Chapter 4 :: 1984-1986

Father Michael Tierney became the fourth pastor at Saint Charles Borromeo on July 1, 1984. At the time the parish had grown to 1650 families. Father Tierney loved working with people and his goal when he arrived was to meet each parish family in their home.

Though his tenure at Saint Charles was brief, there were multiple accomplishments. Construction began on the new multi-purpose building, later known as The Commons, with a cost of $812,000. The building would include a gymnasium, kitchen, and space for parish groups to meet. The construction included modifications to the school. In March 1985, a new organ was installed. Built by Fred Cool of Temple Organ Company, the 12-rank organ was dedicated on April 14, 1985, with a recital by Sister Claudette Schiratti, RSM. The cost of the organ was $40,000. Smaller changes included placement of tables and bulletin boards in the church vestibule to keep parishioners informed of ministry activities. In the school, the first computer program was established.

Other accomplishments through this period included the development of formal annulment process under the leadership of Deacon Jerry Williams and his wife, Jackie. The parish celebrated the 30th anniversary of the scout troop at Saint Charles. In April of 1984, five parishioners completed the deaconate program and were ordained permanent deacons: Ron Elliott, John Ernst, John Koch, Frank Peak and Jerry Williams.

Unfortunately, throughout Father Tierney’s tenure, the parish experienced conflict and division. Issues that had begun to emerge during previous pastorates escalated to a level that made it hard to move forward with unity of purpose. Father Tierney created a task force to reorganize the existing councils to better deal with the issues at hand. At the task force’s organizational meeting in September 1985, Father Tierney proposed a set of guidelines for parishioner input to the various parish councils that would allow council members to receive parish input in advance of a meeting so they could consider the input during their discussion and decision process. The issues the pastor and the councils were faced with were many and covered the breadth of parish and school life. Some of these issues included the number of students to accept in the school, parish and school staff responsibilities and accountability, how funds could be raised and distributed, and how worship liturgies were to be conducted in the post Vatican II era. Controversies that had begun with the decisions to build a gym for the school and install a pipe organ in the church continued as these projects came to fruition under Father Tierney. Concerns arose over variations in liturgical celebrations and who is authorized to approve variations. Even environmental decisions such as when and where papal and U.S. flags could be displayed caused division. Underlying the division was the impression that the parishioners’ concerns were not being heard and considered.

In September 1985, Deacon Ron Elliott was hired as principal for the 1985-86 school year. He resigned shortly thereafter due to controversies at the school. Joel Carr was hired as acting principal and became the first non-religious principal at Saint Charles School.

By January 1986, Father Tierney felt his gifts and talents were not meeting the needs of the parish. In an open letter to the parish, he noted that there was much to value at Saint Charles with so many good things happening in parish ministries, but he was pained by the conflict and division. He hoped his resignation would be “the first step to assist the parish regain its perspective”. He requested a transfer, which Bishop Sullivan granted him in April 1986.