From the

Official News Magazine of the Diocese of Spokane

Parishes in Connell, Eltopia share geography, history, resources

Story and photos by Bonita Lawhead, Inland Register staff

(From the Aug. 22, 2002 edition of the Inland Register)

The towns of Eltopia and Connell are situated in the desert of south central Washington, off Highway 395, about 35 miles north of the Tri-Cities. Both communities, about 18 miles apart, share an agricultural history, which was revitalized in 1955 when the Columbia Basin Project was started by the Bureau of Reclamation.

The two communities are connected in another way. The Catholic churches in each town, St. Paul the Apostle in Eltopia and St. Vincent de Paul in Connell, also share a pastor. Parish boundaries were formed by Bishop Bernard Topel in 1964, incorporating the two churches under one pastor.

Before that time, priests came from Pasco or Othello or even Ritzville to say Mass. One circuit-rider priest in the early 1920s, Father Lawrence Noldin, recalled spending $2.59 for gas to get to Mass and collecting 90 cents in the collection.

Father Richard Poole has been pastor since 1995, his second assignment after ordination in 1994. He makes his home in Connell, but he is no stranger to the commuter life, traveling between parishes several times a week.

Together the two parishes count about 350 registered families, 100 in the Eltopia area and 250 in Connell. Father Poole said the Hispanic population of St. Vincent Church is larger than the English population of the two parishes put together. Many parish families live in the country and, like their pastor, drive many miles for church events.

It’s easy to spot St. Paul the Apostle Church in Eltopia, once on the right road. The church sits by itself just off the highway between the old location of Eltopia and the new. Twenty-five acres of land to build a church was purchased in 1962 from the Bureau of Reclamation for $900. As is the case with many church building projects, St. Paul parishioners did much of the work themselves, saving almost half its $70,000 value. Bishop Topel dedicated the church April 12, 1964, just a couple of weeks before he announced the new parish boundaries for Eltopia-Connell.

The exterior entry with the bell on top is faintly reminiscent of a Spanish-style mission church. A colorful mosaic of St. Paul is mounted on the church’s east exterior wall and there is a shrine to Mary nearby.

Visitors at St. Paul Church enter a large gathering space, with the church proper to the south and the hall to the west. Offices, meeting rooms and classrooms are located on both floors of the split level on the northwest side of the church.

On entering the nave, a visitor immediately notices the etched windows on the south wall. Scenes depicted in three of the windows are from the life of St. Paul. Signs on the wall identify them as Paul’s conversion, the stoning of Stephen and the Council of Jerusalem. Another window near the doors shows all the agricultural products grown in the area.

All 14 stations of the cross are mounted on a large wooden panel on the church’s north wall. They are made of a tile material in grey and black, giving them an antique newsprint look. The tabernacle is in the wall to the right of the altar.

The church community of St. Paul the Apostle Church is like those of other small-size churches: dedicated, committed and caring. Parishioners appreciate the fact that they all know each other. “We’re very close-knit,” said Mary Harris, who directs the parish’s religious education program. She recalled being “very welcomed” by the parish when she and her family moved to the area. “It’s been really good for our kids.”

About 85 young people meet on Sundays during the school year. Vacation Bible School held the last week of July drew almost 50 children. The church’s altar society has four guilds which care for the altar but also for other parish needs such as funeral dinners.

One special project the women do in the winter is make about 50 baby blankets, which they donate to the Catholic Charities First Steps program in Pasco.

Dorothy Fangman is a long-time parishioner who also sees the parish as a close-knit family. “Everyone comes together,” she said. “We work together as a parish.”

“That’s a strength we have,” said Mary Harris. “The many generations of grandparents, parents, and the little ones in our parish, and the connections between them.”

Connell’s very first church building was the former Old German Methodist Church built in 1901. Connell’s Catholics bought the church for $3,500, naming it St. Vincent de Paul. The exact purchase date is not clear but seems to have taken place in the 1930s under Bishop Charles White. Records show, however, that the area’s Catholics used the building for worship long before that time.

St. Vincent parishioners remodeled the church in the early 1960s with a loan from the Catholic Extension Society. Some long-time parishioners have fond memories of this small church.

Connell was not as fortunate as Eltopia in its quest for land to build a new church. The railroad charged the parish $3,500 for five acres. States the parish history: “The railroad drives a hard bargain.” Coincidentally, the property was less than two blocks from the old church.

The current church was built in 1966, when Father Eugene Glatt was pastor. Father Glatt is given much credit in the church history for his handy way with tools during the building process. As in Eltopia, volunteers did much of the building work. Bishop Topel dedicated the church March 14, 1968.

Father Poole said the church would likely undergo some remodeling in the near future. Right now the church does not have a gathering space; to come in the door is to immediately be in the church. Also the church is too small; the walls bulge when the whole parish community gathers.

The church is built of a softly-colored grey brick which remains exposed for the nave’s interior walls. Wooden support beams at ceiling height jut into the room. From those beams hang the church’s light fixtures. At the left is a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The tabernacle stands to the left behind the altar and the music area is to the right. A statue of St. Vincent de Paul can be found in the enclosed area between church hall.

In the exterior space between church and hall is one of the church’s unique features: a central courtyard. Benches are placed strategically around the courtyard to give people a place to sit and visit or meditate. There is a grotto with a statue of Mary.

The parish also uses the courtyard for potlucks and other such events when the weather allows. Bishop Skylstad was the most recent guest, the weekend of Aug. 17-18. The Connell parish held a bilingual Mass and a potluck in the courtyard during his visit.

The altar society in Connell also has four guilds to assist with parish needs. Among those needs is one for clothing. St. Vincent parishioners donate used clothing, which is stored at the church and given out as needed. They also help families during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

The parish’s smaller size makes that assistance more personal.“That’s what I like about our church,” said Ronda DeWulf, a “newcomer” who’s been in the church only six years. She and her family came to Connell from a much larger parish. In Connell, she said, “they’re very dedicated.”

Hortensia Castillo and her family have been involved at St. Vincent Parish for nearly 25 years. Some of that involvement has been with music. She and her husband still sing at Masses and special occasions such as weddings. “We’ve had our whole family in the choir,” she said. Castillo likes her parish, saying it’s a good parish with a good pastor.

“We’re like family,” said Florence Ray, another long-time parishioner. “We try to take care of each other.”

About 45 children from age three up to sixth grade participated in the “Son Canyon River Adventure,” the vacation Bible school program held at St. Paul Church in Eltopia July 29-Aug. 2.

The children had activities ranging from songs to crafts to outdoor fun. They attended Mass on Tuesday and Friday, the days their pastor, Father Richard Poole came down from Connell.

The program was based on five sayings from the Old Testament Book of Proverbs. Activities included making soap, a “rafting” obstacle course, and a frozen fish throw with real fish. Kids wore gloves and used nets to catch the fish.

Erica Corrales directed the VBS, for “my fourth or fifth year,” she said. “I love doing it; it just gets better every year.”

She said they had about 20 volunteers who helped with the program, including Christy Didier, who made all the snacks for the kids each day. Diana Burns was in charge of activities.

The children presented a mini-musicale for their parents after Sunday Mass on Aug. 3.

Use of the Old German Methodist Church in Connell did not end when St. Vincent Parish built its new church. The building was sold to the St. Christopher Episcopalian Church. That group in turn sold it to the Lutherans, the group which owned it at the time of its demolition.

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