St. Joseph Parish moves forward to build new church

Parish purchased 7.5 acres in January on the north side of campus

Published: February 27, 2017

By Alesia Schaefer
Rogers Correspondent

Courtesy Paula Thiessen

Father Jason Tyler, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville (left) along with Deacon Bud Baldwin and Paul Warren, director of church operations (right), bless the 7.5 acres recently acquired for a future church building.

Courtesy Paula Thiessen

For more than a decade, parishioners at St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville have gone through the paces in their wait for a new worship space.

The wait has not been in vain. On Jan. 11, the parish closed on the purchase of 7.5 acres of property on the north side of the campus.

Acquisition of the property was part of Phase III of the parish’s long-range plan. Since 2002, when the church and school left its former location on Lafayette Street in Fayetteville to take up residence on Starr Drive, the parish has had a three-phase growth plan in place for the building of a new church.

The initial phase was moving the church and school to the new location and into a multi-purpose building to house the school and chapel, where Mass continues to be celebrated. The second phase was to accommodate the growth by creating more meeting space for the entire parish. The church campus added the Carolyn and Norm DeBriyn Family Activity Center in 2012.

In October 2013, the parish paid off the debt. The final phase of the master plan began shortly after that and an advisory board was established to look at buying property for a free-standing church.

After consulting with engineers, contractors and architects, the site was identified as the best location for numerous reasons, including visibility of higher ground, east-west church orientation, lower site preparation costs and access to the existing parking lot, Starr Drive and current facilities.

Other sites under consideration, such as on the east side of a creek, would have meant relocating sports fields and playgrounds, building an unfinished basement to bring the church level with the parking lot and impacting flood retention on property. The other sites would have also meant a need for bridges, additional parking and contending with the Fayetteville Streamside Ordinance.

Paul Warren, director of church operations at St. Joseph Church, believes the parish has an edge on the project because the parish has been a good steward.

“One of the charisms at St. Joseph’s is that we are very frugal,” Warren said. “The frugality of paying off loans in a timely manner and experiencing a high level of giving to the building funds has put the parish in a good position.”

Warren said the parish does not have to conduct a capital campaign for the purchase of the property. With its current level of giving, the church also projects to pay off the debt within the next four to five years.

“We have a lot of dedicated and excited parishioners,” said pastor Father Jason Tyler. “Northwest Arkansas is still a growing area and people are excited about the future of this project because it will complete an idea that began in the mid-90s. It fills a long-term need and is part of planning for the future.”

A Phase III Building Fund Land Appeal was rolled out at town hall meetings in English and Spanish. A second collection will be taken every second Sunday of the month to pay off the land debt of $553,210.75. Parishioners will have options of giving through a land appeal collection envelope, online or through estate or investment giving. Any funds collected after the land debt is paid off will go toward building the new church.

One member of the core team, Paula Thiessen, was asked by Father Tyler in January to serve as chairwoman. A member of the parish for more than 30 years, Thiessen has served in various capacities, including principal of the school. Thiessen said she sees the parish growth as the biggest challenge since beginning the project 10 years ago.

“A rapidly growing area, growth in our parish and space needs are important factors of this project. Population projections see this area as continuing to grow and this all presents challenges,” she said. “The diversity is everywhere too. There are young parents, families, retiring seniors and the increase in ethnicity that you see with the company and business growth in the area.”

Parish leaders will soon meet with parishioners and focus groups to assess the needs of the parish for the church building. Warren said he feels the parish will ultimately settle on a design that embodies the spirit of St. Joseph himself.

“We have to synthesize the opinions and ideas of parishioners as we engage an architect for a design plan that is workable, financeable and buildable,” Warren said.