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Stories of St. Matthias

6/28/2015

Fr. Dave Cooper Says Farewell
Written by Larry Hanson, Communications Committee Member

When Fr. Dave Cooper retired from the priesthood and his 15-year tenure as priest at St. Matthias Parish on June 21, it was with a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for being part of this community.Fr. Dave

“I feel privileged for the time that I had and the experiences I have had,” he said. “The people of St. Matthias have shaped me more than I have shaped the people of St. Matthias. It works both ways.”

His time as lead pastor was actually his second stint at St. Matthias. He served as associate pastor from 1981-90.

“I was sad that I was leaving,” Fr. Dave said. “I wish I didn’t have to leave. I really like it. The church was beautiful. Liturgy was a wonderful, and I thought, ‘I will never have it in my life again as good as I had it at St. Matthias.’”

He followed that with 10 years at Holy Assumption that he describes as a wonderful experience as the only priest on staff. However, as it was getting to be time to move on, he was looking for a parish like the one he had left at St. Matthias.

It turns out he got better than a parish like St. Matthias. He actually got to go back to St. Matthias itself.

“Everyone sort of gasped when they announced our new pastor was going to be Fr. Dave Cooper,” he said. “Then they started applauding. The 15 years I was here, in terms of working with people, were absolutely delightful. I would say I had wonderful cooperation. People were working together.”06_Vigil_0022

Among the top accomplishments he was proud of was the people he hired to be part of the staff, including School Principal Susan Booth, Pastoral Associate Jeff Van Dalen and Director of Administrative Services Mike Angeli.

He said Booth has grown into her role and is exactly what the school needs. He described Van Dalen as his right hand and the wisest thing he could have. He credits Angeli with helping to eliminate the parish’s deficit and praised his skills as a “people person.”

In addition to the recent hiring of Nate Friday as Director of Lifelong Faith Formation, Fr. Dave described the personnel moves as, “All of these things have proved to be worth their weight in gold. They all fit the bill. They were flexible and they could adjust to changing situations.”

As far as unfinished business, Fr. Dave said he doesn’t think much about that as he sails off into his golden years.

16_Vigil_0043“It’s not the unfinished business that causes me the sadness,” he said. “Obviously, there are some things I would have liked to have done. It’s like planting seeds. You plant some seeds and not all of them come up. Of the ones that come up, not all of them grow. Of the ones that grow, not all of them bloom. I’m very proud of what’s bloomed. As for the others, that’s in God’s hands.”

He said he doesn’t have any set plans for his retirement, but plans to take it on a day-by-day basis.

One other thing he feels a sense of pride in as he leaves is, “We do liturgy well. The feedback you get from people is, ‘Wow, this church rocks. I love the Mass. I love the singing. I love the music.’ We just hear that over and over and over.”

Which is, of course, the bottom line for a parish.

“That is the quintessential St. Matthias philosophy: If we get the liturgy right, we’re on the right path,” Fr. Dave said.