Contact Us
Fr. Michael Reding
Pastor
Growing up the youngest of seven children in Red Wing, MN, Fr. Michael attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, IN. Following college, he spent six years in business, which took him throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. He then answered the call to priesthood, entering the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity in 1992, and was ordained in May of 1997. Fr. Michael served as the Associate Pastor at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Oakdale, MN, before coming to St. Bartholomew in April 2000. As pastor of St. Bartholomew Catholic Faith Community, Fr. Michael's duties include providing overall leadership and ministering to the church's 1,450 households and the school (preschool through sixth-grade.) "The worship life here, people's willingness to engage their faith in a deliberative and dynamic way, and a commitment to the needs of the larger community all make this parish a comfortable and welcoming place for me. I hope that all visitors and new members at St. Bartholomew will feel that same sense of welcome."
Rick Witucki
Deacon
Rick has been our Deacon since 1995. He helps our faith community in so many ways. Some examples include: celebrating baptisms and marriages, preaching, presiding at wakes or funerals when necessary, co-facilitating the RCIA program, helping with marriage preparation, assisting at Mass when needed, being available to members as needed. Rick has worked as a probation and parole officer for juveniles, an in-home family therapist, a social worker and currently as a mediator/evaluator for child custody and parent time cases. He also teaches parent education to separated and divorced parents.
John Grobe
Parish Operations Director
John oversees the administrative, financial, human resource and facility needs of the parish. He obtained his B.A. in Government from St. John’s University and his M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas. John has more than 25 years of experience as the chief administrator for several national and regional accounting firms and law firms. He and his wife, Joan, reside in Minnetonka and have four adult children. In fact, one of their boys is currently a novice at the St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. In his spare time John enjoys woodworking and carpentry; he is proud of the fact that he was the general contractor on six homes he built for his family during the past 30 years.
Lynn Volkenant
School Principal
I have the best job in the world! I have been an educator for 33 years and still wake up every day, excited to get to St. Bartholomew school. There is nothing I would rather do than spend my days with teachers and young people, learning and growing together. I have a BA in elementary education and an MAeD, both from The College of St. Catherine. In 2008, I graduated with an EDS in educational administration, from The University of St. Thomas. My husband, Michael, and I have five grown sons, all with careers in education and the arts.
Christine Ducharme
Director of Pastoral Care
Christine recruits, trains, supports and directs volunteer ministers of care and actively participates in the following ministries: nursing home and hospital visits, prayer network, funeral ministries, anointing of the sick, marriage and divorce support group and grief and loss support group, marriage preparation and emergency on-call availability. She is also a volunteer police chaplain for Plymouth. Before joining St. Bart's in 1994 she was a nurse for 10 years in the field of chemical dependency. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS in Family Social Science and Public Health degree. Christine also completed spiritual direction training at the Cenacle and is in the process of completing her Masters of Divinity Degree.
Richard Clarke
Director of Music & Liturgy
Richard joined the parish staff in July of 1994. He is a native of San Francisco, CA and moved to the midwest in 1982 when he entered the music and liturgical ministry on a full-time basis. He has been involved in the ministry of the church since 1975. Richard is responsible for planning and leading the liturgical celebrations of the parish community in collaboration with the pastor. He directs the adult choir and children's choir and assists with some of the parish school liturgies. Richard is a 1974 graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio. He has several pieces of liturgical music published by G.I.A Publications in Chicago, IL. He is married to Janet Clarke and has one son, John.
Marion Clark
Director of Shared Ministry & Social Justice
Marion manages the volunteer system and collaborates with staff and lay leadership to incorporate the vision of shared ministry into all aspects of parish life. In the social justice area she provides service and social action opportunities, resources, and education to parish members. Marion has been on staff since 1996. She has a background in social work and criminal justice. She has worked for seventeen years in youth and family ministry before coming to St. Bartholomew.
Cindy Schriever
Director of Development & Database Management
Cindy has been with us since 1997. Her job consists of implementing the stewardship and planned giving program, being a resource to the parish and school for major fundraising events, and cultivating relationships with local businesses and corporate sponsors. Her background experience includes jobs in education, marketing and communications.
Jim DeShane
Director of Faith Formation
Jim has been the Director of Faith Formation at St. Bart's since August 2006. In his role, he supervises the Faith Formation programs for the parish. His direct responsibilities include sacramental preparation for Reconciliation and Eucharist, adult faith formation as well as parish faith formation for preschool through grade 5. Jim was ordained a deacon in 2003 and serves in that capacity at Most Holy Trinity in St. Louis Park. He grew up in Richfield, Minnesota and has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He spent several years beginning in the late '70s as a professional stage, screen and television actor in New York. He and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters.
Kari Elsen
Youth Ministry Coordinator
Kari graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree and license in Social Studies Secondary Education, and degrees in Psychology and Family Studies. She spent the previous two years teaching 11th grade Social Justice and 12th grade Christian Morality at Loyola Catholic High School in Mankato. She joined St. Bart's staff in July 2010.
Kathy Salman
Director of Communications
Kathy joined the parish staff as the part-time Director of Communications in September 2006, and she is in charge of the Reflections newsletter, the parish website, and assisting other staff on communication projects as needed. Kathy grew up in the parish and attended St. Bart's School. After graduating from Benilde-St. Margaret's High School, she earned a degree in journalism and mass communications from Iowa State University. Kathy lived in Chicago for many years and spent the majority of her career producing print and online publications for the National Association of Realtors.
Terri Kedzuf
Administrative Assistant
Terri started working here part-time in 1996 and went full-time in 1998. Her responsibilities include greeting visitors to the parish office, answering the telephone, helping staff with various tasks and helping Richard Clarke with tasks associated with music and liturgy. Terri worked in the banking industry for many years as an administrative assistant. She enjoys getting to know so many nice, wonderful people at St. Bartholomew.
Pete Therault
Maintenance
Pete has worked in our maintenance and custodial area since 1988. He enjoys interacting with the school kids and watching them grow over the years.