Parish Leadership Team

Fr. Jaime Zarse was ordained on May 24, 2014. During his first few years as a priest, he served the Topeka area from 2014-2018 as associate pastor at Christ the King, chaplain of Hayden Catholic High School, and chaplain of TCF Women’s Correctional Facility. In 2018, Fr. Zarse became the pastor of Sacred Heart in Sabetha, St Augustine in Sabetha, and St James in Wetmore, where he served through June of 2023. He was also the director of Totus Tuus during that time.

Fr. Zarse became pastor at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Shawnee on July 1, 2023. He arrived in awe of the beautiful, newly renovated church, and was immediately impressed with the first-class staff at Sacred Heart who are smart, hungry and humble, Fr. Zarse is excited about the organizational health of the parish and by seeing the living faith in the pews.

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

My wife, Melinda and I have been married for 17 years and have been blessed with 8 children. We moved to Shawnee, KS in 2010 and became parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus at that time. We currently homeschool our children and love praying the rosary nightly as a family.

I am the Principal of The Kincaid Group which owns and operates several business entities. We have operated in approximately 15 states with over 2,000 employees.

Nothing yet everything has changed with growing in holiness through deeper prayer and more frequent participation in the sacraments. My wife and I are committed to supporting our parish families, specifically, the men at Sacred Heart to be better formed and become the spiritual leaders of their households.

Jesus said, “I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” —Luke 12:49

If asked in college what Julie Krause would be doing now, she doubts she would have said she would be working for Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church as the Business Manager. Growing up in a rural community, Julie’s family made their faith life an integral part of their lives so it seemed natural when her and her family moved to Shawnee in 1998, she immediately started volunteering at Sacred Heart.

She handles all things “business” for the parish. Since 2000, she has witnessed the great growth (both parishioners and physical space) of Sacred Heart but also has met and worshiped with amazing people that love, honor and serve our Lord. SHoJ rocks!!!

A native of Elgin, Nebraska (yep, folks, she is a Cornhusker!), she graduated with a business and finance degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and received her Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of St. Mary. She has been married to Kevin since 1985 and has three children, Annie (Tony), Abbie (Trey) and Austin (Mary Kate). In 2016, she got promoted to “JuJu” and happily spends her spare time with her grandchildren: Henry, Daniel, Augustine, Chiara Luce, Peter, Joseph Anthony (our Saint in Heaven) and Benjamin.

“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 has been Director of Religious Education at Sacred Heart since July 2016, and First Sacraments Coordinator since 2018.

Jennifer is a life-long member of Sacred Heart of Jesus and is blessed to come from a family of Sacred Heart parishioners dating back two generations.

When the opportunity to join the parish staff came about, Jennifer said “My heart was desiring something more than just a job. Not only did I hear God calling me to the staff, but I also felt Him embracing me and reminding me that Sacred Heart has been my “home” since I was a newborn. God called me to fill my spiritual cup by serving Him and our parish. Without a doubt, I am right where I belong.”

Prior to joining the parish staff, Jennifer spent two decades working in the corporate world primarily focusing on Human Resources management.

Jennifer’s family includes her husband, Henry, and their three adult children Rachel, Dalton, and Kayce. Besides spending time with her family, Jennifer enjoys cooking, baking, playing with her dogs, and traveling anywhere with sunshine and a beach.

Jennifer feels extremely blessed to be part of the parish staff and to get to spend her days surrounded by others who share deeply in her faith.

I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.
— Saint Teresa of Calcutta

At the Gaudemaus dinner when accepting the School of Excellence award, Kathy Rhodes said, “I have asked a lot of children what they want to do when they grow up, never have I heard ‘be a Catholic School Principal’ –Boy, they don’t know what they are missing!”

Kathy has been a Catholic School principal for 17 years. She would say that her path has been a meandering one with stops in public school, private educational services, marketing and sales; but thanks to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the Adoration Chapel, her deep love of the Catholic Faith, and her passion for education she has the joy of working with a team to lead Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School.

Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Kathy knows the roles that a Catholic parish and school play in the life of a family. She feels blessed to be able to call working for one her career. She attended the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Elementary School and graduated from Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll, IA. She earned a BS in Elementary Education from Iowa State University, a MS in Curriculum and Instruction from Kansas State University and a MS in School Leadership from Benedictine College. She has been married to her KU graduate, Jason, for 31 years and they have 4 children. She enjoys all sports (especially if it involves a good tailgate), spending time with her family
(especially in Iowa) and volunteering at her parish.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” —John 15:11