St. Jude of the Lake is located in Mahtomedi, on the eastern side of White
Bear Lake. For many years, Catholics in the area took a streetcar to
St. Peter in North St. Paul for Mass or attended Masses offered close by in
the high school gym. In April 1940, construction of a parish church began,
and 15 years later the school was opened.
The parish was funded in part through fundraising dinners—parishioners
baked turkeys at home and brought their own silverware and linens to
share dinner with the community. St. Jude church was completed in 1940.
The parish built up through shared meals continues to have an extensive
outreach to the surrounding community. Not only do parishioners support
the local food shelf and hospital ministries, they also sponsor the ministry
of Fr. Gabriel in Eastern Ghana.