Parish History

Holy Spirit Parish was established by Bishop John J. Sullivan, Bishop of Kansas City/St. Joseph, on February 16, 1979, to serve southeastern Jackson County and northeastern Cass County. At that time, Rev. Roger F. Miller was assigned as pastor of the parish.
Five acres of ground on Highway 150, 2 miles west of Highway 291, were purchased in 1979. For 2 1/2 years, church services were held in the Greenwood elementary school cafeteria. In 1982 the metal warehouse-type building that currently houses the offices and education programs was constructed. Masses and other services were held in this building until 1993.
Building of the present structure was begun in August 1992 and completed in May 1993. Even as current parishioners were excited to be in their new church, the growth the surrounding area was experiencing was drawing in more and more new members.
In the spring of 1998 Fr. Miller retired for health reasons. The current pastor, Rev. Michael Tierney, came to the parish in June of 1998. In June of the following year Ann Hayles was hired as Pastoral Associate. In the Fall of 1999 a Strategic Planning committee was established to chart out a new course to keep up with the rapid growth of the parish and the area. After months of study and surveys, the decision was made to purchase land for future building and to establish the programs needed to respond to parishioners' interests. Construction on the new facility began in May of 2005 and was completed in September of 2006. The church was dedicated on September 24, 2006.