Author Archives:

Fr. James Kurzynski

About Fr. James Kurzynski

Fr. James Kurzynski is a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin and a hobby astronomer. Originally from the small town of Amherst in rural central Wisconsin, Fr. James completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, majoring in Applied Music (Saxophone, Voice, and Composition). After graduating from UW-SP, Fr. James worked at the University of Nebraska at Kearney as a Hall Director and pursued a M.S.ed. in Group Counseling. After a year at UNK, Fr. James left his position to attend the University of Saint Mary of the Lake - Mundelein Seminary to discern his priestly vocation.

Fr. James earned a Bachelor in Sacred Theology, a Master of Divinity, and a License in Sacred Theology. While pursuing these degrees, Fr. James also studied Spiritual Theology with the Institute of Priestly Formation at Creighton University and completed the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Fr. James was ordained a priest June 28, 2003. Fr. James’ first assignment was as an Associate at the Tri-Parishes of St. Mary’s - Durand, Holy Rosary Parish - Lima, and Sacred Heart Parish - Mondovi. After two years, Fr. James was assigned as Chaplain and Instructor of Religion at Regis Middle and High School and was also assigned Associate Vocation Director. In his final year at Regis, Fr. James was also appointed Parochial Administrator of Saint Raymond of Penafort Catholic Church, serving south east Eau Claire County. From 2012-2015, Fr. James served as Pastor of Roncalli Newman Parish, serving the college students of Western Technical College and the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. In 2015, Fr. James was named Pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Menomonie, Wisconsin, which also serves St. Joseph's Grade School (3K thru 6) and the Newman Center at the University of Wisconsin - Stout. In 2017, in addition to his responsibilities to St. Joseph Parish and StoutCatholic, Fr. James was also named Pastor of St. Luke Parish in Boyceville, Wisconsin. In July of 2018, Fr. James was named the Pastor of St. Olaf Parish in Eau Claire. Wisconsin. Fr. James also teaches Introduction to Philosophy for the Diocese of La Crosse’s diaconal formation program.

In regard to his interest in astronomy, Fr. James is a member of both the Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society and the La Crosse Area Astronomical Society. He taught an Introduction to Astronomy course during his time at Regis High School in Eau Claire. Fr. James' first involvement with the Vatican Observatory came when an inquiry led to the development of the first "Faith and Astronomy Workshop" (FAW), designed for parish educators and clergy that are not professional scientists.

Seeing Is… Believing? The Challenge of Demonstrating the Problem of Light Pollution.

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Why is it a challenge to convince people that light pollution is a problem? For example, St. Olaf Catholic Church is the parish I currently serve, located on the north side of the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The combined population of Eau Claire and the surrounding cities of Altoona, Lake Hallie, and Chippewa Falls exceeds 100,000. What does this mean to the city dwelling astronomer? A lot of light pollution and not that many stars in the night sky to gaze upon. Here is a visual example of what I see when I look up while standing in our parish parking lot. Let’s compare the night skies over St. Olaf with those over another parish I once served – St. Raymond of Penafort in Brackett, Wisconsin. This rural parish is situated about twenty minutes east of Eau Claire. When the security lights turn off for the evening, the night sky reveals a far more starry reality from their parking … Continue reading →

Astronomical Wonder: Ink and Images from my (Post) Vacation Journal (Part Two)

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

To follow up on last week’s post, a big part of my vacation was to explore the capabilities of a new camera. Looking back, I can’t remember how I stumbled upon the TinyMOS Kickstarter for the Nano1. I wasn’t a frequent flyer on “fund-me” pages and really had no interest in donating toward new technological gadgets. Nevertheless, when I saw the advertisement for an astronomy camera for the beginner, I felt a tug. Ever since my youth, I wanted to do serious astrophotography, but after a few failed attempts in the film era and limited funds, I figured it was a lost cause. The promise of a user friendly camera to enter into astrophotography was quite alluring. After receiving the camera, I was impressed with how easy it was to use (after finding the power button of course). Now, truth be told, I don’t know if I would call it a completely “point and shoot” astronomy camera. In order to … Continue reading →

Astronomical Impressionism: Images And Ink From My Vacation Journal (Part 1)

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

What are the most challenging questions to answer? From my experience as a science loving priest, I would have to say the easy questions pose the greatest difficulty. When someone asks me, “Father, why did you become a priest?” I often struggle to find an answer that gives the full breadth of meaning the question demands. To simply reduce my answer to feelings from childhood, affirmation from family and friends, or the life experiences that affirmed this feeling, though helpful, doesn’t provide the full spectrum of what I seek to communicate. Put another way, how does one take a 45 year journey and condense it to a 150 character tweet! I experience a similar struggle when someone asks, “Father, why do you love astronomy?” I could talk about my love of the night skies over the family farm, how my college astronomy studies grabbed me, and my first glimpse of Jupiter’s Moons through a telescope. Each answer, however, never leaves … Continue reading →

Discussion: Magnificent Desolation Or Boring Desolation – Is There Room For A Return To The Moon In A Cyberspace World?

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Has the moon become boring to the modern world? This question has been pestering my thoughts in the wake of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. Yes, we enjoyed a brief window of intrigue as the anniversary approached. However, what has come of interest in our celestial partner since then? Granted, NASA plans on returning to the moon in 2024 as a major step toward sending people to Mars. However, I can’t help but wonder: Will the rest of the world rally behind this mission or will lack of human interest scuttle the journey? A fascinating and frustrating reality of lunar missions, at least in the United States, is the intimate connection between the Moon and politics. It was political will, in large part, that put humanity on the Moon. Though the purist in me would love to say that the natural human desire to explore would be enough to merit a return trip to the Moon, the inner realist … Continue reading →

Under Summer Skies

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

In the past, I have shared reflections on the beauty of the skies over my parent’s farm. I often wish I could share both the stories and the visuals. A few weeks back, I mentioned that I have participated in a “fund-me” program for the development of a point and shoot astronomy camera. I’m happy to share that it is on its way! My plan is to use it on my vacation in a couple weeks to do some night photography on the Kurzynski farm. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to get a cheap, but good camera set-up to do some astrophotography at the level of the beginner to both compare basic images of the sky with the Nano1 I’ll be reviewing in a couple weeks and simply get outside to enjoy the night sky. The pictures below are not the greatest, they’re noisy, and aren’t going to show up in any magazines anytime soon. The … Continue reading →

Who Opened The Door To Hell? Exploring How Humans Have Impacted The Environment.

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

If there is one thing that unites all people from Wisconsin it would be sharing strong opinions about the weather. This past year, the Badger state has had a rather turbulent 2019. As you may recall in previous posts, February was literally a winter for the record books. The city of Eau Claire, where I live, received 53.7 inches of snow, shattering the old February record or 28.2 inches. Though the summer temperatures have been staying within the annual average of highs and lows, the winter months for 2019 were strikingly below normal. Here is a graph from the Wisconsin State Climatology Office to display our 2019 temperatures. Though the summer temperatures have been within normal parameters for the city of Eau Claire, the precipitation level is way above normal. This has led to higher river levels, atypical flood patterns, and dangerous river conditions for tourists and those who enjoy fishing. In light of these odd weather patterns, I’m sensing … Continue reading →

If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words… The Wonder Of NASA’s Panorama Images Of The Moon Landing Sites

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

One of the greatest gifts NASA has given to the world is public access to their images. Below are images of lunar landing sites from various Apollo Missions. Let’s have some fun!! Can you guess which Apollo missions the pictures in the slideshow are from? I’ve numbered the them1-35. Let’s see if we can guess all of them! If you struggle to guess the missions, you can download these beautiful images for yourself from NASA by clicking here. Enjoy! And NO cheating! 😉 … Continue reading →

What Is A Patio… I Mean An Observatory?

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

This past month, I have embarked on a personal project: Designing an outdoor patio. The reason for this project is multilayered. From the perspective of being the Pastor of St. Olaf Parish, we own a vacant lot next to my rectory that is empty. Due to zoning regulations, there is very little we can do with this lot since we are within the direct flight path of the Eau Claire Municipal Airport. A garden patio is one of the few things that would both beautify the lot and respect the zoning laws. On a personal level, I come from a family that, during summer, would spend a great deal of time on our outdoor deck. When visiting home, it is common to wake up to an empty house as my parents would be having their morning coffee outside. This simple wood structure, combined with the beauty of our central Wisconsin farm, became a true oasis for the family. The simple, … Continue reading →

What Was Your Experience Of Apollo 11?

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

What was your experience of Apollo 11? A few weeks back, I was honored to be interviewed by Dennis Sadowski for a piece he was writing about the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. For those who would like to read the article, you can either click here or on the image of Buzz Aldrin next to the flag of the United States. Dennis and I had a wonderful conversation about my “memory” of Apollo 11… even though I was born 4 years after it happened. At first, you may think that I have little to offer in answering the question, “What was your experience of Apollo 11?” However, knowing that Dennis was going to explore this question with me, I started to reflect on how Apollo 11 was presented to me as a youth after the fact in contrast that to my parishioners at St. Olaf who did experience the Apollo 11 landing. The first insight that surprised me was how … Continue reading →

Easter and Avengers End Game: A Reflection On Time, Power, and Scapegoating.

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

One of the understandable occupational hazard that can greatly increase the stress of a Catholic priest is Easter. Amid the culmination of Lent, the spiritual and emotional power of Holy Week, the joy of Easter Sunday, First Communion, Confirmation, and St. Olaf’s parish festival, my time has been rather crunched, but in a good, fruitful way! Many approach Easter as a day and for understandable reasons. Between Easter sales in stores, Easter Egg Hunts, and grown adults who dress up in a bunny costume (kindof odd when you think about it), Easter is a feast that the broader culture has turned into a day of chocolate, chocolate… and a lot more chocolate! For Christians who observe a liturgical calendar,  Easter is not only a day of celebration but a season. The lead-up to Easter is the 40 day period (give or take a couple days) of Lent. The symbolic understanding of this time is multilayered, symbolizing the 40 days Jesus … Continue reading →

Dispelling The Myth: Sketches For My First Presentation In Davenport, Iowa

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

Later this week, I will have the honor of being one of the presenters at Vision 20/20 in Davenport, Iowa. This event is three days and has as its theme “From Pentecost to Pentecost.” The heart of this event is to explore the New Evangelization through the eyes of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. When looking at the list of speakers, it becomes clear that this will be a wonderful event for the people of Davenport! Below are some examples of presentations that will happen at 20/20: From Pentecost to Pentecost. I would have shared all the presentations, but to do so would have meant nine pages of presenters! Please pray for the success of 20/20! As you can see in the summary notes, my presentation will be offering an image of peace between faith and science, especially with our youth. The starting point of my presentation will be a recent pastoral experience that is not … Continue reading →

Faith and Tragedy

Sacred Space Astronomy avatarPosted on by

I wish to apologize for my absence from Sacred Space Astronomy these past few weeks. The Easter season is a time that dramatically increases the workload for a priest. In addition to Holy Week and Easter Sunday, the weeks that follow are typically the time parishes will celebrate First Communion for our 2nd Grade students and Confirmation for our Sophomores. Throw in Mother’s Day and our parish FunFest and you begin to see the reason for my absence. Sadly, there are also unanticipated moments that become a struggle for a priest, a parish, and a community. The Tuesday after Easter Sunday, one of our parish youth, Williamefipanio Hessel, went missing in the Chippewa River. Will and his friends decided, on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, to go to one of the local parks to swim. Sadly, given the higher and faster river waters due to seasonal flooding, Will disappeared while swimming. It was announced yesterday that Will was found. I would … Continue reading →