This Sunday will be more than a day of worship for the parishioners at the Catholic church in Eatonville. Our Lady of Good Counsel will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of regularly scheduled Catholic Mass in the town. The first one was held Aug. 12, 1912. "It's a historic presence in our community that we want to rejoice in and recognize," said Rev. Matthew O'Leary. After this Sunday's Mass, the members will go to nearby Glacier View Park for a parish picnic. The gathering will include a pie contest whose entries will come from recipes dating to 1912. Games from the same era also are planned. The history of Mass in Eatonville pre-dates Our Lady of Good Counsel. Father Vesta from St. Leo's Catholic Church in Tacoma led the services at the old Swan Hotel, now the site of a bank, until Our Lady of Good Counsel became an established church in 1918. Its first building, near the corner of Washington Avenue and Carter Street, was its home until the current church building opened in 1980 on Antonie Avenue North. The church counts 140 households in its membership and is active in community programs, including the local food bank, O'Leary said. Our Lady of Good Counsel is a mission of Holy Disciples Catholic Church in the South Hill area, where O'Leary also is pastor. The Liturgy of the Eucharist, or Mass, is the central form of Catholic worship.
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