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Archdiocese Appoints Interim Parish Life Administrator

Shortly after he was introduced to the parish, I had the opportunity to visit with our newly appointed Interim Parish Life Administrator, Art Bowman.

Art grew up in the San Jose, California area. He has lived all over the country, but has called Minnesota home for the past 20 years. Art and his wife Barbara live in St. Paul, near the University of St. Thomas, and belong to Nativity Parish. They have 3 sons and 6 grandchildren. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and a Master’s Degree in Education and Divinity.

Prior to coming to St. Joan of Arc, Art was the Parish Life Administrator for 3 parishes in Miesville, New Trier, and Hampton, MN. For the last year there he was also the Hampton Parochial School Principal. Art spent 30 years of his life as a Lutheran pastor, before joining the Catholic Church about 5 years ago.

When asked about his position at St. Joan of Arc, Art assures us that he is not here to change the parish. His responsibilities are to oversee the church administration, be a liaison between the archdiocese and SJA, and encourage the staff to keep faithful to the ministries already in existence. As a liaison, he hopes to demonstrate to us that the archdiocese is our friend and that the archdiocese wants us to thrive and continue in our ministries.

As many of us know, starting a new job has its ups and downs. Art is looking forward to his time here at SJA. He is especially looking forward experiencing the worship life of parishioners, discovering what it means to be a peace church, and getting to know us. One challenge he foresees is remaining non-judgmental when he hears negative comments about SJA from people unfamiliar with our parish. He will strive to affirm the current ministries at SJA and listen to the concerns of the parish.

In his free time, Art volunteers as the coordinator of the pre-marriage program at Nativity. He enjoys reading, walking, bicycling, golfing, and listening to music, especially jazz.

As far as connecting with him, Art will have office hours at the parish center on Tuesdays and Thursdays and plans to attend mass on Sundays. He is also planning on attending some of the social activities, especially Cabaret, here at SJA so that he can get to know some of the parishioners. If you’d like to contact Art he can be reached at (651)248-2336 or artandbarb@usfamily.net.

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Jeanne Schaum has been attending SJA since 1986. She teaches Sunday School and is a member of the Stewardship Committee. Jeanne has participated in the Heartland AIDS Ride and the Red Ribbon Ride. In 2001, she graduated from the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Social Work and then received her Master of Social Work in 2002. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with friends and family, reading, listening to music, going to sporting events, and playing softball.