In 1859, Fr. Justin Claris came to Morgan City, then Brashear, serving also Chacahoula and Bayou Boeuf, later called Amelia. Fr. Andrew Souby ministered after him from June 1898 to 1938. St. Andrew was then a wooden church built in 1894 on  the banks of Bayou Boeuf and most of the parishioners traveled by boat to attend mass. Priests from Sacred heart in Morgan City continued to serve St. Andrew Mission after the time of Fr. Souby.

     In January 1965, the Most Rev. Archbishop John Cody of the Archdiocese of New Orleans officially established St. Andrew as a parish. However, in the fall of 1965 Hurricane Betsy made the wooden church unsafe and a new church was built on a new site. As the new church was being built, daily Mass was held in the rectory and later in the camp of Mr. and Mrs. Roland Verret Jr, while Sunday Mass was offered in the Aucoin Elementary School cafeteria. The dedication of the new church by Archbishop Philip Hannan of New Orleans took place on November 20, 1966. The bell from the old church was dedicated in memory of Fr. Andrew Souby and placed in front of the new church where it can be seen today.

     The mausoleum was built in the old cemetery in 1973 on the site of the old church. In the early 70’s a parish hall was built and in 1984 a C.C.D. building which put the parish in debt but ended a long pilgrimage for religious education from home to home. The Cajun Food Festival (the parish fair) used to help support the parish and was held in September or October.

     Fr. Adrian Caillouet served as the first pastor until June 1972. The other pastors who followed were: Msgr. Albert Bergeron 1972-1975; Msgr. Robert Vincent 1975-1985; Fr. Warren Chassaniol; 1985-1992; Fr. Joeseph Pilola 1992-1995; Fr. Charles Perkins 1995-2003; Fr. Gregory Fratt came to St. Andrew on December 26, 2003. He was transferred in the year 2007.

     In June 27, 2007, Fr. Evelio “Toto” Buenaflor Jr arrived at St. Andrew parish. In July 29, 2007, he was installed as pastor of this catholic community by Bishop Sam Jacobs at the 10:30 mass which was followed by a meal at the parish hall attended by the parishioners.

     The first six months were basically spent just to get to know the parishioners and visit them in their homes, attend group meetings and try to know people by their names.

     It was during Fr. Toto’s time that the following took place:

-we have established 4 groups of money counters (from 5 to 13people) and have followed the policy on handling the weekly collection;

-we have added members to the pastoral council and have assigned them to different committee tasks;

-we have divided the master list into 11 neighborhood groups; mass was  1st celebrated in the home of  Dat Nguyen in November of 2007. Since then more than 30 families have hosted the home mass;

-a new set of vestment, a new chalice and new set of microphones were purchased;

     It was in November of 2007 that the church ceiling tiles were removed and the old wooden ceiling was stained and varnished (the cost amounted to 22,500 and was collected from our generous parishioners); the light bulbs in church were replaced with brighter, more efficient and low cost lighting;

-electric posts with 14 large spotlights were installed, two in both sides of the church and one in front of the parish hall;

-complete sets of altar linens were donated by parishioners; a room at the rectory was converted into a chapel where daily mass is celebrated; the 9 kneelers were build by Charles “Buck”Tabor for free while the materials costing $530.13 was paid by St. Andrew;

-after the hurricanes Gustav and Ike, the CCD building was repaired. The roofing was changed, some of the walls damaged by termites were fixed, the whole building was cleaned and was used for CCD class in February of 2009 (30,687.50 was spent for the repairs); the roof of the parish hall was also fixed and painted ( 3,685 was spent);

-the old shed was in a very bad shape so it was finally torn down;

-the Church A/C broke but was repaired costing us 1,850 dollars;

-the ceiling of the cry room in Church was also fixed; the AC & Heating repair for the CCD unit was also done;

-we have employed  people to maintain the Church and Cemetery ground; in April of 2008,

-our long time Assistant Administrator Sabrina Merida resigned and was replaced by Faye Arceneaux;

-It was also in the middle of 2008 that we hired Kent Authement as one of our music ministers. Since then we have choir group playing in all of our weekend masses and on special occasions;

-In April of 2009, the pastoral council of St. Andrew has formulated our parish mission statement;

     The pastor in partnership with the pastoral council still have a lot of projects to be implemented such as the painting of the CCD building, the painting of the Parish Hall, fixing the Parish Hall ceiling, fixing the Church parking space, relocation of  the church choir, etc.

     By April of 2009, the parish pastoral council will be finalizing the plans for the Bishop’s visitation in September of the same year. The journey in faith of the people of St. Andrew continues.

                                MISSION STATEMENT

WE ARE PARISHIONERS OF ST. ANDREW CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMELIA. THROUGH THE GUIDANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE PROFESS OUR FAITH IN OUR LOVING GOD BY IMITATING THE EXAMPLE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THROUGH OUR LIFE OF WORSHIP, SERVICE TO THE NEEDY AND ON-GOING FAITH FORMATION.

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE MEANT TO

GUIDE THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL AND OUR COMMUNITY AT ST. ANDREW FOR THE NEXT 3 TO 5 YEARS TO FULFILL OUR GOALS.

1. TO HAVE A FORMAL AND WELL ORGANIZED COMMITTEE WHICH WILL PLAN REGULAR EVANGELIZATION ACTIVITIES FOR ITS PARISHIONERS.

2. TO ENRICH THE WORSHIP LIFE OF THE PARISH BY PROVIDING MEANINGFUL WAYS  FOR FAMILIES TO PRAY TOGETHER.

3. TO MAKE PLANS FOR MAJOR REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE OF CHURCH FACILITIES AND DEVELOP A SELF-SUSTAINING PARISH.

4. TO ORGANIZE AND DEVELOP A REGULAR FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM.

5. TO ESTABLISH  SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS WHICH WILL ORGANIZE, CONDUCT AND EVALUATE SOCIAL MINISTRIES IN THE PARISH

                                            ST. ANDREW PARISH, AMELIA

                                                GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

WORSHIP AND PRAYER: By Sept. 2009, St. Andrew parish leaders will enrich the worship life of the parish by providing new ways for families to pray together.

Objectives:

• To establish a highly participative CCD-sponsored Sunday mass

(Where children have active roles and families are drawn to participate) by

June 30, 2008

• To establish a youth choir as a means of drawing families to Church by

September 30, 2009

• To celebrate mass regularly in the 11 new family groups by September

30, 2009.

ADMINISTRATION : By September 2009, St. Andrew parish will have developed plans for major repairs on parish buildings.

Objectives:

• To finish a systematic evaluation of the condition and repair needs of the church, the CCD building, the parish hall and the rectory and establish a time-line for completion of needed work by February 29, 2008

• To organize and operate a system of maintenance teams for the church building, the Church grounds, the cemetery, the rectory, the parish hall and the CCD building by January 30, 2009

• To build up in parishioners the capacity to support and operate a self-sustaining parish by September 30, 2009

COMMUNITY: (Evangelization): By September 2009, St. Andrew church parish will have a formal well-organized committee which will plan regular evangelization activities for its parishioners.

 Objectives:

• To bring the church to the people by organizing the parish into family groupings aimed at outreach to neighbors, especially inactive Catholics by July 30, 08.

• To have in operation 11 new family groups reaching out to neighbors (especially inactive Catholics) by September 30, 2009.

 EDUCATION/FAITH FORMATION: By  Sept. 2009, St. Andrew Church parish will have an organized/regular adult education/faith formation program.

Objectives:

• To set up a faith-sharing group in the parish by February 29, 08

• To train at least 11 new leaders to facilitate faith-sharing and then start faith-sharing in the new neighborhood family groups by Sept. 30, 09.

SOCIAL SERVICE/JUSTICE: By Sept. 09, St. Andrew parish will have a social concerns committee which will organize , conduct and evaluate social ministry in the parish – both charity and social justice programs.

Objectives:

• To raise awareness of social responsibility through a variety of educational programs regularly offered to parishioners on topics such as drug abuse, abortion, autism and financial support of the St. Mary Home by June 30, 09.

•  To use the making and distribution of prayer blankets as a way to extend the compassion of Jesus to those who are suffering because of death or illness and do pastoral follow-up as indicated by January 30, 2009

• To provide training to Eucharistic ministers so they are able to do pastoral visits to homebound parishioners by September 30, 2009.

GOAL 1 – COMMUNITY EVANGELIZATION

-the goal is to have a formal and well organized committee which will plan regular evangelization activities for its parishioners. The objectives are to reach out to inactive Catholics by organizing small family groupings.

-Parish master list was divided into 11 neighborhood groupings

-each pastoral council member is a group leader of a particular group

-the group leader is in charge of scheduling a date for a home mass with a member of his group

-the leader assists the host family in notifying and inviting members of the group regarding the upcoming home mass

-each leader holds a list of their member’s addresses and telephone numbers.

-in times of disaster or crisis, the leader contacts and visits his member in order to check on their condition. He documents his findings and presents it to the council for appropriate action

-the groupings will be divided into an even smaller group in order to enhance more personal contact

-each group can be utilized for faith-sharing and other activities to foster a deeper bonding among group members

-the small groupings helped the new pastor to meet most of his parishioners

-more than 30 families have hosted the home mass starting in November of 2007

-renewal of marriage vows, praying for the birthday celebrants, offering prayers for our sick parishioners are done within the home mass.

-the home mass has become an opportunity for families to reach out to those who have been away from church

-the home mass has given people the opportunity to talk and deepen their bonding

-there is a group of 6 teachers with the pastor that designed a program in order to prepare the children in the reception of the sacraments of baptism, 1st penance and 1st communion. This is an added program aside from the regular CCD classes.

-the CCD program this year has enrolled 94 children (70 last year)

-we continue to highly encourage our children and parishioners to grab opportunities being offered here in the parish and in the diocese to deepen our spiritual life (youth rallies, retreats, women and men of God conferences

-we had a Lenten mission for our parishioners from March 9 to 11, 09, the third day of which is a community penance service.

GOAL 2 – WORSHIP AND PRAYER

-the goal is to enrich the worship life of the parish by providing new ways for families to pray together. The objectives are to establish a highly participative CCD sponsored Sunday mass; to establish a youth choir; to celebrate mass regularly in the 11 family groupings.

-we converted a space at the rectory into a chapel where we hold our daily mass. It helps people to get to know one another, pray for one another and deepen their bonding.

-we have a CCD sponsored mass where parents, children and teachers are highly encouraged to participate.

-children are given tasks during the CCD sponsored mass

-mass in the homes are celebrated. It gave people greater awareness of the Lord’s presence in the Eucharist; it gave them opportunity to reach out to those who have been away from church; it’s a good chance for people to get to know each other

-we have 12 teachers, 94children (70 last year) and 6 substitute teachers

-Fr. Toto, Teresa and sr. Pauline do scheduled visits to our parishioners, CCD kids and their parents

-it is through these visits that we encourage parents to be more involved in the life of the church and to enroll their kids to our CCD program.

-we have formed a group of 6 teachers plus our pastor in order to train and prepare 9 children to receive the sacraments of baptism, 1st penance and 1st communion. A meeting was done with the parents, kids and teachers in order to design the program and emphasize the parents’ role in being the 1st teachers of their children.

-classes for these 9 kids begin on March 1 and ends on June 7, 09. The classes are every Sunday at 9am at the CCD building.

-retreats and other invitations for conferences are given to our parishioners that may help them develop their prayer life.

-we have a Lenten mission reflection for our parishioners which will end with a community penance service. (March 9-11, 09)

-we now have Kent who plays on the two weekend masses and on masses when the choir is not playing. We continue to encourage our parishioners to get involved more in the music ministry of the church.

-the home mass has been celebrated in more than 30 families already beginning in November of 2007

GOAL 3 – ADMINISTRATION

-the objective is for the committee to develop plans for major repairs of parish buildings. The objectives are to complete evaluation of the conditions and repairs needed; form and implement system of maintenance for the church and the rectory; and encourage parishioner to support and operate a self-sustaining parish.

-phase one of the church ceiling project was completed on Sept. 7, 07 (removal of the old ceiling tiles and staples)

-phase two of the church ceiling project began on Nov. 27, 07 and was completed on Dec. 10, 07 (sanding, cleaning and applying of the clear coat finish on the ceiling)

-the air condition unit evaporators in church were cleaned and maintained during the months of Sept. to Oct. of 2007

-lighting in church and at the rectory were replaced with more energy efficient bulbs

-electric posts and electric lights were installed in front and rear of the church.

-when our church maintenance person resigned, many parishioners volunteered their time maintaining the church ground

-many parishioners volunteered to maintain the cemetery ground during the months of Sept. and Oct. 07. The cemetery was in great shape for the blessing of the graves on Oct. 28, 07

-around this time, we have hired a new ground keeper for the cemetery

-we have hired Robbie Trainer to maintain the church ground on a regular basis

-the church and rectory grounds are planted with flowers. Fruit trees were planted at the back of the rectory

-we have a lot of our parishioners who devote their time cleaning and maintaining our church building on a regular basis

-up until the end of Sept. 08, the cemetery was maintained by Denise Chiasson.  Rose Johnson took over the job in Oct. 10, 08 through May 3, 2009. Ferdinand Cortez took over in May 2009.

-we have a cemetery that is well taken cared of.

-we have members of the council and our pastor who visit the grave regularly to ensure that it is properly cleaned and maintained

-groups of volunteers help in the cemetery clean up in the month of Oct, 08. The holy family parishioners also helped to clean the cemetery for the all soul’s day celebration.

-due to water leak from the AC unit at the rectory, the pastor’s bedroom floor and office floor had to be changed from wood tiles to ceramic tiles. These were installed by volunteers. The rooms and kitchen area were painted and new curtains and bed sheets were donated by our parishioners.

-we have hired a housekeeper, Brandi Trainer who comes to clean the rectory and do laundry once a week.

-the carport area was converted into a chapel for the daily mass celebration.

-Mr. Buck Tabor built 9 double kneelers and fixed the altar free of charge. An AC unit was donated by Dat Nguyen and were installed by Dat, Ferdinand, Fr. Toto in the chapel

-with the daily mass in the chapel, we have saved a lot from our electricity bill. It has also helped people to know one another and makes people feel closer to each other.

-the AC unit in church broke but was repaired already by Trent company

-the cry room ceiling was also repaired due to water leak and can now be used.

-After the hurricane, we have damages in our rectory roof, CCD building, parish hall and the old shed. All damages of the buildings were restored and completed by Jan. of 2009

-the old shed had been demolished and the new shed is being utilized at the rectory

-the shingles at the rectory were installed, the roof of the parish hall was repaired and painted, the entire roof of the CCD building was completely repaired, the wall in the CCD building damaged by termites was repaired by Nolan Fryou. It was painted by Sterling and Pat Fryou Sr.

-The old toilets were fixed by Sterling and Ferdinand.

-one of the AC units in the CCD building was also fixed and can now be used

-The whole CCD building was cleaned by Brandi Trainer and her family just on time for the CCD class in Feb. 09

-The CCD fluorescent lights were replaced and fixed by Dat and Ferdinand

-Some CCD teachers with Teresa, Tim and Sr. Pauline helped clean the library, the office and rooms

-new wireless microphones (4sets) were donated for the use of the church

-a new chalice and a complete set of vestments were purchased for St. Andrew church use

-Second collection was done in order to raise funds for the church ceiling repair.

-the parish hall ceiling with some areas damaged by water leak was repaired by Sterling Fryou free of charge.

GOAL 4 – EDUCATION/FAITH FORMATION

-The objective is to have an organized regular education and faith formation program. We had this program during the time of Randal Jennings

-the goals are to set up faith-sharing groups and to train at least 6 facilitators for the faith sharing group.

-the plan as of the moment is to utilize the neighborhood groupings so that after the mass, people are given time for faith sharing.

-the trained facilitators will be the ones handling the faith sharing after the home mass

-we continue to scout for families with children and encourage them to enroll their children to our CCD program

-we are looking for somebody who is willing to handle the RCIA/RCIC program that we plan to establish

-we have 12 CCD volunteer teachers and 6 substitute teachers and Sr. Pauline Pham who assists in the program

-we have 6 volunteer teachers and our pastor who will  begin the training of 9 kids being prepared to receive the sacraments of baptism, 1st penance and 1st communion starting on March 1 up to June 7, 09. Classes are every Sunday at 9am.

GOAL 5 – SOCIAL SERVICE/JUSTICE

-The objective is to establish a social concerns committee that will conduct

and evaluate the social ministry in the parish both charity and social justice

programs.

-Education programs in the past was about drug abuse, autism, abortion

(Anti-FOCA campaign), etc.

-service – food for the hungry ( about people who come to our rectory on a

regular basis asking for food), ministry to the homebound. As of the moment,

we have 5 extra-ordinary ministers who give communion to our homebound every week, rice bowl campaign, ABA campaign, assistance given to hurricane victims, assistance to fire victims, St. Mary regular financial assistance, prayer books and blankets for the sick, assisting people in their power bill.

-we have a lot of our parishioners who volunteer their time in helping maintain our church facilities, church ground and cemetery ground.

-fund raising activities such as sweet sale, fish fry, pancake breakfast are held and proceeds are given to aid people in their various needs.

-we also have done a second collection in order to help the Gaudet family who lost their house in the fire.

-we have given orientation to our extra-ordinary ministers so they can minister to the

homebound in our parish.

-65 families were visited after the hurricane by our pastor Fr. Toto with Dat Nguyen and Ferdinand Cortez

-2 groups of volunteers went to Dulac to do outreach program by helping in the clean-up operation after the hurricane (Gustav and Ike)

-pastoral council leaders called up their members by phone in order to determine the

condition of their members.

-financial assistance were extended to some hurricane victims

-Parishioners donate none-perishable foods on a regular basis to help feed the hungry