About St. Mary Chapel - Our Lady of the Lakes Congregation · Random Lake, Wisconsin
St. Mary Chapel in Random Lake, Wisconsin is the principal worship site of Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Congregation, part of the Divine Savior / Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Cluster in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The Catholic community here traces back to 1854-1855, when German and Irish farming families settled in the lakes region of Sheboygan County and organized the original St. Mary's congregation. Today the chapel hosts a Sunday morning Mass and a Wednesday morning Mass for the families, farmers, and retirees of Random Lake, Adell, Dacada and the surrounding countryside, and shares parish leadership, faith formation, youth ministry and outreach with partner parishes in Fredonia and Belgium through the cluster model.
- Established
- 1854
- Patron
- St. Mary (Blessed Virgin Mary)
- Rector
- Rev. Todd Budde
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Why belong here
Our Lady of the Lakes at St. Mary Chapel offers a small, family-sized Catholic community in the heart of the Kettle Moraine lakes region, with reverent Sunday and weekday Masses, mid-week Confession after the Wednesday morning Mass, and Thursday evening Eucharistic Adoration from 5 to 7 PM. The parish is anchored by a 1895-vintage cream-brick chapel and a 2015 prayer garden, and shares lively cluster-wide ministries with Holy Rosary in Fredonia and Divine Savior in Belgium — including a youth faith formation program for grades K5-12, Vacation Bible School, a mission trip, That Man Is You men's program, Society of St. Vincent de Paul outreach, and a Quilting & Crafting for Charity group. Visitors are warmly welcomed, RCIA inquiries go directly to the Parish Director, and new-member registration is as simple as mailing or dropping off a form.
Mass times at St. Mary Chapel - Our Lady of the Lakes Congregation
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday after the 8:00 am Mass (approximately 8:30 am)
- Reconciliation is also offered at the cluster's other chapels on different days — Saturdays 3:45-4:15 pm (Holy Cross Chapel) and Mondays 5:00-5:25 pm (St. Rose Chapel, Fredonia)
Adoration times
- Thursday 5:00-7:00 pm (Adoration at St. Mary Chapel)
Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Cluster
Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Congregation at Random Lake is one half of a two-parish Catholic Cluster known as Divine Savior and Our Lady of the Lakes, joined under the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. The cluster's mission statement reads: 'Divine Savior and Our Lady of the Lakes, under the intercession of Mary Mother of the Church, is a Christ-centered family. Nourished by the sacraments, we aspire to grow in our discipleship, build God's Kingdom and be Christ's presence to all we encounter.' Together the cluster worshipes at multiple chapels in Random Lake, Adell, Dacada, Fredonia and Belgium and shares staff, faith formation, and outreach.
- St. Mary Chapel — 300 Butler Street, Random Lake (weekly Sunday Mass)
- St. Nicholas Chapel — W4274 County Highway K, Random Lake (Dacada)
- St. Patrick Chapel — County Road A, Waldo (Adell)
- Holy Cross Chapel — Fredonia
- St. Rose Chapel — Fredonia
History of St. Mary's, Random Lake
The Catholic roots of this community go back to about 1854, when farming families in and around Random Lake organized St. Mary's congregation. For its first generation the parish was a mission visited from Cascade and then from St. Nicholas in Dacada. Growth led to the construction of a stone church on the original cemetery-site in 1873 and the appointment of Rev. Charles Fessler as the first resident pastor. After a devastating fire destroyed the original church on March 24, 1895, the congregation rebuilt the current chapel at a village site donated by Mrs. Butler of the Butler estate; Archbishop Katzer dedicated the new building on January 24, 1896.
- First church site: rural, donated by David Leahy and wife, near present St. Mary's Cemetery (1854).
- Second church: 34 x 60 ft stone, completed November 1873, first Mass celebrated by Father Hamm.
- First resident pastor: Rev. Charles Fessler, with St. Patrick's Adell as mission.
- 1895 fire on March 24 destroyed the stone church.
- Present chapel dedicated January 24, 1896 by Archbishop Katzer.
- Sanctuary and sacristy added on the east end in 1924-1925.
From Independent Parish to Cluster (1980-2005)
The demographic downturn in priestly vocations reshaped Random Lake's parish life. In 1980 Archbishop Rembert Weakland, O.S.B. named Fr. Joseph Schwinn pastor of both St. Mary's Random Lake and St. Nicholas Dacada. On July 1, 1998, St. Mary's Random Lake, St. Nicholas Dacada, St. Patrick Adell, and St. Mary's Cascade merged into one parish under the name Our Lady of the Lakes. After Rev. Richard J. Cerpich — St. Mary's last resident pastor — retired in June 2005, the Cascade chapel closed and its buildings were sold. Beginning July 2005 the parish began sharing co-pastors with Holy Rosary in Fredonia and St. Mary's in Lake Church.
- 1980 — Fr. Joseph Schwinn becomes pastor of both St. Mary's Random Lake and St. Nicholas Dacada.
- July 1, 1998 — Four parishes merge into Our Lady of the Lakes.
- June 2005 — St. Mary's Chapel, Cascade, closes.
- July 2005 — First cluster co-pastors: Rev. James P. Vojtik and Rev. Richard Fleischman.
Cluster Faith Formation
Faith formation for children, teens, and adults is run cluster-wide and housed under Director of Youth Faith Formation Terri Riesselmann, who has served the cluster since July 2012 and brings over 30 years of experience in youth ministry and catechetical leadership. The program is designed not only to teach the basics of the Catholic faith but to build a lifelong relationship with Christ and to send every baptized person forth on the mission of Christ.
- Child Faith Formation — Kindergarten through 6th grade
- Teen Faith Formation — 7th through 12th grade
- Cluster Adult Faith Formation
- Cluster Young Adult Faith Formation
- Cluster Vacation Bible School
- Cluster Mission Trip
Cluster Ministries and Outreach
The cluster's community life is sustained by a roster of ministries that crosses parish lines, with both men's and women's fellowships, charity outreach, hands-on service, and behind-the-scenes liturgical support. The Prayer and Worship Committee, in particular, recruits and trains people for the many roles that make Mass possible — from ushers and lectors to Eucharistic ministers and altar servers (youth and adult), sacristans and decorators.
- That Man Is You — men's faith and fellowship program
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul — parish-based outreach to those in need
- Quilting & Crafting for Charity
- Prayer & Worship Committee — music ministry, ushers, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers, sacristans, decorators, sanitizers
- Contact for liturgical ministries: Bob Bichler
Parish Staff and Leadership
Parish leadership is shared between the Pastor and a Parish Director, supported by administrative staff, a youth faith formation director, and a Catholic school principal. Deb Hamm, a Marquette University and St. Francis Seminary graduate with deep family roots in the Fredonia area, was named Parish Director on June 21, 2022 after 17 years as the cluster's Pastoral Associate.
- Rev. Todd Budde — Pastor (since July 2012)
- Deb Hamm — Parish Director (appointed June 21, 2022)
- Terri Riesselmann — Cluster Director of Youth Faith Formation
- Terri Schueller — Our Lady of the Lakes Administrative Assistant
- Lynn Sauer — Divine Savior Catholic School Principal
Becoming Catholic (RCIA) and Joining the Parish
Anyone interested in becoming Catholic, or in completing the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), is invited to contact Parish Director Deb Hamm at 920-994-4380. New-member registration is straightforward: print the form from the 'I'm New' page, fill it out, and mail, email or drop it off at the parish office. The form notes a 2025 Tax Year suggested church-support level of $33 per week for married couples (about $1,700 per year) and $16.50 per week (about $850 per year) for singles or mixed-religion marriages — though the parish explicitly asks those on fixed incomes or in financial difficulty to give only what they can.
- RCIA inquiries: Deb Hamm, Parish Director, 920-994-4380
- Our Lady of the Lakes New Member Registration form (online)
- Mailing address: 230 Butler St., Random Lake, WI 53075
- Cluster registration email: [email protected]
Buildings, Grounds, and Historic Architecture
The cream-brick chapel at 300 Butler Street is on the Wisconsin Historical Society's Architecture and History Inventory as a 1895 Romanesque Revival (with Gothic Vernacular influence) house of worship (Inventory #HI59384). It was described at its 1896 dedication as a 'tasteful combination of Roman Gothic styles,' 88 feet long, 38 feet wide, and 22 feet high, and one of the 'most tasty and substantial structures in the diocese.' In 2015 the parish added a prayer garden and completed renovations in the former school building that turned two classrooms into a Community Room, and upgraded the bathrooms.
- 1895 cream-brick chapel, Romanesque Revival / Roman Gothic styling
- East-end sanctuary and sacristy added 1924-1925
- 2015 prayer garden
- 2015 conversion of former school to Community Room and bathrooms
Visiting and Contact
Visitors are warmly welcomed at St. Mary Chapel. The mailing address is 230 Butler Street, Random Lake, WI 53075, and the building is at 300 Butler Street. The parish office can be reached at (920) 994-4380 or by email at [email protected].
- Phone: (920) 994-4380
- Email: [email protected]
- Mailing: 230 Butler St., Random Lake, WI 53075
- Worship site: 300 Butler St., Random Lake, WI 53075
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Father La Focher
Listed in the parish history as an early visiting priest from Cascade, with subsequent visiting priests Gernbauer, De Becke, Stocki, Bradley, Tierney, Bradley, Fusseder, McGowan, Pettit, Seif, McMahan, Schwaiger and Hamm.
- Rev. Father Charles Fessler
First resident pastor of St. Mary's, Random Lake, after the 1873 stone church; St. Patrick's Adell served as his mission.
- Rev. Father Haberstock
Succeeded Fessler; followed in succession by Welbes, Lochemes, Muenzer, Froehlich, and A. V. Mueller.
- Rev. A. V. Mueller
Present pastor at the time of the 1895 fire and the building of the current church; present at the January 24, 1896 dedication by Archbishop Katzer.
- Rev. Joseph F. Schwinn1960 – June 1988
Long-tenured resident pastor. In 1980 was asked by Archbishop Weakland to also become pastor of St. Nicholas, Dacada as priest numbers declined.
- Rev. Joseph A. AufdermauerJuly 1988 – April 1989
Resident pastor/administrator.
- Rev. Paul D. JanetteMay 1989 – June 1992
Resident pastor.
- Rev. Richard J. CerpichJune 1992 – June 2005
St. Mary's last resident pastor before the parish merged into Our Lady of the Lakes on July 1, 1998 and the resident-pastor model ended.
- Rev. James P. Vojtik and Rev. Richard FleischmanJuly 2005 – June 2007
First cluster co-pastors under the shared model with Holy Rosary-Fredonia and St. Mary's-Lake Church.
- Rev. Richard Fleischman and Rev. Guy GurathJuly 2007 – June 2010
Co-pastors of the cluster.
- Rev. Richard FleischmanJuly 2010 – June 2011, and again July 2011 – June 2012 (with Fr. Budde)
Sole pastor 2010-2011, then co-pastor with Fr. Todd Budde in 2011-2012.
- Rev. Todd BuddeJuly 2012 – present
Administrator from July 2012, named pastor in 2013; continues to shepherd the cluster today.