Location

Jesus Our Shepherd Community
7003 Highway 175
Allenton, WI 53002
Map

About JOS

Jesus Our Shepherd Community is an inclusive Faith community serving the spiritual needs of Catholics and Christians in southeastern Wisconsin.

Service

9:30am Sunday Eucharist Celebration

Pastoral Team

Jesus Christ, Pastor
Frank Baiocchi, Associate Pastor
Jim Ryan, Associate Pastor
Bob Scanlan, Associate Pastor
Jack Lutz, Associate Pastor
Don Wright, Associate Pastor

Who Are We?

We at Jesus Our Shepherd are a gathering of people who work and play, pray and live with laughter and tears reaching for stars that seem too distant to be touched, or too dim to be worth the effort. We try to help people in need. We celebrate life in all its circumstances because we believe that the struggle to be like Jesus in building a world based upon justice and love is worth the gift of our lives.

We are a diverse and inclusive Spirit-based Eucharist community committed to the message of unconditional love given us by Jesus and to our call to imitate and reflect that love in our lives. Through our baptisms, we pledge ourselves to live according to Jesus’ gospel values of compassion and thankfulness, forgiveness and non-violence. By diverse, we mean we come together to be enriched by each other’s gifts of age, personality and life experience. By inclusive, we mean we welcome all, no matter what our state in life, what burdens we carry or which denominational labels we wear.

Last fall about an hour after Mass began, I was notified that my neighbor and friend had lost her battle with cancer. I left Mass because I couldn’t contain my grief. At the offering of peace, my husband came outside to see if I was OK. It was then he told me everyone was concerned and wanted me to come back inside to finish Mass. In all my life I’ve never felt such an outpouring of love and sincere concern. This moment touched our hearts and has made a difference in our weekly faith celebration. Jesus Our Shepherd is an outreach community where the people are what matter. Kathy & Adrian K.

Why Are We Here?

We are here to continue a sacred presence in this church, an historic community made holy by the talents and sacrifices of generations of faith-filled people who called it their spiritual home, people who were baptized, educated, married and buried on these grounds. We are here to rebuild a Eucharist-centered faith community, one based more upon openness to the Spirit than upon church rules and canonical regulations, more upon the responsible and responsive leadership of the baptized than upon the authority and directives of clerical priests.

Many people report themselves marginalized from their parishes, unable to make spiritual progress there. We make no judgments as to why this is occurring; we simply recognize that it is. We are here to respond to our own and others’ spiritual and sacramental needs and to facilitate growth into a mature faith community.

Yes, we are maturing as a faith community, and many of the things that drew me to this faith community are alive and flourishing. Most importantly, putting the teaching of Jesus first, not church politics or customs; caring for others, those in our midst and those in extended communities, sharing our joys and sorrows with each other and feeling a genuine, loving concern. – Nancy W.

Who Belongs?

Everyone belongs! At Jesus Our Shepherd we have an open-registration policy. All are welcome to pray with us, sing with us, share in the Communion Banquet, and help us become what we are called to be: a faith community inspired by the Spirit. We do not consider Communion to be a reward for the “righteous and saintly” among us or to be a confirmation of our orthodoxy. (In fact, we affirm the anonymous definition suggesting that Christianity is well defined as “one beggar telling another beggar where the Bread can be found”.) We believe Communion to be Jesus’ gift of nourishment on our life’s journey, however we understand that nourishing process and wherever we stand on that road.

We respect the religious beliefs and spiritual sensitivities of people. We do not impose particular doctrines on anyone. We realize that we all walk a similar journey with Christ, through suffering and death to resurrection with him. We know there are different paths and stages on our faith journeys; yet we share the search for a deeper and more meaningful life. Through common prayer and action we hope to energize our lives and our faith. People coming to us from a tradition of Eucharist and sacraments are on familiar grounds. Others joining us have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with these rituals as they experience them in the context of our community celebrations.

My faith was always strong, but I found I could no longer express it in the local Catholic Church. When I started coming here, I was at first a bit shy about the way people were so friendly. Now I am one of those people. Everyone that comes here shares a common bond: the desire to live and express our faith freely and openly without restrictions and confines imposed by “religion.” Here we are encouraged and genuinely welcomed to be community. -- Linda K.

What Are We About?

With Jesus as our model, we are about living simply and giving generously of our time, talent and treasure.

We affirm the dignity of all human life and the need to respond to the material and spiritual needs of others.

We are about promoting justice and peace in partnership with other organizations and faith communities.

We believe in proclaiming the Good News of God’s love for us by the ways we relate to others at home, at work, at school and at play.

We are committed to shared leadership and decision-making based upon our baptismal promises.

We believe in the primacy of prayer and compassionate forgiveness of ourselves and of others.

We are committed to the respectful care and loving concern for all God’s creatures and all God’s creation.

We are about working to end all discrimination based on age, gender, social status and sexual orientation.

We place a high value on family life and we welcome children to our liturgy and activities.

I came to Jesus Our Shepherd because I was unhappy with the church hierarchy. My thinking was in opposition to what the church was promoting, and we were moving in different directions. There was no reason to believe the hierarchy would ever change enough to fill the void I was feeling. By chance I spoke to a married priest about my options. He responded by saying, “Give us a try.” It was difficult for me to walk into the church the first time. I knew only two people. Before I left that day, I learned that the people cared about each other. They even cared about me, a stranger. The Mass itself was a heart-warming experience. I felt the need to return. The homilies are refreshingly insightful. I especially like the short prayers we do together, the creed we recite and the singing of the Gospel and petition hymns. It makes me feel like I am in communion with everyone in church. “Inclusive” rightly describes what this place is. I feel fortunate to be a part of it. – Bob T.

What Ministries Do We Share?

Jesus Our Shepherd has been a refreshing and life-changing experience. Being led by three married priests as co-pastors and their wives has shown us what love and teaching must have been in the Catholic church prior to celibacy. It is like a new beginning, sharing and caring with fellow parishioners. – John & Donna B. At Jesus Our Shepherd we assemble each and every Sunday at 9:30AM to celebrate our Eucharist family meal. At this weekly celebration, we express and deepen our community roots in Jesus and in his Gospel values. Over time we become further immersed in the realities of the Spirit and in the power of that Gospel. This Liturgy then is the principal experience that identifies, unites and empowers us in that same Spirit.

Are Our Married Priests "For Real"?

The priests serving our faith community are definitely “for real.” Each was validly ordained in the Catholic tradition. According to Catholic theology and canon law each remains a priest to this day. Our priests are not celibate clerics under the jurisdiction of a local bishop or religious superior. They are married men whose wives stand solidly in support of their present work. Their previous and current ministries, their professional experience in the worlds of business, government and education and more importantly their many years of married lives as husbands and (in most instances) parents, expertly qualify them for serving this faith community. They can identify with our personal issues and family concerns in ways that celibate ministers might sometimes be unable to replicate.

My involvement in Jesus Our Shepherd has resulted in a spiritual awakening. The services are meaningful and a testimony to genuine faith. The JOS community is committed to each other as well as to doing good works in the community at large. – Karen B.

Who "Runs" The Parish?

In the “old days,” there was no question: the pastor ran the parish (and the bishop ran the pastor!). There was a strict hierarchy of power. Here at Jesus Our Shepherd we the people “run” the parish. Decisions are made by consensus at our community meetings after prayerful deliberation and open discussion. The authority for this democratic governance is derived from our baptismal experience. Through that experience, we become temples of the Indwelling Spirit and are given the gifts to develop and direct our faith community. That is the style of church governance evident in the earliest Christian Eucharist communities recorded in the New Testament, wherein ministry is basically perceived as a matter of service and not as an exercise of control or power.

How Do We Get In Contact?

We encourage you to contact our pastor directly. Jesus Christ lives in your hearts and is available through prayer and reflection 24/7.

Jesus Our Shepherd church is located at 7003 Highway 175 in Nenno, a mile or so north of Highway 33.

Jesus Our Shepherd office is located at 1162 Saint Kilian Parkway, Hartford, Wi. 53027.

Currently, contacts can be made in person before or after the 9:30AM Sunday Liturgy at church, or by phone, email or postal mail. There are currently three associate pastors:

Frank Baiocchi and his wife Anne live at 1162 St. Kilian Pkwy in Hartford, Wi. 53027. They may be reached by phone at 262-673-6071 or by email at frankbaiocchi@hotmail.com or abaiocchi@hotmail.com.

Jim Ryan and his wife Jean Ford, live at W1735 Potter Road in Burlington, Wi. 53105. They may be reached by phone at 262.763.3940 or by email at cherokee6885@genevaonline.com.

Bob Scanlan and his wife Jean live at 115 LeGrande Boulevard in Aurora, Illinois 60506. They may be reached by phone at 630-859-2476 or by email at bob.jean.scanlan@comcast.net.

Jack Lutz and his wife Lynn Molenda live at N. 1558 Boltonville Road in Adell, WI 53001. They may be reached by phone at 920-994-2392 or by email at jlutz@mydnet.com.

Fr. Don Wright and his wife Jane live at W995 Birchwood Drive in Campbellsport WI, 53010. They may be reached by phone at 920-533-5621 or by email at fr-don@peoplepc.com.

We drive quite a distance because we wanted to show solidarity with the married priests here. – Tom & Linda S.