PARISH HISTORY

        The first Saints Cosmas and Damian Catholic church was built just before the town of Orting incorporated in 1887.  A man named Fred Mueller, and his friends, built it at the location of the present church.  It was two years before Washington became a state in 1889.  The land at the time was part of the same parcel where most of Orting stands today; on the Daniel Varner donation land claim.  Mr. Varner abandoned his claim after the Indian War of 1855-56 and was later legally acquired by Frederick E. Eldredge, who subsequently platted the rest of the town site and became the first Mayor of Orting.

        Saint Cosmas and All Saints parish was formed in Puyallup in 1890 and Rev. John Rollinger was the first pastor.  It was Fr. Rohlinger who visited Orting to hold Mass for the Catholics in the area.  During the time of Fr. Rohlinger the Orting parish was named Saints Cosmas and Damian.

        In 1921, the Orting parish became a mission church of St Andrew parish and has remained so to the present day.  Thus, the first pastor of St. Andrew, Rev. Bernard Kornke, who served until 1934, also served as pastor of Saints Cosmas and Damian.   Those that followed were: Rev. Michael Rosol, 1935-47; George McLean, 1947-49; James Hamilton, 1949-61, Dan McAlister, 1961-75; Thomas Delahunty 1975-84 and Pat McDermott, 1984-89.  (To this day, more than a century after our founding, we have never had any resident clergy.)

        Interesting things happened to the "Little Church" through the years.  During the Depression 30's, when times were particularly difficult, activity in the church slowed down.  By 1946, when the small church in the Kapowsin area closed, the pews, altar and statues were moved to Orting.  At that time some 10-15 families made up the parish.  By 1949, with a new foundation, bathroom and other smaller upgrades, the membership swelled to 45 families.  Growth and expansion continued into the mid-1960s with community and church both benefitting.  It was during this time that the property next door was purchased.  First the old house on it was rented out, but soon had to be used by the growing parish.

        By 1978, the condition of our own church building had deterioriated to the point where we needed to build a new church of our own.   In the Spring of 1978, the local fire department burned the old house next door for practice on Sunday morning while Mass was being celebrated.  On June 4, 1978, the old church building itself was removed, and a new church building was started.

        During this time, the parish used the chapel at the Washington State Soldier's Home.  In December of 1978, we dedicated a new multi-purpose church building for worship, parish meetings and religious education.   Dedication ceremonies were conducted by Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen with assistance from the pastor, Thomas Delahunty, and Rev. Charles Wollesen.

        The parish drew families from Orting, Graham, South Prairie, Alderton, McMillin, and Kapowsin.  By 1989, our community had grown so much that we needed to add a new wing to our building for religious education, kitchen, storage and meeting space.  The very next year we also redesigned our worship space, rearranging the main worship area following the bishops document on Art & Environment and adding chapels for Reconciliation and for reservation of the bread of the Eucharist.

        On April 28, 1989, the current pastor-administrator began his tenure at both St. Andrew parish in Sumner, and Saints Cosmas and Damian parish in Orting. There are now 142 families registered at the Orting parish.  We continue to be served by the staff of St. Andrew Parish, as well as by our own part-time Religious Education director.  While we were once coordinated primarily by the parish Altar Society, we are now served by a parish Pastoral Advisory Council.  The Altar Society continues to function, along with a parish Social Justice Commission and a Liturgy Commission.

        Saints Cosmas and Damian continues to be a vibrant, alive community.  Largely due to the lack of resident clergy, we continue to be a proudly independent, volunteer-oriented, "do-it-ourselves" group of folks.  Our tradition of warm, friendly, small town hospitality is a precious part of our identity, which we hope to preserve into our future.

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