Community Corner

After 18 Years Fr. Tim O'Connor Leaving St. Joseph Parish

Parish hosting Open House on June 8 to celebrate 18 years of growth under Father O'Connor's leadership

Save the date to say goodbye to one of Avon Lake's longest serving pastors. 

On June 15, one of the longest chapters in St. Joseph Parish of Avon Lake’s history will come to a close. After 18 years, Father Timothy O’Connor, St. Joseph’s pastor and a leader in the Avon Lake community, will move to a new parish in Akron. Fr. O'Connor oversaw a host of improvements during his tenure, including building a new church and school.

“It was an honor serving with Father O'Connor during school masses. His composure and reverence taught all of the students the sacredness and meaning of the mass,” Megan Ballantyne, an alum of St. Joseph School, said. “He was always so friendly and almost never without a smile. He also always had a way of making the homily relatable to what was going on in your life. I don't know how he did it, but his message always hit home.”

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St. Joseph Church was founded in 1949 and has become one of the largest and most active in the Greater Cleveland area.

To celebrate Father O’Connor’s work, St. Joseph Avon Lake is hosting a Farewell Open House on Saturday, June 8. The parish and public are invited to join Fr. O’Connor from 5:30-9pm in St. Joseph Hall for refreshments, joyful reminiscing and well-wishing.

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In lieu of gifts, donations can be made to the parish’s Pipe Organ and Gym/Family Center Funds: Checks can be sent to the church at 32929 Lake Road, Avon Lake, OH 44012 in Fr. O’Connor’s honor. There is also a “red box” in the Gathering Area of the church, with envelopes in which you can place your donations.

Read more farewells to Father O’Connor on the St. Joseph Avon Lake website (www.stjosephavonlake.org)  under “St. Joseph Parish Staff’s Favorite Father Tim Memories,” “Father Tim’s Impact on St. Joseph School” or leave a message in comments (Patch will be doing a roundup of comments from the main site and the Patch Facebook page.

A history of accomplishments

The longest-serving pastor in the history of the parish, Fr. O’Connor has helped grow St. Joseph’s both physically and spiritually – more than doubling the size of the parish during his tenure. As pastor, Fr. O’Connor:

  • Built a new church building, expanded and renovated the former church into the St. Joseph Hall.
  • Added the only Sunday evening Mass in Lorain County to allow better access to the sacraments.
  • Supported the Avon Lake/Avon community by opening St. Joseph Hall for emergency housing during Hurricane Sandy and serving as Chaplain at Main Street Care Center.
  • Fostered an active parish community by starting the annual Parish Picnic and his “Stewardship as a Way of Life” initiative. Over the last 8 years, St. Joseph’s has added 50+ ministries for parishioners to participate in.
  • Started a Parish RCIA program that has welcomed over 200 converts into the Church family.
  • Led three successful capital campaigns, including the current one for a new Parish Center and a pipe organ installation that is nearing completion of its funding.
  • Encouraged vocations from the parish, resulting in Fr. John Schneider’s ordination in 2011; Scott Goodfellow, who hopes to be ordained in 2014; Lou Balzer, who is in the novitiate of the Benedictine Community; and Shane Scott, who is in the year of aspirancy towards ordination to the permanent diaconate.


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