New book highlights history of Door County’s Catholic community
By Benjamin Wideman | For On Mission
SISTER BAY, WI — As the unofficial historian for Stella Maris Parish in northern Door County, Linda Cummer spent countless hours researching and compiling the parish’s extensive roots.
Her efforts culminated in “Celebrate – Stella Maris Parish,” a beautiful, soft-cover book highlighting the five churches and one island mission that unified in 2005 to form a new parish.
The insightful book was joyfully presented to parishioners on September 28, 2025, as the parish commemorated its 20th anniversary. Bishop David Ricken celebrated morning Masses to packed pews in Baileys Harbor and Sister Bay, followed by a festive lunch.
“We have a long history of faithful families,” said Cummer, 77, noting the first of the parish’s churches was built in Baileys Harbor in 1874. “I was truly touched by the families I learned about who wanted to come together and worship in churches in their communities here in Door County so many years ago. There are so many stories each of our churches can share from their histories. And now for the last 20 years, those stories are all part of our same parish — Stella Maris.”
Stella Maris Parish, led by pastor, Fr. Thomas Farrell, is comprised of worship sites in Sister Bay (St. Rosalia), Baileys Harbor (St. Mary of the Lake), Fish Creek (St. Paul the Apostle), Jacksonport (St. Michael the Archangel), Egg Harbor (St. John the Baptist), and Washington Island (where Mass takes place in the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church building).
The parish serves about 600 households year-round, with numbers nearly tripling during the summer tourism months as people from throughout the United States and around the world flock to the pristine Door Peninsula. At least one visiting priest assists during those months to accommodate the crowds.
“It is a joy to be with you this morning,” Bishop Ricken said to begin his homily at the Stella Maris location in Sister Bay. “What a beautiful day it is this morning that we can come together as God’s people and give honor and glory and praise to God. What a unique privilege that we have in this country, in our diocese and all of our communities, to be able to gather Sunday morning.”
Cummer, a native of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and her husband, Gerald, arrived in Sister Bay in 1995, a decade before the consolidation into Stella Maris Parish, and quickly embraced the community. After retiring from teaching in the Gibraltar School District, Cummer served as a catechist and then as a faith formation coordinator until retiring from those parish roles three years ago. For the past few years, she faithfully compiled the history of the Stella Maris Parish worship sites, diligently gathering details from previous publications, conducting interviews and traveling to the Diocese of Green Bay office to review additional documents.
Along the way, she found numerous interesting facts about the parish sites. For example, the Jacksonsport church is the only parish site that was the original church building, and an old schoolhouse in Fish Creek served as that first church location.
Fr. Farrell, who began serving as pastor at Stella Maris six years ago, said that parishioners have adapted well to the consolidation. He added that the parish is blessed to have its 20th anniversary coincide with the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year.
“We as a parish in northern Door County have an anchor as our symbol for hope in Jesus Christ,” Fr. Farrell said. “A steel anchor keeps a boat grounded during turbulent waters. A spiritual anchor keeps us grounded during turbulent life events.
“Our hope is anchored in the proved, unchanging, perfect, absolute nature of God. Mary is referred to by the Passionists as (the) Mother of Divine Hope, and for us at Stella Maris Parish, she remains to be an anchor for us in her son, Jesus Christ.”
Like Cummer, parish business administrator Larry Leporte quickly embraced the parish and greater community upon his arrival in Door County in the spring of 2024. He was born in Appleton and lived in numerous cities over the years; most recently, he moved here from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Leporte enjoys interacting with parishioners and attending Mass at all of the parish’s church locations.
“Going to all of our churches and not just one is interesting,” he said. “They each have their own individual characteristics, which makes them special. I enjoy getting a chance to see all of them. Our churches are the centers of our towns and communities. And because we have one pastor for all of them, that’s a huge unifying factor. Fr. Tom has been extremely good at bringing people together.
“From everything I’ve heard from people since I’ve been here, I like the way parishioners have moved away from identifying with just one individual church to now identifying as a whole parish. For example, some of our parishioners may mainly attend Mass at one church, but you will see them volunteering and helping at all of the churches. A lot of people value that sense of larger community we have at Stella Maris. We are a very welcoming and warm parish.”