MAY 2021
In This Issue: 3 Pentecost: The “Birth” of Stewardship 4 Reflections on the Role of the Cathedral During the Tulsa Race Massacre and Today “God Put Us Here to Love One Another” 6 This Month, We Reflect on Mothers and Stewardship 7 The FIAT Ministry Says “Yes” to Serving God in Others
HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
MEET PARISHIONER
JANIE SLOAN:
Growing in Faith Through the Different Seasons of Life
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anie Sloan has been a lifelong member of Holy Family Cathedral’s faith community since being baptized at the parish on Sept. 23, 1947. The cathedral has shaped her family for over 70 years. “Holy Family gave us stability as children because we were provided with a disciplined education,” Janie says. “It now gives us comfort as adults because the funeral Masses for our parents were at Holy Family. There is comfort in saying goodbye to your parents where you learned to pray and prayed together with them.” Fred Sloan, Sr. and Winnifred “Wini” Sloan were the parents of Janie and her only sibling, Fred, who also attended Holy Family School and Church from 1947 until he graduated in 1959. Longtime parishioner Janie Sloan “Holy Family was a gift to us from our parents,” Janie says. “Mother participated in the PTA. She was a convert and was baptized into our faith when I was in high school.” From the fall of 1953 to the spring of 1959, Janie attended Holy Family School and vividly remembers the annual Spring Carnivals. “I enjoyed our carnivals every year,” Janie says. “I remember someone brought his iguana for us to meet, and I was impressed. I like the first-day-of-school picture at Holy Family with my brother teasing me.” Over time, Janie has noticed that the Cathedral community, both the parish and the school, have changed, but in some ways, it has stayed the same. “We lived five blocks southeast but walked back and forth to get to school and church,” Janie says. “Parishioners continued on page 2 8TH STREET & BOULDER AVE • TULSA, OK 74119 • (918) 582-6247 • TULSACATHEDRAL.COM
HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL MEET PARISHIONER JANIE SLOAN were coming from their homes instead of from parking lots. Today the Cathedral still beautifully represents our faith in Cathedral Square.” Participating in faith formation classes and conversations with other parishioners has helped Janie grow in her faith through the different seasons of her life. She participated in the 33 Days to Morning Glory Marian Consecration a few years ago at Holy Family and would come to hear some of the Wednesday night speakers at the Cathedral. “Hopefully, we can get some of those activities back soon,” Janie says. “Some of the other ladies in our ‘donut peeps’ group after Sunday Mass used to discuss some of the latest lessons we had learned together, too.” Janie would like to thank the faith community of Holy Family Cathedral for their prayers and comfort when she and her family have needed them. “Please enjoy our Cathedral, share your gifts and talents with each other, and keep the parish strong,” says Janie. “Always preserve and protect our beautiful Cathedral.”
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Janie Sloan’s First Holy Communion, 1954
“Holy Family gave us stability as children because we were provided with a disciplined education. It now gives us comfort as adults because the funeral Masses for our parents were at Holy Family. There is comfort in saying goodbye to your parents where you learned to pray and prayed together with them.” — JANE “JANIE” SLOAN 2
Janie Sloan and her brother, Fred Sloan, on Janie’s first day at Holy Family School, 1953
MAY 2021
A Letter from Our Rector
PENTECOST: The
“Birth” of Stewardship
Dear Parishioners, s we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost on May 23, which is one of the most significant events in the life of the Church, I can’t help but relate the outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the first disciples as “the birth of stewardship.” As a stewardship parish, we have come to understand it in our personal lives and our parish life as the work of the Holy Spirit, active and inspiring us to be the disciples Jesus called us to be, just as He did those very first disciples. It just makes sense to once again realize and acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit in our decisions to be authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. As every parent knows, birth brings new life to every family, and the “birth of stewardship” here in our parish has brought new life to us, personally and communally, and continues to do so. We had a “Pentecost event” when the message of stewardship was first brought to our parish, and it hasn’t been the same since. Many curious people of our parish and from around the country ask the question, “How did all of this begin?” The only answer is, “moved by conversion, we knew stewardship was going to be the ‘plan’ for our future as disciples and as a parish.” It makes sense. For some, like me, it took a conversion of sorts to move us from unbelievers to believers, and from fear or suspicion to courage and confidence in the values and ideals of stewardship. Reading the accounts of the Acts of the Apostles, it wasn’t much different for them. Their experience is our experience and continues to encourage us to be open to the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. That “Spirit” renews the “Pentecost event” in each of us, as we practice discipleship as we know it through the stewardship way of life.
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Also, as with each new birth, the life that begins needs to be nourished, nurtured and loved. Through our understanding of the four pillars of parish stewardship — hospitality, prayer, formation and service — we each are called to nourish, nurture and love our parish family with the gifts we bring to each other. And without ever really knowing how much of an impact we have on each other’s spiritual lives, we trust the Holy Spirit to continue the “good work of faithful stewardship” in each of us and in those around us. Isn’t that what the first Pentecost event started, and isn’t that what you see in our parish, especially since our own “birth of stewardship”? God has blessed our parish family and continues to do so, as the Holy Spirit continues to pour out gifts upon us and send us forth to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. As we grow and mature in our stewardship efforts, how fortunate we are that the stewardship way of life has become our way of life. May we always give thanks to God for the Holy Spirit’s gift to each of us — for, when we do, it seems only natural to be inspired to live discipleship as it was intended to be lived in the first disciples and in each of us. Sincerely yours in Christ,
Very Rev. Gary D. Kastl Rector 3
HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL
Reflections on the Role of the Cathedral D
“God Put Us Here to
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t the end of this month, our local community will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Sparked by the false accusation that a young black man had sexually assaulted a white woman, the racial violence that unfolded between the night of May 31 and the early morning of June 1, 1921, left much of the thriving “Black Wall Street” neighborhood of Greenwood in ashes. In addition to the 10,000 Tulsans left homeless, close to a thousand residents were seriously injured and almost 40 confirmed dead. Nearly all of the victims were members of the Greenwood community. Under the steadfast guidance of Fr. Heiring, Holy Family Cathedral became a place of refuge for many throughout the terrible events of that night. The eyewitness accounts of one cathedral parishioner, Clyde Joseph Eddy, continue to serve as a memorial to both the darkness of this historic tragedy and the light to be found in those who had the courage to proclaim the Gospel message of love amid such hatred and heartbreak. Although Clyde Eddy was only 10 years old when the Tulsa Race Massacre took place, the experience remained etched in his memory throughout his whole life. “Grandpa had talked to us about the race riot since we were little kids, so we grew up knowing about it,” says Clyde’s grandson, Matt Buckendorf.
Clyde Joseph Eddy around the time of the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. Clyde accompanied his mother when she joined other parishioners at the Holy Family Cathedral to care for the injured.
“The night it happened, the diocese was hosting an event at the Brady Theater — what is now the Tulsa Theater — and when the riot broke out, Fr. Heiring had the house lights come on and told everyone something terrible was going on, and that they should go home and stay safe. That always stuck in my mind as a kid, imagining Father there saying that something terrible was happening.” Upon returning home from the theater, Clyde’s family received a telephone
call. His mother was a member of the Holy Family Women’s Club, and she was told that the church was going to receive the refugees. Women were asked to make bandages and bring any other useful supplies they might have to the cathedral. Thankfully, Holy Family was large enough to accommodate a makeshift triage and “hospital” section for tending to the injured. According to an article published by the Tulsa Tribune on June 6, 1921, the Cathedral’s nuns, its ladies of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and its Knights of Columbus provided food, clothing, and shelter to four hundred black victims of the riot. Twenty-five babies were bathed and given clean clothes. Young Clyde accompanied his mother to the cathedral. Over the years, he would recount the events of that night many times to his family members, including his late daughter, Vickie, and her husband, Mike Buckendorf. “Clyde saw what was going on,” Mike says. “He said he was frightened by what was unfolding there, but there was also so much compassion. Holy Family and First Presbyterian were the only churches to help while the riots were still going on. By all accounts, Fr. Heiring was just an absolutely wonderful man and excellent shepherd of his flock.” Clyde’s witness to the tragic events linked to the Tulsa Race Massacre continued several days later. As he and his
“I’m glad to see the discussion of the race riots coming to the forefront. There is still so much ill will, but there is also a lot of God’s love in it with people acknowledging what happened and, by doing so, making sure it doesn’t happen again. God made all of us — we are all His children and want to see Him one of these days, and there isn’t room for bigotry and hatred.” — MIKE BUCKENDORF 4
MAY 2021
During the Tulsa Race Massacre and Today
o Love One Another”
Clyde Eddy was interviewed for ABC news program, Nightline, on Jan. 4, 2000. Clyde provided an eyewitness account of the mass burial he witnessed while cutting through the Oaklawn Cemetery with his cousin a few days after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
cousin were taking a shortcut through the Oaklawn Cemetery, they saw men digging holes, surrounded by wooden crates. Before the men noticed their presence there, the curious boys had peeked inside two of the crates — the first contained the bodies of three black men, while the second contained four. Clyde’s eyewitness report has led to several excavations in the cemetery, where researchers speculate a mass burial site may still be hidden. Over the years, Clyde kept his Catholic faith and a commitment to serving others at the forefront. Certainly, his childhood experience of the Tulsa Race Massacre also formed the teenager and then the man he would become. As a 16-year-old
Eagle Scout, Clyde helped start Tulsa’s first black Boy Scout Troop. With his keen interest in Tulsa history and love of service, he was a longtime member of both the Tulsa Historical Society and the Knights of Columbus. Clyde passed away in 2008 at the age of 97. Cathedral parishioner Mike Buckendorf is thankful for the memories that his father-in-law shared with him over the years. His account of the Tulsa Race Massacre and its aftermath both reminds us of the evil still present in our world and provides hope that the Gospel message of love and compassion can bring continued healing. “I’m glad to see the discussion of
the race riots coming to the forefront,” Mike says. “There is still so much ill will, but there is also a lot of God’s love in it with people acknowledging what happened and, by doing so, making sure it doesn’t happen again. God made all of us — we are all His children and want to see Him one of these days, and there isn’t room for bigotry and hatred. “What Holy Family Cathedral did to help refugees during the riots says everything about the Catholic faith,” Mike adds. “It speaks volumes about what a Catholic is. It’s about brotherhood. God put us here to love one another and help one another.” As our parish joins the rest of the Tulsa community in memorializing the tragic events of 1921, Fr. Kastl reminds us of the call for all Catholic faithful to be a force of love and healing beyond the church walls. “Every human being possesses an inherent dignity that can never be taken away,” he says. “This is the fundamental principle within the Catholic tradition that drives the mandatory respect not only for life but also for the diversity that exists within the human family due to culture, race, and ethnicity. When we come together seeking that which unites us, our faith and salvation in Christ, the diverse places from which we come help inform our understanding and appreciation that different cultures bring to a community. “The witness of our parishioners from the time of the Race Massacre should not just make us proud of what the cathedral did at that tenuous time, but rather inspire all of us to be individuals who work to bring peace and mutual respect back into our communities today,” Fr. Kastl adds. 5
HOLY FAMILY CATHEDRAL This Month, We Reflect on
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Mothers and Stewardship
e celebrate the month of Mary during May, and during this month, we also celebrate Mother’s Day. It seems fitting that we honor our mothers during May, since Mary is given to us by God as the example of true Christian motherhood. Those who are called to be mothers have been blessed by God and called to fulfill a very important responsibility. Mothers are the vehicle through which God brings new life into this world. When we talk about Christian stewardship, we talk about sacrificially returning to God what we have been given. What can more clearly be a demonstration of complete sacrifice than the relationship between mother and child during the nine months of growth in the womb? During these nine months, the child’s life depends on the actions of the mother as her energy and nourishment goes directly to the growing baby. Although this relationship may change to some extent after the child is born, a mother’s sacrifice for her child is far from over after the birth. The role of the mother
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is critical in the child’s development — both spiritually and physically — throughout life. Mothers provide the comfort, nurture and support necessary for their children to become productive citizens and responsible Christians. The job of a mother is not an easy one. This is a fact that Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew very well. She worried when her young Son appeared to be lost, only to find Him later in His Father’s house. She was probably concerned as Jesus began His public ministry — not knowing what difficulties and rejections He would encounter along the way. And, Mary must have experienced great anguish as she watched her Son’s body being crucified to a cross. May all mothers look to Mary as their model for motherhood and ask her intercession as they strive to fulfill their God-given role in their children’s lives. During the month of May, let us all take some time to express our appreciation to our mothers for allowing us to come into this world, for loving us, and for serving as an example of what it means to be a steward for life.
MAY 2021
The FIAT Ministry Says “Yes” to Serving God in Others
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t’s a Scripture passage with which many of us are familiar — Jesus instructing His followers to care for those in need, telling us that whatever we do “for one of these least brothers of mine,” we do unto Him (Matthew 25:40). It’s a powerful challenge and one that all of us, as Christians, are called to take to heart. Perhaps in this past year, many of those needs have become even more apparent. Since its founding four years ago, the FIAT (Faith in Action Team) Ministry has given our young people many opportunities to serve and share the love of God in our community. However, as the group developed and became more active, it quickly became clear that our teens weren’t the only ones looking for an opportunity to serve. “FIAT started as a youth ministry,” says Monica Conro, Ministry Coordinator, whose then-teenage son came up with the group name. “But it morphed, and the idea is to turn it into a whole parish ministry.” FIAT serves the community in a variety of ways, from volunteering at Catholic Charities to bringing food
to the working poor and homeless people living under a highway bridge in downtown Tulsa. The group has also performed service projects at the cathedral. During the COVID-19 pandemic, FIAT came together to help with clerical projects, such as the mailing for the stewardship renewal. One of the things that made the group stand out while serving in the community was their FIAT T-shirts, making clear what is at the heart of their service. “We take Mary and her example of saying ‘yes’ to God as the motto for our little group,” Monica says. Monica looks forward to our community opening back up fully, as well as for parishioners of all ages to have the opportunity to get back out and witness to our faith through FIAT. “That’s the idea, for people to be able to go and be active in volunteering in our surrounding community and to be a witness to our parish,” Monica says. “Because of the t-shirts, people know who they are and I think that’s a good thing. “It’s part of our history — people would seek out continued on back cover 7
PO Box 3204 • Tulsa, OK 74101-3204 (918) 582-6247 • tulsacathedral.com
The FIAT Ministry
continued from page 7
churches when they needed help,” she adds. “As the minority in the Christian community in this area, it’s important to get out and show that we’re not just an ‘attend church on Sunday’ community. We’re more than that, and we do care.” For Monica, being involved with FIAT is a tangible way to share God’s love with those she serves. “It’s a humbling thing,” she says. “I’ve had people say, ‘Why are you here? Why are you doing this? Why do you care about me?’ It’s the open door for you to be a witness and say, ‘Because you’re my sister in Christ, because God loves you, and so do I. I’m here to give
because God has blessed me and I want to bless you.’” Monica encourages parishioners to consider how they might feel called to get involved with FIAT, spreading God’s love to those in need around us. Especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need has only grown. “When we do have the opportunity to re-open, we’ll be looking for ministry leaders — someone who will be looking to plan and coordinate opportunities for this group,” Monica says. “We are hopeful to have people who want to bring their ideas and help us develop out this ministry.”
For more information, or to become involved in the FIAT (Faith In Action Team) Ministry, please contact Monica Conro at mconro@tulsacathedral.com or 918-582-6247.