The Pastoral Council of St. Elizabeth and Sts. Cyril & Methodius is an appointed body of dedicated parish leaders who represent the community, serve as liaisons with the various ministries of the parish, act as a sounding board for the good of the community, and are advisors to the pastor.

Dolores Bachand

Dolores has been a parish member for 20 plus years. She has served and continues to serve on various committees including the Hospitality Committee, Sandwich line (five years, every Saturday), Eucharistic Minister and Sacristan. This is her first term on the Parish Council.  Dolores has three children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren. Presently, four generations live in her household.  On February 1, 2008 she retired with 50 years of service to the citizens of the City and County of Denver.  Delores does volunteer work two days a week at the Office of Employee Assistance.  When she has free time, Dolores likes to travel, go to movies, watch plays at the Buell Theater and spend time with family and friends.

Doug Hargrave

Doug  joined St. Elizabeth of Hungary in 2004 and has remained active in the parish through a number of ministries including Sandwich Line, Liturgy ministries, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. His wife, Nina, and his son, Luke, are also active members at St. E’s.  Doug currently serves as an Outreach Ministry liason for Parish Council. Outside of St. E’s he stays busy via his day job as an energy and environmental building engineer and through various volunteer organizations.

Mary Ann Koellner

Mary Ann is a retired physical therapist, homemaker/community volunteer and pastoral minister. She graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy and much later with a Masters Degree of art in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University, New Orleans.  Mary Ann and her husband, Paul, moved to Denver approximately three years ago to be near their daughter, Karen, and her son, Jackson.  The family lived in Ames, Iowa for 36 years where Mary Ann served in many volunteer positions within her parish.   After receiving her Masters Degree, she was employed by two parishes working in a variety of Parish positions.  She is looking forward to learning more about the charisma of St E’s and serving the parish community.

Patti Howell

Patti  has been a member of St. Elizabeth’s since moving downtown in 2007.  She and husband, Dale, enjoy making their faith community part of the overall downtown community they  have come to know and enjoy.  On mild weather days, you will often see Dale and Patti walking or riding their bikes to Mass.Patti is a graduate of the University of Denver and holds an MS in Management and Organization.  She enjoys the flexibility of working from her home office where she manages 350,000 square feet of commercial real estate in three states. At St. Elizabeth’s she participates in the Bread Ministry and is the Parish Council liaison for the Stewardship committee.  In her former parish of Pax Christi in Highlands Ranch, she was active in Parish Council and the ministries of marriage prep, bible study, community outreach, new member orientation and Christiana’s.  Patti is a graduate of the Bennett Hills program for Spiritual Direction.  Her hobbies include; skiing, hiking, swimming, yoga, reading, cooking and diving.  She is presently serving her  faith community in her first term on Parish Council.

Quentin Hope

Quentin has been a member of St. Elizabeth’s church since 2002.  He became involved in community life by working on the parish directory, which he felt was a good way to get acquainted with the parishioners.  As his daughter became older, he furthered his involvement by becoming a parent helper and Catechist for the Good Shepherd program.  In 2008 he became a member of the Parish Council.  Quentin lives in LoDo with his wife San Ong and daughter Fuxian and is grateful to be a part of St. Elizabeth’s long history of serving a diverse community in downtown Denver.

Tony Curcio

Tony began attending St.Elizabeth’s ten years ago, in 2000.  He and his wife, Jolene, were married at St.E’s.  Today, with their three children, Hazel, Olive and Gabriel, they are an integral part of the community, volunteering their time in a variety of ways. Tony began his term on Parish Council in 2008 and is presently the liaison for the Building and Grounds committee.  The group struggles with the demands of a 130-year old church along with the budget constraints; most of their goals are achieved through committed volunteers and judicious use of parish funds.

Jim Emme

Jim is a ‘cradle’ Catholic who was born and raised in Southern California. He is a geologist and an alumnus of Colorado School of Mines and has a passion for science and the outdoors. Jim and his wife, Kathy, found their spiritual home at St. Elizabeth’s in 2006. As they continue their faith journey they were drawn to St. E’s uniquely personal Catholic community which encourages dialogue, reflection and transformation. Jim has particular interest in youth and adult religious education and serves as a catechist for the RCIA program. Now that their two boys are grown, Jim also enjoys being a youth mentor with Denver Kids, Inc.

 

 

 

 

Keith Ruckhaus

Keith and his family have been active members of the Byzantine community since its inception here at St. Elizabeth’s in 2003.  Along with serving on the pastoral council for the past year, he serves in the choir and shares in the cantering duties.  He is an active member of the RCIA team and the St. Elizabeth’s Marked Men for Christ men’s group.  During that time, Keith has earned both a Masters and a Doctorate in Old Testament Theology from the University of South Africa.  He has written a short book entitled: When God Stops Working, which explores the biblical implications of Sabbath rest. Currently, Keith serves as the Sexton for the parish and is an adjunct faculty member at Regis University and the Community College of Aurora.  He hopes to serve the church more in the future as a teacher and writer of the Old Testament and to become a regular server in the sandwich line at St. Elizabeth’s.

Lisa Ferreira

Frank DeBacker

Frank & his spouse Katherine have been members of St. E's since the summer of 2007 when they moved to the Denver area from Kansas City.  Frank is retired from the electric utility industry and spends his free time working on his children's home's and flying his sailplane.  Currently Frank serves as an altar server, eucharistic minister and lector.  This is his first experience serving as a member of a parish council and hopes that his diverse background will be of useful service to the community of St. E's.

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly Parnigoni

Kelly started attending St. Elizabeth's church in 2004 and joined the parish in 2005 after completed the RCIA program.  Kelly participates with her husband, John, in the Sandwich Line ministry.  Kelly serves as the liaison to the Liturgy committee from Parish Council.  Outside of St. E's Kelly works as a Business Manager at Denver Health Hospital.  Kelly enjoys rock climbing, skiing and travel with her free time.

Jim Anthony

 

 

 

 

Margaret Brown

Margaret has been a parish member for over 20 years.  She is currently the Parish Council Liaison to the Finance Council where she has served for a number of years.  She recently retired from the City andCountyofDenverwhere she was the Budget Director and Finance Director.  She volunteers atNew Foundations, a program that serves prison inmates as well as other volunteer activities and avocations. She is married with one adult daughter.  She loves most Colorado outdoor activities including biking, hiking, and skiing.