In 1978 the archbishop received a letter from the school principal in Unalaska, asking why a priest had not been to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska since the end of World War II. After a short visit to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska Archbishop Francis Hurley, newly appointed as archbishop, assigned the first nun, Sister Marie Ann Brent to serve the church in Dutch Harbor. Six weeks later, Archbishop Hurley returned to Dutch Harbor/ Unalaska to find Sister Brent had several children ready for First Communion and Confirmation.
The community chapel, which also had an extra apartment, was graciously offered to Sister Brent. This was the groundwork Sister Brent used for the birth of St. Christopher by the Sea parish in Unalaska. Sister Brent spent seven years, from 1979 to 1986, as the parish administrator for St. Christopher-by-the-Sea Church she became the first parish life director of an Alaskan parish without a resident priest.
There were many visiting Priests and Parish Life Directors over the years. In the late 1980’s, for nearly 30 years, Gary and Sandra Sandness were resident Parish Life Directors for St. Christopher by the Sea. Gary and Sandra coordinated, First Communion and CCD Classes, worked out logistics for visiting priests, and performed many administrative tasks. Sandra was also the parish music director. In 2010, Father Dan Hebert, of St. Patrick’s parish in Anchorage, was assigned pastor of St. Christopher by the Sea Parish.
In the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles 6:1-15 explains why and how deacons first came to be in the early church. The Apostles needed help ministering to the people. Seven men with a fullness of faith and wisdom from the Holy Spirit were chosen and presented to the Apostles. The Apostles laid hands on the seven men. These men were the first deacons of the church.
St. Christopher by the Sea Catholic Church announces to the community of Dutch Harbor Unalaska, that on May 18, 2018, at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral in Anchorage, Daniel E. Winters was ordained a Catholic Deacon by Archbishop Paul Etienne.
The Deacon couple Deacon Dan Winters and his wife, Roxanna Winters, are assigned to St. Christopher by the Sea in Unalaska. Deacon Dan will perform baptisms, witness marriages, minister to the sick, bury the dead, and preside in the absence of a Priest at Communion services and distribute Holy Communion.
