By Kate Knight

Fr. Ed Shuttleworth has been appointed to serve as pastor at Saint Bronislava Catholic Church in Plover, after the church’s current pastor Monsignor Jeff Burrill was recently promoted.

Shuttleworth’s new position will go into effect this July.

St. Brons in Plover will welcome a new priest in July. (Contributed.)

Shuttleworth has been a priest for 26 years, having served in several parishes of the Diocese of La Crosse. His most recent positions were pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, located in Chippewa Falls, and of St. Peter the Apostle in Tilden since 2011.

He also served for 10 years at St. Joseph in Prescott and for one year at St. Patrick in Sparta. Shuttleworth’s early assignments included three parishes in Durand, Lima and Mondovi, and three years at St. Michael’s in Wausau, where he served as associate pastor.

An eastern Pennsylvania native, Shuttleworth first moved to Tomah, Wisconsin with his family before going into the 8th grade.

“I grew up in a small mission parish with a strong sense of community,” Shuttleworth said. “The parish was very much like a large extended family. I think the seeds of my vocation lie in that parish experience.”

Shuttleworth was informed of his new appointment by a phone call from Bishop Callahan, of the La Crosse Diocese. “I was humbled and grateful for his confidence in appointing me to St. Brons,” he said.

No stranger to the Stevens Point-Plover area, Shuttleworth spent the summer of 1989 as a transitional deacon at St. Stanislaus Parish in Stevens Point. “It was a good summer, and I very much enjoyed Stevens Point,” he recalled. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the parishioners and community, and helping to build up the Body of Christ in Plover.”

“The Church has always been family to me – a second home,” Shuttleworth added. “Serving as a parish priest I’ve always seen myself as trying to help others experience that sense of belonging and family.”

Outside of the church in his spare time, Shuttleworth enjoys gardening, cooking and riding his Harley motorcycle. “Aside from celebrating mass and the sacraments, what gives me the greatest joy is seeing people grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “I’m very much looking forward to serving the community.”

To learn more about St. Bronislava Catholic Church visit www.stbrons.com.