Father Dan Dorau, pastor of St. Mary Parish-West Point, St. John the Baptist Parish-Houghton, St. James the Less Parish-St. Paul and St. Boniface Parish-Farmington, blesses the new Msgr. J.A. Wagner Building/
parish center in West Point last month.
By Lindsay Steele
The Catholic Messenger
WEST POINT — St. Mary of the Assumption Parish recently celebrated the long-awaited completion of its new parish center.
The 9,000-square-foot, handicap-accessible building includes parish offices, five classroom/meeting spaces with retractable walls, a multipurpose room with a kitchen, elevator, and lower-level storage. “It just really serves our purpose,” said Father Dan Dorau, the pastor.
The faithful in West Point have been dreaming about a new parish center for about a decade, said Roger Fullenkamp, the parish’s finance council president and a building committee member. The parish demolished the former rectory west of the church several years ago, opening the lot for future construction.
Parish leadership wanted an accessible space — inside and out. The parish office, located in a residential-style building a block away from the church, had a 10-step climb to the front door, and the indoor space was cramped. “That’s just not practical,” Fullenkamp said. The building had one restroom on the first floor and it was “the size of a closet,” said Father Dorau, who serves the four-parish cluster of St. Mary-West Point, St. John the Baptist-Houghton, St. James the Less-St. Paul and St. Boniface-Farmington.
The parish also needed a permanent place to house religious education classes, which had been held in the 145-year-old “west building” on the Holy Trinity Elementary campus, kitty-corner from the church. The school hoped to demolish the building sometime after completion of a new elementary wing. However, a few months after completion of the school wing in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, further delaying the parish center project.
Plans to move forward began in earnest about 18 months ago, Fullenkamp said. An anonymous major donor contributed $500,000 to the $3.1 million project, with a request to name the parish center in honor of Msgr. J.A. Wagner, a priest who served the parish from 1939-1970 and led multiple parish construction projects. Additional funds came from parish investments and informal fundraising efforts, Father Dorau said.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Msgr. J.A. Wagner Building took place in July 2023. Staff moved in the week of Aug. 11, 2024, with several parishioners helping to move desks and other office items from the old building a block away.
The parish hosted an open house after Mass Aug. 18, offering parishioners the opportunity to explore the finished building and enjoy a pulled pork meal, cake and ice cream. Father Dorau offered a blessing and sprinkled holy water in each room. “It was just a really nice time,” Fullenkamp said.
Father Dorau said his favorite design element is the clerestory: a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. “It is wonderful working in our new space,” said Rebecca Hannum, parish coordinator. “The offices are larger, brighter and more modern.”
Soon, religious education students will fill the flexible classroom spaces. The four-parish cluster is considering consolidating religious education classes to the Msgr. J.A. Wagner building in the future, Father Dorau said. Classes currently take place in St. Paul and West Point.
Several parishioners have expressed interest in hosting gatherings in the multipurpose room, Father Dorau said. He looks forward to seeing how the building evolves as a meeting place. “I hope it will be not only a place where the parish can come together for special events and to grow in faith, but also a place for the community of West Point to come together.”
