folda said in his homily that the parish founders were committed to Christ and to living out their Catholic faith.
 
“They gathered together, they sacrificed together, and they built together,” said Bishop Folda. “We can’t help but be thankful for their hard work and their fervent desire to keep the Catholic faith alive in this parish. Because of their love for God, their love for their neighbors, their courage, and their stubborn resolve, this parish family got off to a good start and is still here, alive and vibrant after 150 years.”

Father Dale Lagodinski, St. John’s immediate past pastor, was also on hand for the celebration. When he arrived in 1996, he took on a major remodeling project that completely changed the interior of the church building, leaving a lasting legacy.
“It's nostalgic, you know, very much so,” said Father Lagodinski. He had “so many feelings,” including sadness for “the faces that aren’t here anymore” He said he was “just so grateful for the years that I was here.”

“I’m very grateful to God to be able to be alive yet and to be here,” he said.

The church renovation in the early 2000s , completely changed the church’s interior. Since the church was built, the entrance had always been on the south side and parishioners emptied out into the street after Mass. The renovation project turned the interior around, so that the sanctuary and altar are now located where the entrance used to be. The entrance was moved to the north side. The renovation allows for the faithful to have a gathering place just outside of the sanctuary to visit and mingle before and after Mass without having to go outside. The gathering place also connects with the parish hall and the school gymnasium, making it easier to hold parish functions.

Father Haman says St. John’s Church needs to stand for at least another 150 years and well beyond.

“However long it takes for Jesus to come back, the Church has to be here,” said Father Haman. “So the future, of course, is in the Lord’s hands. How he helps us to grow is always according to his providence. We want to be faithful and grateful receivers of his grace each day, always trying to know our neighbors and by knowing our neighbors to be able to tell what they need from the church, how the gospel can speak to them today. So, filling the hearts of people with the Word of God is always our responsibility.”