Important Letter From Fr. Tim Clark | June 28, 2019

Dear OLL Parish and School members and families,

If you have been a part of Our Lady of the Lake for any length of time, you know that I try to communicate openly, fostering transparency when challenges arise within our community. This letter details information that I feel must be shared as part of my commitment to that transparency. I write this with the support and backing of Daniel Mullen our Principal, John Cowan, Parish Administrator and our entire Parish Executive Council.

It was brought to my attention that an individual who participated in one of our funeral liturgies as a contractor recently was identified as the alleged perpetrator of a sexual assault of a minor in the early 1970’s. At the time of the assault, the perpetrator was either a volunteer or employee of Our Lady of the Lake School and the victim was a student at our school. There was no police report filed or accusation made at the time of the assault.

After talking to both the victim and accused, I, along with the Parish Executive Council determined the allegation to be credible and charted our next steps. Our first priorities were to assess the safety of our community while working to do what we feel is right to the extent we can legally.

I want to make clear to the best of our knowledge and the information we have, we do not believe there is an ongoing threat from the accused to our community including our school.

In addition to following the steps of the Seattle Archdiocese Reporting Suspected Abuse or Neglect of Minor and Vulnerable Adults, we did the following:

1. Filed a police report with the Seattle Police Department detailing the allegation as it was communicated to me.

2. Informed the accused individual in writing that they are no longer allowed to attend Our Lady of the Lake liturgies or be on the property or school.

3. Created a rider policy that serves as an extension of the existing Seattle Archdiocese Policy on Reporting Suspected Abuse or Neglect of a Minor or Vulnerable Adult. In addition to mandatory reporting of any potential assault and/or abuse crimes that have occurred recently, the OLL Policy & Procedure for Reporting Sexual Abuse that Occurred in the Past mandates filing an official report with the Seattle Police Department in addition to filing a report with the Department of Child Protective Services if a minor is involved.

We want to remind everyone of the guidelines we take to ensure the safety of our children and vulnerable adults through our participation in the Safe Environment Program. In addition to this mandatory training, we are instituting two additional checks to further protect the community:

1. In the Fall of 2019, we will start to conduct background checks on parish contractors. This is an extension of our current process of conducting criminal background checks on parish and school employees and anyone who volunteers with the school.

2. We have started vetting the names of new employees and contractors of OLL with the Archdiocese to ensure there is no historical behavior known by the Archdiocese that would preclude the candidates from being hired.

It’s important to point out that had we done a background check on the accused, it would have come back clean due to no police report being filed or accusation made at the time of the incident, hence the need for an additional level of scrutiny.

My commitment to the safety of children and vulnerable people everywhere has been heightened during this anguished and troubling time. With the full support of our Executive Council, we are committed to doing everything we can to ensure OLL is a safe environment for all.

In light of this, let us pray for greater openness and transparency within the institutional church and beyond; fostering greater sensitivity for all victimized in this way.  Simply, it’s the way of justice and path of the gospel.  It is my hope that, as church, we become more honest and trusting in our commitment to others, especially the vulnerable and those without a voice. 

If you have any questions, please direct them to me, John Cowan or Daniel Mullen.

Sincerely,

Fr. Tim Clark, Priest Administrator

Humble Beginnings

Since that first Mass in 1929 when 128 people gathered in Mr. Thorpe's cabin, and where Henry Boudreau arrived faithfully each Sunday to split wood and build a fire in the pot-bellied stove, God has "fanned into flame" an ardent community of faith over these many years here and in this parish known as Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church.

This parish, multi-generational and generous, has been and continues to be, a visible presence in the Wedgwood area not merely by its bell tower and imposing church of brick and mortar, but through her parishioners who try to incarnate the face of Christ and the mystery of God's mercy.

We comprise a parish of over 800 families who discover in this place the "hidden ground of love", inspiring us to live in this love through its sacramental life, its liturgy and its prayer as well as through the committees, organizations and activities offered here. We are blest to have a parish school which strives to educate our children in values and principles shaped by the Gospel. It is a parish school committed to the tradition of awakening in young people a sense of God in the ordinary and everyday, as well as teaching them to believe that God is glimpsed in the human face.

I invite you to participate in the spiritual life of this parish, to immerse yourself in the Catholic tradition which is "ever ancient, ever new", to find yourself at home within a community that has tried for over seventy-five years to remain faithful to the way of the Gospel which is Christ, "yesterday, today and forever."

Welcome!
Father Timothy J. Clark
Pastor

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Mass & Devotion Times

Saturday: 5:00 PM
Sunday: 9:30 AM & 5:30 PM 
Weekdays: Wed, Thur, Fri 8:30 AM
Confession: Sat 4-4:45 PM
Holy Hour: 1st Sunday of each month, 3-4 PM

Sacrament of Anointing: 1st Friday of each month at 8:30 AM
(unless precluded by a funeral service)

Parish Office 
3517 NE 89th Street
Seattle, WA 98115

Monday - Friday 9:00AM - 4:00PM