Marcy Pearhill will be department’s production assistant
The following story appeared in the June 9 Idaho Catholic Register.
Beginning in 2021, Deacon Scott Pearhill served as a pastoral associate at Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Pocatello. He will serve as a deacon at Sacred Heart in Boise while working as communications director for the Diocese of Boise. (Courtesy photo/Scott Pearhill)
BOISE – Bishop Peter Christensen has appointed Deacon Scott Pearhill, the pastoral associate for administration at Holy Spirit Catholic Community in Pocatello, as the communications director for the Diocese of Boise and editor of the Idaho Catholic Register.
Deacon Pearhill replaces Deacon Gene Fadness, who is retiring after 6½ years as communications director and editor. He officially assumes duties on July 24.
Pearhill served two stints as pastoral administrator in Pocatello, the first time from 2000-06 when he was instrumental in implementing Bishop Tod Brown’s directive to merge three Pocatello and Chubbuck parishes into Holy Spirit Catholic Community. He helped design the campaign and was its chief spokesperson. After unification was achieved, he helped organize the new pastoral office.
Once that project was completed, he re-entered the secular workforce in 2006, managing a lodging business in Lava Hot Springs. In 2010, Deacon Pearhill and his wife, Marcy, bought one of the hotels they managed, restoring a 100-year-old building to its former glory.
Deacon Pearhill was ordained in 2011. In 2019, he was a member of the first Mount Angel Seminary class to receive a doctorate under its new Doctor of Ministry program.
In 2021, after Deacon Scott and Marcy sold the hotel, he returned to Holy Spirit Catholic Community as pastoral associate for administration. From 2021 until early this year, he helped Catholic Charities of Idaho resettle Afghan refugees in Pocatello. His work and that of Catholic Charities was highlighted in a nationally published story by Scripps Media, “How this small town is becoming the most successful refugee settlement in the nation.”
Deacon Pearhill was born in England to a British father and an American mother and moved to the United States when he was 2, raised in and around New York City. He came to Idaho at age 18 to attend Idaho State University where, he says, he was “astounded by the incredible beauty. Coming from New York, I loved the wideopen spaces and the quiet of Idaho, even delighting in the long drive between Pocatello and Boise.”
Deacon Scott and Marcy Pearhill enjoy cycling through the mountains of Idaho. (Courtesy photo/the Pearhills)
When he met Marcy at Idaho State, he says, he knew he was home. The two married in 1992.
They decided to finish their degrees at the Univeristy of Idaho.
A convert, Deacon Pearhill was first drawn to the faith by the student ministry at UI. “I went from being a knee-slapping atheist to an ardent RCIA catechumen,” he said. At UI, he encountered the “fiery” Sister Mary David Hartse, a member of the Ursuline Community in Moscow. “She took me under her wing and helped me grow in faith and service,” Deacon Pearhill said.
Sister Mary David introduced Pearhill to a biology professor, Les Kish, who taught him to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. “Les and I would sit together outside on a bench during his lunch hour, and he patiently explained how to use the Breviary,” Pearhill said. Kish later became Father Les Kish, a priest for the Diocese of Boise.
Scott’s wife, Marcy, will be employed as the production assistant for the department, replacing Ann Bixby, who retired after 17 years. Marcy began her duties on June 5.
The production assistant lays out the pages for the Idaho Catholic Register and designs posters, worship aides and other needs for each of the Diocese’s departments.
Marcy Pearhill grew up in Pocatello and has lived in southeast Idaho for most of her life, except when she attended the University of Idaho, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Marcy and Deacon Pearhill moved from Moscow to Pocatello in 1994 when their first child was born. They are the parents of two children, one of whom married last year and has a daughter.
She was employed for eight years as an administrative assistant for the state Department of Environmental Quality before she and Scott became the owners and managers of the Home Hotel in Lava Hot Springs. After they sold the hotel, she worked for two years as an administrative assistant at Idaho State University.
“I love to create and learn,” Marcy Pearhill said. “I continue to take classes to improve my painting, as well as design skills. And if it’s a craft, I have probably tried it,” she said. “I want to concentrate on creating a beautiful newspaper where the design enhances the message.”
Both Pearhills love to cycle and are looking forward to Boise’s trails.
“We spent much of COVID watching and learning about pro-cycling and now are avid fans,” she said. “It’s a whole universe with much left to explore.”
If you enjoyed this story and would like to read more like it, please consider buying a subscription to the Idaho Catholic Register. Your $20 yearly subscription also supports the work of the Diocese of Boise Communications Department, which includes not only the newspaper, but this website, social media posts and videos. You can subscribe here, or through your parish, or send a check to 1501 S. Federal Way, Boise, ID, 83705: or call 208-350-7554 to leave a credit card payment. Thank you, and God bless you.