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Parish leader reflects on time in Mountain Home
Fr. Ben Uhlenkott simply doesn't want to leave.
While his time here was relatively brief -- a little over two years -- it was a period marked with tremendous and positive changes locally. As the head of the local Catholic parish, he just wishes he could be here to see the community continue to grow.
However, his dedication to serving others while spreading the word of God is moving him into a new direction.
Next week, Uhlenkott will move to Boise where he'll become the head of St. Mark's Catholic Church. With more than 1,800 families, it's the third or fourth largest church in the diocese.
"It's a little bit bigger than Mountain Home," he joked.
In fact, it's large enough that it has its own parish-sponsored school for children in kindergarten to eighth grade -- the only church in the diocese that has one, he said.
"Not scared; just cautiously optimistic," he said, regarding the unique challenges he'll face with his new parish.
Meanwhile, Fr. Eladio Vieyra also will leave Mountain Home, in his case for American Falls, where he'll serve as parochial vicar for Presentation of the Lord Catholic Church.
In July, Fr. (Dr.) Victor Jagerstatter will take over as the leader of the local Catholic community. He comes to Mountain Home from Wesier, where he served as the pastor for Saint Agnes Catholic Church.
Decisions to move priests within the diocese began late last year, according to Uhlenkott.
"Back in November, I was asked to consider a move, not this year but the following year," he said.
Originally looking at sending him to a bilingual parish in Boise, the diocese also asked whether he was interested in moving to St. Mark's. For the next month, Uhlenkott devoted a lot of time in personal prayer while consulting with one his mentors for advice.
Admittedly, he was hoping to remain in Mountain Home since things at the parish "were moving in a positive direction," he said. In addition to seeing the parish community grow stronger, new ministries aimed at helping others in the local area had just taken root.
Over the next three months, the diocese continued to contact Uhlenkott regarding plans to move to Boise. By February, the diocese urged him to seriously consider taking the pastor position at St. Mark's.
Representatives with the diocese highlighted Uhlenkott's vision for the parish and his ability to handle a larger parish among their reasons for wanting him to move to Boise. He was one of just a handful of priests with the qualities needed to handle a church of that size.
Looking back over the past 2 1/2 years here, Uhlenkott admits a lot has changed both in the parish and in the Mountain Home community. Things started off on rough ground after arrived here in last 2010. He took over the parish as debate raged over plans to build a fellowship hall next to the existing church in the city's downtown area.
Concerns over parking around the new facility aired at multiple city council meetings threatened to derail the entire project. But just as the project had "started going sideways," it eventually gained traction and moved forward.
Seated in one of the offices inside this new facility, Uhlenkott remains satisfied that it fosters the presence of Christ in the center of town. It's an important tool to "build the kingdom of God and to make Christ known," he said.
However, there was something else in recent years that had an even greater impact on this community -- the creation of a ministry dedicated solely on caring for the poor and others in need.
Known as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, it has not only directly helped those in the church but also reached out to others local area.
"It changed the whole community of Mountain Home," he said. "Instead of putting 'bandaids' on their lives, we're actually transforming their lives so they have that dignity of being a person and the autonomy that they can help themselves and their family."
It took the right kind of people with the right mix of leadership skills and community connections to lead this ministry, he added. But the Society is more than providing people with food from their pantry or helping individuals struggling to pay utility bills. They also conduct home visits to see firsthand exactly what types of help these people need, Uhlenkott said.
While it's nice having a new fellowship hall, helping the poor remains the largest pillar in the Catholic community here.
"That's the 'homerun hitter' because it made people feel that they belong and that they had a purpose with their faith; not just to sit in the pews," he added.
Uhlenkott sees that outreach grow each month during the community dinners hosted at the fellowship hall. Originally feeding about 70 people per month, that number today easily exceeds 200 individuals.
"Even for me, it went beyond my wildest dreams," he said regarding the community dinners.
Uhlenkott celebrates his last Mass on Sunday. That realization caused him to pause a bit as he sat back and reflected on a community that made a significant difference in his life.
He admits that he'll miss the sense of community that he watched grow with a greater focus on caring for everyone that lives here versus just those who sit in the pews every weekend.
"It's a real testament to the community itself and why people want to live in Mountain Home," he said.
He will also miss those "who made me the pastor that I have become," he added. "The parish as a whole did that."