Boulder City church welcomes new priest

By Jinae West

Monday, July 20, 2009 | 1:50 a.m.

St. Andrew Catholic Community Church has a new face leading its parish -- Father Bob Stoeckig.

Stoeckig, 52, replaced Sam Falbo, who served as interim priest for about a year. Before Falbo, Joe Annese lead the congregation in worship for more than 20 years. Stoeckig's first day was July 1.

Stoeckig was born in Dickinson, N.D., in December 1957 to parents Ed and Margie. His father worked at a public utility company and his mother was a part-time bookkeeper and stay-at-home mom. His family moved to Forsyth, Mont., when he was in the sixth grade. In high school, he played football, wrestled and participated in the music program.

He said music has always been a passion. When he enrolled at College of Great Falls in Great Falls, Mont., after transferring from a small seminary college in Ohio, he pursued a major in music and a minor in theater.

Before he decided to become a priest he worked as a music therapist. The change in careers came as a result of limited demand for such an occupation. Stoeckig said he had thought about a more spiritual path since he was young, but it wasn't until he moved to Las Vegas that he started to go after it.

"The idea of being of service to God and God's people is what attracted me to the priesthood," he said.

Stoeckig has lived in Las Vegas since 1985. Before his assignment at St. Andrew, he was the pastor at St. Joseph-Husband of Mary Catholic Church on West Sahara Avenue. He called Boulder City's slower pace inviting and said he is looking forward to walking through the city once the weather cools.

"This is a town, unlike Las Vegas, that makes it easy for people to walk," he said. "I'm happy to be here. I hope I'm here for several years."

In addition to working at the church, Stoeckig devotes his time to hobbies -- reading, photography and music -- and volunteering as a board member for the Utah Shakespearian Festival in Cedar City, Utah.

He said one of his favorite plays is "As You Like It" and proceeded to quote the line: "All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely players / They have their exits and their entrances / And one man in his time plays many parts / His acts being seven ages."

"That idea that all the world's a stage is an interesting way to think about life," he said, "and you have the opportunity to really be something in your moment, or you have the opportunity to shrink back and not step up."

Sometimes, he said, he includes Shakespearian passages into his sermons, if they fit.

Stoeckig has been a pastor for 15 years and, through it all, he said he gets the most enjoyment from preaching. But he also said it's rewarding to be able to touch people's lives and be there at times when they need him -- in times of good or bad.

"There are so many different things we get to do. We're privileged to be in some of the happiest and saddest moments of people's lives," he said, "and that's a great gift."