For many years Catholics in the Zillah area on the East Side of the Yakima River were inconvenienced in their worshiping of God. Sunday worship for most it meant traveling many miles every Sunday over highways and sometimes back roads, roads that could be dangerous in the winter with snow and ice. Most shouldered this burden to fulfill their obligation for weekly worship, but many did not participate in other Parish life of neighboring churches because of the distance.

Resurrection Parish was established effective at noon on 4 November 1963 on the feast of St. Charles Borromeo, becoming the thirty-second parish in the Yakima Diocese. At that time Resurrection Parish was attached to St. Patrick’s Parish of Granger. The first pastor was Father Paul Flad, who resided at the time in Granger. Now the commuting was dispatched to the priest rather that the parishioners. 
 

The Parish was so named by the Most Reverend Bishop Joseph Dougherty, Bishop of the Yakima Diocese, from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. This scripture informs us that the Apostles were commissioned to be witnesses of Resurrection of Jesus. The challenge to the members of this Parish are to reflect on how we too can be witnesses and proclaim the good news of the Resurrection.

The Parish Sunday and Holy Day Masses were first celebrated at the Orchardvale Grange building. Weddings and funerals were held at St. Aloysius Church in Toppenish. While this was an improvement the parishioners wanted a resident priest.

In 1964 the Rev. Harold Adams of the Christ Episcopal Church offered his mission church to members of Resurrection Parish to celebrate Mass and an adjoining house as a rectory for Father Flad. This moved the parish home from rural Zillah to down town on West Second Avenue. During Lent of 1964 Mass was celebrated three times a week. With the beginning of Easter Services in 1964, Sunday and daily Masses were now held on a regular basis. High School students attended CCD classes at the Catholic Church in Granger (Where the Granger Library is now).  The High School CCD students filled that small building.  Father Flad taught the classes.  He did a great job and had us all singing, and if you didn't sing nice and loud, you could expect a nice tap on the side of the head.  We eventually moved the classes to Zillah, in that little house next the Episcopal  Church. 

1965 was a busy and important year for the Parish. By August 1965 the Parish acquired a new rectory located at 1016 Maple Way. Father Flad stayed at the Maple Way rectory until the end of August. Father Flad was on loan to our diocese at the time and was recalled to his home diocese of LaCrosse Wisconsin. 

On 1 September 1965 Father Edward Wawrzynski was assigned as the pastor of Resurrection Parish. During this time the Parish worked with the diocese in planning the building of our own Church.

The Catholic Bishop’s Corporation purchased a 40-acre parcel of land North of town on Schooley Road. Thomas Hargis Jr., a Yakima architect was selected to do the design.

On 5 September 1965 a ground breaking ceremony was held with construction beginning on 10 September 1965 on a church and attached hall. Although desired an on site rectory was not planned in this initial construction phase. Until a rectory at the church grounds could be built, the home on Maple Way would continue to serve our priest.

Seven months after construction began, the first Mass was celebrated on our own parish property in one of our own buildings. It was on Holy Saturday 9 April 1966 when the move from the Episcopal Church to our own hall was made. This was in time to celebrate Easter, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, for which our parish is named, in our own hall. On 19 May 1966 on Ascension Thursday the first Mass was celebrated inside the church proper. On Sunday 26 June 1966 an open house was held for all to view the now completed church and hall. Bishop Dougherty led a dedication Mass on 7 October 1966 for the new church and hall. 

Our Parish was awarded a Certificate of Merit from the Central Washington Chapter of American Institutes of Architects in March 1968 for its unique design features. The design of the church was meant to compliment the characteristics of the town and the surrounding farming industries. A rustic, yet modern and elegant building, it was considered one of the most beautiful in the lower Yakima Valley. The original hall was 25’ x 73’ x 13’ and could be divided into four separate rooms by folding doors for meetings and CCD classes. The Church was 62’ x 98’ x 64’, the sacristy 22’ x 15’ and a workroom of 10’ x 16’. The design capacity of the church seating was for 400 people. The total cost of building construction was $221,046.

In August of 1968 Father Wawrzynski was commissioned in the US Air Force to serve as a Chaplain. Father Arthur Waters became the next pastor of the Parish with a residency of seven years spanning September 1968 until 1975. During this time an annual autumn tradition of the “harvest dinner” sponsored by the Resurrections Women’s club was held each November.

In 1975 the new pastor was Father Robert Shields. He served as pastor for nearly eight years when he was reassigned in 1983. During his term as pastor the rectory on Maple Way was sold and two single-wide mobile homes were purchased and placed on the South end of the church by 1978. One would serve as rectory and the other as a home for a housekeeper. During Father Shields tenure the original mortgage for the church was paid off and mortgage-burning ceremony was held following a spring Mass. Also the surrounding acreage that was owned by the Dioceses Corporation was sold to a private party. 

With a shortage of priests in the Diocese, Father Shields was transferred and the pastorship of the Parish was temporarily assigned to Father Robert DeSantis until Father Paul Stecher could arrive. Father Stecher was in  ill health, but had still ministered with love and enthusiasm right up until his death only a year later in 1984.

Following Father  Stetcher's death, Bishop William Skylstad assigned Father Bertrand Horvath as administrator of Resurrection Parish. Father Horvath was serving in Yakima hospitals and churches. He continued to do those jobs in addition to cel;ebrating Sunday Mass, presiding at funerals and working with Parish members in normal Parish operations. Many Parish members stepped up to help in various ministries while Father Stecher was ill and continued this service under Father Horvath. 

In July of 1985 Father Richard Queen was assign as our Pastor. Father Queen shared the concern of the Parish in needing to expand the hall and kitchen into a larger facility that would better serve the members. And while a new rectory was also brought forward, Father Queen insisted that the new hall and kitchen come first.

Father Queen worked on implementing many changes in the parish now that a resident pastor was on board. Many new landscaping and flower gardens were planted under Father Queen’s direction. A rose garden was planted in the circle between the two mobile homes while a large tulip bed was planted just east of the parking lot (now paved for overflow parking). Flowers were also planted around the rectory and office (formerly the housekeeper’s home) and around the church grounds. Lexan was placed over the exterior of the stained glass windows for protection and energy conservation. New ceiling fans were installed again to promote energy efficiency when heating and cooling the church. Interior and exterior lighting was improved. 

Father Queen also arranged for a van to be donated by Pacific Power and Light to serve as a bus for children to the Wednesday afternoon CCD program. Now parish volunteers could pick up children whom did not have a ride to CCD. 

 A Parish portable barbecue grill and “Chuck Wagon” trailer was acquired under Father Queen’s leadership. Resurrection Parish was now more visible in the community service foods at functions such as community days, homecoming, etc. He participated in many Zillah Ministerial Association functions and was active in that organization. Father Queen also added a Saturday Vigil Mass and early Sunday morning Mass and a late Sunday night Mass bring the total of weekend Masses to four.

Father Queen served for four years, the final year battling the cancer that took his life in July of 1989. Father Queen refused to be removed from office for fear that the shortage of priests would cause our Parish to be converted to a mission status. Again the lay ministers and Parish members were called on to assist our ill pastor. Father Queen provided his parishioners the Holy Sacraments eventually from a wheel chair and served Mass until the last few weeks of his life.

Following the death of Father Queen, Father Walter Janer, S.J. was assigned as pastor for Resurrection Parish. The weekend Mass schedule was reduced to the Saturday Vigil and Sunday morning offerings. At the time Father Janer was in residence at St. Patrick’s Church in Granger and split duties and time between the two parishes.

In May of 1990 Father Donal Kennedy was assigned as pastor. His tenure as pastor was only five months when the needs of a larger parish caused him to be reassigned.

In September 1990 Father Ronald Patnode who was then pastor of St. Aloysius Parish of Toppenish was assigned as our new pastor in additions to his current duties at St. Aloysius. Father Patnode was forced to eliminate the Saturday Vigil Mass due to his limited time leading two active Parishes. 

After one year of having a shared pastor, Father William Shaw was assigned to Resurrection Parish arriving in September 1991. He served until June of 2000 as our spiritual leader. Father Shaw will be remembered as our bicycling priest. He would literally ride his bicycle all over the Parish to visit members. Talk again surfaced about expanding the hall and kitchen and also to construct a more permanent rectory and office facility. Father Shaw placed the Parish Hall project ahead of the rectory. 

In 1995 the new hall and kitchen were dedicated by Cardinal Francis George. Father Shaw worked to again establish a more visible Catholic presence in the community. He participated in many Zillah Ministerial Association functions and our Church was home to several ZMA community sponsored events.

The Zillah Food and Clothing Bank became a focus of our Parish to support as was helping other Parishes in need around the world. Father was seen daily peddling to the newly opened kidney dialysis center to pray with patients and bring communion to the sick.

Father Shaw encouraged annual retreats to be held in our Parish and worked to bring in guests to conduct these for our members. 

Father Shaw also started a week-long annual summer CCD program bringing in guests nuns in residence for the program. Guests who would visit on Father Shaw’s invitation, to talk of their missions, orders, retreats, religious life, good works, and programs enriched the Parish family.  

Father Shaw worked in outreach to the Hispanic Catholics and caused them to participate more in Parish life. In August of 1992 a Parish Festival was held and continues to be held each summer. 

Father Shaw also worked to bring in visiting Spanish speaking priests during the summer time to help serve the growing Hispanic population. A Spanish choir and Spanish lay ministry in Resurrection Parish began from this outreach.

Bishop Sevilla began to place several Spanish only speaking seminarians in our Parish to help them learn English language and culture and to also reach out to the Hispanic population. A Spanish Mass at 12:00 noon was added for Sunday celebration. 

In 1998 Resurrection Parish established a presence on the Internet by hosting a web page dedicated to sharing information about our church and faith to the entire world.

The summer of 1998 saw the old HVAC system of the church fail beyond repair. A new more reliable and energy efficient system was installed in 1999.

In June of 2000 Father Emmett Sarsfield was named as pastor of Resurrection Parish. Father Jorge Granados was assigned as Associate Pastor in September 2000 as leader of Spanish Ministries.

In November of 2000 Father Emmett and Parish members attended the Diocesan Eucharistic Congress and took up Bishop Sevilla’s directive for Parish outreach and evangelization. Father Emmett begun an outreach to those Catholics who have “wandered” from the church. 

The completion of the memorial featuring the Pieta was blessed.  This memorial is seen on the left as entering the doors to the church. Father Jorge was called to service in other locations in the Diocese after only a brief stay.

During Lent 2001 special wanders Masses were celebrated geared to inviting and welcoming back former members. During his term as pastor, Father Emmett updated and aligned the liturgy which included a comprehensive review of the current GIRM (General Instructions of the Roman Missal) and application of the GIRM’s to our celebration of Mass. 

Special Masses took place in September 2001 following the attack of 9/11/01.  A new memorial was dedicated in the hall to all the Parish veterans who served the United  States of America and each Veterans Day since Father Emmett had special Masses and flag dedications aimed to remember our veterans. 

In 2002 the new rectory became a reality with the move completed during the summer.  Now Rectory and Parish office are housed in a new, modern, comfortable facility.  Deacon Bernie Alvarado became assigned to assist our faith community by Bishop Sevilla.  Deacon Bernie has assisted with Mass, special holidays services, and instruction and sacraments in baptism and matrimony. 2002 also saw refinement and expansion of both the Parish Stewardship Council of the Parish Spanish ministries. 

Over the next several years there was a tremendous growth among our registered Spanish speaking members and in their active involvement in Parish life. Spring and summer now of saw the grounds around the rectory and church front come alive with Gods gift of flowers and other improvements to the church and grounds are on going.

The tabernacle was relocated back to prominence to the center of the sanctuary behind the altar and new slate tile was added to the altar area of the sanctuary. Several murals were painted in areas of the church and hall and new slate tile was placed in the rectory and hallway.  For the Fall 2005 Father started the Sunday Afternoon Men's Football Club. Men of the Parish were invited to watch satellite broadcasts of NFL Football games after Mass and to enjoy food, beverages and fellowship.

A rosary/memorial garden including a bell tower was dedicated in early 2006.  A vision of Father Emmett was to have an outside area on the church campus for small gatherings, outdoor prayer and contemplation, and a place to remember and pray over our beloved dead.  Due to health concerns Father Emmett retired from Resurrection Parish August 1, 2006 and moved closer to his family in South Carolina.  Father Emmett died in NC in 2010.

Father Argemiro Orozco was appointed by Bishop Sevilla to be pastor of both St. Aloysius in Toppenish and Resurrection Parish in Zillah.   On September 30 during the Vigil Mass, Bishop Sevilla officially installed Father Argemiro as pastor of Resurrection Parish. Father Argemiro is familiar with Resurrection Parish having served our Spanish speaking community.  With Father Argemiro pastorship we saw an increase in Parish activities.  Attendance and participation has increased dramatically.  As an example our 2007 Ash Wednesday service saw the faithful fill the entire church, and then some.  Father Argemiro in a short tenure has helped to unite and inspire our Parish family to a fuller life.

On March 3, 2007 Bishop Carlos Sevilla has announced that Father Argemiro will be assigned to Holy Apostles Parish in East Wenatchee.  Our new pastor, which we shared with St. Aloysius was Father Francisco  Higuera.  Father Francisco was assisted in his ministry of pastor to two parishes by Father John Shaw (retired) and Father William Vogel S.J..  Both Father Shaw and Father Vogel have been very active in our Parish spiritual life at Resurrection.  In February 2008 it was announced that, due to health reasons, Father Francisco had been granted permission to to relocate to climate that would contain a more healing environment outside of the Diocese.  On Sunday May 18, 2008 Father Francisco Higuera celebrated his last Sunday Mass and was honored with a farewell reception sponsored by the St. Anne's Guild.

Father Juan Flores has been assigned to replace Father Higuera at both Resurrection and St. Aloysius Parishes in May 2008.  His first official act was to give the welcome to the Zillah High School Class of 2008 Baccalaureate service which Resurrection Parish hosted. 

In June 2008 Father William Vogel, SJ was given permission to be a priest in residence in our rectory and to assist Father Flores in ministering to our Parish. 

Resurrection Parish conducted a funding drive in the Fall and Winter of 2008 to purchase a life size portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  The Dedication of the portrait was held on March 25 2009 which was the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord.

In 2010 exciting news was announced that we had retired a large outstanding debit with the Diocese and that built up over the years. Now that the debt was cleared, we are able to move forward with Hall improving the energy efficiency and increasing the attractiveness of that space.   In May 2010 we purchased an upgraded Kubota tractor to help with grounds.  The summer of 2010 saw a new roof installed which increases the energy efficiency of the Church and also will better protect the interior.  In the Fall of 2010 we were able to make an upgrade to the flooring in sacristy, sanctuary and main church.  Our Religious Education Program (REP) is now serving nearly 200 students.  St. Anne's Guild purchased new Christmas decorations including trees and lights and also new banners for the liturgical seasons.

Photos below are of Resurrection Church Christmas Eve 2010

In 2011 plans are underway to install more energy efficient windows in the church, building a new baptismal font and perhaps dedicating an area of the church in honor of the Holy Family.

The new baptismal font has been delivered October 28, 2011

.....and the next phase of our Parish story is unfolding.

© Resurrection Parish, Zillah, Washington 98953