Glenmary Challenge

AFTER THE FLOOD IN THE NAME OF THE SON

IMMIGRANT CHURCH

GLENMARY

HOME MISSIONERS

We are a Catholic society of priests and Brothers who, along with numerous coworkers, establish the Catholic Church in small-town and rural America. Founded in 1939 by Father William Howard Bishop, Glenmary is the only religious community devoted exclusively to serving the spiritually and materially poor in the rural US home missions. Today, supported entirely through freewill offerings, we staff missions and ministries throughout Appalachia and the South.

Glenmary missioners serve in areas where frequently less than one percent of the population is Catholic, a significant percentage have no church affiliation, and the poverty rate is often twice the national average. Glenmary is known for respecting the many cultures encountered in the home missions. Our missionary activity includes building Catholic communities, fostering ecumenical cooperation, evangelizing the unchurched, social outreach, and working for justice.

Our quarterly magazine has three goals: to educate Catholics about the US home missions, to motivate young men to consider Glenmary priesthood or brotherhood, and to invite all Catholics to respond to their baptismal call to be missionary by partnering with Glenmary as financial contributors, prayer partners, professional coworkers, and/or volunteers.

Glenmary Challenge is sent to all donors, to US diocesan clergy, and to anyone who requests it. (To begin receiving issues, use the contact information below.)

GLENMARY HOME MISSIONERS

P.O. Box 465618 · Cincinnati, OH 45246-5618

513-874-8900 · 800-935-0975 · challenge@glenmary.org

Springing Forward!

You can see from our cover story that we are very excited to have two of our members ordained as priests, Fathers Cavine and Joseph.

People close to Glenmary might notice that we rejoice in ordinations, yet we make an even bigger acclaim of final professions. Paramount for Glenmary is the calling to be a missioner, to the Glenmary way of life.

Founder Father William Howard Bishop knew that the home missions would require the skills of many hands. That’s why he listened to the call of religious Brothers, and welcomed, too, partnership with the Glenmary Sisters. Laity have been co-missioners in more recent years. Many hands fuel the entire mission effort, directed not only to the sacramental needs of the community, but also to social needs at the heart of the gospel. Catholic mission consists of both.

Glenmary continues to draw new members! That is great news for the people in areas of Glenmary mission who never have had local access to the fullness of the Catholic Church. You can read about mission experiences for Glenmary’s novitiate class—some of our newest candidates—on p. 4.

Today the home missions are a far cry from our founding days. You’ll see a flavor of that in this issue too. As Father Bishop paid close attention to the migration of rural Americans to the cities in the mid-20th century, today Glenmary is called to serve and be served by migrants to our mission areas. Father Steven and Polly Duncan Collum explain why on p. 12. Glenmary remains committed to serving the entire People of God.

John Feister, editor JFeister@Glenmary.org

ORDAINED FOR MISSION

Carrying the vibrancy of Kenyan culture, Glenmary’s two newest priests are ready to serve in the home missions.

By Laney Blevins

PAGE 6 09

AFTER THE FLOOD

In the river’s deadly wake, Glenmary’s mission became a center of renewed hope. By Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

12 14

AN IMMIGRANT CHURCH

Immigration is reshaping Glenmary’s ministry. Father Steven Pawelk and co-missioner Polly Duncan Collum tell us how. By John Feister

IN THE NAME OF THE SON

A Filipino festival dedicated to Baby Jesus has become a uniting tradition among Catholics in North Carolina. By Omar Cabrera

Publisher: Father Dan Dorsey

Editor: John Feister

Assistant Editors: Laney Blevins, Omar Cabrera, Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

Design: E + R Design Studio

Planning-Review Board

Chris Phelps, Lucy Putnam, Father Vic Subb, Father Richard Toboso, Father Aaron Wessman

ON THE COVER

February 14 was a joyous day for the Glenmary family when Fathers Cavine Okello (l) and Joseph Maundu were ordained as priests in Mbita, Kenya. Father Joseph will serve in Tennessee, Father Cavine in North Carolina. Photo by Fr. Joshua Mege

Photo by Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

Photo by Brother David Henley

Photo by Fr. Joshua Mege

PILGRIMAGE OF HOPE

from the president Father Dan Dorsey

This past year marked 50 years since I made my first oath to the Glenmary way of life and to our home mission apostolate. What a journey it has been! As I reflect back on the years I recall the ups and downs, challenges and joys, surprises and opportunities.

I am deeply grateful for my Glenmary vocation.

One of the greatest gifts of my journey is the multitude of people I have encountered along the way. That way is a long one. My formation was in four cities! Then to my first full-time mission assignment, in Morehead, Kentucky, then to graduate studies in Rome, Italy, then back to Cincinnati as novice director, then to Monticello, Arkansas, as a missionary pastor. Recent years I’ve been in Cincinnati to serve in leadership.

What a gift, to be a part of other’s lives at their most joyful and in times of sorrow. To sit and pray with someone as they lay dying. To visit those in prison and to preach the Good News. I cannot envision a better way to spend my life than being a person of service in Glenmary. Indeed God has rewarded me one hundredfold!

What baffles me is why don’t lots of others eagerly embrace our way of life. Difficult? Yes! Sacrificial?

Yes! Rewarding and fulfilling? Yes—beyond your wildest imagination!

The year 2025 has been declared a Jubilee Year with the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.” As Glenmarians it is our profound hope that there might be an abundance of vocations—especially vocations to serve in the home missions here in the United States.

Will you join me in praying for vocations for the whole Church but especially for the home missions?

In February Glenmary’s vocation team began a pilgrimage, the tour of a prayer vessel that contains Father William Howard Bishop’s crucifix and rosary, representing the foundation of his devotional life. The crucifix was on his wall as he celebrated the Eucharist, from which his dream grew to go to “No-priest Land,” USA. It was the sacramental presence of Jesus that he longed to share.

His other source of spiritual nourishment and growth was his devotion to our Blessed Mother. The rosary was his clarion call to pray!

In the upcoming months the prayer vessel will make its way through our Glenmary missions. It was at Holy Family in Lafayette, TN. In March it is at St. Peter

Photo by Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

The prayer vessel displays Father Bishop's rosary and wall crucifix.

Will you join me in praying for vocations for the whole Church but especially for the home missions?

the Apostle in Carthage, TN. Then it will continue to: April: St. Teresa of Kolkata, Maynardville, TN; May: St. John Paul II, Rutledge, TN; June: St. Michael the Archangel, Erwin, TN; July: Holy Trinity, Williamston, NC; August: St. Joan of Arc, Plymouth, NC; September: Holy Family, Blakely, GA; October: Glenmary headquarters, Cincinnati.

There will be prayers, adoration, rosary, and Mass at each of the local churches, and then the prayer vessel will be passed around to families in the mission so that they might pray as a family for vocations. You can read

more about the vessel and its progress at Glenmary. org/prayer-vessel.

Your mission in addition to joining us in prayer for these upcoming months is to approach those you know and ask them: Have you ever considered a vocation to the home missions as a Brother, priest, or lay co-missioner? You might point out that there are still 180 counties in the United States without a permanent Catholic presence.

One final thought. I invite you to make your own personal prayer vessel and put in those items that are significant in your devotional life. For me it’s my rosary and my breviary, sources of contemplation, inspiration, and consolation on my journey. You can join us in prayer with the booklet, also at Glenmary.org/prayer-vessel

If you would like, email me at ddorsey@glenmary.org and share what you are placing in your prayer vessel.

Let us pray, pray, and pray some more for vocations!

Glenmary News & Notes

VOCATIONS / Prayer

Cultivating Future Glenmarians

To celebrate and promote vocations during the 2025 Jubilee Year, Glenmary held a Vocations Fair Day at Holy Family mission in Macon County, Tennessee, on February 1. The day featured a prayer vessel of Father William Howard Bishop artifacts that is being brought to the missions this year.

The day began by sharing about Glenmary’s mission bringing Catholic witness to rural America and concluded with a vocations panel.

Attendees studied maps that depicted religious populations in the United States, watched videos on Glenmary’s mission, and venerated the prayer vessel, which displays a rosary and crucifix used by Glenmary’s founder, Father Bishop.

To continue the celebration of vocations, Glenmary’s Holy Family mission will keep the prayer vessel for some time. It will be taken home by parishioners to pray for vocations to Glenmary and within their families. In the following months, the prayer vessel will travel throughout Glenmary’s mission counties before coming back to Glenmary headquarters in Cincinnati (see “From the President” above).

Father Aaron Wessman talks with Holy Family parishioners about Glenmary's need for vocations.

Faith, Service, and Presence

Five Glenmary novices recently returned from a transformative six months of service in mission counties in Georgia and Tennessee. Immersed in the spirit of ministry, they shared their faith through jail outreach, Bible studies, and eucharistic service.

In these rural communities they visited nursing homes, bringing companionship and prayer to the elderly. Their presence in jail ministry offered hope to the incarcerated, while Bible studies deepened their connection with others seeking spiritual growth. Through ecumenical efforts, they helped build bridges across faith traditions, embodying unity in service.

By their own report, the novices embraced hands-on mission work, learning humility, compassion, and the power of simply being present. Their journey was not just about serving others—it was about growing in faith, love, and dedication to God’s call. “These months became a time of bringing hearts together in faith, service, and presence. It was a moment of countless graces,” shares Glenmary novice Aloysius Ssennyondo.

Sharing the Faith

Since joining the mission effort last August, Director of Evangelization Tasha Havercamp is successfully expanding Glenmary’s efforts to teach everyday Catholics in our missions to share the faith. She’s also launching a ministry of lay evangelizers assigned to various missions.

One focus of her work has been events for parents. Due to the nature of digital communications, parents in the missions have many of the same concerns as Catholic parents throughout the US. The title of her parish workshop in the Georgia missions was “Raising Catholic Kids in the ConsumerSick Society.” She works closely with Polly Duncan Collum, Glenmary’s director of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.

One emphasis of her parish programs is to recruit the entire parish in evangelizing the children—bringing up children of faith is a work for the entire parish, an intergenerational approach.

FORMATION / Novices

In Macon County, Tennessee, Novice Aloysius Ssennyondo prays with homebound Catherine, “always a moment of grace.”

RIGHT: Tasha Havercamp joined Glenmary’s team as Director of Evangelization last August.

Photo courtesy of Aloysius Ssennyondo

Photo courtesy of Tasha Havercamp

Father Richard Toboso celebrates Mass with Glenmary students at our house of formation in St. Meinrad, Indiana.

SUPPORT / Donors

Mass of Thanksgiving

Father Steven Pawelk and Father Richard Toboso celebrated four special Masses in thanksgiving for Glenmary’s Giving Tuesday donors this January.

The annual day of generosity, which took place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, raised a record $45,845 to help fund formation for Glenmary’s future priests and Brothers.

The Mass in Cincinnati, led by Father Steven in

around the missions

SOCIAL MINISTRY GATHERING

Glenmary Father Kenn Wandera and lay co-missioners Polly Duncan Collum, Daisy Tavares, and Marco Tavares attended the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering in Washington, DC, hosted by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. This was a national gathering in late January for leaders to learn about challenges to human life and dignity, justice, and peace; to pray together; and to advocate for just policies.

the Novitiate House chapel, was attended by the students in their novitiate year and by the development team. Father Richard also celebrated three Masses of thanksgiving with the students at Glenmary’s house of formation. That house, in St. Meinrad, Indiana, is where candidates study as they prepare for ministry.

On behalf of the development office, we thank our donors for their continued support of our students in formation. Watch a livestream of the Mass of Thanksgiving in Cincinnati by visiting YouTube.com/@ glenmarymissioners1419

FIRST MASS IN CLAY COUNTY

Franciscan Sister Ancilla Abonyo reports the priest and parishioners from Holy Family in Early County, Georgia, celebrated the first Catholic Mass ever in nearby Clay County. That’s one county in the sprawling six-county area of Southwest Georgia entrusted to Glenmary by Bishop Stephen D. Parkes of Savannah. Mass was celebrated at Ft. Gaines Nursing Home, with residents of other faiths attending.

“I WAS IN PRISON...”

In living out the Christmas season, our mission Holy Family Catholic Church in Macon County, Tennessee, visited the local jail in late December. Glenmary priests, students, and parishioners shared a meal and sang Christmas songs in Spanish and English with the inmates there.They recall the Gospel of Matthew 25:36, “For I was in prison and you visited me.”

Photo courtesy of Father Richard Toboso

Ordained FOR MISSION

Carrying the vibrancy of Kenyan culture, Glenmary’s two newest priests are ready to serve in the home missions.

BY LANEY BLEVINS

What began in Kenya has come to fruition in America. This past February, Glenmary proudly added two new priests to its missionary corps. Because of special circumstances the ordinations took place in Kenya, near Lake Victoria, in the Homa Bay area. Now they are back in the United States, carrying with them the grace of their calling and the commitment to serve mission areas in need.

A calling across continents

Father Joseph Maundu, from Masinga, Kenya, and Father Cavine Okello, from Mbita, Kenya, felt

the pull toward religious life from a young age. “I grew up in a quite very Catholic family,” Father Joseph says. “I grew up in church, serving in youth, and serving in the church. At a young age I was already desiring to be a priest.”

Father Cavine’s upbringing was very similar, having been brought up in a devout Catholic family. “Each and every Sunday, we used to go to church. As young as eight years old, I think I had started feeling that

ABOVE: Newly ordained Fathers Cavine and Joseph rejoice with Bishop Michael C. Otieno Odiwa, Father Aaron Wessman, and the joyous local community.

Photo by Brother David Henley

“I pray to God to give me that heart to see the dignity of people, the respect that each and every person is important in the eyes of God.”

yearning to be a priest. I would see the priests, then I told my dad that I wanted to join the group of children serving—the altar servers.”

Their journey led them to the Glenmary Home Missioners. Since 2019, Fathers Joseph and Cavine have immersed themselves in the mission spirit, working in underserved parishes, ministering to those on the margins, and embracing the challenges of rural evangelization.

“Glenmary recognized that family is very important,” Father Cavine says after discussing the ways Brother David Henley, Father Bruce Brylinski, and Father Mike Kerin visited his family in Kenya as he discerned joining Glenmary. “By taking you into the congregation they’re showing you that you’re part of their family. Not only you but your parents and your community.”

Glenmary Home Missioners is unique in its focus on mission territories within the US—counties where the Catholic presence is scarce, sometimes comprising less than one percent of the population. It is in these very places that Fathers Joseph and Cavine have spent their time in formation, bringing their faith, culture, and deep sense of service to communities that have welcomed them with open hearts.

“I like active ministry,” Father Joseph shares when asked what led him to Glenmary. “I wanted to be somewhere where I can serve God, being active and involving myself with people of God.”

The path to ordination

After many years of study, formation, and service, the moment they have long awaited is finally here. Their priestly ordination took place in Kenya on February 14, a first international ordination for

Glenmary. As they knelt before Bishop Michael C. Otieno Odiwa, they were reminded of the journey that brought them here and the mission that lies ahead.

The Ordination Mass was a lively one filled with music, dancing, and magnified processions—for more than four hours! The outdoor ceremony hosted hundreds of people who came to celebrate the new priests, including a handful of Glenmarians, and two parishioners who flew all the way from the mission where Father Cavine has served, St. Joan of Arc, in Washington County, North Carolina.

But the most important thing? “What I desire now is to be used by God to serve these people in the church and in the world,” says Father Joseph. “I always pray to God that he can give me wisdom to discern and to know whether I’m pursuing his will.”

A return to the mission fields

These new priests return to the United States to serve in Glenmary mission areas. Their work will take them to small towns, where they will build up Catholic com-

Cavine Okello (l) and Joseph Maundu kneel in prayer during their sacred Ordination Mass.

Photo by Fr. Joshua Mege

munities, minister to the poor, and bring the sacraments to places where priests are few and far between.

“They [the people in the missions] really need us,” says Father Cavine. “They really just need to know that we are there for them. I want to be present. I pray to God to give me that heart to see the dignity of people, the respect that each and every person is important in the eyes of God.”

Father Joseph shares that, among his many pastoral duties, he is taking Communion to the sick and visiting nursing homes at his current mission in Union County, Tennessee. In addition, he helps with the Fresh Wagon, an effort done monthly to provide free and fresh produce to the underserved community of Union County.

A mission of love

As Fathers Joseph Maundu and Cavine Okello embark on their priestly ministry, they embody the universality of the Catholic Church and the power of mission work. Their journey—back and forth from Africa to America—serves as a testament to faith without borders, reminding us that the call to serve transcends geography and culture.

“I am praying that God may continue to strengthen in me that whatever I say, I will live it fully.”

Their international background and deep faith will enable them to connect with diverse populations, including immigrants and people of various cultural backgrounds. “I am excited about jail ministry and Hispanic ministry,” Father Joseph shares. Then, he discloses his excitement for plans of faith formation in the missions. “I am ready to collaborate with anybody who will come my way because we do this united as people of God.”

They take up their priestly ministry with renewed zeal, a strengthened sense of purpose, and the unwavering commitment to their vocation. The mission fields await, and these two priests are ready to answer the call. “I am praying that God may continue to strengthen in me that whatever I say, I will live it fully,” says Father Joseph.

“There has been a distinct feeling of growth, spiritually,” echoes Father Cavine.

Their story is one of faith, courage, and dedication. It’s proof that the missionary spirit continues to thrive, uniting people across continents in a shared mission: spreading Christ’s love.

Assistant editor Laney Blevins holds an MA in professional communication from Purdue University.

Cavine (l) and Joseph prostrate themselves before the altar as a symbol of their submission to God's will.

Photo by Fr.

After THE FLOOD

In the river’s deadly wake, Glenmary’s mission became a center of renewed hope.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY THERESA NGUYEN-GILLEN

Friday, September 27, was the first sunny day in Erwin, Tennessee, after several days of downpour from Hurricane Helene. Glenmary Brother Corey Soignier swiped away the flood warning notification that came up on his phone, thinking nothing of it.

It wasn’t until Father Tom Charters, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel in Erwin, received a phone call from a parishioner that they began to realize that, this time, the Nolichucky River had indeed flooded in a big way. The parishioner had asked Father Tom to pray for her son, who was trapped on the rooftop of the county hospital awaiting evacuation after the river had risen more than 24 feet.

After four hours, the hospital employees, doctors, and patients were rescued by airlift—an image seen on national news outlets. Others, particularly at Impact Plastics, where several parishioners worked, were not saved. The flood resulted in six deaths, dozens missing at the time, and damaged bridges, roads, buildings, and houses.

Present to the people

The people of St. Michael quickly stepped into action. It was the Feast of St. Michael, the parish patron, in a few days, and festival preparations had started. A group of parishioners, says Brother Corey, had the idea to donate the food intended for that weekend to feed more than 200 people at the high school, which had turned into a shelter and central distribution center.

RIGHT: Local and national donations provided essential items that parishioner Ron Burrows helps distribute.

Brother Corey Soignier cleared debris from a rafting company's campground, one of several places where the river wreaked destruction.

Photo by Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

“It’s amazing—the overwhelming support that we got from literally everybody.”

“That’s Glenmary’s charism,” says Brother Corey, “to be present with the people in their need.”

“God just put all the pieces, you know, where he needed to,” says Lorena Reynoso, director of religious education. “He knew what everybody's strengths were and what our weaknesses are and where we can help the most.”

It was Lorena’s niece who approached her about having a fundraiser at the entrance of the department store she worked at, the day after the flood. Lorena didn’t expect much of it, but she went with a few other parishioners and Brother Corey, who posted it on St. Michael’s social media account. Soon after, the donations came pouring in.

“It’s amazing—the overwhelming support that we got from literally everybody,” says Lorena. “I mean, there were people coming in from California. We had a lot from Ohio, which makes sense. Virginia, Colorado, New York—I mean just everywhere.”

That support allowed them to serve. Father Tom focused on providing spiritual support at the high school. Two evenings in a row, they held a rosary in Spanish for those who were still missing from the flood.

“It wasn’t just Hispanics who showed up,” says Father Tom. “Some were parishioners, but then I looked around and thought, these aren’t even Catholics and they’re sitting here.” After the rosary was finished, a Baptist minister and a Methodist counselor came up to Father Tom. “It was just what I needed,” they told him.

With Father Tom focused on pastoral needs, Lorena and Brother Corey tackled the material support. On a day’s notice, they turned their four-room religious education building into a distribution center. When they were open from September to December, Brother Corey says, they saw anywhere from 50 to 196 people a day.

Love your neighbor

Even though the distribution center is no longer open, they are still working to get essential supplies into the hands of people who need it. Parishioners are going out and finding those people in need, Brother Corey says, instead of the people coming to St. Michael’s like they were initially.

Roads and bridges were washed away when the Nolichucky River rose more than 24 feet in Erwin.

Brother Corey, who moved to Erwin a month before the flood, assists Father Tom at a Saturday vigil Mass.

Darlene Riddle, St. Michael's parishioner, packs up food to distribute to the victims of flooding. All hands were on deck!

Three such parishioners, Ron Burrows and John and Darlene Riddle, are at St. Michael’s on this Saturday in mid-January, packing up coffee, canned beans, water, and generators.

While most of Erwin has gotten through the initial cleanup of removing debris, as of this writing, there are still parts of the county that have not. Bumpus Cove, where Ron plans to deliver these goods, is one such area.

A trip from Erwin to Bumpus Cove that used to take 5 minutes is now a 40-minute trip due to a destroyed bridge, says Brother Corey. Some residents there are still living in tents and borrowed trailers, where the generators donated by St. Michael have been of great use.

When they were open from September to December, Brother Corey says, they saw anywhere from 50 to 196 people a day.

Blessed coincidence

Brother Corey spends most of his days now out in the community.

He happened to receive a new assignment from Glenmary and moved to Erwin a month before the flood. “I was still getting to know the parish community, and here I was thrown into this,” Brother Corey says, with his good humor.

“It's like God said, ‘I know what you need when you need it,’” says Father Tom. “And he sent us Brother Corey at the right time in preparation for the crisis here.”

Brother Corey’s previous experience in management has come in handy for managing the distribution center and coordinating with different agencies and donors.

Growing up on a family farm made him comfortable renting a Bobcat to clear the sand and trees that piled up around town, first on land not far from the hospital and later on the grounds of a rafting company.

His previous side jobs in home repair gave him the tools to now fix up houses that have been damaged by

the flood. In collaboration with local organizations, Brother Corey has worked on seven houses so far, repairing roofs, drywall, bathrooms, and driveways.

“Glenmary’s support has been unbelievable,” Brother Corey says. “Yes, I’m glad to help, but I’m able to help because of donations and donors. Any small or big level of helping I do. I can swing a hammer all day long, but I can’t pay for all the bills. It’s because of our donors that I’m able to do that.”

Moving forward

The parish is working its way back to normalcy. It’s Brother Corey’s goal to give away the rest of the donated goods—multiple pallets of bottled water in the pavilion; three storage containers full of cleaning supplies, diapers, food, and clothing; and the rest of the canned goods in the religious education building. He has churches and organizations in mind, like a local women’s shelter that could put the items to good use.

And after all the items are gone, Brother Corey will continue attending to individual needs. “Even if there’s nothing to distribute, I’m still going to get stuff to people who need it,” he says.

Regaining the full use of their religious education building is on the top of Lorena’s mind. Her focus is back to preparing the children of the parish to receive their sacraments after missing three months due to the flood, holidays, and winter weather. And then there’s the issue of immigration that is a real and immediate fear for the Hispanic community there.

Father Tom is aware that spiritual and emotional healing take time. “It's still the emotion of getting over what they went through, at least the ones I'm aware of,” he says. Some of the donations are being used to pay for online counseling services for parishioners, set up through Catholic Charities.

Whatever the future holds, one thing is for certain: the people of Erwin know that St. Michael’s is a place that they can go to, in good times and in bad. Before the flood, “a lot of people didn’t know there was a Catholic church,” says Lorena. “Now it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, St. Michael’s, they’ll help you there.’ You know, they see us as compassionate people.”

Assistant Editor Theresa Nguyen-Gillen holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from University of Missouri.

AN IMMIGRANT Church

Immigration is reshaping Glenmary’s ministry. Father Steven Pawelk and comissioner Polly Duncan Collum tell us how.

BY JOHN FEISTER

You might think that the immigration debate wouldn’t affect the rural places in our nation. But actually it’s just the opposite. The home missions have an international flavor these days.

For one thing, Glenmary itself is growing with immigrants—from Kenya, Uganda, and Mexico—who are hearing God calling them to serve the home missions in the United States. But we also have a growing presence of international immigrants in our mission areas, from lots of countries. They are Catholic, and in many ways they are typical of the US immigrants who have built this country since the 1500s. They’re hardworking, family oriented, and here for freedom and opportunity. Like Europeans and others before them, they need parishes to live their faith fully.

“I don't have an official headcount, but from my observation, the majority of Glenmary mission parishes are [majority] Hispanic Latinos,” says Father Steven (Steve) Pawelk, whose most recent mission assignment was completed in a Tennessee parish church built by the local Latino community. “The exception would be Georgia. Even there, though, is a wonderfully diverse population that includes Hispanics.”

Are all of these people fully documented legal residents? Father Steve offers a perspective we seldom hear: “When you come to the Church, do I ask you for any papers? Do I say, ‘Where's your baptismal record?’ Or, ‘Can I see your license? Are you really from New York?’ We just don't do that. We have a registration form that says, Give us your new address. What sacraments have you received? What can we do to help you?”

Glenmary’s concern is the spiritual and physical needs of those who come to the church doors and for those throughout the counties we serve. “How can we help them grow in Christ and become good disciples of Jesus?” asks Father Steve, and adds, “Our citizenship for the Church is called our Baptism.”

A matter of justice

Polly Duncan Collum is a longtime co-missioner with Glenmary. Her job now, as director of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, is to help Glenmary parishes to understand and act on the social mission.

“I've been with Glenmary for a long time,” she observes. “Twenty-five years ago, when I was in Ripley, Mississippi, it was during the beginning stages of an

Families from many nationalities comprise Glenmary parishes. Father Neil Pezzulo blesses them all.

Photo by Ashley Lodge

influx of Hispanic Catholics into our mission areas,” she says. “Some of our immigrant parishioners have been among us for 10 years, 20 years, 25 years. They've bought homes; they've been paying taxes. They have American citizen children. They're very involved in the community and the schools. The majority of those folks do not have a legal status because there has not been a legal pathway for them.”

Today, without legal status, she says, these Glenmary parishioners fear deportation. “That’s why Glenmary needs to care about this national issue,” she insists.

It’s a national issue that particularly touches the Catholic Church. In a new book The Future of Catholicism in America, Dr. Maureen K. Day and colleagues observe many population trends in our Church nationally, including our changing ethnic composition. In 1987, White non-Hispanic Catholics were 86% of Catholics nationally. The latest statistic, reported by the US bishops, is that by 2021 Latinos were 40% of US Catholics. The youngest Catholics are more than 50% Latino. The same trend is true, perhaps even moreso, in the home missions.

Father Bishop’s approach Glenmary is following the leadership of Pope Francis and the US bishops on the immigration question. “It is a question of justice,” insists Polly. “Our bishops, again and again, have said it's an unjust system,” and adds, “A lot of the people who are in government or law enforcement in our counties don't want to see these people deported. Now that's not everyone. But they don't want 50%+ of the youngest Catholics

to because these folks are local citizens.” These small communities easily see the ways the immigrants make a positive difference in their area.

“We care about real live human beings, not the abstractions even of immigration policy,” Polly reminds us. “You know, Matthew 25, to welcome the stranger, is at the heart of our faith.” Yet, the Church strongly affirms the right of nations to protect their borders, so we need to find some balance. But protecting against military invasion, as in Ukraine, for example, is not the same as refusing welcome. “People have a right to migrate to feed their families,” says Polly. “Rich nations have a greater moral responsibility than poor nations to welcome them. These are teachings from our Church.”

Right now there is a need in our Glenmary missions to serve people who are under threat of deportation, says Polly. “Just like we serve people who are hungry, who are homeless, who are in a situation of domestic violence, this is a social need. And we are called to do what we can to help them.”

That’s in the spirit of Glenmary founder Father William Howard Bishop, both she and Father Steve would agree. “Father Bishop, way back, was reading the signs of the times,” says Polly. “He looked around and said, ‘What about all these people in the rural South who have no access to the Eucharist, who have no access to the sacraments and into a Catholic presence in all that Catholic Christianity brings?’ Now, many years later, this concern about undocumented immigrants in particular is one of our signs of the times.”

Says Father Steve, “For Glenmary, immigration is not a Democrat or Republican issue, it's a people issue. These are the parishioners in our pews. These are the people living in our counties. How can we be Jesus Christ to them? The Glenmary invitation to everyone is to join us in this mission, to be the caring hands and feet and heart of Jesus for others. That's really all we're trying to do.”

Editor John Feister holds master’s degrees in humanities and theology from Xavier University, Cincinnati. are Latino, compared to less than 14% in 1987.

Father Bishop had deep concern for US migrants.

NAME of the Son

A Filipino festival dedicated to Baby Jesus has become a uniting tradition among Catholics in North Carolina.

BY OMAR CABRERA

Nineteen women wearing red, gold, and white dresses dance to the rhythms of Filipino Catholic music. They wave fans while another woman dances around the group raising and lowering a small statue of Baby Jesus that she shows to the public.

Among the watching crowd, Glenmary Brother Curt Kedley enjoys the party. Today, in a small town in North Carolina, 200 people continue a tradition that began 45 years ago in the Philippines. They are in Windsor, Bertie County, the place Brother Curt calls home.

“It’s very festive!” says Brother Curt. “It captures my imagination because that’s not who I am.”

Dedicated to Holy Baby Jesus, the Sinulog festival is one of the main cultural and religious celebrations in the Philippines. Immigrants from that Asian country brought the Sinulog decades ago to Bertie County.

Sinulog celebrates the gradual acceptance of Christianity by the Filipino people, which began in the 16th century with the arrival of European explorers. The Philippines was a country where people adhered to several different pagan religions.

The little Jesus that dances in the town of Windsor is a replica of one that the European explorer Ferdinand Magellan left in the Philippines on his historic trip in the 16th century. In Bertie County and surrounding areas, the Sinulog festival has become a uniting event for Catholics, mainly Filipinos, but also Americans, Hispanics, and even a few African Americans, Brother Curt says.

“What is neat about it is that it’s very inclusive,” he adds. “Most people participate and sing and dance.” The celebration, which takes place on the third Sunday

“It’s very festive! It captures my imagination because that’s not who I am.”

—BROTHER CURT KEDLEY

of January, includes a meal for all attendees, as well as other presentations.

Johcel Artigas was one of the Sinulog dancers this year. An immigrant from the Philippines, she says that about 100 of her compatriots regularly attend Mass at two of the Glenmary missions in North Carolina. Some of them are the main organizers of Sinulog, which begins with the prayer of a novena for nine days before the festival.

Most Filipinos in Bertie County work as teachers or healthcare providers.

They come to fill a gap

What brought these Filipino immigrants to the area? Johcel says that most of them have come in recent decades to work as teachers, brought in by the Bertie County Schools District. Others have come to work as nurses, physical therapists, or other similar healthcare services.

In an often overseen part of the state, the school and healthcare systems in rural Bertie County have struggled to find and hire professionals. Some of the area’s challenges are low pay, the lack of affordable housing, and also the limited access to shopping, restaurants, and entertainment options that bigger cities offer.

Windsor is a town of about 3,300 inhabitants. In the 2021–2022 school year, the most recent data available, one in four teachers left the district.

Rogelio Baluyot and his wife Raymonette are from

the Philippiness and work for Bertie County Schools. She is a teacher, while Rogelio provides IT services. Both helped organize the Sinulog this year.

Rogelio explained that for them as Filipino immigrants, it is very important to keep their Catholic faith in the United States, and the novena and Sinulog festival are a key piece of that identity.

Everybody wins

Brother Curt says that the arrival of these Filipino immigrants to North Carolina is a win-win: for them, for the students and patients in the area, and for society in general.

The prevalent attitude among these immigrants is, “I am from the Philippines and I’m on a mission for a better way of life,” Brother Curt says. In addition to providing much-needed education and healthcare services in underserved Bertie County, these immigrants improve their quality of life in the US. Some of them are even able to send money to help their relatives back in the Philippines, a country where about 14% of the population live on $3.65 a day or less, according to the World Bank.

Brother Curt adds that “the Filipinos have a warm heart.” This has allowed them to build good relations with people in the African American community, which is not always easy for a Catholic missioner in areas where Catholics are a minority of the population, says Brother Curt.

Johcel says that she and the Filipinos she knows are grateful to the US for the opportunities this country offers. She, Rogelio, Raymonette, and others will continue celebrating Sinulog each year, in Rogelio’s words, “to keep our faith in God strong and to foster unity among Catholics in Bertie County.”

Assistant Editor Omar Cabrera holds an MA in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Brothers David Henley (L) and Thomas Nguyen worship el Santo Niño, or Holy Baby. Br. Thomas also performed some magic tricks.

The core of the Sinulog festival is a dance in which a statue of Baby Jesus is presented to attendees as Catholic Filipino music resounds.

Dancers present little statues of Baby Jesus to Mass participants at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Williamston, North Carolina.

Photo courtesy of Arlene Purugganan Carroll.

Photo courtesy of Brother David Henley. Photo courtesy of Brother David Henley.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[Some friends] are farmers who have never heard of Our Lady of the Fields. I thought sending them a copy of your Winter 2024 Challenge would be a fine introduction. The beautiful article on article on page 6 by Brother Thomas Nguyen [and cover by Glenn McInnes] will certainly interest them as it did me and many others. Enclosed is a small donation towards your great work. It is always a pleasure to receive your magazine with the latest news.

Joan Burke | Flemington, NJ

From a priest visiting our mission in Washington County, NC: The experience with Brother Craig was fascinating…. Everywhere I went with him, there was this, “Here is a friend of mine” from both sides. Ecumenically and racially a model.

Father Bob Beirne | Providence, RI

In this crazy, secular, materialistic world, it is so pleasant to see men and women who want to work for the Kingdom of Our Lord and Savior by being

of service to the marginalized and less affluent in the Appalachian region of the USA. Reading and perusing your quarterly magazine is always uplifting and inspiring to me because what comes through is happiness is found in being of service to others—not me, myself, and I. Love God and love your neighbor, that's what Jesus said!!!

Michael Vladovic | Oak Lawn, IL

Your cover for the Winter 2024 issue of Glenmary Challenge brought a song to my 83-year-old heart and soul: “Some Children See Him.” My favorite singer of this song is Cher. On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am so very thankful for my grandma, Anna Coles, my first ‘guidance counselor,’ who took me to Mass from 1943–59. Your illustrated cover made me weepy.

Jeanne Karmanowsky | Burlington, NJ

Thank you for all you do for all the less fortunate brothers and sisters in the rural areas of our country. I would like to express my thanks for your wonder-

WE WANT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!

ful Glenmary Challenge magazine— I always enjoy reading about what Glenmarians and their coworkers are doing. I especially appreciated the article [in Summer 2023] by Father Aaron Wessman highlighting Brother Craig Digmann's work on ecumenism. I'm inspired by Brother Craig's ability to not be intrusive or to force the Catholic faith on anyone he meets.

Steve Eiser | Cincinnati

Father Aaron Wessman celebrated our weekend Masses on 8/17–8/18/24. I was amazed to learn of so many states that lack the privilege I have in Ohio for daily Mass and reception of the sacraments. Thank you so much for coming to our parish—you touched my heart deeply.

Marlene Henry | Troy, OH

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