St. Patrick

Parish Identity and Mission

St. Patrick Catholic Church, established in 1871, is home to approximately 2,100–2,200 households in Oak Grove, Minnesota. Its mission statement is simply: "love God, neighbor and self" (cf. Matthew 22). The parish's own self-description says, "St. Patrick's is a community above all, and as such there are three things we do. First, we serve God. Next, we serve each other, and third, we have fun doing it!" The community traces its roots to 40 Irish immigrant families who built the original Church of St. Patrick of Cedar Creek as a mission of St. Stephen in Anoka.

Parish History

From its 1871 founding at Cedar Creek to the present campus on Nightingale Street NW, St. Patrick's has grown in three distinct waves. A country church on County Road 58 served the original 40 Irish families; in 1971 the Collins family donated farmland, and Father John Donahue built a new church and education wing in 1976. After Father Bauer added the cemetery in 1985, explosive growth in the late 1990s (950 families in 1987 to 1,530 in 1997) led Father Michael Kennedy to break ground in 2000 on the addition that became today's sanctuary and Gathering Area, dedicated November 18, 2001. Pastor Father David Blume (2006) commissioned the Perpetual Adoration Chapel; Father Allan Paul Eilen (2015) launched Vision 2020; and Father Timothy Yanta continues the story since July 1, 2023.

• 1871 — Founding of Church of St. Patrick of Cedar Creek, mission of St. Stephen in Anoka
• 1872 — First Cedar Creek festival (origin of CountryFest)
• 1971 — Collins family donates farmland
• 1976 — New church and education wing built under Fr. John Donahue
• 1985 — Cemetery built under Fr. Bauer (additional Collins donation)
• Nov. 18, 2001 — Present sanctuary and Gathering Area dedicated
• 2006 — Perpetual Adoration Chapel commissioned under Fr. David Blume
• 2015 — Vision 2020 long-range plan launched under Fr. Allan Paul Eilen
• 2023 — Fr. Timothy Yanta arrives as current pastor

Staff and Clergy

The parish is led by Pastor Father Timothy Yanta (joined July 1, 2023, previously at St. John the Baptist parishes in Jordan and Dayton) and Deacon Kris Ringwall, who was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Bismarck, ND in 2003 and moved to Minnesota to be near family. A full lay staff supports ministry across worship, formation, evangelization and sacraments.

• Father Timothy Yanta — Pastor
• Deacon Kris Ringwall
• Linda Abel-Thomas — Director of Evangelization & Community Life (on staff since 2005)
• Amee Heigl — Director of Worship (on staff since December 2015)
• Robert Masloski — Formation Director (joined July 2025; previously St. Patrick's Youth Minister 2014–2021)
• Christine Weakly — Formation Coordinator & Safe Environment Coordinator (joined July 2021)
• Melissa Holmberg — Formation Coordinator, K-5 families (joined September 2025)
• Dawn Thoennes — Sacramental Coordinator (joined August 2024)
• Christine Weakly — Hospitality & Cemetery Coordinator duties also referenced
• Deacon George Stahl — Pastoral Care Team ministry leader

Faith Formation for All Ages

Faith Formation at St. Patrick's imitates the model of Jesus Christ, "building a community of Disciples… through relationship, prayer, teaching and exhortation." Programs run from early childhood through adult, including Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Grace Abounds for children and youth not yet fully initiated, Family Formation K-5, Middle School and High School Discipleship Groups, Confirmation prep, and the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) process for adults.

• Elementary / Family Formation (K-5) on Wednesday evenings twice per month
• First Sacraments preparation (First Eucharist and Reconciliation)
• Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Level I)
• Grace Abounds — for children and youth under 18 not yet fully initiated
• Middle & High School Youth Formation and Discipleship Groups
• Confirmation preparation
• OCIA — Fall session (last week of September through May) and Spring session (first week of April through October)
• Extreme Faith Camp and Steubenville Conference
• Adult spiritual opportunities, small groups, men's and women's ministries (under Evangelization & Community Life)

Sacraments and Sacramental Ministries

St. Patrick's prepares and accompanies parishioners through all the sacraments of initiation, healing and service. Sacramental Coordinator Dawn Thoennes (joined August 2024) coordinates baptisms, weddings and funerals and supports the Formation group and Fr. Yanta. A team of lay ministers supports each sacrament through service and witness.

• Baptism Ministry — hosts greet and assist families on Baptism day
• First Sacraments (Eucharist and Reconciliation)
• Confirmation
• Marriage Prep Mentor Couples — couples mentor engaged couples through several months of preparation
• EMHC for Homebound — Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion visit the homebound and hospitalized
• Altar Linen Care
• Pastoral Care Team — about 25 individuals/couples who visit hospitals, nursing homes, recovery centers and the homebound
• Funerals — coordinated with the Sacramental Coordinator

Music, Liturgy and Worship

Liturgical life is shaped by Worship Director Amee Heigl, who joined in December 2015 with a degree in Liturgical Music and minor in Theology from the College of Saint Benedict – St. John's University in Collegeville. Her role includes directing the music ministry, collaborating with the pastor and deacon on liturgy planning, overseeing liturgical ministries, and assisting with weddings, funerals and the prayer team ministry. Sunday 9:00 AM Mass is live-streamed on the parish YouTube channel.

• Music Ministry under the Director of Worship
• Liturgical ministries (greeters, lectors, EMHCs, altar servers)
• Wedding and funeral liturgical support
• Sunday 9:00 AM live-streamed Mass on YouTube (stpatricksmn)

Cemetery

St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery is a five-acre sacred space nestled within the pines of the parish grounds, with capacity for roughly 1,500 graves. Built in 1985 under Father Bauer on additional land donated by Anna and Irving Collins, it provides both traditional and cremation ground burials as well as above-ground internment of cremains in columbaria. A special section next to the meditation garden is dedicated to infant and miscarried-baby burials.

• Ground burials (traditional and cremation)
• Columbaria for cremains
• Special section for infant and miscarried babies
• Spring cleanup: first week of May; Fall cleanup: last week of October
• Contact: Shannon Dohrwardt at [email protected] or (763) 326-2745

Pastoral Care, Outreach and Volunteer Life

St. Patrick's reads Matthew 25:40 ("Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers, that you do onto Me") as a charter for its volunteer corps. Roughly 25 Pastoral Care Team members visit the homebound and hospitalized, and parishioners serve through catechesis, packing meals for the homeless, shoveling snow, decorating the church for Easter, and more.

• Pastoral Care Team — about 25 members visiting hospitals, nursing homes, recovery centers and the homebound
• EMHC for Homebound
• Homebound / Hospitality Ministry (supported by the Sacramental Coordinator)
• Packing meals for the homeless
• Annual CountryFest festival (since 1872) with raffle, country store, volunteering and parish fellowship

Practical Information: Hours, Location and Contact

The parish office is open Monday–Friday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, with reduced summer hours from Memorial Day through Labor Day (Monday–Thursday 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM, Friday 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM). The campus sits at 19921 Nightingale Street NW, Oak Grove, MN 55011; a Google Maps link is provided from the website's contact page. Phone, email, and active social channels keep parishioners connected.

• Address: 19921 Nightingale Street NW, Oak Grove, MN 55011
• Phone: (763) 753-2011
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.st-patricks.org
• Facebook: @stpatrickmn
• Instagram: @stpatrickmn
• YouTube: youtube.com/stpatricksmn (live-streamed 9:00 AM Sunday Mass)