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(1959-2012)
The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo have a long history of collaborating to provide for the education, faith formation and pastoral care of Catholics in the Cedar Valley. Here are highlights of those efforts:
1959 -- The Catholic parishes in Cedar Falls, Evansdale and Waterloo
establish Columbus Catholic High School.
1971 -- Team ministry is inaugurated between St. John and St. Nicholas
parishes. (The team served these parishes until 1987.)
1975 -- St. John and St. Nicholas Catholic Schools are consolidated.
1980 -- St. John-St. Nicholas Consolidated School Board is formed.
1986 -- St. John-St. Nicholas Consolidated Religious Education Board is
formed.
1987 -- Waterloo Catholic schools hire a joint marketing director.
1988 -- Waterloo parishes establish CORE, a cooperative religious
formation program for high school students
-- Waterloo parishes adopt a uniform policy for Confirmation
preparation.
1992 -- Waterloo Diocore introduces Faith/Life Connections, a
cooperative adult formation program.
1994 -- Waterloo parishes begin celebrating Confirmation together.
-- Waterloo Diocore inaugurates First Tuesday, a support and
enrichment program for married couples.
1995 -- Waterloo Diocore adopts Come Home (later renamed Welcome
Home), an evangelization program for inactive and alienated
Catholics.
1997 -- Waterloo Diocore inaugurates Catholic Forum, an adult formation
series which discusses critical issues in the church and world.
1998 -- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St. John and St. Nicholas
parishes form Waterloo Catholic Youth Ministry (WCYM).
1999 -- St. Mary Parish joins Waterloo Catholic Youth Ministry.
-- Sacred Heart, St. John and St. Nicholas parishes inaugurate a
common catechumenate for the RCIA;
-- Blessed Sacrament and St. Mary parishes share a common
catechumenate for the RCIA.
2000 -- Metro youth center opened at St. John School.
2001 -- St. John, St. Mary and St. Nicholas Schools are consolidated.
-- Planning begins for consolidation of Columbus High School,
Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart, St. Edward and St. Mary
schools.
-- St. John and St. Nicholas religious education programs are
consolidated.
-- Part-time junior high youth minister and ministry assistant hired.
2002 -- St. John, St. Joseph, St. Mary and St. Nicholas parishes are
merged into Queen of Peace Parish.
-- Waterloo parishes inaugurate a shared preparation program for
adult Confirmation.
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace parishes
inaugurate a common Catechumenate for RCIA.
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace
inaugurate a shared summer vacation school program for
elementary age children.
2003 -- Waterloo grade schools and Columbus High School consolidated
into Cedar Valley Catholic Schools system.
-- Pastors, Pastoral Associates and Directors of Religious
Education in the Waterloo parishes begin meeting regularly.
(Waterloo Pastoral Leaders now meet monthly.)
-- Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace expand
common RCIA program to include the Pre-catechumenate,
Enlightment and Mystagogia phases.
-- Youth center moved to Mercy Convent, Evansdale.
2005 -- Waterloo parishes inaugurate a shared program for baptism
preparation.
-- St. Edward Parish joins Waterloo Catholic Youth Ministry.
-- Youth center moved to St. Edward's New Life Center.
2006 -- Waterloo parishes introduce the Rite of Christian Reception for
Adults (RCRA).
-- Waterloo Pastoral Leaders create a vision statement and
strategic plan for the Waterloo parishes.
-- Waterloo parishes hire a common Director of Adult Faith
Formation.
2007 -- Education Committees from Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart,
Queen of Peace and St. Edward meet to discuss common
opportunities and challenges in parish faith formation.
-- A metro catechetical planning committee is created to study
expanding collaborative religious formation opportunities in the
parishes.
-- Youth center moved to Columbus High School.
2008 -- A joint meeting of pastoral councils and education committees
approves the planning committee's recommendations to form a
metro Catechetical Commission (now called the Faith Formation
Commission).
-- An interim planning committee is formed to develop plans for a
metro Commission and common catechetical plan for the
Waterloo parishes.
-- Waterloo parishes innaugurate joint Children's Initiation process.
2010 -- The interim planning committee recommends to the pastoral
councils and education committees strategies and goals for a
metro catechetical plan and a constitution for the Waterloo
Catholic Faith Formation Commission.
-- The pastoral councils endorse the interim committee's
recommendations and approve the proposed constitution.
-- Elections are held to the Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation
Commission.
2011 -- Waterloo parishes sponsor "Come to the Table" shared
preparation for the new Roman Missal.
-- Waterloo parishes hold first metro vacation bible school.
-- Waterloo parishes introduce summer faith formation program for
students not enrolled in Catholic schools.
2012 -- Summer faith formation program expanded to include high
school CORE.
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission adopts unified
hiring process for parish Faith Formation Directors.
-- Waterloo Pastoral Leaders appoint Ad Hoc Evangelization
Committee.
-- Blessed Maria Assunta Palotta Middle School opens.
-- Middle School Youth Ministry Office moved to BMAP Middle
School.
-- Parish leaders create a Task Force to study future needs and
opportunities in the parishes.
2013 -- Waterloo Catholic Faith Formation Commission and Cedar Valley
Catholic Schools Board sign a Joint Agreement.
-- Parish Task Force completes its study and presents options for
the future configuration of the parishes to the Archdiocese.
-- Parishes launch Catholic Evangelization Outreach (Catholic
Witness Hour)
-- Parishes sponsor first shared parish mission (Allen Hunt)
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Commission revises evaluation process
for faith formation staff.
-- Waterloo Catholic Faith Commission begins planning for shared
faith formation staff