-
Fr. Scott Bullock is pastor of St. Edward Parish. Fr. Bullock was born in Royal Oak Michigan in 1963. He graduated from the General Motors Institute with a BS in Industrial Engineering in 1985, after which he came to Iowa to attend Iowa State University. He received a Bachelor’s of Sacred Theology degree from the Gregorian University in Rome in 1990 and a License of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in 1997. He has served as Associate Pastor at St. Matthew Parish in Cedar Rapids, St. Edward Parish in Waterloo, and parishes in St. Catherine, St. Donatus and Bellevue. He served as Pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Dubuque and rector of St. Pius X Seminary at Loras College from 2011-2014. He also serves as Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Fr. Bullock was appointed Pastor of St. Edward Parish and pastoral coordinator of Cedar Valley Catholic Schools in July 2014. In his spare time, he enjoys reading literature, riding his bike long-distance, and watching classic movies.• • •Fr. Homero Cardozo Vargas was born in Cutervo, a small city in northern Peru. He attended primary, elementary and secondary school in Cajamarca and entered a seminary conducted by the Order of St. Augustine in Lima in 1996. He earned his degree in theology there and was ordained to the priesthood in 2004. Later that year he was sent to study moral theology in Rome. Upon returning to Peru in 2006 Fr. Homero was appointed secretary for the Augustinian community’s Province of Our Lady of Grace. In 2010 he was appointed director of San Agustin College in Chiclayo. He was released from the Augustinian Order in 2014 and joined the diocese of Chota and Cutervo as a diocesan priest. He came to the United States in 2015 and studied English at the University of Northern Iowa from from fall 2015 to spring 2016. He earned a Masters in Business Administration from in 2017 and was appointed pastor of Queen of Peace Parish in August of 2017.• • •Dave Cushing is Director of Adult Faith Formation and a member of the Faith Formation Administrative Team for the Catholic Parishes in Waterloo. Dave grew up in Dubuque where he attended Sacred Heart Grade School and Wahlert High School. He has BA degrees in History and Sociology from Loras College (1972), a Masters of Divinity degree from St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana (1981), and over 400 hours in continuing education opportunities. Since 1981 Dave has served in full-time parish ministry as director of faith formation and education at St. John Parish, Waterloo; St. Nicholas Parish, Evansdale; Queen of Peace Parish, Waterloo and St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center, Cedar Falls, and as pastoral associate for adult formation at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Waterloo. He was appointed director of adult faith formation for the Waterloo parishes in 2006. Dave is a presenter in Impact, the Archdiocese's lay formation program, and served for many years on the Lay Formation Board. He has served on the Archdiocesan Faith Formation Commission and the Evangelization Committee for the Archdiocese's 175th Anniversary and currently serves on the board of the Cedar Valley Interfaith Council. He writes a bi-weekly column, "Disciples Corner," for the Archdiocese's Office of Education. Dave and his wife Mary Lou are parents of two adult children. They are members of Queen of Peace Parish. (06.18)
• DBQwcaf@dbqarch.org.• • •
Ruth Fleming is Associate Director of Childrens and Family Catechesis and a member of the Faith Formation Administrative Team for the Catholic Parishes in Waterloo. Ruth was raised in Center Point-Urbana and Cedar Rapids, where she earned a BS degree in Elementary Education from Mount Mercy College (1989). Ruth also earned an MA degree in Christian Community Leadership with an emphasis on Family Ministry from Regis University in Denver, CO (1997). She has Master Catechist certification from the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, and has been trained and served as facilitator for LifeTeen and Edge, Generations of Faith, Protecting God's Children and Beginnings and Beyond. Ruth served as Director of Youth Ministry and Coordinator of Religious Education at St. Matthew Parish in Cedar Rapids, Director of Religious Education and Family Ministry at St. Thomas More Parish in Iowa City, and Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry at St. Jude Parish in Cedar Rapids. She taught theology in Catholic high schools while serving as Campus Minister in North Carolina and served as Director of Faith Formation at parishes in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, NC; Shorewood, IL; South St. Paul, MN; and Maple Grove, MN. She has led multiple mission trips including one to Bouzy, Haiti, where her parish has a sister parish. Most recently she was an instructor for adult learners, including many second language learners, at Kirkwood Community Colleges' Iowa City Learning Center from October 2013 until July 2018. She joined the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Team in July, 2018. Ruth and her husband Dave are parents of three adult sons and have seven grandchildren (07.18)Email: dbqwcff@dbqarch.org• • •
Fr. Anthony Kruse is pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Waterloo. He was raised on a dairy farm north of Petersburg, Iowa, about 10 miles northwest of Dyersville. He graduated from Beckman Catholic High School in Dyersville in 1997 and attended Loras College in Dubuque, graduating with a B.A. in History in 2002. He worked for Fareway Grocery Stores in the meat department, and for three years worked as a Legislative Aide in the Iowa House of Representatives. After those three years, he returned to Loras College for two years to study philosophy and then spent four years at the Pontifical North American College in Rome studying theology and preparing for the priesthood. He was ordained in 2011. Fr. Kruse has served as Associate Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Marion, Iowa and as Pastor of a parish cluster encompassing St. Mary Parish, Eldora, St. Mark Parish, Iowa Falls, St. Mary Parish, Ackley and St. Patrick Parish, Hampton. He was appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in 2018. (07.18)
Email: dbq208@dbqarch.org• • •
Ellen Kuchera is Associate Director of Young Adult Ministry and a member of the Faith Formation Administrative Team for the Catholic Parishes in Waterloo. Ellen was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she attended St. Louis Grade School and McNicholas High School. She earned BA degrees in Religious Education and Music Performance from Marian University in Indianapolis and an MA degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. She served as an Apprentice Catechetical Leader in the University of Notre Dame's ECHO Faith Formation Program at Blessed Trinity Catholic Parish in St. Petersburg, Florida from 2008 to 2010 and as Director of Faith Formation at Blessed Trinity from 2010 to 2012. While at Blessed Trinity Ellen served on the Young Adult Ministry Commission for the diocese of St. Petersburg. She served as Director of Faith Formation at St. Edward Parish from 2012 to 2014. Ellen and her husband Brenton are members of St. Edward Parish. (06.18)
• Email: d bqwcya@dbqarch.org.• • •
Fr. Thomas McDermott is pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Waterloo. He grew up in rural Dubuque County where his family attended St. John the Evangelist Parish at Placid. He attended grade school in the Seton Catholic System and Beckman High School in Dyersville. He studied farm operations at Iowa State University and farmed on his grandfather's farm for eleven years before attending St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore where he earned his Masters of Divinity and MA in Theology. He was ordained in 1997. Fr. McDermott has served as associate pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Dubuque and St. Edward Parish in Waterloo and as pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Maquoketa and St. Ludmilla Parish in Cedar Rapids. He was appointed pastor of Blessed Sacrament in 2011. He has an MA degree in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in Omaha. He has served as chair of the Archdiocesan Priests Council and currently serves on the Priests Pension Board, Seminary Review Board, St. Raphael Priests Fund Board and Priests Personnel Board. Fr. McDermott is the pastors' representative on the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission. (10/11)
• Email: DBQ208@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us• • •
Anastasia Nicklaus is Liturgy and Music Coordinator at St. Edward Parish. Anastasia was born and raised in New Hartford. She graduated from Marycrest College in Davenport with a BA in English/journalism and from Loras College in Dubuque with a MA in ministry. Anastasia's other ministry experience includes serving as Religious Education/Youth Ministry Director at Holy Family Parish (Dike, Reinbeck, Grundy Center, and Parkersburg) from 2000-2007, Director of Liturgy and Music at St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center in Cedar Falls from 2007-2013, and Director of Campus Ministry at Clarke University from 2013-1015. She began her position at St. Edward in 2015. She is a member of St. Edward Parish. (06.18)
• Email: dbq210s3@dbqarch.org• • •
Brett Rauzi is Pastoral Associate at St. Edward Parish. Brett was born in Mason City and attended Indianola High School. He graduated from Loras College in Dubuque in 2012 with degrees in Religious Studies and Philosophy. Brett served as a theology teacher and campus minister at Marquette Catholic Schools in Bellevue from 2011 to 2013 and as director of faith formation, youth ministry and sacrament preparation at St. Jude Parish in Cedar Rapids from 2013 to 2015. He was a theology teacher and campus minister at Don Bosco Catholic High School in Gilbertville from 2015-2017. He was appointed Pastoral Associate at St. Edward in 2017. Brett and his wife Kelleryn are the parents of one child. They are members of St. Edward Parish. (06.18)
• Email: dbq210spa@dbqarch.org
• • •Rev. Mr. Rigoberto Real is Director of Hispanic Ministry at Queen of Peace Parish. Rigo was born in Tepehuaje de Morelos Jalisco, Mexico. He graduated from high school in Mexico, obtained a technical degree as an electrician, and later completed his GED. Rigo and his family moved to Iowa in June of 2002, where he worked for several construction companies as a member of the Laborers Union in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. He studied for the deaconate in the Archdiocese of Dubuque's deaconate program and was ordained a deacon in July 2009. He was appointed director of Hispanic Ministry at Queen of Peace in 2010. Rigo and his wife Martha have four children and are members of Queen of Peace Parish. (06.18)• Email: DBQchmw@dbqarch.org
• • •Fr. Kenneth Stecher is Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish. He was born in Dubuque and attended Loras College. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from Mt. St. Bernard Seminary in Dubuque and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop James Byrne in 1968. He served as associate pastor of parishes in Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, Oelwein, Dubuque and Bellevue and as administrator of parishes in Buffalo Center and Wooden. Fr. Stecher earned Masters degrees in School Counseling and Social Work from the University of Iowa and served as a counselor for Catholic Charities in Waterloo for 22 years. He has been trained in relationship counseling at the Gottman Institute and studied Cognitive Behavior Therapy under Aldo Pucci at the Rational Living Therapy Institute. While serving with Catholic Charities he also served as pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish in Sumner, St. Bridget Parish in Pinhood, St. Patrick Parish in Parkersburg, St. Mary Parish in Dike, Immaculate Conception Parish in Fairbank, and St. Athanasius Parish in Jesup. He was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in 2012. (06.18)
• Email: dbq209@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us• • •
Annie Zeets is Coordinator of Middle School Youth Ministry and a member of the Faith Formation Administrative Team for the Catholic Parishes in Waterloo. Annie was born and raised in Waterloo, where she attended Sacred Heart grade school and Columbus High School. She has a BA degree in Education from the University of Northern Iowa. Prior to her current position she worked as a news producer at KWWL-TV in Waterloo. Annie was appointed to the position of Middle School Youth Ministry Coordinator in 2007. She also serves as coordinator of CORE, the Waterloo parishes' cooperative religious formation program for high school students who do not attend a Catholic school. Annie and her husband Brian are the parents of three children and are members of Sacred Heart Parish. (06.14)
• Email: d bqwcym@dbqarch.org