Deer Park Parishioners 'Burn their Mortgage'

“Built of Living Stones” was the 2003 building fund campaign theme for St. Mary Presentation’s new church in Deer Park, Wash. As a parish, we recognized that the sacrifices of our community were the “living stones” which made our success possible. 
St. Mary Presentation started as a small mission church serviced by Jesuit circuit riders in the late 1800s. The first physical church building opened at Fourth and Main streets for Easter Sunday on April 7, 1912. The next church building was dedicated in 1968 at the same location and the mission church building was dismantled.
As church attendance grew over the years, it became apparent that a larger church was needed. Father Edward Caffrey was able to save nearly $1 million during his tenure from 1983 to 2002. Father Al Grasher succeeded Father Caffrey as the pastor in 2002 and, with the help of parishioners, discerned that a new building was needed. Led by the Holy Spirit, parishioners embarked on a building campaign with prayer, love and commitment. Plans were drawn up for the new building, which would be built on land next to our Holy Redeemer Cemetery on Sixth Street. Local banks loaned us money, as did kind friends, parishioners and other churches. Ground was symbolically broken in January 2010. Our new church and altar were dedicated on Feb. 7, 2011, with then-Bishop Blase Cupich and Father Al Grasher officiating. The Catholic Extension Society of America gifted us with a generous donation while fundraising continued with pledges and small fundraising projects such as sales of Hallett’s chocolate bars wrapped with a picture of the church and bags of caramel corn, both provided by parishioners, plus our “World Famous Garage Sale.” Our garage sale is an example of how our parish of about 270 families flourishes. Last year, more than 160 volunteers worked on our garage sale. Through the years, our annual garage sales have raised nearly
$100,000, while providing assistance of free, or nearly free, merchandise to help people in our community.


Our mortgage was officially paid off at the end of 2017 and plans began immediately for a celebration. The mortgage burning party was held on Feb. 10, 2018. Many parishioners worked for weeks to plan a delightful extravaganza, which started with past and present parishioners coming together in our gathering space, followed by a Mass officiated by our priest, Father Kevin Oiland, and assisted by Father Al Grasher and Deacon Perry Pearman. The altar for Mass was decorated with burning candles for symbolism and the tables in the hall were also decorated with symbols of our journey, as well as keepsakes that included Gratitude Prayer bookmarks and handmade pottery crosses — the work of a group of our parishioners. Following Mass, dinner was then served in our hall, after which the mortgage was burned with fanfare in a new fire pit created especially for the occasion. We ended the evening with entertainment. The meal was delicious and the fellowship — with more than 200 people in attendance — was exceptional. We recognize how blessed we are as a parish to have a beautiful church, large attached hall, church offices, classrooms and, most of all, each other. We wish to express our thankfulness to our community and the many people who supported us on this incredible journey. We are truly blessed.