St. Philip Roman 

Catholic Church

Dear friends of St. Philip,

Arriving in the midst of a pandemic and the curtailed activity that have come with it is becoming something of a specialty of mine. After serving five years as pastor of St. Mary’s in Kalamazoo, which is my adopted home parish in Michigan, I was asked to serve as pastor of St. Ann, Augusta right after Easter. My seven months there were certainly shorter than I expected, but fruitful and rewarding. Now, with mask in place, I have been called again to a new flock.

But I get ahead of myself. I should tell you who I am and why I am now writing the pastor’s note for St. Philip’s bulletin. I was born and raised in the Southern Illinois town of Belleville, in the East suburbs of St. Louis. Missouri, just across the Mississippi. To teach my parents patience, God gave them thirteen children, of which I am the eleventh. I like to tell people I am a typical eleventh child! In college I wandered among various majors (political science, history, math, engineering, education) before stepping away from school. At 26, I applied to the seminary and eventually obtained my Philosophy degree from Loyola University in Chicago. After graduation, I moved to Michigan and Bishop Murray sent me to the North American College in Rome to complete my studies. Fr. John Fleckenstein came home from Rome the Summer I went to Rome.

I was ordained a priest in Kalamazoo on May 13, 2006.   In the intervening years, I have served at St. Augustine Cathedral, St. Thomas More Student Parish, Hackett High School, and St. Monica. For a few years, I was given permission to serve out-side the diocese and served as pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus, Grand Rapids, and administrator of a parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, closer to family. In 2015, I returned to Kalamazoo to serve as pastor of St. Mary’s in Kalamazoo. There I was particularly pleased to help develop the liturgical and devotional life of the parish in both the newer and more ancient forms of the Mass. We also transformed the music program into one of the best in the diocese.

I enjoy traveling when possible, as well as woodworking and general puttering. Ask me sometime about the boat I’m building! I’m currently shopping for a space to set up my woodshop.

As pastor of St. Philip, I am excited to be coming to a community of proud heritage and vibrant outreach to the greater community. The work that has been accomplished in bringing forward our Catholic schools and transforming our parish campus shows vision and hope for the future. There is always plenty more to be done, but I am happy to say the momentum in this parish gives cause for excitement about the work we face together. I look forward to getting to know each of you in the coming years, and working as your shepherd to lead lives of faithful discipleship, following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rev. James Richardson

Fr. Dave's Homily Series