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Community Corner

Holy Rosary Eyes New Parish Center in March 2012

Rev. Haydock has made the renovation of the Edmonds institution's church and school the centerpiece of his time as pastor.

When Edmonds’ unveils its completed administration and meeting place building early next year, no one will be happier than the Rev. Kenneth Haydock.

Construction and funding of the $7.6 million parish center has been front and center for most of Haydock's 15 years as Holy Rosary's pastor. The church serves more than 1,500 families and has 5,000 members.

The bulk of the funds for the project, which is being constructed by Seattle-based Abbott Construction, came from the Archdiocese of Seattle, which oversees Holy Rosary and more than 140 other parishes west of the Cascade Mountains.

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The building is a major accomplishment for Haydock, although there was one drawback that affected him personally. Haydock says the archdiocese would only make a loan to Holy Rosary if he stayed on as pastor for six more years to ensure continuity. That means Haydock, who turns 65 in July and was considering retirement, will continue his duties until age 71.

Groundbreaking began May 1, shortly after workers tore down the old building and administrative duties were moved to temporary quarters.

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The Most Rev. J. Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, will attend the grand opening ceremony planned for March. Haydock hopes construction crews keep to the planned timeline.

“I have a bet going with the construction superintendent,” said Haydock. “It it comes in on time, I will take all the workers to dinner.”

The old parish center was not structurally sufficient and had used asbestos in its construction.

“Every building had problems when I got here,” said Haydock.

In addition, more space was needed for administration, parish functions, ministries and music programs, as well as to serve community groups and nonprofits. The new, 21,000 square-foot center will also house the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank.

The new parish center is only one piece of the Holy Rosary renovation plan, which was conceived in 1997. In 2000, the Holy Rosary Church (the third on the site; the first was in 1905) was rededicated following a $2.7 million restoration and remodeling of the 1981 building. It was a necessary move. A 16-foot crack scarred an exterior wall, which was propped up with a telephone pole. In addition, the church was slowly sliding downhill. 

A year earlier, in 1999, the was retrofitted with $4.6 million in improvements to comply with earthquake requirements. That upgrade came just in time.

“If we hadn’t done it before the Nisqually earthquake (in February 2001), it would have fallen down,” said Haydock.

All of the improvements at the 17-acre site means that updating of the church rectory, where Haydock lives, is being put off.

“It’s going to cost $350,000 just to replace all the windows with double-pane glass,” he said of the 1946 property.

Although Haydock’s dedication to the construction projects have delayed his retirement, his parishioners are no doubt glad they have him to tend to their spiritual growth. Haydock is a familiar presence in Edmonds and Puget Sound. He grew up on Capitol Hill in a community once called “Catholic Hill” due to its many Roman Catholic families, and graduated from Seattle Prep, where he returned to teach for a few years.

After earning a master’s degree in theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Haydock’s first assignment after being ordained came at Sacred Heart Parish in Bellevue. Further assignments saw him in Everett and Vancouver, WA, before being appointed pastor of Holy Rosary by Archbishop Thomas Murphy in 1996.

Today, Haydock can look back and see all he has accomplished for Holy Rosary. The new parish center is just his latest achievement. “It’s flexible and will allow us maximum use,” he said.

The center will be another subject for parishioners to talk about with him out in public, away from the church. He gets that a lot. Most of the time.

“Sometimes, if someone sees me at QFC,” he said, “they might hide if they didn’t attend services that week.”

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