St. Jude of the Lake sits in a residential neighborhood in Mahtomedi, near the southeast shore of White Bear Lake. Its pastor jokes that you find the campus only if you’re lost. While tucked away, St. Jude of the Lake includes a beautiful church, a thriving school, and many members who’ve been around since the parish was founded in 1940. “It’s easy to build community here because everybody’s related to everybody,” says Father Michael Johnson with a smile.
Father Michael was named pastor of St. Jude of the Lake in 2024, and since his arrival, he’s been leading an effort to ensure its future. With help from CCF, the parish is building and growing endowments that will provide financial support for the school and parish for generations to come.
“The people who built this church didn’t just build it for themselves, they built it for their children, their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — people who hadn’t even been born,” says Father Michael. “That’s the way I see the endowments. They’ll help fund our school and our ministries for future generations so they can experience the richness of our faith.”
A Period of Transformation
Recent history has taught parishioners of St. Jude of the Lake that you can’t take the future for granted. Back in 2016, enrollment at the parish school was down to 43 students. The middle school had closed several years earlier, and there was growing pressure to shut down the entire school. The pastor at the time turned to former school parent and dedicated volunteer Carrie Hackman to help decide the school’s future.
“Father Cory Rohlfing asked me to tackle the principal opportunity and advise him on whether I thought the school was viable,” recalls Carrie. His ask was, “if the school was not sustainable, please help close it with grace.” Carrie agreed to a one-year trial that turned into eight transformative years.
Carrie realized she couldn’t bring herself to recommend closing the school. Instead, she turned the school around by overhauling the building and grounds and working with faculty and staff to introduce new programs and curricula. St. Jude of the Lake has since reinstated its middle school, and enrollment for pre-K–8 has risen by 520% to over 300 students.
After Carrie retired as principal last summer, her family and friends chose to honor her by establishing an endowment to benefit the school, which they believe has a significant impact on the parish. “Revitalizing the school also revitalized St. Jude of the Lake Catholic Church,” explains Dan Hackman, Carrie’s husband. “Now, we’re committed to doing our small part going forward to try to help sustain that in perpetuity.”
The endowment the Hackmans funded will provide targeted support for tuition assistance and faculty development. “All the data and Carrie’s own experience make it clear, what really moves the needle in education is highly qualified and motivated teachers,” says Dan. “We wanted to make sure that we continue to support the staff going forward.”
For Carrie, ensuring the future of tuition assistance at St. Jude of the Lake is a cause close to her heart. “I was that kid who would’ve loved to go to Catholic school,” she says, recalling her childhood in suburban Chicago. “I wanted to go to St. Joe’s so badly, and my parents just didn’t have the money.”
Parish Leverages Archdiocese Capital Campaign to Grow Endowments
In addition to the endowment established by the Hackmans, St. Jude of the Lake has two other endowments: one for general support of the school, and another for parish ministry. For the Archdiocese’s Lord, Renew Your Church capital campaign, the parish chose to use the opportunity to increase awareness and support for all three. “Our hope is to increase the endowments by 50%,” says Father Michael
Father Michael worked with CCF to develop clear messaging for the campaign, so parishioners understand their options and feel inspired to give. “The theme is giving for the future, giving for tomorrow, and giving for today,” explains Father Michael. “CCF helped us with that language, and the overwhelming response has been positive. People are grateful we’re not just focused on immediate needs.”
Gratitude for the Past Inspires Hope for the Future
With one grandchild now in preschool at St. Jude of the Lake and more on the way, Carrie has complete confidence in her successor to keep the school going strong, but she knows the future isn’t guaranteed.
“It costs money to deliver an excellent education, and you can’t keep raising tuition to fund that excellence,” Carrie points out. “If we don’t have the endowments for longevity, down the road we could see a compromise in our amazing academic experience and downward slide in enrollment that the school experienced before.”
Reflecting on the flourishing school and its impact on the parish, Father Michael observes that gratitude to God and the people who came before him can be the only response. “What we need to do now is fill this campus with people, with life, with ministry,” he says. “Focusing on the endowments will help us do that, not just for tomorrow, but forever.”