A Parish on 78th Avenue in Stanwood
St. Cecilia Catholic Parish sits on 78th Avenue NW in Stanwood, a town tucked into the lower Stillaguamish Valley in Snohomish County. The parish grounds overlook the farmland that first drew settlers to the region in the 1860s, and the current church building has been the heart of Catholic life in the area since the middle of the twentieth century. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Seattle and shares its clergy and staff with three sister communities in Marysville, Arlington, and Darrington, a collaborative known across the region as North Snohomish Catholic.
The parish mission statement reads: "St. Cecilia Parish, a community of followers of Jesus, nourished by the Word of God and the Sacraments, is called to proclaim the Good News to the community, and to serve those in need. We strive to do this by listening, prayer and sharing." That vision shapes a parish where Mass, the formation of children and adults, and outreach to neighbors in need are equally important.
A Parish Forged in the Lower Stillaguamish Valley
St. Cecilia's story begins with the Irish Catholic families who came west to the Stillaguamish Valley in the 1880s and 1890s. In the 1890s, several Catholic families prevailed upon Father P. Dubbel of the Tulalip Indian Reservation to come and offer Mass for them three or four times a year in the homes of Edward Tolin, Edward O'Melia, and Walter Hogan. Other missionary priests of that decade, Fathers H. Saindom, J. Dellanoy, and P. LeRoux, came by wagon to say Mass in private homes. In 1896, the first catechism class was taken by train to Tulalip for Confirmation. Around the turn of the century Father P. Gardas, described in parish memory as a kindly missionary priest, came by canoe to the area, and in 1900 walked a group of six boys along the beach to Tulalip for the sacrament.
In 1906, the first semi-permanent altar was erected in the home of James Hall at Florence, southeast of Stanwood, and once a month Father William Quigley traveled by train from Marysville to celebrate Mass there. The desire of those early Catholics for a church of their own prompted Father Quigley to purchase a small tract of land from the Giard Estate, and by 1908, with generous donations from townspeople and businesses (a majority of whom were not Catholic), money-raising dinners, and socials, the families were able to construct the original St. Cecilia Church under the guidance of Father Patrick O'Donnel, who chose Saint Cecilia as the patroness. The little church, with a basic bid of $1,600, was blessed by Father Brogan, S.J.
The original congregation included the McFarland, O'Melia, McDougall, Tolin, McDonald, McGinnis, Hall, Hogan, Carlson, and Ferguson families, several of which still have third, fourth, and fifth generation descendants in the parish. The first funeral in the church was for Mrs. Bridget Hogan in March 1909; the first wedding was Mary Dolan and Walter Hogan in August 1910; and the first baby baptized was Albert Moe Jr.
Through the decades that followed, the parish was served in turn by Fathers William Fitzgerald, McGrath, Francis Jones, Roger Furlong, Edwin Budde, William Ogden, and James Deady, with the small 1909 church gradually outgrown by regular parishioners and by the swelling summer population from Camano Island and Warm Beach. In summer, Mass was even held in the east Stanwood Town Hall (now the American Legion Hall) because the church could not hold all who came. Under Father Deady, a seven-acre plot overlooking Stanwood was purchased for $7,125, and Father Edward Boyle guided a vigorous fundraising drive of bazaars, bake sales, dollar fairs, raffles, and oyster stews that brought in the $49,500 building fund goal by 1963. The new church, with a basic bid of $128,000 from Schaffer Construction Company of Everett and a total cost of $170,000, was blessed by Archbishop Thomas J. Connolly on July 12, 1964.
St. Cecilia was declared the newest parish in the Archdiocese of Seattle on July 10, 1981, and Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen installed Father William Treacy as the first resident pastor on July 29, 1981. The parish grew rapidly. The rectory was built in 1982, and the mortgage was burned before the whole congregation on December 5 of that year. In 1982, the parish also received its first permanent deacon, Don Hanika, who served faithfully until his retirement in 1998, when he and his wife Vera were honored at a parish farewell. In 1989 the Carmelite Order made Stanwood its home and headquarters, and Father James Geoghegan, OCD, became administrator. Under his tenure the church received extensive renovations in 1993. Later Carmelite pastors, Fathers Matthew Williams, Paul Koenig, Laurence Poncini, Christopher La Rocca, and others, served the parish alongside the Institute of Spirituality at the Carmelite Center, two doors down from the church.
In September 2008, Archbishop Alex J. Burnett presided at the Mass marking the parish's 100th anniversary, and a reception followed in the hall and under tents on the side lawn. A substantial bequest from the estate of Helen Drew in 2009 launched a campaign called "Enter His Gates," which paid off outstanding loans, rebuilt savings, and funded a new parish office, an antique sanctuary lighting refurbishment, a new roof, furnace upgrades, and the construction of a niche for the statue of Our Lady. The parish hall was added and blessed by Archbishop Brunett on May 1, 2002, and the parish office, the front steps, the ramp, and the landscape planting were all completed in 2010. In 2003, the Knights of Columbus donated and erected the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the garden outside the parish hall, dedicated "in memory of all unborn innocent victims."
Mass at St. Cecilia
St. Cecilia is the home of the only Sunday Mass celebrated within its own walls, the 8:00 am Mass. Within the four-parish North Snohomish Catholic family, weekend Masses are also celebrated on Saturday at 11:00 am at St. John Vianney in Darrington and at 4:00 pm at Immaculate Conception in Arlington, on Sunday at 10:30 am at St. Mary in Marysville, and on Sunday at 1:00 pm in Spanish at St. Mary. Weekday Mass at St. Cecilia is offered on Tuesday at 10:30 am (with Confessions immediately after Mass) and on Wednesday at 6:00 pm (with Confessions heard from 4:00 pm to 5:45 pm). The other daily Masses of the family are at Immaculate Conception, St. Mary, and St. John Vianney.
The regular schedule at St. Cecilia is posted on the parish calendar, and Confessions are heard every Tuesday from 11:15 am to 12:00 pm and every Wednesday from 4:00 pm to 5:45 pm. Eucharistic Adoration is offered on Tuesday from 8:30 am to 10:15 am and on Wednesday from 4:00 pm to 5:45 pm. Mass is televised from EWTN Global Catholic Television Network, and the Pope's morning Mass is broadcast live at vaticannews.va.
The Seven Sacraments
The whole liturgical life of the parish revolves around the Eucharist and the seven sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ. Baptism is celebrated in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, freeing the candidate from original and personal sin and initiating them into the Christian community. In ordinary circumstances a member of the ordained clergy administers the sacrament, though in an emergency any person may baptize by pouring water on the candidate's head and pronouncing the Trinitarian formula. The parish offers preparation for infant baptism as well as the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults for older catechumens.
The Eucharist stands at the center of parish life. At every Mass, Catholics believe the bread and wine become the real Body and Blood of Christ through transubstantiation. The Mass itself is divided into the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presider, lectors, choir, and Eucharistic Ministers each playing a part.
Confirmation, celebrated by the bishop, perfects baptismal grace through the anointing with chrism oil and the laying on of hands. The parish offers a two-year Confirmation program, with the first year devoted to at-home formation and the second year including a weekly gathering.
Penance (also called Reconciliation or Confession) is the sacrament in which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven. Catholics approach the sacrament with contrition for their sins, confess them to a priest, receive absolution, and commit to a renewed Christian life. Reconciliation is heard in the confessional at the regular Tuesday and Wednesday times listed above.
Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone struggling with illness, not only those near death, and is ideally celebrated in a communal setting within or near the Eucharist. Marriage, a covenant between one man and one woman that images the union of Christ and the Church, is celebrated with the lifelong, faithful, and fruitful love taught by the Church. Holy Orders, conferred by the laying on of hands by a bishop, continues the mission entrusted by Christ to the apostles through the three degrees of episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.
Becoming Catholic: OCIA
The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, called OCIA at St. Cecilia (and RCIA in older usage), is the communal process through which adults are formally initiated into the Catholic Church. It is described as a return to the formation of the earliest members of the Church in the first and second centuries and was restored by the Second Vatican Council as the normal way adults prepare for baptism.
OCIA is for three groups of people: those who have never been baptized in any faith, those who were baptized in another Christian tradition and seek full communion with the Catholic Church, and baptized Catholics who have never received the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. The process begins with several weeks of inquiry and instruction in the core beliefs of the Catholic Church, the sacraments and rituals, and basic church history. After this initial period, participants are asked to affirm their decision to continue. The next stage is an extended period of weekly classes and parish involvement in service and community life. Those who are committed enter an intense period of prayer and reflection during Lent, and the sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation are conferred at the Easter Vigil. The process concludes with a period of reflection and prayer during the Easter season known as Mystagogy. Sponsors must be at least sixteen years old and confirmed themselves. Collin Mason, the Pastoral Assistant for Faith Formation, accompanies those interested in the journey.
Faith Formation for Children and Youth
Faith formation at St. Cecilia is described by the parish as a lifelong journey. Elementary Faith Formation is offered for children in the parish, and Junior High and High School Faith Formation continues that growth into adolescence. Both programs require registered parishioner status, a background check, and successful completion of the Safe Environment Training and Policies required by the Archdiocese of Seattle for anyone working with children. First Communion and Confirmation preparation are the two main sacramental pathways, with Confirmation being a two-year program. Catechesis of children and youth is offered alongside the adult OCIA process so that the whole family can grow together in the practice of the faith.
The Gathering Place: A Community Meal in Stanwood
The Gathering Place is a soup kitchen open to the public that began more than ten years ago through an ecumenical community effort led by a St. Cecilia parishioner and a few other church youth group leaders. Today it serves more than 85 people each week, up from ten or fifteen when it started. The meal is prepared and served from the well-equipped kitchen at Our Savior's Lutheran Church at 27201 99th Ave NW, Stanwood, and the cost is funded by St. Cecilia's parish. About a dozen men and women from the parish volunteer seven times each year, with only four or five volunteers needed on any given night to cook, serve, and clean up. The parish cooks every other month, typically on the second Thursday of the month, and dinner is served from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. On Thanksgiving Day, representatives from all ten area churches come together to plan and prepare the special holiday meal.
St. Vincent de Paul and the Respect for Life Committee
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Cecilia has about 27 dedicated members. The international society, founded in France in 1833 and present in the United States since 1845, has grown to 800,000 members in roughly 140 countries. The St. Cecilia conference provides material and social assistance, in cooperation with other local agencies and churches, to people who need help with rent, utilities, housing assistance, gas, food, clothing, and other essentials. People in need typically call for assistance, and Vincentians visit them, offer to pray with them, and work to resolve their specific needs. The conference meets twice a month after the 8:00 am Mass.
The Stanwood Camano Respect for Human Life Committee serves and unifies the pro-life community in Washington as a hub of the pro-life movement. The committee instructs and models best practices drawn from the history of the pro-life movement and seeks to influence hearts and minds to value the dignity of the human person. The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the garden outside the parish hall was dedicated on June 1, 2003, by the Knights of Columbus "in memory of all unborn innocent victims."
Knights of Columbus Council 8476 and Assembly 3223
The parish is home to Deacon Donald F. Hanika Council 8476 and the Fourth Degree Assembly 3223. Council 8476 was chartered on December 15, 1983, with 36 charter members, 16 of whom were still active in recent memory. The council was renamed in 2012 following the passing of Deacon Donald F. Hanika. The Knights follow the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism and welcome Catholic men to join them in service to the parish, the family, and the wider community. Pancake breakfasts and other events are held throughout the year. The Knights also assist the parish through charitable giving and disaster relief.
Liturgical Ministries at the Altar
Liturgical ministry is a central way parishioners participate in the Mass. Altar servers assist the priest at the altar from the Sanctus through the recessional, carrying the cross and processional candles, holding the book for the celebrant, presenting the bread, wine, and water, and washing the priest's hands. Servers must have received First Reconciliation and Holy Communion and must be at least in the fourth grade. Eucharistic Ministers distribute Holy Communion at Mass; Leonard Dietlin coordinates the ministry, and openings are listed for Saturday evening and Sunday morning Masses within the cluster. Lectors proclaim the Scriptures, sacristans prepare the sacred vessels, books, and incense and oversee the smooth celebration of the liturgy, and ushers and greeters welcome the assembly at the door, take up the collection, recruit gift bearers, direct the Communion procession, and tidy the pews at the end of Mass. Ed Curry coordinates the ministry of ushers and greeters, who are normally scheduled to serve one Mass a month. Music at Mass is led by Jenny Bradley, the Pastoral Assistant for Music, with a choir that supports sung prayer throughout the liturgical year.
The Coffee and Doughnut Social after Sunday Mass is hosted by volunteers, with Sharon Dobson coordinating, and offers an easy way to meet other parishioners after the 8:00 am Mass.
Grief Ministry, Women's Guild, and Parish Fellowship
The Grief Ministry was established with the mission that "no member of our faith community grieves alone." The group provides comfort through a listening presence and runs a Grief Support Group that meets in fall and spring sessions, with check-in meetings during the winter and summer months. Marianne McGarry-Bloom leads the ministry.
The Women's Guild invites every woman registered at St. Cecilia to become a member and currently gathers on the third Thursday of every month at 10:30 am. Annual dues of $10 make a member "active," though willing hands are always welcome. The Guild cleans altar linens, robes, and cloths; provides funeral food and kitchen service; hosts the First Communion reception; organizes an annual baby shower in support of Pregnancy Choices; arranges summer sanctuary flowers; collects for a homeless giving bin; and knits prayer shawls for parishioners in spiritual need. Caroline Hall runs a small Religious Article Store in a downstairs room, open Sundays after Mass, and also leads the Rosary Makers, who make rosaries available to anyone who needs one and make rosaries for the missions. Mary Ann Kmetz coordinates the Welcome Committee, which reaches out to newly registered parishioners with information and hospitality.
Beliefs, Prayer, and the Liturgical Year
St. Cecilia teaches the fullness of the Catholic faith as handed down through the apostles and the bishops in communion with the Pope, the successor of Peter and chief pastor of the whole Church. Catholics believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; in the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins; in the communion of saints; and in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. These truths are professed each Sunday in the recitation of the Nicene Creed.
The seven sacraments are understood to be instituted by and through the life of Jesus Christ and to be the ordinary means by which God's grace is communicated. The parish teaches the traditional list of the corporal and spiritual Works of Mercy, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, and the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The Ten Commandments, the two greatest commandments of love of God and love of neighbor, the eight Beatitudes, the fourteen Stations of the Cross, the seven Last Words of Christ, and the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are all part of the catechesis of the parish. The parish also teaches the four Marks of the Church as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and the precepts of the Church, including Sunday Mass, frequent Confession, Easter Communion, fasting and abstinence on appointed days, support of the Church, Christian marriage and family, and the missionary spirit of the Church.
Prayer is taught as communion with God, both public and personal, spoken and silent. The Psalms are prayed as part of the Church's communal prayer. The parish encourages the practice of Lectio Divina, silent meditation, and the keeping of a prayer journal. The traditional prayers of the Catholic tradition, the Grace before Meals, the Glory to the Father, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Act of Contrition, and the Hail, Holy Queen, are taught alongside contemporary ways of praying.
The liturgical year follows the universal calendar of the Catholic Church, beginning with Advent and the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, continuing through Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, the Lenten forty days of repentance and renewal, the Paschal Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil, and the Easter season of resurrection culminating in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Ordinary Time follows, with the Solemnities of Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, and Christ the King marking its turning points.
The North Snohomish Catholic Family
St. Cecilia is one of four Catholic communities that together form North Snohomish Catholic. The sister parishes are St. Mary in Marysville (4200 88th St. NE), Immaculate Conception in Arlington (1200 E 5th St.), and St. John Vianney in Darrington (1150 Riddle Street). The parishes share clergy and staff, including Pastor Fr. Peter Mactutis and Parochial Vicar Fr. Rajasekar Savarimuthu, H.G.N., and offer Mass and the sacraments throughout the week across the four churches. Together they extend the Catholic presence of the Archdiocese of Seattle from Stanwood through Marysville, Arlington, and Darrington in the Stillaguamish Valley.
Stewardship, Giving, and Parish Life
Parish stewardship is rooted in the conviction that everything one has and is is a gift from God. The parish invites parishioners to share their time, talent, and treasure with no strings attached, teaching that a Christian steward receives God's gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them responsibly, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord. Giving is supported online through OSV Hub, and a separate annual Catholic Appeal supports the wider work of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
St. Cecilia was granted tax-exempt status in 1946 under EIN 91-10866-46 and is designated as a 501(c)(3) organization. Bulletins are published regularly with parish news, photos, and event information. A parish calendar lists daily Mass, Adoration, Reconciliation, and parish activities throughout the year, and the parish relies on weekly bulletins and the online calendar to keep the parish family informed.
Office hours at the parish are Tuesday from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Wednesday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Sunday after the 8:00 am Mass in the Social Hall. The parish can be reached by phone at 360-629-3737 or by email at secretary@saintccc.org. New parishioners are invited to register through the parish office, returning Catholics are warmly welcomed, and anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith can begin the inquiry through OCIA.