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It’s official
Christ the King now a parish

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
(Email Renee)

When Bishop R. Walker Nickless visited Christ the King Worship Center in Sioux Center on Feb. 14, he brought good news. During the two Masses he presided over that day – one English and one Spanish – it was announced that the worship community would soon be elevated to parish status.

It’s now official. Bishop Nickless signed a decree on June 21 which states that as of July 1, 2010 the worship center would become Christ the King Parish.

Pleased with new status
Lee Ann Raulie, who has been a member of the worship community at Sioux Center for just one year, said that when Bishop Nickless made the announcement on Valentine’s Day, it was very exciting.

“It was great news because I know how hard the people worked to make this happen,” she said.

One couple instrumental in bringing this to fruition was Bev and Dan Dickes. In early 1992, they approached their pastor at Maurice about the possibility of the Sioux Center community establishing its own parish.

“We initially really wanted to have some type of educational system, a CCD program in Sioux Center because we had found out that there were a lot of Catholics in the community,” she explained. “We really felt there was a need, especially for the children of our community to be able to have contact with other Catholic kids. We were all also driving out of town, different distances and different directions for CCD.” Sioux Center families attended church in Alton, Rock Valley, Maurice and Struble.

The Dickes and other couples from Sioux Center worked with the late Father Dale George, who was serving as dean of the Northwest Deanery at the time. He helped them meet with diocesan leaders concerning their wishes to establish a faith community in Sioux Center.

Long process
“This didn’t happen overnight. We had to really prove that Sioux Center was a vibrant, growing community,” recalled Dickes. “The bishop really wanted to know that we were serious about this and that we really wanted it. It really was quite a process.”

After numerous meetings with the bishop and diocesan leaders, the first Mass was celebrated in Sioux Center in the fall of 1992 but it took until 1997 for it to be officially dubbed a worship community. Initially, liturgies were held at the local Lutheran church and then at the public library. Christ the King’s own facility was built and dedicated in 2001. In 2007, Christ the King approached the diocese about officially acquiring parish status.
Jill Hayes, a member of Christ the King since 1995, said she was “ecstatic” that they have now officially become a parish. She described it as “a huge accomplishment.”

“Everyone has worked toward this common goal for so long,” she said. Hayes has witnessed how the faith community came together to be and prove their vibrancy.

Father Doug Klein, pastor of Christ the King, said he is thrilled that the worship center has been named an official parish and he is pleased to become the faith community’s official pastor.

“This is first of all a recognition to the ‘pioneers’ of the Catholic community in Sioux Center,” he said. “They have been strong in their Catholic faith and have worked hard to be able to worship in that faith here in Sioux Center. Secondly, it recognizes the great growth in the Catholic population in the area especially in the Hispanic population. They are so grateful that there is a Catholic church and a spiritual home where they can worship and their contributions to our faith community have helped us reach this point.”

For all practical purposes, Hayes said they have always felt like a parish but there were subtle reminders that they didn’t quite have that status such as being listed under St. Mary’s Rock Valley when it came to DAA.

Vibrant community
Raulie pointed out that due to her husband Larry’s employment they have moved numerous times and she has never seen such a cohesive, tight-knit faith community as with Christ the King.

She said she was pleased that their cluster parishes of Rock Valley and Alvord have been very supportive and happy for them through this process.

Hayes pointed out that when she and her husband Phil moved to Sioux Center, their youngest child of three was just a one year old. Through the years, she said, “Christ the King has been an integral part of our family.”

For Dickes, she said achieving parish status validates that there was a real need for a parish in Sioux Center.

“It is hard when there are churches being closed, but we do have a true need,” she said. “It’s the people of this church that made this happen. The people of the parish have always been strong doers.”

Father Klein also referred to parishes that have closed or are slated for closure.

“It is not an easy thing to see a beloved parish and church closed,” he said. “Parishes that continue need to remember these brothers and sisters in our prayers. We also need to recognize that for many years these parishes have served the spiritual needs of their communities. Closure is not due to their lack of dedication to their faith but to factors beyond their control, most often changes in demographics.”

Through grief and loss, Father Klein stressed the importance of looking for new life.

“Christ the King Church has played an important role in witnessing to the Catholic faith in a traditionally non-Catholic area,” the pastor said. “It has helped the people of this area who are devoutly Christian to recognize that Catholics do share a lot in their Christian beliefs. Sioux Center at this time is a prospering community with a bright future and hopefully Christ the King Church will be part of that future for many years to come.”

Dickes commended the work of Father George, who ministered to the worship community for several years and offered them encouragement for their efforts. She recalled how he would always remind them that if the Holy Spirit wanted this to happen, it would happen. She also extended gratitude to Father Klein, current pastor, for his leadership.

Father Klein acknowledged the work of the parishioners and said that for those who have been in Sioux Center from the beginning of this process, they greet the news with joy.

“They have contributed greatly of their time, talent and treasure to bring us to this point,” he said. “For those who are newer to the community, they are a bit surprised as they may have assumed that we were already a parish. This news is a good opportunity for them to learn of our history and to be engaged in our future growth.”

Presently, Christ the King offers two Masses each Sunday: 9 a.m. English-language and 11 a.m. Spanish-language. Plus, the parish offers a weekday liturgy on Thursdays.

The new parish is currently making plans for a Mass of Thanksgiving and celebration in September.

Cristero Martyrs
The celebration for this new parish status at Christ the King in Sioux Center actually began early on May 21 – the Feast of the Cristero Martyrs - St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions. Bishop R. Walker Nickless agreed to name the Cristero Martyrs as secondary patrons of Christ the King after Father Doug Klein and the parish council petitioned him.
Father Klein said these martyrs “serve as an inspiration to stay strong in our Catholic faith. It reminds us that spiritual growth is the most important part of being a parish even more than the much needed growth in numbers and buildings.”
The martyrs were beatified on the feast of Christ the King in 1992, the year that the Christ the King Catholic Community began in Sioux Center. The saints were canonized on May 21, 2000.

Walker
By the Grace of God and the Favor of the Apostolic See
Bishop of Sioux City

Canon 515, §1 notes the following: “A parish is a certain community of Christ’s faithful stably established within a particular Church, whose pastoral care, under the authority of the diocesan Bishop, is entrusted to a parish priest as its proper pastor.”

Christ the King Worship Center in Sioux Center, Iowa, was established in 1997 to serve the needs of Catholics living in that area of Sioux County, Iowa, administered from the Parish of Saint Mary in Rock Valley, Iowa. The number of Catholic people who have considered Christ the King Worship Center as their place of worship has continued to grow, especially in light of many Spanish-speaking immigrants moving into that area. As a result, based upon these numbers, which represent a stable community of the faithful, it was recommended that Christ the King Worship Center be designated Christ the King Parish.

Canon 515, §2 requires that the diocesan Bishop is not to establish a parish unless he has consulted the council of priests. This was done at a meeting of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council on January 15, 2010. On the basis of that Council’s affirmative recommendation, therefore, I do hereby designate and decree that Christ the King Worship Center in Sioux Center, Iowa, is to become, as of July 1, 2010, Christ the King Parish of Sioux Center, Iowa.

I further decree that the care of Christ the King Parish in Sioux Center, Iowa, is to be given to a proper pastor, that he is to administer this parish according to the prescriptions of canon law, diocesan statute and/or legitimate custom, that this parish, by virtue of the law itself, enjoys juridic personality, that is, it may acquire, administer and alienate property in its own name, and that this parish is to be territorial in nature with the following boundaries here designated: To the north, County Highway B-30; to the south, State Highway 10; to the east, County Highway K-64 (excluding the city limits of Orange City); to the west, County Highway K-30.

I further decree that, according to canon 1218, the present Christ the King Worship Center is to become Christ the King Church and that, under this title, it is also to be committed to the intercession of Saint Christopher Magallanes and companions (also known as the Cristero Martyrs) as secondary patrons.

I further decree that the newly-established Christ the King Parish in Sioux Center, Iowa, is to function in conformity with the Code of Canon Law, all relevant diocesan statutes, policies and legitimate customs, and by the appropriate civil laws of the State of Iowa.

Given in Sioux City, Iowa, this 21st day of June in the Year of our Lord 2010, the feast of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City

Deacon David Lopez, Ph.D., Chancellor