Sacred Heart Parish has anchored the Catholic life of Enumclaw, Washington since 1888, when Eastern European families settled the plateau and built a small mission church under the care of Holy Family parish in the nearby town of Krain. A decade later the mission became a parish in its own right, and today about 700 people gather for Sunday Mass at the church on Farrelly Street. The parish is bilingual: the Sunday schedule includes both an English Mass and a Spanish Mass, supported by a growing Hispanic ministry that shapes everything from quinceañera blessings to sacramental preparation.
Sacred Heart is part of the Archdiocese of Seattle and serves Catholics across Enumclaw and the surrounding plateau communities. Its campus includes the church, a Christian Formation Center, the parish offices, a preschool, and - about ten miles north - the historic Holy Family Cemetery at Krain. Whether a visitor walks in for the Saturday Vigil Mass, brings a child to the parish preschool, or joins the Tuesday morning Bible study, the rhythm of parish life is built around a small-town sense of place that has changed very little since the 1890s.
Sunday Mass, Weekday Mass, and Adoration
The Sunday schedule at Sacred Heart follows the standard Catholic rhythm with an English Vigil Mass on Saturday evening and two Sunday Masses. The Saturday Vigil Mass is celebrated at 5:30 PM in English. On Sunday, the 9:00 AM Mass is celebrated in English and is livestreamed on the parish's YouTube channel for those at home, traveling, or in care facilities. The 12:00 noon Mass is celebrated in Spanish, with the homily offered in both English and Spanish.
Weekday Mass is offered four mornings a week: Monday at 9:00 AM, Wednesday at 6:00 PM (rather than in the morning), Thursday at 9:00 AM, and Friday at 9:00 AM. On Holy Days of Obligation, Mass is offered at 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament follows the Thursday morning Mass and continues from 9:30 AM until 9:00 PM in the church. Confessions are heard on Wednesdays from 5:00 to 5:45 PM, with both English and Spanish confessions available. The chapel is open for prayer around the clock, every day of the week; visitors can contact the parish office for the door code.
Ministerio Hispano: A Bilingual Parish
Spanish-language ministry is woven into almost every part of parish life at Sacred Heart. The Ministerio Hispano is coordinated by Lilia Arroyo, the parish's pastoral assistant for Spanish-speaking parishioners. Lilia translates parish materials, handles requests in Spanish, and coordinates Spanish-language programs and liturgical ministries alongside a circle of volunteers. Deacon George Mounce III also assists with the ministry to Spanish-speaking members; he and his wife Penny live in Tacoma and also serve at St. Francis Cabrini parish in Lakewood.
The parish bulletin, sacramental preparation materials, Bible study resources, quinceañera preparation, and most parish announcements are made available in both English and Spanish. Flocknote, the parish's email and text communication system, offers bilingual lists so that parishioners can choose to receive the bulletin and announcements in their preferred language. Quinceañera blessings are normally celebrated in groups on Saturday mornings and require that the young woman be a practicing, Mass-attending member of the parish; the fee is $500.
From Mission Church to Plateau Parish
The first Sacred Heart church was built downtown at the corner of Griffin and Porter in 1887-89. Eastern European Catholics who had founded the parish carried with them strong devotional traditions, several of which still mark the parish calendar today. The church burned down in 1911 and was rebuilt on the same site, where it remained until the congregation outgrew it. In 1973 the parish moved to its present location on Farrelly Street, and the steeple from the old church came along as a memorial to the generations who had worshipped there.
Father George Rink oversaw the building and relocation. The longest-serving pastor in Sacred Heart's memory is Monsignor Farrelly, who led the parish for 36 years from 1934 to 1970. He was known for his love of children - he carried Tootsie Roll candies in his pocket as a treat - and the long driveway behind the parish office is still called Tootsie Roll Lane in his honor. The parish also remembers later pastors: Father Bill Hausmann, Father Dick Basso, Father Gary Zender (who renovated the current church and removed the famous orange carpet), Father Jim Northrop (whose strong singing voice is still recalled from his 2000-2005 years), Father Victor Olvida, Father Jose C. Chavenia Jr. (known as Father Junn), and Father Anthony K.A. Davis, who led the parish from 2011 to 2021.
The parish is currently served by Father James Northrop as Pastor and Father Stephen Woodland as Parochial Vicar. Father Louis (Lou) Cunningham, who grew up in the South Seattle area and was ordained for the Archdiocese of Seattle in 2018, served as priest administrator in recent years. A line from Pope Francis captures the parish's sense of identity: "We do not believe in an ethereal God, we believe in a God who became flesh, who has a heart, and this heart today speaks to us."
Becoming Catholic and Adult Faith Formation
Sacred Heart welcomes anyone interested in joining the Catholic Church through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). The parish frames becoming Catholic in deeply personal terms: it is not just about joining something large and worldwide, but committing to live as an active disciple of Jesus in a tradition that spans two thousand years of prayer, witness, and charity. OCIA classes meet on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the Christian Formation Center and culminate in the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil.
Adults who have already been baptized and need to receive First Communion or Confirmation, or both, can register for the Adult Confirmation and First Communion class, which meets on Mondays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. Adult continuing education is offered throughout the year in three formats. A Tuesday morning Bible study meets from 10:00 to 11:00 AM, and a Tuesday evening Bible study meets from 6:30 to 7:30 PM; both are held in the Christian Formation Center and are open to all ages and levels of knowledge. On Thursday mornings at 10:00 AM, after the daily Mass, a faith-sharing group gathers in the parish hall to explore Catholic tradition, Scripture, and the practice of faith.
Children, Youth, and Confirmation Preparation
Faith formation for children is a two-year program that may begin in first grade. Year 1 introduces children to the Bible, basic stories, finding Bible verses, and memorizing verses and basic prayers, using "God's Plan in Scripture" from Ascension Press. Year 2 focuses on the mystery of the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and prepares children to make a good first confession, using "Renewed and Received" from Ascension Press. Children must be seven years old at the time of First Communion. A Wednesday-evening Children's Bible Study, held from 6:30 to 7:30 PM, is open to children in grades 1 through 5 and is required for those preparing for First Communion.
Youth Ministry welcomes all youth in grades 6 through 12 for Wednesday-night Youth Group from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The youth gather to meet other Catholic young people, learn about Jesus and the Catholic faith, and have fun. The parish also runs Confirmation preparation for youth in grades 7 through 12. Confirmation is celebrated in the spring and is a two-year program that includes weekly Youth Group attendance, Sunday Mass attendance, choosing a sponsor (preferably a baptismal godparent), choosing a Confirmation patron saint, completing a service project, and attending a retreat.
Confirmation, in the parish's own words, "is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace: it unites us more firmly to Christ, it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, it renders our bond with the Church more perfect, it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross." Older teens and adults can also take part in the Agape Service Project, a five-day service-learning trip, or the Esperanza Mission to Tijuana, Mexico, where the parish partners with Esperanza International to build homes in the San Diego / Tijuana border region.
Sacramental preparation at Sacred Heart is coordinated by Danielle Curl, the Director of Catechesis, who holds a Master's Degree in Theology from the University of Dallas. Parents and godparents preparing for infant baptism are required to complete a Baptism preparation class; baptism classes remain valid for two years before a refresher course is needed.
Sacred Heart Preschool
Sacred Heart Preschool has served the Enumclaw plateau community for more than twenty-five years. The preschool is directed and taught by Beth Coppin-Cross, who has welcomed generations of parish and community children into early childhood education. Classes meet from 9:00 to 11:30 AM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays (morning session), and from 12:00 to 2:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays (afternoon session). Students must be potty trained and at least three years old by September 1st. Classes begin the second week of September and end after the first week of June. Tuition for the 2024-2025 school year is $200 per month for the morning session and $170 per month for the afternoon sessions.
Liturgical Ministries: Many Hands at the Altar
Sacred Heart invites parishioners to assist at Mass in a wide range of liturgical ministries. The parish teaches that "the most important thing all of us do at Mass is pray," but also recognizes that some are called to serve in particular ways. Liturgical ministries include:
- Altar servers, open to children, youth, and adults who have received First Communion
- Artisans and Environment, who care for the seasonal beauty of the worship space
- Eucharistic Ministers, open to confirmed Catholics in good standing who assist with distribution of Communion
- Lectors, who proclaim the readings from Sacred Scripture and must be confirmed Catholics in good standing with the gifts to proclaim the Word well
- Liturgy Planners, who meet throughout the year with the parish's chief liturgist to plan each season's words, music, and movement
- Eucharistic Visitors to the Homebound, who bring the Blessed Sacrament to parishioners in hospitals, nursing homes, and private homes
- Musicians and Instrumentalists, who lead the assembly in song at every Sunday liturgy, including the Saturday Vigil Mass
- Sacristans, who attend to the many behind-the-scenes details that allow the liturgy to flow smoothly
- Ushers and Greeters, who serve as the first smiling face that visitors see
The parish's Director of Sacred Music is Briana Berger. She assists the priests in leading the assembly in worship through music, brings experience in piano (she studied under Dr. William Nyaho), and holds multiple certifications in the Kodály method of singing. The choir programs welcome adults, youth, and children.
Holy Family Cemetery at Krain
About ten miles north of the current Sacred Heart campus, on approximately one acre of pastureland off Southeast 400th Street on the Enumclaw plateau, lies Holy Family Cemetery. The community around it was once known as Krain, a small town settled by Eastern European Catholics who founded Holy Family Church in 1889. The cemetery was purchased for Holy Family Church from Matens and Marie Medie in April 1900. Holy Family Church stood east of the cemetery until the 1960s or early 1970s, and the surrounding community - including the town of Krain itself - gradually diminished as the railroad reshaped life on the plateau. Today the cemetery is sometimes simply called the Krain Cemetery.
Every year on November 1, the Feast of All Saints, parish and community members gather at the cemetery as the sun sets to pray the rosary and light candles on the graves of the dearly departed. The tradition has continued for more than 120 years and remains one of the most distinctive devotions of the parish. In 2017, Archbishop Sartain consecrated a new section of the cemetery following a generous donation from the late Sally Richter and the work of the Sacred Heart Cemetery Committee; that section, as well as some plots in the historic section, is open for purchase through the parish office.
Knights of Columbus on the Plateau
The Sacred Heart council of the Knights of Columbus carries out the four "Faith in Action" programs of the order. In the Faith pillar, the council supports seminarians and postulants through the Refund Support Vocations program, strengthens families as the domestic church, leads a monthly Holy Hour, and promotes the rosary. In the Family pillar, the council invites parish families to consecrate themselves to the Holy Family, supports Food for Families to address hunger in Enumclaw and on the plateau, recognizes a Family of the Month, and runs the Good Friday Family Promotion and Keep Christ in Christmas programs.
In the Community pillar, the council collects coats for those in need through the Coats for the Needy program, runs the Catholic Citizen Essay Contest for youth, and supports a Helping Hands ministry for those less fortunate in the community. In the Life pillar, the council supports pregnant women, mothers, and their babies through Aid and Support After Pregnancy (ASAP), leads a Novena for Life, supports the March for Life, and provides spiritual and material support for pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes. The council's stated mission is to "empower Catholic men to live their faith and promote life by serving their family, parish, community and country."
Giving, Flocknote, and the Monsignor Farrelly Scholarship
Tithing to Sacred Heart is described as "an aspect of life with Christ." Parishioners may make a pledge for the calendar year and give online through PushPay, by mail, or in person at the parish office. The parish also participates in AmazonSmile, directing a portion of eligible Amazon purchases back to the parish at no extra cost to the shopper. Sacred Heart handles special collections such as Pro-Life causes (Prepares), Peter's Pence, and the Holy Land.
Flocknote is the parish's email and text communication system and is how Sacred Heart sends out the weekly bulletin and other parish information in both English and Spanish. Subscribers can choose what kinds of announcements they receive and how they are notified, and may unsubscribe at any time.
The Monsignor Farrelly Scholarship is an annual college scholarship awarded by Sacred Heart Parish to graduating high school seniors who are members of the parish. The scholarship's three criteria, in order of preference, are: youth who contribute to the life of the parish, youth who pursue enrichment of their appreciation and commitment to Christian values, and youth who clearly articulate how the scholarship will help them achieve their plans and goals.
The parish office can be reached at (360) 825-3759. The church, Christian Formation Center, parish offices, and preschool are all located at or near 1614 Farrelly Street in Enumclaw, Washington.