Brief History
The Parish of the Holy Spirit was founded in June 1980 by Msgr. John Ecker as founding pastor. After nearly two years of Sunday Masses at Desert Hills Middle School and daily Masses in rented office space, the new church was dedicated in February 1982 at its present site. Msgr. Ecker left after Easter 1988 and was replaced by Fr. John O'Shea as pastor. Father O'Shea retired on July 31, 2007, at which time Holy Spirit parish welcomed Msgr. Perron Auve as our new pastor. We have been blessed with the services of three deacons over the years: John Segura, Tom Henn and currently, John Powers. The rectory was built in 1999 and the parish hall completed in 2006.
Parishioners are involved in all the ministries and activities described in this web site. Parish organizations include the Parish Council, the Finance Committee, the Stewardship Steering Committee, the Parish Health Team, the Newcomers and Greeters groups, a Single, Widowed and Divorced group, Small Church Communities, Little Rock Scripture Study, the Knights of Columbus, Moms and Friends, the Kid's Club, the Women's Group, the Parish Hall Committee and three different Choirs.
Our parish is a tithing parish. Each month we give a donation to St. Joseph School and to other local and worldwide concerns. The total amount given is based on 10% of our Sunday income and our Parish Council decides how to distribute our tithe.
Parish highlights of the past decade consisted of a Tri-Cities Area Easter Mass celebrated by the Bishop of the Yakima Diocese at the Tri-Cities Coliseum in 1996; eliminating the parish debt in 1998; building a parish rectory in 1999; a New Year's Eve Millennium celebration and Mass in 2000, and the children's cantata, "Daniel in the Lion's Den" in 2000. The parish also sent young people and chaperones to the World Youth Days in Denver in 1993 and Rome in 2000.
Special parish events are the parish missions, Fall and Spring clean up, parish retreats, parish picnics, Christmas Raffle and Epiphany party, Halloween party, Mother's and Father's day breakfasts, rummage sale (twice a year) and auction dinners, the proceeds from which helped purchase our church bells, replace the piano and refurbish the organ.