Mission Impact

My name is Fr. Zarse and I am the pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The two most important days in my life were 26 years apart. The first was my baptism, which occurred on the feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28th, 1986. The second was my ordination to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, which occurred on May 24th, 2014. The first of these events sealed my identity as a son of the Father. The second of these events sealed my vocation and mission.

The Holy Spirit has placed on my heart a mission for our parish in this time to put all hearts on a collision course with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He has provided clarity on how we are to measure such collisions with our five foundation stones. These foundation stones are the most important work in our parish. They are the foundation upon which everything is built. We take them so seriously that we are measuring each of them on a quarterly basis. The five foundation stones are eucharistic encounters, rosary, fasting, Scripture, and confession.

Here at Sacred Heart our niche is the war on mediocrity. And we chose that because of the etymology of the word mediocrity (mediocris: meaning midway point up the rock face). Here at Sacred Heart we believe that Jesus meant what he said when he named that he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10 NAB). We see this as a call to scale the rock face, rather than settling for the midway point. We do not want the midway point, we want to journey to the summit. We want the fullness of life. We want a collision with the sacred heart of Jesus. Friends, we will see you at the summit.

I was born and raised Catholic in Great Bend, KS. My wife, Mindy, and I have four boys who attend Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School and St. James Academy. Mindy is the Music Coordinator here at Sacred Heart and she joined the Church in 2013.

After graduating from KU with an accounting degree I spent the next 20 years in corporate consulting helping companies implement processes and streamline their businesses. 15 years ago, I started investing in real estate and I currently own and operate mobile home parks and single family rentals in the KC metro. After selling the majority of our mobile home parks this summer, I felt God calling me to share my gifts and experience at our parish. Being a member on the Parish Leadership Team has allowed me to bring tools from my business background and consulting experience to work on His mission to make Sacred Heart of Jesus an amazing parish!

“Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” —Matthew 6:34

Jon and his wife, Katie, have been parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus for many years and are blessed with four sons. Their faith and family life have been deeply shaped by this parish through the sacraments, parish life, and the relationships formed along the way.

Jon’s service on the Parish Leadership Team flows from prayerful discernment and gratitude. What he has learned through his life experiences—both personal and professional—he seeks to offer as gifts to the Church, supporting the pastor, parish staff, and parishioners with humility and charity. Above all, Jon sees his role as one of service—helping ensure steadiness and continuity in parish life and keeping Sacred Heart focused on what matters most: drawing hearts closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

If you had asked Julie Krause in college what she’d be doing today, working for a Catholic parish probably wouldn’t have made the list. But after more than two decades at Sacred Heart of Jesus, she knows God’s plan was far better than her own—calling her into a role that has felt like a true response to His invitation.

Julie now serves as the Parish Integrator, assisting the Pastor to ensure that the parish’s vision and culture are clearly lived out. She helps unify the team, maintain focus on priorities, and keep everyone moving together in mission—putting all hearts on a collision course with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Over the past two years, Julie has played a key role in helping Sacred Heart intentionally live out that mission with grit, joy, and deep faith.

Originally from Elgin, Nebraska (yep, folks, she’s a Cornhusker!), Julie grew up in a small rural town where faith was a central part of life. After moving to Shawnee in 1998, she immediately began volunteering at Sacred Heart, and by 2000 joined the staff full-time. With her background in business and finance, she’s helped steward the resources of the parish through seasons of great growth—supporting the mission while witnessing the beauty of a vibrant and faith-filled community that honors and serves the Lord.

Julie holds a business and finance degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and an MBA in Finance from the University of St. Mary. She has been married to Kevin since 1985 and is the proud mom of Annie (Tony), Abbie (Trey), and Austin (Mary Kate). In 2016, she received the ultimate promotion—“JuJu”—and loves spending time with her grandchildren: Henry, Daniel, Augustine, Chiara Luce, Peter, Joseph Anthony (our Saint in Heaven), Benjamin, Gianna & Penelope.

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad.” —Psalm 118:24

Emily and her husband, Scott, joined Sacred Heart parish in 2006 and are blessed with three beautiful children. Emily was born in San Angelo, Texas but grew up in Wichita, Kansas. She comes from a big Catholic family, almost all of which attended Kansas State University. She followed in their footsteps and graduated from Kansas State in 2003 with a degree in Public Relations.

In May of 2016, Emily began to pray that God would transform her life, and within weeks Emily accepted the position of Director of Religious Education. “The Lord most certainly had a plan…far better than anything I could have planned for myself. This ministry has blessed me in more ways than I could ever explain. My prayer is that it will do the same for the ALL of the families enrolled in our School of Religion program.” Emily Dumler has worked at Sacred Heart since 2016 as the Director of Religious Education, First Sacraments Coordinator, and now as the Director of Parish Life.