Fr. Mike Dechant OMI – Pastor
Fr. Mike Dechant was born in northern Alberta, but then “transplanted” to Saskatchewan for most of his life. He is an Oblate of Mary Immaculate who believes that Youth are the Future (of the Church) …NOW!
At present, he is working in the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Division as the Priest Chaplain at Holy Cross High School, and is the pastor of St. Philip Neri Parish in Saskatoon. As his father was a farmer. planting seeds to feed the people of the world, so too his son has spent most of his life “planting seeds” – seeds f hope and encouragement, the seeds of the Good News of Jesus Christ. His constant encouragement to everyone is: “Wherever you go, go with God. Whenever you go, go make a difference.”
Fr. Doug Jeffrey OMI – Associate Pastor
Fr. Doug was born into a farming family in rural Saskatchewan. They were seven kids and with their parents they worked a dairy farm just west of Saskatoon, near a little community called Grandora. He entered the Novitiate of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in August of 1974 in Battleford, SK, professed his final vows with the Missionary Oblates in 1982 and was ordained to the ministerial priesthood in 1983 by Bishop James Mahoney of Saskatoon at St. Thomas College in North Battleford, SK.
Since ordination Fr. Doug has served his religious community, the Church and the People of God in various ways. He has helped select, train and prepare young men for religious life and priesthood as Director of Formation for our Oblate community, he has preached parish missions and retreats, he has served as spiritual director and provided faith enrichment workshops for parishes, teachers, religious communities and organizations. He has served his community as a member of their Leadership Team and as the Vicar-Provincial and as the Provincial Superior. He has served as pastor in First Nation’s, rural and urban centers. The faith communities have been as small as 100 families and as large as 2100 families.
Fr. Doug’s education is as follows:
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy/Sociology (University of Alberta, Edmonton)
Bachelor of Theology (Newman Theological College, Edmonton)
Masters Degree in Spirituality (Seattle University, Seattle)
He has completed his course work for a Master’s Degree in Group Work (St. Paul University, Ottawa).
He has participated in countless workshops in an effort to keep current in areas of Scripture, Catechesis, Liturgy, Spirituality, Counseling, Theology and Professional Ethics.
He has lived in Vanderhoof, British Columbia; St. Albert, Alberta; Saskatoon, SK; Ottawa, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Sarita, Texas; and Seattle, Washington but he is most at home in Saskatchewan with our hot summers, cold winters, beautiful skies and wonderful people. He recently served the diverse peoples and cultures of the faith communities, of Meadow Lake, Green Lake and Waterhen Lake in North Central Saskatchewan.
Fr. Doug enjoys people and is honored when he can help people grow closer to the Living God. He enjoys country music and he is an avid reader and at this point in his life loves learning new things. He likes watching sports including hockey (Montreal Canadians), football (Saskatchewan Roughriders), and rodeo. He enjoys golfing, hiking, camping and preparing meals. He has lived as a hermit and appreciates silence, study, music, manual work and prayer.
Shirley Hyshka – Pastoral Associate
Shirley joined our team early in 2012 after serving as Pastoral Associate at Holy Spirit for about 3 years. She was also an elementary school educator with the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School system for 30 years prior to her parish ministry.
With three University of Saskatchewan education degrees, as well as a Certificate in Theological Studies and a Diploma in Lay Ministry, she hopes to continue learning more about Jesus as she serves in the parish. Shirley ministers in a variety of areas in the parish which include RCIA, Baptisms, Funerals, and Scripture Study.
Shirley has two children, Chris and Courtney, and she loves spending time with her four grandchildren, lunch with friends, learning new things, reading and doing all things religious!
Joanne Lysyshyn – Music Minister and Financial Administrator
j.lysyshyn@stphilipneriparish.ca
Joanne was hired as the Music Coordinator for the parish in 2005. This position involves scheduling choirs for all of the liturgies throughout the year, training cantors, arranging workshops, maintaining the keyboards and sound equipment, playing at funerals and helping couples with the wedding music if required. In 2008, Joanne took on the accounting for the parish. This entails working very closely with the parish priest, the finance committee and the office administrators. It is essential to have accurate financial records and reporting.
Joanne and her husband, Ted have five children and eight grandsons. Together they enjoy entertaining family and friends, working in their yard and attending musical events. Joanne is also an avid reader and loves sports and playing games.
Marlene Flaman Dunn – Administrative Assistant
Marlene has recently retired after a wonderful 35-year career with Saskatoon Public Schools, spending 24 years as a high school teacher and 11 years in administration at the Board Office. Marlene and her family have been parishioners at St. Philip for nearly 30 years; she is a past-Chair of our Parish Pastoral Council and she and her husband, Ken, have been involved in our Communion to the Sick Ministry for many years. Marlene and Ken have three sons, one lovely daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson and on more grand-baby on the way! In their semi-retirement spare time, Marlene and Ken love to bike, hike, kayak and ski, travel the world whenever they can, and spend most summer weekends up at Candle Lake. They especially love to spend time with their rather large extended families, hang out with their dogs and loudly cheer on their beloved SK Roughriders!
Lauraine Saretsky – Administrative Assistant
Lauraine semi-retired from a 30-year career in medical transcription in Edmonton at Alberta Health Services a few years ago and recently returned to beautiful Saskatoon to spend time with family and make her home here. In her free time, Lauraine enjoys writing, particularly poetry, as well as is an avid reader, enjoys needlepoint and crafts, enjoys taking courses as well as learning other languages. Lauraine is a certified foot reflexologist and enjoys using this skill with family and friends.
Deb Bauche – Parish Nurse
Deb joined our staff in 2004. Together with Ethna Martin R.N., she pioneered something rather unique to St. Philip Neri: Parish Nursing Minsitry. Deb makes herself available to visit those in our parish (and outside!) who are in crisis, in need of comfort or seeking counsel regarding health care. As a parish nurse, she can incorporate our Catholic faith into her work with those she meets. Deb is married to Brian and they have two children: Mike (daughter Ellie) and Nicole (husband Marc and children Julian, Paul, Petra and soon-to-be-here son). Deb likes to read and knit and visit her three grandchildren who live out of province. Deb is an 11-year breast cancer survivor and is on the Busting with Energy Dragonboat team.
Hanook Gill – Custodian/Maintenance
Hanook Gill was born in Gujrat Pakistan and moved to Canada with his sister on March 23, 2018 and immediately became part of the St. Philip Neri Parish community. Since then, he has worked at Trinity Manor and now here at St. Philip Neri where he has met many good friends. In addition to meeting new people, Hanook enjoys learning about Canadian and Indigenous cultures and loves helping and joking with our elders.
Hanook really likes his job at St. Philip Neri and has a dream to buy a house in Saskatoon and bring the rest of his family here someday.