ARTICLES

Roanoke parish pool unites Catholic families

By Jean Denton
Special to The Catholic Virginian

Ken Srpan has lived in a lot of places and he’s pretty sure that the swimming pool owned and operated by Our Lady of Nazareth Parish in Roanoke is unique.

“It’s unique in that few, if any, parishes in Virginia — or the nation, for that matter — have a pool,” said the OLN member who is chairman of the parish pool committee.

Furthermore, Mr. Srpan said, “It’s unique in that the pool has not only survived, but thrived, for 20 years solely on donations of pool members, not set dues or fees.”

A popular community recreation spot, and “full-service pool,” as Mr. Srpan describes it, OLN Swimming Pool opened for the 2008 season on Memorial Day weekend to the early summer sounds of splashing, squealing and lifeguard whistles.

Pool membership numbers more than 200 families each year. The only requirement for membership is being a registered member of a parish of the diocese.

Most members are from OLN and the Roanoke Valley parishes, but Mr. Srpan noted a few families come from further away. Parish Secretary Rita Harris noted that the pool unites members of the various parishes.

Cost of membership is simply a donation.

“I think one of the best parts about this pool is that we don’t deny membership to anyone on the basis of ability to pay,” Mr. Srpan noted.

“So for those who couldn’t ordinarily belong to a pool, they can here — if you can only pay five dollars, then you pay five dollars.” (The committee has a “suggested donation” based on a sliding scale, but it’s not mandatory.)

Nevertheless, member donations cover the entire cost of operating the pool every year.

“There are challenges,” Mr. Srpan explained, referring to the financial requirements of general upkeep.

“We’ve had leaks, and put in new pumps and a new roof on the building — there’s always something,” he laughed.

Over two decades of operation the pool committee has spent more than $100,000 in repairs and improvements, he said, “but we are always in the black.”

Like other community pools, OLN offers swimming lessons and sponsors a summer swim team. The OLN Tetras team, which competes in the Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association, has about 70 members swimming in under-6 to adult age groups.

The parish takes advantage of having a pool, using it for occasional social events, Mr. Srpan added, and members can rent it after hours for private parties.

Pool members say they especially like the fact that the pool serves as a place for Catholic families to get to know one another.

“I think I know more people in the parish through the pool than through meeting them at church,” said Margaret Mulcahy whose family of four has belonged to OLN pool for 12 years.

“Of course we know people from fellowship after Mass, but at the pool there’s more time to socialize. You can get into some deep conversations when you are sitting together watching your children swim,” she said.

Mr. Srpan explained that the parish bought the lot the pool was on in 1988 because it was adjacent to the church property and provided needed additional access to the parking lot. At the time the pool hadn’t been used for years and was in disrepair. But Mr. Srpan and his dozen cohorts who formed a pool committee determined that it would be more economical to repair and operate the swimming pool than to tear it down.

“In fact, it didn’t cost a thing,” he pointed out, since it was supported by donations from the outset and the pool committee has handled most of the maintenance.

“It’s a wonderful pool with a really wholesome environment,” Ms. Mulcahy said. “People come from all over the area, but it is a very welcoming place.”

When OLN hosts Interfaith Hospitality Network (providing short term housing for temporarily homeless families) in the summer, the guests are invited to use the pool, she added. “They love coming here in the summer.”

Ave Mitta, a pool committee member, pointed out that the OLN Pool also plays a big part in a Roanoke community “Summer Enrichment Program” for children from low-income neighborhoods.

Children in the month-long program swim at OLN pool twice a week. Now supported by an ecumenical group of local churches, the Summer Enrichment Program was started by OLN 30 years ago when the church was located in the center of Roanoke, long before the church owned a pool.

Matt Partsch, one of the pool’s 10 fulltime lifeguards this summer, has been coming to the pool and participating on the swim team since he was in grade school.

“It’s a good family atmosphere,” he said. “Just about everybody seems to know everybody.”

Once school is out, the pool will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 1–8 p.m. And it’s easy to go for a dip after Mass since the pool is right across the parking lot from church.

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