Out in Wyoming, a local paper just published this interesting look at the Church of the West (West of the Mississippi, that is) and how it’s preparing for the future:

The three men in black sat together on what traditionally has been their only “day off.” Days off are rare now, but it’s all part of the deal for these three, who among them tend to the spiritual needs of at least 2,500 Casper families.

Fr. Kevin Koch of St. Anthony’s, Fr. Robert Fox of Our Lady of Fatima and Fr. August Koeune of St. Patrick’s — Casper’s three Catholic parishes — meet at least weekly to “coordinate calendars,” with an eye to taking advantage of what each parish already offers and perhaps not triplicate as many services in the future.

“We are a multi-indigenous society. What unites us is our Catholic faith. Each one of us has our own little charism that we might bring,” Fr. Fox said.

“We’re at a point where we need to rely on the wealth of our resources,” Koch said. “As an example, we each still had RCIA [Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults] in all three parishes individually this spring, but we also did things collectively, which made for a very bonded group.”

Currently, the three priests are meeting more than ever, along with parishioners and people from the larger community, all working together to map out the future of St. Anthony’s Tri-Parish School, which serves the city from its majestic but 80-year-old, three-story building on East Seventh Street.

The gym serves as the cafeteria and is too small to host competitive sports activities, the playground is asphalt and there is no place for fine arts or music performances. There are no elevators, not enough classroom space and virtually no area for the technology vital in today’s schools.

“We don’t see the school as a financial strain, we see it as a financial obligation,” Koch said. “It’s part of religious education, which we see as three parts — the school, CCD [religious education] and home schoolers.”

Intense planning and fundraising for a new school in Casper, which the priests say is likely to be located on the grounds of Our Lady of Fatima Church on CY Avenue, has been underway for about four years.

“We need a facility that will truly meet the needs of the next century,” said Koeune.

They have no doubt that a new Catholic school is in the near future for the city.

“We’re trying to get our ducks in a row and do things right,” Koeune said. “The spirit behind it is the Catholic Christian identity. People wanted a hand in the faith of their children 80 years ago and nothing has changed.”

Koch has first-hand proof of the generosity of his parishioners and thinks the school project, which the priests intend to have paid for before construction begins, will enjoy similar success.

“I’ve seen this community be very, very generous,” he said. “Ours is a unique parish. This church [St. Anthony’s] built these two churches [Our Lady of Fatima and St. Patrick’s] and gave them money to start. There was a need and they addressed it. And six years after they built this parish, they built this school. That’s what we’re saying to people today — this is for the future. We’ve just got to think outside the box.”

One of the best aesthetic things about St. Anthony’s is its magnificent stained glass windows. A couple of years ago, the windows needed to be removed to be repaired, a massive and costly undertaking.

“When [former St. Anthony’s pastor] Fr. Carr started a campaign for the windows’ restoration a couple of years ago, he got enough money to pay for the windows, the air conditioning and the roof repair,” Koch said.

Since June, the three priests have had something else in common besides their vocation and the town in which they live.

When Fr. Lucas Simango was transferred by Bishop David Ricken from associate pastor at St. Anthony’s to pastor at Our Lady of Peace in Pinedale last month, June marked the end of assistant priests in Casper.

At Our Lady of Fatima, Fox and his staff minister to approximately 535 families.

At east-side St. Patrick’s, Koeune and his staff help some 850 families with their spiritual needs.

And at St. Anthony’s downtown, Koch and his staff serve about 1,110 families.

Those numbers indicate only the registered parishioners.

“We did a survey asking folks about the talents they have that they might want to share, and just that one thing indicated that we have 100 new families coming here,” said Koch.

Each of the parishes has a permanent deacon, a layman ordained with the Sacrament of Holy Orders whose duties include, but are not limited to, preparing people for marriage and baptism, assisting at Mass, reading the Gospel and preaching; and presiding at marriages, baptisms and funeral liturgies.

Deacon Russ Humphreys at St. Patrick’s and Deacon Don Stewart at St. Anthony’s are full-time. Deacon Ed McCarthy at Our Lady of Fatima is employed full-time by the Diocese of Cheyenne in another capacity and helps when he can in the parish.

“I think we tend to look at deacons differently maybe than older priests do,” Koeune said. “I think we use them today the way the early church saw them as really having a ministry.”