What is Partners in the Gospel?
Partners in Gospel is the next stage of the strategic pastoral planning effort taking place across the Archdiocese of Seattle to reinvigorate and renew our local Catholic Church. The Holy Rosary and St. Thomas More Parish Family is led by pastor Fr. Matthew O’Leary. Together, over the next few years, our parish family will work to form one new canonical parish, while creatively re-envisioning how we will serve our community.
Continue scrolling for all the parish news and links to archdiocesan communications from Archbishop Paul D. Etienne.
Latest News:
Parish Family 11 - Partners in the Gospel Frequently Asked Questions - August 14, 2026
We know this transition brings important questions, and these FAQs provide honest, clear answers to the questions we are hearing from our parish community. Printed copies available in the church or parish office.
1. Will we close a parish?
No. There are no plans, nor have there been any discussions, about closing any of the campuses in Parish Family #11.
Our focus has been on streamlining administrative processes and strengthening collaboration so that clergy, staff, and parish leaders can dedicate more time and energy to our mission of worship, evangelization, formation, and service.
2. What about our schools?
Our schools will continue to collaborate while maintaining their unique identities, traditions, and educational strengths. We are already sharing resources and utilizing common systems for areas such as billing and database management. Our combined school staff will share a retreat together this November. These efforts help reduce administrative duplication, improve efficiency, and allow school leaders and staff to focus more fully on serving students and families.
Each school will continue to build on its own distinctive mission and areas of excellence while benefiting from increased cooperation between the two campuses.
3. How will we maintain two campuses?
Maintaining both campuses successfully requires embracing our identity as one parish with two campuses—united in our shared mission while honoring the unique gifts, history, and character of each location. Our goal is not to make the campuses identical, but to ensure that both are safe, welcoming, well-maintained, and able to support the mission of the Church.
We will develop a coordinated facility planning and maintenance system that allows us to identify needs, prioritize projects, plan for preventative maintenance, and allocate resources responsibly across both campuses. This will provide greater consistency and transparency in how facility needs are assessed and addressed, while recognizing that each campus may have different priorities.
By sharing a common vision, coordinating resources, and planning together, we can be good stewards of the facilities entrusted to us. At the same time, we will preserve the distinctive character of each campus. In this way, our facilities will not simply be places we maintain, but spaces that welcome people, foster community, celebrate our faith, and support the work of the Gospel.
4. Why didn't we receive an assistant pastor in July when Fr. Okumu left?
When Fr. Okumu announced his decision to retire and move to “senior status”, Fr. Matthew, as pastor, requested that Archbishop Etienne assign an experienced priest to serve with our parish family.
At the same time, Fr. John Madigan, an experienced priest in “senior status”, expressed a desire to return to regular parish life and ministry. He wanted to continue living out his call to serve God’s people. Fr. Matthew invited him to consider serving with our parish family, and Fr. Madigan welcomed the opportunity. Archbishop Etienne supported the arrangement.
Because Fr. Madigan is a senior priest, the Chancery could not give him a formal parish assignment. Instead, he serves our parish family as Priest in Residence under a written agreement with the parish.
In this role, Fr. Madigan is able to support the priestly needs of our community through celebrating Mass and the sacraments, providing pastoral care, and participating in the life of the parish. We are blessed to benefit from his extensive pastoral experience and ministry while allowing him to focus primarily on serving our people rather than carrying the administrative responsibilities of a parish assignment.
While this arrangement varies slightly from having a formally assigned parochial vicar, it provides our parish family with an experienced priest who is available to serve our pastoral and sacramental needs and who can fully be part of our community.
5. What about our staff – will there be a layoff?
No. Partners will not result in layoffs. Rather, as we become one parish, we are actively evaluating and realigning staff roles and responsibilities to better support our shared mission, priorities, and ministry needs. Our goal is to make the best use of the gifts and talents of our staff while ensuring that our organizational structure supports the mission of the new parish. This process has already begun, and the staff is involved in the process.
6. Will we change our name?
Yes. As of July 1, 2027, our new parish will have a new canonical identity and will therefore receive a new parish name. The new name is not only an important expression of our shared mission and identity but is also connected to various canonical, legal, and administrative requirements associated with establishing a new parish.
The individual campuses will retain their current names. For example, our signs could read:
New Parish Name – St. Thomas More Campus AND New Parish Name – Holy Rosary Campus
We will be collecting suggestions for the new parish name during October and November. Everyone in our parish family is invited to participate.
During Advent, the entire community is invited to a retreat and discernment opportunity. Thursday, December 3rd 9:30-11:30am in the Pastoral Center at Holy Rosary or 6:30-8:30pm at St. Thomas More Parish in Dalton Hall. Together, we will reflect on the significance of our current names, consider the most frequently suggested new names, and provide input on which names best reflect our mission and future as one parish as expressed in our vision statement and initiatives.
As part of the required submission of our five-year ‘One Parish Plan’, we will include five proposed names for our new parish. Both the plan and the proposed names will emerge from the vision statement and initiatives that we are currently developing together as a parish community. The final parish name will ultimately be selected by the Archbishop from among our submitted names.
Key Takeaway
The goal of Partners in the Gospel and these changes in our community is not to eliminate campuses, schools, or distinct identities, but rather to strengthen our ability to carry out our shared mission. By working more closely together and streamlining administrative responsibilities, we can devote more time, resources, and energy to ministry, faith formation, worship, and serving our communities.
AN UPDATE ON PARTNERS IN THE GOSPEL FOR PARISH FAMILY 11 - July 2026
WHERE WE HAVE BEEN
On July 1, 2024, Holy Rosary Parish in Edmonds and St. Thomas More Parish in Lynnwood came together as Parish Family 11 through the Archdiocese of Seattle's Partners in the Gospel strategic planning effort. As part of this process, a Parish Family Advisory Council (PFAC) was formed from members of each parish's pastoral council, along with a Parish Leadership Team (PLT) to assist the pastor in developing our One Parish Plan. This plan will guide the transition of our two parishes into one canonical parish by July 1, 2027.
Over the past two years, we have focused on getting to know one another and listening to our parish communities. Through surveys, staff meetings, listening sessions at both campuses, and online opportunities, parishioners shared their experiences, hopes, concerns, and ideas for the future. We explored the unique strengths of each community and identified opportunities for growth as we move forward together. Summaries of this feedback are available on the Partners in the Gospel page of our parish websites.
At the same time, we've already begun laying the foundation for becoming one parish. Several staff members now serve both campuses, our ministries are combined or planned collaboratively, our parish websites share the same platform, and we publish a combined bulletin. These are important first steps in living as one parish family while continuing to celebrate the unique character of each campus.
Throughout 2026, our focus has been on discerning “Who Is God Calling Us To Become?” Guided by prayer and the feedback we have received, the PFAC and PLT have developed a shared vision for our future and drafted a series of initiatives that will help bring that vision to life.
WHERE WE ARE
Below you'll find our proposed vision statement and the draft initiatives that will guide our One Parish Plan. We invite you to take time to read through them and prayerfully consider how we, as one parish family worshipping, growing in faith, and serving across two campuses, can bring this vision to life through new ministries, programs, and opportunities.
Between now and October, we will continue gathering feedback from parishioners while developing detailed action plans for each initiative. These plans will include goals, staffing needs, budget considerations, timelines, and measures of success. As the work progresses, we will continue sharing updates and draft materials so that everyone can follow along and participate in shaping our future together.
WHERE WE ARE GOING
Late this fall, we'll enter the final phase of the One Parish Plan: “What Should We Be Called?” discerning the name of our new canonical parish.
After the initiatives are finalized in November, we will begin inviting parishioners to suggest possible names for our new parish. Then, at our Advent Retreat on Thursday, December 3, we will spend time reflecting on the lives of our current patrons as well as the saints and titles represented in the proposed names. Together, through prayer, conversation, and discernment, we will seek a name that reflects who God is calling us to become as one parish community.
It is important to remember that while our new canonical parish will receive a new name, both campuses will retain their longstanding identities. The Edmonds campus will continue to be known as Holy Rosary Campus, and the Lynnwood campus will remain St. Thomas More Campus. Likewise, both schools will continue to bear their current names.
Vision Statement for Parish Family 11(Finalized June 2026)
We are a Catholic community inviting all people to encounter Jesus Christ,
be transformed by the Gospel and become lifelong disciples.
Initiatives – Draft 3 (July 14, 2026)
Initiative 1: Develop and integrate communication systems and leverage technology to deliver timely, consistent, and accessible information that helps parishioners stay informed, connected, and involved in the mission of the parish.
Initiative 2: Create a welcoming Family of God by ensuring every person encounters Christ's love through accessible facilities, intentional hospitality, meaningful connections, rooted in a supportive Sunday experience—from the parking lot to the pew.
Initiative 3: Strengthen and expand our outreach and pastoral care by building coordinated ministries that intentionally accompanies people in need, reaches those on the margins, and extends Christ's love and presence throughout the wider community.
Initiative 4: Form an overarching parish culture of intentional discipleship and stewardship where every parishioner understands their call to follow Christ, grow in faith, and generously share their gifts in service to God's mission.
Initiative 5: Develop and implement a youth ministry that leads young people to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, equips them to share their faith with their peers, and accompanies them along the path of discipleship from childhood into young adulthood, forming courageous witnesses for Christ and his Church.
Initiative 6: Build a thriving regional young adult ministry that fosters belonging, deepens faith, develops authentic community, and accompanies young adults as they discern their unique vocation, respond generously, and become missionary disciples as leaders in the Church and the world.
Initiative 7: Strengthen marriages and families by accompanying them through the joys and challenges of life, providing formation, support, community, and resources that foster spiritual growth and deeper engagement in the sacramental life of the Church.
Initiative 8: Develop a comprehensive formation ministry that fosters lifelong discipleship by accompanying adults in their spiritual, human, intellectual, and pastoral growth, providing deeper encounters with Christ through small groups, faith formation, retreats, mentoring, leadership development and service.
Initiative 9: Develop a sustainable pastoral ministry model by discerning the evolving needs of the parish community and adapting as necessary the liturgical and sacramental schedules and ministry practices in a way that supports the health, well-being and effectiveness of our clergy and pastoral staff as they serve God’s people.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! You can still provide feedback, input and suggestions, by emailing paa@hre-stmp.org, by calling the parish office.
Parish Family 11 Demographic Synopsis - Compiled in December 2025.
Review the details here. Contact Marti Lundberg or Angela Antonson
with questions.
Parish Family Listening Session #2
Who is God Calling Us to Become?
If you missed the opportunity to attend one of our Listening Sessions in person,
you can still provide your input through this online form.
Please submit your thoughts and ideas by June 8th at 9am.
Feedback Link has been closed.
Complete Synthesis January 2026
Listening Session
Complete Summary
Results of our ‘What Are Our Gifts?” survey from Fall, 2025
General Information:
