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Meet the Parish Staff

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Pastor Father Tom
Shoemaker was assigned pastor of St. Jude in July
of 2001. A native of Gas City, Indiana, he attended
Wabash College and I.U. School of Dentistry. After
practicing dentistry for two years, he enrolled at St. John's
Seminary in Boston.
Fr. Tom was ordained a priest in 1990. He was
previously assigned to St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend
(1990-1998), and St. Henry and Sacred Heart parishes in Fort
Wayne (1998-2001).
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Associate
Pastor Fr. Robert DSouza
has been assigned to St. Jude Parish and Parkview Hospital since August, 1997. Ordained in
India in 1973, he received his degrees in theology and philosophy from the Papal Athenium
in Pane, India. In India he was involved in pastoral ministry, school and diocesan
administration, and served as the Director of Boys Town in Calcutta. Since coming to the
states at the invitation of Bishop John DArcy, he has been actively involved as a
Catholic chaplain at Parkview Hospital and in assisting the Pastor with various
sacramental duties. He was incardinated in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend on
February 2, 2000. |
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Deacon Fred
Larson graduated from St. Jude Grade School in 1930. Ordained a deacon in
1983, Fred volunteers many hours each week in the ministry to the sick. He visits
nursing homes and city hospitals each week, cares for the home bound, and assists at one
of the Masses on Sundays and major feasts. Freds gentle and faithful care of the
sick touches many people each week. Fred is a unpaid member of the staff. |

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Pastoral Associate
Mary Pohlman has been serving St. Jude since
1978, when she began teaching in the parish grade school. Later, she coordinated the Young
Adult Group. In 1990, she became the full time Pastoral Associate. Mary works with parish
volunteers in our ministry to
the sick and homebound, especially through the Social Action Committee and the St. Vincent de Paul Society. She
helps guide the educational and spiritual life of parishioners though the Adult Education
Committee and yearly Lenten series. Mary
coordinates all our liturgical ministers, works with childrens liturgies for the
school, and meets with families to prepare funeral liturgies. She also gains much
satisfaction in leading our Re-Members,
those Catholics who are returning to the Church. |

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Director of Music
Ministries Kevin
Demetroff has been a member of St. Jude Parish since entering first grade at
St. Jude School in 1956. He studied piano with Sr. Mary Redempta and organ with Louis Peil
and Ed Throm. Since 1985, he has served the parish as Director of Music Ministries. He is
parish organist, responsible for music at parish liturgies and works with the choir, cantors,
and instrumentalists.
He is a resource for the preparation of school Masses. He provides resources for the Liturgy Committee and works to prepare all
public worship in the parish. In addition to preparation and practice time, he helps
approximately 50 couples each year prepare for weddings. He also plays and directs music
for 65 Funeral liturgies in an average year. |
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Director of Religious Education
Mary Barnes has belonged to St. Jude all her
life. After teaching at St. Jude School, she taught 15 years at Bishop Dwenger High
School. Since 1991, she has served as Director of Religious Education. She
coordinates and runs all sacramental preparation programs for parents and students. She is
responsible for the Religious Education of children not in the parish grade school from
preschool through high school. The enrollment of the Religious Education Program has grown
from 149 in 1991 to 265 today. Since she has served in this position, she has worked with
103 young people and their families to bring the children into the church through the Order of Christian
Initiation of Children. She supervises the efforts of over 130 parish volunteers in
these efforts. |
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Director of Development Heather
Cisz is the Development Director. She has
been a member of the Parish since she was confirmed in
1999. She has served as the Development Director since
2004. The Director of
Development is responsible for all marketing
and public relations, all alumni relations, editing of publications (including The Grapevine, the annual directory, the parish web site and the annual report), encouraging volunteer
involvement, grant writing, chairing the Development Committee as well as long range
planning for Saint Judes. Long range planning includes such items as
endowments, annuities, estate gift program, etc. Works with both parish and school
staff to develop a plan to spread the message of Saint Judes and ensure its
continuance for generations to come.
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Director of Spiritual
Development Joyce Racine first
joined St. Jude Church in 1973. Through the years she has shared her time, talent and
treasure as a volunteer for many parish ministries. She first served the Order of
Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) as a sponsor in 1987 and was a member of the first
Shared Faith Communities Core Team. Joyce joined the parish staff as Director of
Spiritual Development directing the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and Shared
Faith Communities in August 2000. She is continuing her education in theological studies
from the University of Dayton. |
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Youth Ministry
John Zollinger has been a parishioner of St.
Jude's for over nineteen years. After volunteering in the Youth Ministry program for the last six years,
John became the full time youth minister on July 16, 2001. As coordinator of youth
ministry he is responsible for the junior high (6th to 8th grade), senior high ( grades 9
to 12), and the young adult group. John will work with these three groups as they develop
their spiritual life through weekly meetings, social events, retreats and service work. |

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Parish Secretary Barb Stemen has been a member of St. Jude Parish
since 1980 and has served as secretary since 1988. Barb is the "voice" of St.
Jude; the first person people usually speak to when they call the parish. Besides
assisting staff members with secretarial services, she schedules Mass Intentions, does
wedding programs, helps keep sacramental records, and is the initial contact concerning
the Adopt-A-Student and other Memorials. Barb's charisma of making people feel
welcome sets a tone for those who come to the office for the first time. |
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Business Manager
John Offerle has been a member of St. Jude Parish his
whole life and is an alumnus of
St.
Jude Catholic School. He
has been involved with a number of parish ministries
throughout his years here, especially in youth ministry.
In fact, he was the Youth Ministry Coordinator for 10
years from 1991-2001. He
left that position and was a Pastoral Care Associate at
St.
Anne
Home
for almost 5 years before returning to work at St. Jude in
July of 2006 as the Business Manager.
He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the
business side of the Parish and School, including budgeting,
accounting, and facilities management.
He chairs the Finance Committee and the Building and
Grounds Committee. |
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Administrative
Assistant-Accounting Jan
Dustman has been a member of St. Jude since 1980. She prepares the
collections for deposit and assists in paying the parish bills. She also works part time
maintaining tuition records and payroll/personnel records, as well as various
miscellaneous tasks involving the business office. |
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Administrative
Assistant-Records Mary
Harness, a parishioner since 1979, began maintaining the records in the
parish on a full time basis in the summer of 2000. Prior to that, she had been working on
them since 1989 on a part time basis, along with being a part time secretary at St. Jude
School. Her job entails monitoring the constantly changing membership lists keeping
computer records up to date. Mary also posts all weekly contributions and handles
the reporting to parishioners, as well as taking care of the weekly bulletin and being
responsible for calendar events. Also, she coordinates the distribution of holiday food
baskets and the Giving Tree at Christmas. |
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School Principal
Sister Kathleen Marie Knueven, SND,
is a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame from Toledo, Ohio. Professed in 1967, she has
served as teacher and principal in the Toledo, Ohio and Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana
Dioceses. Sister has served St. Jude as Principal since 1998. She is responsible for
overseeing the Parish Grade School, with an
enrollment of 655 students, Pre K Grade 8. She supervises a staff of 40 teachers
and 9 support staff; in addition to working with the Parish Council, School Board, and various
educational committees. |
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