St Joseph Kalama Use Clarification

(This is a repeat of the information sent to all parishioners last week, May 21, 2026, and posted on our Facebook page in the hopes so that it can be a more permanent reference for hyperlinks) IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

Dear Parishioners,

I want to offer an important clarification regarding the status of St Joseph Mission Church in Kalama. I used some terminology or phrasing regarding the suspension of regularly scheduled ministry due to concerns of personal and property safety that was imprecise and I want to clarify.

The suspension of regularly scheduled liturgical ministries at a church is not the same thing legally as “closing” a church permanently or relegating it to secular use. This is why there are certain essential items—such as the altar—left as-is even in a church where Mass is not routinely used and why after the Mass on the 17th, I instructed the sacristan to put all the liturgical items back in their places as normal.

However, I did make an error in using the phrase “last Mass” in some of the written and verbal communications to you and others. I should have opted for greater precision in language. This error was pointed out to me by the Archdiocese, and so I want to apologize for that mistake and rephrase that that while we have suspended ordinarily scheduled liturgies at St Joseph Church, it does remain a church, and can still be used on occasion for liturgical functions. We need to be careful, of course, as the safety concerns remain, but as the life of our parish family continues, there may be occasions where the use of St Joseph Church might be appropriate.

We have also made provision to make sure we remain good caretakers of the long legacy of the church, and good neighbors to the Kalama community. We did cease staff hours at the Mission to preserve resources, though we did also work with Family 45 so that our shared personnel still have a livelihood. We have taken steps to secure the property, and are arranging to make sure the grounds are kept via other means.

Once more, I apologize that my imprecision caused confusion and even hurt, I wanted to apologize and give the clarification. I hope this gives some solace to this very difficult situation.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Brian Thompson

Pastor

Lower Columbia Catholic Churches