St. Thomas More Catholic Community Collection

St. Thomas More Catholic Community began in 1983 at the initiative of several lay women and men who had moved into the Green Valley area of Henderson and who saw the need for a parish in that area. The early gatherings were in the Hallmark pre-school and began as “The Mission of St. Peter’s Church”. In July 1984, after outgrowing the pre-school, services were held in the chapel at Palm Mortuary. During that same summer the Clerics of St. Viator agreed to accept responsibility for the mission and sent Fr. Thomas Long, csv, as Pastor to guide the effort. On August 1, 1986 the Mission was officially established by the Diocese of Las Vegas as St. Thomas More Catholic Community. The groundbreaking for the first building, a multi-purpose center was held on July 17, 1988 and the first Mass was celebrated there on July 1, 1989. A second priest, Fr. James Crilly, csv, arrived as Associate Pastor in 1992 and in 1993 Fr. Dan Nolan, csv, succeeded Fr. Long as the Pastor. As the parish popularity grew the priority became the construction of the new church. Groundbreaking for the present church was held on October 6, 1995 and the dedication took place on September 26, 1996. In 1999 a daily Mass chapel was added to the church as well as a matching office complex for the parish staff. As the parish census grew to nearly 5000 registered families, the needs of religious education classes, space for parish meetings and activities, and office space for a growing staff led to the planning for additional space to be added to the original multi-purpose building. Fr. Pat Render, csv, was appointed the third pastor in July of 2001 and construction began that same summer. The addition contained fifteen classrooms, staff offices, meeting rooms, an enlarged kitchen, a gift shop, a nursery for child care and a renovation of the original multi-purpose space and was named the Community Center. Fr. Ken Morris, Fr. Mike Keliher, Fr. Bob Bolser, Fr. Larry Lentz, Fr. Mick Egan and Fr. Alan Syslo have all served as Associate Pastors in the course of the parish’s history. Five ordained deacons minister within the community and a well-trained and professional lay staff lead the ministries and programs of the parish. In 2002 a newly structured Pastoral Council was created to advise the Pastor and Pastoral Staff and to build on the history of strong lay leadership with the parish community. The parish celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2011 and by that time the parish registration was well over 6000 households. The spirituality and vitality of the parish are reflected in its cultural diversity, its prayerful liturgies, its strong social outreach and its dedication to the faith formation of young and old. In June of 2015, Fr. Mick Egan, csv was appointed Pastor and served two years. He was appointed Provincial for the Viatorian Community in 2017 and moved back to Illinois. In June 2017, Fr. Dan Nolan, csv was appointed Pastor of St Thomas More again. Due to medical reasons, Fr. Dan retired in March of 2018 and Fr. Mike Keliher was named Parish Administrator. In June of 2019, Fr. Mike Keliher left for medical and personal reasons and Bishop Chris Glancy, C.S.V. was named the Administrator. In July 2019, St. Thomas More became a Diocesan parish and Reverend Bede Wevita was named Pastor and Reverend Tokha T. Hoang, C.Ss.R. (Father Thomas) was named Parochial Vicar (Associate Pastor).

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