Day 1 of 60 Days to 60 Years

 

Resurrection Catholic Parish

1963-2023

We are Resurrection Catholic Parish; 
the living body of Christ. 
We are called and challenged 
to live a prayer-filled life,
heal a broken world,
share our timeless stories,
and act with a servant’s heart. 
We are called to be the love of Jesus;
welcoming and loving all God’s people all the time.

We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe

Sixty years seems only a wee bit of time in the span of history. Yet 60 years of Resurrection Parish hold the stories of hundreds, indeed thousands, of people who called and still name this parish “home.” 

From the brave and generous 300+ families who accepted the call to start a new parish in Allouez, with Fr. William Spalding as the founding pastor, through the building of a Vatican II church, Catholic grade school, faith formation center, gathering area, and family activity center, to the empowering of the baptized to live out their calling to welcome all, to lead with justice and compassion, to serve beyond our doors, Resurrection Parish has much to celebrate. 

Thanks to many parishioners, we happily share their memories, reflections, thanks, and hopes. Enjoy a new memory each day as we countdown to our 60th anniversary on September 15, 2023, as we remember, celebrate, and believe.

60 Years of Memories

Fundraising, Spaghetti, and Teaching

By Burnell Van Egeren

We moved to Green Bay from West Bend, where my husband, Jim, worked as an estate officer at Kellogg (now Associated) Bank.

We could not get our two oldest children in St. Matthew School because their enrollment was at capacity, so we enrolled them at Langlade School. We heard that a new church would be built in the area and made plans to join.

Fr. William Spalding was our priest. He became a lifelong friend of me and my brother, Bruce Stoehr, and his family. He next went to Shawano, and then Gresham (our hometown), where he built a church that was a smaller version of Resurrection. We spent many Thanksgivings with him at my parents’ home.

My husband, Jim, was on the finance committee with about 100 other men. They worked hard to organize a drive to raise $200,000, which they did on one Sunday—May 17, 1964.

Before the church was built, we attended Mass at St. Joseph Chapel—site of the former orphanage and now the offices of the Diocese of Green Bay.

The women put on a spaghetti dinner as a fundraiser and social event using venison Fr. Spalding contributed. We cooked, cleaned up, and learned to use our new dishwasher.

Our children went to Resurrection School. Even I went in 1966-1967 after Fr. Spalding called to say they needed a third-grade teacher. I probably would have stayed but I was expecting our fourth and last child, Sara, born Feb. 12, 1968.

Burnell Van Egeren is a charter member of Resurrection Parish.

Photos From Our History

Groundbreaking Ceremony