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Community Corner

'Change is Exciting,' Says Guardian Angels' New Priest

New priest Rodger Bauman was part of the first graduating class of then-newly merged Hill-Murray High School.

church’s new priest Rodger Bauman has deep roots in the east metro area.

Bauman was raised in White Bear Lake, one of 11 children, with most of his family still residing in White Bear Lake or nearby communities. He was part of the first graduating class of the then-newly merged Hill-Murray High School.

The church has been warm and welcoming, Bauman said.

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“I am very excited to be here,” he said.

Bauman attended Saint Thomas College, now the University of Saint Thomas where he graduated in 1978, continuing with graduate school at The Saint Paul Seminary. He was ordained in 1982, and has been a priest for 29 years.

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Guardian Angels is his fifth parish assignment, his third as pastor. His most recent assignment was at St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake.

Having served the congregation of St. Mary of the Lake for nine years, Bauman said it was hard to leave.

“You connect with a community. You put down roots," he said. "But making a change is important and healthy so that you don’t become too comfortable and complacent. And change is exciting.”

The most rewarding aspect of a priest’s role is, having “the ability to serve God by serving people of faith, helping the community to maintain, meet and realize their mission,” he said.

He said he takes pride in his work as a spiritual advisor with the intimacy of the role often meaning spending very “important emotional and spiritual moments” in the lives of his congregation—times of struggle including illnesses and deaths, as well as the joyful times celebrating weddings, anniversaries and baptisms.

Like any job, some aspects of a pastor’s work can be challenging, he said, especially when trying to balance program finances under a tight budget.

“You do the best you can,” he said, “but, of course, those challenges are not just found in the church, but are also everywhere in life,” he said.

What he finds especially positive in the Guardian Angels community is the way they give back to those around them, he said.

“The congregation is very active in volunteering, serving in so many committees and organizations,” he said. “This community is very committed to social justice, and very compassionate, always concerned with the needs of others. They are planting the seeds that sprout and grow in other communities, too.”

Bauman said he is excited about his future at Guardian Angels.

“I am looking forward to helping and working with the congregation,” he said, “and realizing the mission I have been sent to do.”

Guardian Angels Pastoral Minister and Coordinator of Justice and Social Outreach, Bob Walz, said he is very excited to have Bauman join the parish.

“He is a great preacher, and a very energetic priest,” he said. “He comes from a parish where he was a strong advocate for social justice.”

St. Mary of the Lake and Guardian Angels share several commonalities: both parishes are part of the JustFaith organization, as well as being involved with Fair Trade Coffee.

"We feel very lucky to have Father Bauman here. He is a really good fit for our parish,” Walz said.

Bauman replaces Rev. William F. Martin, who was pastor at Guardian Angels for 13 years.

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