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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.

GLENMARY CHALLENGE

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

Welcome Our Newest!

Afew years ago, approaching retirement, I took the assignment to be editor of this magazine and to lead the Glenmary communications/marketing team. At the time I told Glenmary's lay Chief Operating Officer Charlotte Carpenter and Father Dan Dorsey, president, that I’d serve the role “for a few years. ”

I hope you’ve enjoyed this magazine since 2023 as much as you did in previous years, under a line of inspiring editors, starting with Father William Howard Bishop himself. Did you know this founder of Glenmary studied journalism at Harvard? Sold maps door-to-door as a summer job, learning how images tell a story, before entering seminary? I’ve served in a grand tradition, and it's been a lot of fun working with a great team.

After reviewing hundreds of applicants, and interviewing several very strong ones, Father Dan and Ms. Carpenter chose Mr. Francisco Cepeda to lead Glenmary’s communications and marketing efforts. I am personally delighted to pass on this vital work to someone so talented as Francisco. He’s an experienced journalist and devoted Catholic, especially well poised to lead Glenmary’s contemporary communications both in English and in Spanish. He’ll tell you more about himself in the next issue. Suffice to say that your magazine and our growing digital presence are in good hands, both in his and those of his coworkers at the bottom of the opposite page.

The growing culture of social media, video, websites, and print media—all working together—is a tremendous opportunity for evangelization. It’s been an honor to be part of it. Welcome, Francisco!

John Feister, editor

GlenmaryChallen e

THRIVING IN TENNESSEE

Two of Glenmary’s missions in Middle Tennessee experience growth with new ministries and Masses.

By Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

10 12 14 CALLED BY THE EUCHARIST

Our call to change society starts with Jesus.

By Polly Duncan Collum

‘THAT THEY MAY BE ONE’

Christian unity is a real and important part of mission work. Glenmary’s Nathan Smith is dedicated to making that happen.

By John Feister

BISHOP ZARAMA: GLENMARY SERVES THE GREATEST NEED

On the periphery of the Diocese of Raleigh, Glenmary defends human dignity. 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

Glenmary Father Charles Aketch proudly stands with first Communicants Scarlett Jauregui and Leonardo Hernandez Melendez at the Glenmary mission in Clay County, Tennessee.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Smith

Photo by John Feister

Photos by John Feister

Photo

As we settle in with our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, I did not want the death of Pope Francis to pass without offering my reflection and deep gratitude to God. The late Holy Father gave a unique gift to Glenmary.

In Pope Francis’ first encyclical, The Joy of the Gospel, he observed, we are to “take on ‘the smell of the sheep.’” He did so to emphasize the need for leaders, in our case especially religious priests and Brothers, to be humble, relatable, and close to the people we serve. He further taught that joy comes from being in communion with Christ and with others. The phrase encourages leaders to be approachable and understand the needs of their flock, reflecting a servant leadership model inspired by Jesus.

With this one phrase, Pope Francis captured what it means to be a Glenmary missioner!

“I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.”

POPE FRANCIS:

‘Smell OF THE Sheep’

from the president

Father Dan Dorsey

In addition, Pope Francis’ vision in The Joy of the Gospel encourages us to view evangelization in a renewed way. He never tired of repeating the underlying premise of this call to missionary discipleship: It is the encounter with God’s love and communicating it in relationship to others.

At Glenmary’s 18th General Chapter in 2023, we renewed and rededicated our vision of what it means to be a missionary disciple in the present age and beyond, to be missioners who smell like the sheep. In our Glenmary missionary ministry, we often resemble another of the pope’s images, a “field hospital,” going to the highway and hedges to gather those in need, to leave the 99 to seek out the one.

If we are to smell like the sheep, then we have to remember to follow Jesus' example. Remember the feeding of the 5,000? Jesus, the king, fed the hungry. Remember the woman at the well, when Jesus offered her living water? Jesus provided water for the thirsty. Remember Jesus inviting Matthew, the tax collector—someone no one wanted anything to do with—to join his company of disciples? Jesus welcomed the stranger.

Our Glenmary missioners’ identity is to be humble, relatable, and close to the people we serve. This means handing out food at a food bank, going to other

churches, reaching out to the migrants working in the fields, going to the local high school to tutor and to greet students at the beginning of the day, painting a room at the local nursing home, assisting those in financial crisis with their electric bills, rent, etc., visiting men and women in prison, walking with those who have addictions, providing fresh food for those who live in food deserts, building ramps on homes/trailers for those in need,

visiting the lonely in nursing homes, assisting in disaster situations, listening to seekers walking the Appalachian Trail—living the Gospel.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, never leaves his Church unattended. He uses the voices of people in the family of faith to be his voice today, to share the great promise that makes all the difference in our lives: “I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” In

a particular way, he uses the lives of Glenmary missioners.

Let us be forever grateful for the life and gift of Pope Francis and rededicate ourselves to be Christ’s joyful ambassadors. As he taught, “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.”

Glenmary News & Notes

VOLUNTEERS / Glenmary success story

Frontier Housing Celebrates 50 Years in Appalachia

A celebration took place in April for the 50th anniversary of Frontier Housing, a once-humble effort that has grown into a vital force for affordable housing in Eastern Kentucky. Founded in 1974 by Tom Carew and a group of fellow Glenmary volunteers, Frontier began with little more than faith, determination, and a giant tub of peanut butter, the staple of a meager diet.

With early support from Glenmary Father John Garvey, donors, and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the nonprofit took root in Morehead, Kentucky. As of this year, Frontier has constructed 850 homes, repaired over 400, built more than 100 rental units, and served upwards of 2,100 households!

At the anniversary celebration, Father Chet Artysiewicz reflected on Frontier's growth from a marginal effort into a robust organization offering homeownership opportunities, training, and financial counseling. “It is truly a Glenmary success story,” he said, praising the organization’s focus on empowering local communities. “It’s a sound example of how Glenmary can have a lasting effect on a community.”

Frontier Housing continues to lead in the movement for better housing across Appalachia.

Father Chet with Bodie Stevens and Tom Carew, former Glenmary volunteer, celebrates Frontier Housing’s achievements.

Photo by John Feister

COMMUNITY / National news

Legislation proposed to speed up religious worker backlog

Changes to US immigration processing are straining religious communities dependent on the R-1 visa program that allows for international vocations recruiting. Typically, recruits would receive permanent residency in a few years but there is a huge backlog. Current law limits R-1 religious workers to five years in the US, after which they must leave for at least one year before returning.

Glenmary Father Aaron Wessman explains, “We serve isolated, rural, and poorer areas. These men are forced to end their ministry. They can’t visit family or return home. There is much uncertainty and disruption, and those on the margins suffer.”

In April, a bipartisan act was introduced in the US House and Senate. The Religious Workforce Protection Act would allow R-1 status beyond five years. It will need approval of legislators and the president to become law.

A more detailed explanation is available at USCCB.org.

New Vocations Video

Glenmary Communications Team is partnering with Minnesotabased Hundredfold Video to create a new vocations-recruiting video, “Why Be a Glenmary Priest?” Filming for the video took place in the Middle and the Appalachian East Tennessee missions on two weekends this past May.

What makes Glenmary stand out from the other choices that a man might have in discerning the priesthood? That is the question this short video seeks to answer, says Father Aaron Wessman, director of Glenmary’s recruiting team.“The idea is to show the various types of ministries and settings where Glenmary priests serve—small parishes, rural homes, small towns, even in the midst of farm fields. Glenmary is the only religious community in the USA entirely dedicated to the Home Missions. We want to showcase that.” The video will be at Glenmary.org later this summer.

RIGHT: Father Samuel Mungai is filmed bringing the Church to the people.

Photo by John Feister

Father Aaron shows Kenyan student Hillary Ladema Glenmary’s mission areas.

Photo by John Feister

Father Steve (second from right) leads the five novices in prayer.

VOCATIONS / Novices take next step

Five men take First Oath

As their novitiate year comes to a conclusion, Glenmary novices Evarist Mukama, Raphael Kavita, Alex Omari, Aloysius Ssennyondo, and Moses Ndung’u will take their First Oath of commitment to the Glenmary way of life at Glenmary’s Assembly this month. The oath ceremony marks a significant step in their missionary journey as they publicly vow to live in

around the missions

NEW LAY EVANGELIST

poverty, chastity, obedience, and prayerful service to the missions in rural America. Their dedication reflects Glenmary’s charism of bringing the gospel to the forgotten and underserved. As they begin this next chapter, they join men who have devoted their lives to spreading hope and compassion. First Oath is both a personal milestone and a blessing to the communities they will one day serve.

Eli Evans joins Glenmary this summer as our new lay evangelizer for Northampton County, North Carolina. Eli is a Franciscan University graduate who has been a missionary with Vagabond Missions for the past two years in Greenville, North Carolina. With this new hire, Glenmary expands to a new county. We will bring a permanent Catholic presence to Northampton for the first time.

NEW MISSION ASSIGNMENTS ON JULY 1:

Father Samuel Mungai is named pastor of St. Teresa of Kolkata in Maynardville, Tennessee, and St. John Paul II in Rutledge, Tennessee.

Father Neil Pezzulo is named sacramental minister to Holy Family in Blakely, Georgia, and St. Luke in Cuthbert, Georgia, and missioner to Stewart and Quitman Counties.

Brother Jason Muhlenkamp is assigned as missioner to Trousdale County, Tennessee.

Brother Joe Steen is assigned as missioner at Joppa Mountain, Tennessee.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

Father Mike Kerin is named pastor of Divine Savior in Celina, Tennessee, and sacramental minister to Overton County.

Fr. Samuel Mungai Fr. Neil Pezzulo

Br. Joe Steen

Br. Jason Muhlenkamp

Fr. Mike Kerin

Photo by John Feister

THRIVING IN Tennessee

Two of Glenmary’s missions in Middle Tennessee experience growth with new ministries and Masses.

By Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

by John Feister

Pat Roberts has been attending Divine Savior in Clay County, Tennessee, since the beginning. “I was the second practicing Catholic in Celina,” she says, recalling a time when going to Church meant traveling north across the Kentucky border.

Divine Savior began nearly 40 years ago when Lucy and Curt Brown donated money to build a church, and it became a mission of the diocesan parish 45 minutes away. There were only two or three people at Mass, Pat says, and “we’d

Photos

Photo by John Feister

Father Mike Kerin joins lay missioners Lorenzo and Nicolasa Ajú in growing the Catholic community in Clay and Overton Counties.

do everything,” from pouring concrete for the parking lot to serving on the parish council.

Today, the church has grown to about 40 people attending weekend Mass.

She credits Glenmary Father Vic Subb’s outreach to the community for the mission’s growth. Divine Savior became a Glenmary mission in 2012 when Father Vic became pastor at Holy Family in Macon County, about 40 miles away.

The mission has continued to grow with a recent influx of families, which inspired Pat to start a religious education program. In their first year, they had about 12 youth. Their work culminated in a celebratory Mass in April where two children received their first Communion in a packed church.

Small, but beautiful

“People who visit say we’re so welcoming,” Pat says. That’s a statement that fellow parishioner Shirley Spaziani can attest to. Shirley and her husband recently moved and became parishioners, despite living closer to a different parish.

“There’s something about a small parish community,” Shirley says. She points to a corner of the narthex where parishioners often bring eggs, fruits, and vegetables to share.

Father Charles Aketch, who has been a Glenmary priest serving Holy Family and Divine Savior for seven years, talks fondly of the Celina community. “I’m going to miss them,” he says.

For the first time in its history, Divine Savior has its own pastor dedicated to and living in Clay County. In April, Glenmary Father Mike Kerin was named its pastor. He will also minister to the Catholic community in Overton County, while Father Charles remains pastor at Holy Family, over in Macon County.

“That is one of the [most] beautiful congregations,” Father Charles says of Divine Savior. “They don’t care that you are Latino or not. They do things together.”

First Sunday Mass in Livingston

A longtime member of Divine Savior, Marie Garret lives in Overton County and began attending the monthly Masses there when Lorenzo and Nicolasa Ajú, Glenmary lay missioners, started gathering the Catholic community three years ago.

Father Charles Aketch poses with his first Communicants Scarlett Jauregui and Leonardo Hernandez Melendez. Divine Savior received a new pastor, Father Mike Kerin (opposite page).

Since then, that community has split up going to weekend Mass at either Divine Savior, 20 miles north, or at a diocesan parish in Cookeville, a small city 20 miles south.

But on April 6, the Overton County community celebrated their first Sunday Mass, together, with Father Mike, at a rented space in the Methodist church.

“Would anyone show up?” Father Mike wondered. There had been several days of bad weather, which often makes people reluctant to get out. “But at 9 a.m. there was a significant gathering,” he says. “Maybe 50 people, which almost filled the small chapel at the Methodist church.”

The crowd was a testament to Lorenzo and Nicolasa’s hard work over the past three years. They moved to Livingston, not knowing anyone, and quickly formed relationships. They began a monthly Saturday afternoon Mass to build community around the Eucharist, celebrated by Glenmarians traveling 55 miles from the Macon County mission.

Lorenzo and Nicolasa also connected with members of the First Methodist Church, which has turned into the place where the Catholic community has gathered not only for Masses, but also for potlucks, Bible studies, and ecumenical ministries.

Photo

John Feister

Helping each other in faith

“I’m glad they started this church,” says Marie. She has trouble driving at night, so she could not always make it to Mass in Celina. Now she can attend Mass down the street.

Although Marie is one of the few Anglo members— the mission is predominantly Latino—she still feels united as a community. “Even though they speak Spanish, they still make you feel welcome,” she says. Almost on cue, a fellow Latino community member offers her a homemade tamale at the gathering after Mass.

renzo says. “This is how we can help each other to increase our faith.”

And it’s easy to see that it’s working. One young family with two children started coming to Mass consistently upon learning of the weekly offering. The mom told Lorenzo, “I want to baptize my child.” So, Baby Isaac was baptized in May, a first for the community.

This is how we can help each other to increase our faith.

Starting the weekend Mass has brought opportunities and a little more work for Lorenzo. He’s training altar servers and lectors and doing the behind-the-scenes work to make Mass possible, like finding and cutting the end of a pine branch for Father Mike to use to bless the congregation with holy water during the Easter season.

But this work is exactly what Lorenzo and Nicolasa had hoped for when they began this mission. “What we are doing is sharing the experience of God,” Lo-

God’s graces

The desire to start celebrating a weekly Sunday Mass in Overton County came from the community. “People were asking for the Eucharist,” says Lorenzo. God had been working through Glenmary, the diocese, and everyone who had been serving and contributing to the community to bring about this moment, says Father Mike. “Without a doubt, God was doing something new,” he adds, referencing the first reading on that April 6 Mass. “And we were graced enough to see it.”

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

Photo by John Feister

Pat Roberts and Shirely Spaziani, parishioners at Divine Savior, help organize their first Communion celebration.

Father Mike celebrates Mass in a rented space at the Methodist church in Overton County.

SUMMERS of Joy

From cold factories to warm celebrations of Mass, Glenmary

walks with migrant workers every step of the way.

BY FATHER VIC SUBB

There have been many joys I have experienced in my priesthood—the joy of celebrating Mass and the sacraments and of spending time with families in both their celebrations and their sorrows.

When summer arrives, one special joy returns: the arrival of migrant workers. They are a vital part of my ministry. In the early years of my priesthood, President Ronald Reagan’s immigration program, which helped migrants obtain work authorization, became a major focus. I assisted hundreds through the process. Seeing a migrant leave the immigration office with a work permit brought me sheer joy.

Today, most migrant workers arrive in the US through temporary work visas. The Church remains a lifeline for them. They come to work hard and save money to support their families back home.

After many summers of returning to the same location, many of these workers become more than just visitors; they become friends. They bring new photos each year. “My son’s growing!” “Another baby is on the way!” I've been blessed to visit their homes in Mexico and Guatemala. Over time, we become like family.

I’ve taken many to the doctor when needed. One

man, Daniel, was diagnosed with a brain tumor after several visits. With treatment, he recovered and has returned to working in tobacco fields.

In North Carolina, in a small fishing village called Mattamuskeet, 50 women come each year to work in crab and shrimp processing. The factory is cold and the hours are long. These women, mostly middle-aged, have grown children at home. One woman, Theresa, has been coming for six years. “My children keep wanting to go to school,” she told me. “I work for my children.”

Twice a month, we celebrate Mass together. After a long day’s work, the women dress up for the 5 p.m. liturgy. Peace and joy fill the area. It is a sacred moment.

The Church has spoken on this in its document Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope. We are brothers and sisters.

Thank God for summer and for our summer visitors. God bless our farmers and God bless the migrant workers who put food on our tables.

Glenmary Father Vic Subb’s most recent assignment was as pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Washington County, North Carolina.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was named patronness of the Americas by Saint John Paul II. Here she inspires the community at Mattamuskeet, NC.

Photo by John Feister

CALLED BY THE

Eucharist

Our call to change society starts with Jesus.

BY POLLY DUNCAN COLLUM

Istumbled into the Catholic Church by God’s abundant grace when I was in my late 20s. Thirty-five years later, Catholic Christianity is still the center of my life. When I joined that particular parish community and the immense, widely diverse, universal Catholic community spread throughout the world, I felt I had found my people and my home.

It all started in a parish in inner-city Cleveland that I came to know through social ministry. St. Patrick was a hub of direct service to the neighborhood’s poor and vulnerable and a leader in social change advocacy. The parish brought together three elements that remain essential to my core vision of faith. They are at the heart of Glenmary’s charism: grounding in the Eucharist; developing vibrant, engaged parish communities; and orienting the parish’s focus toward the needs of the world outside the church walls. Everything begins with the Eucharist, the “source and summit” of our faith. We social mission advocates love to quote the catechism: “The Eucharist commits us to the poor.” The Eucharist does indeed orient us to those most in need. But how is that, exactly?

Catholic faith points to the reality that God is intimately bound up with this nitty-gritty world and with common human experience. That stands against spirit vs. matter, heaven vs. earth, revelation vs. reason. That means God cares deeply about human suffering, that God suffers with us. The ultimate expression of this intimacy between God and creation is Christ’s passion and death; God not only became one of us, but he felt our pain and loved us to such an extent that he gave his life for us.

That is the Eucharist: Jesus’ gift of himself.

We who strive to follow Christ are to do like Jesus: We respond to pain and injustice by giving what we’ve received, even at cost to ourselves. Yet we can’t do much on our own steam. We often are weak, sinful, and afraid. Especially when we are called evil in the systems of society, in “the way we do things,” we need courage and perseverance. So we are radically dependent on God’s power working through us in order to reach out to those on the peripheries, to speak up for those who have no voice. The Eucharist strengthens and empowers us, communally and individually, to

Father Neil Pezzulo distributes Communion at St. Teresa of Kolkata mission in Maynardville, TN.

Photo by Francisco Cepeda

ʻThat is the

Eucharist: Jesusʼ gift of himself.ʼ

act on our deep longing to serve. As someone once told me, “We are nourished by the body of Christ to be the body of Christ for the body of Christ.”

Experiencing Jesus in the Eucharist opens our hearts and eyes to recognize him in those most in need. We can understand the parable about the sheep and the goats (Mt 2:31). It’s so much more than Jesus’ moral directive to engage in the works of mercy, though it is that. The deeper meaning is that by doing so, we will encounter the suffering Christ himself. When Mother Teresa spoke of meeting “Jesus in his most distressing disguise,” for her the poorest of the poor in Kolkata, she was not making a metaphor.

This same dynamic is present in Glenmary mission parishes and counties. The best part of my Glenmary ministry is visiting our missions, where I witness vibrant eucharistic communities reaching out to the poor and vulnerable.

For instance, in Early County, Georgia, recovering addicts from the local community are invited to Mass and the weekly parish potluck. In Union County, Tennessee, parishioners bring fresh produce out to needy communities through the mobile Fresh Wagon. In Bertie County, North Carolina, Glenmarians, lay coworkers, and parishioners are building relationships with migrant farmworkers in need of spiritual, emotional, and material support.

In these Glenmary missions and so many others since Glenmary’s 1939 founding, the Eucharist is substantiated— made present in small towns and rural communities by many loving, even sacrificial, acts of service and justice.

Polly Duncan Collum is director of Glenmary’s Office of Justice, Peace, & Integrity of Creation.

The Eucharist strengthens and empowers us communally and individually.

In Glenmary missions, the Eucharist is substantiated—made present—in small towns and rural communities.

Photo by Francisco Cepeda

Photo by John Feister

Nathan Smith is fulfilling a long-held Glenmary hope. This former Protestant minister, now Catholic and a lay leader in Glenmary, is reaching out to the non-Catholic Christians who are a big part of Glenmary missions. Many of these Christians would not consider themselves a part of any larger denomination.

Nathan follows in the giant footsteps of Glenmary Father Frank Ruff, who made groundbreaking connections for the Church nationally with the Southern Baptist Convention. Nathan is branching out from there to include Pentecostals and nondenominational Christians. It all fits within a broader context, the five “pillars of mission” that Glenmary is all about (see box on opposite page).

“We call it ecumenical ministry,” says Nathan, “a ministry of Christian unity. Within our mission areas, a lot of the other Christians that are in those areas are coming from Evangelical and Pentecostal backgrounds.”

Glenmary founder Father William Howard Bishop taught that entire counties are our missionary concern. “That means that we should partner with the existing Christians,” says Nathan, “in order to see the gospel flourish within those spaces, whichever way that might look.”

It comes from Jesus’ desire for unity, stated most clearly in John’s Gospel at the Last Supper, in Jesus’ prayer that all of his followers might be one (Jn 17).

‘THAT

THEY May Be One’

Christian unity is a real and important part of mission work.

Glenmary’s Nathan Smith is dedicated to making that happen.

BY JOHN FEISTER

Ecumenism is a fancy name for it all, but that’s not exactly a common word. Nathan tries to keep things accessible, in plain English. Part of that comes from his conversion to Roman Catholicism. He was drawn first by beauty, then to transcendence, then to the Eucharist. And Eucharist, our relationship with Jesus and his Church is, in a sense, both the most simple and the most deeply Catholic thing that we know.

Raising children has probably helped him keep things a little more simple too! He and his wife, Emily, have two very young children who constantly ask the big questions, as most children do. Nathan himself was an Evangelical pastor, which gives him a deep understanding of common ground among Catholics and Evangelical Christians.

Who are the Evangelicals?

Southern Baptists are the largest denomination of Evangelical Protestants, but there are many, many other Christian Evangelicals. Think of Methodists or Nazarenes, two very different groups, one mainstream Protestant, one more fundamentalist. Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Assemblies of God, Church of God—the Evangelical list goes from A to Z (actually it stops at Wesleyan). Many have little exposure or understanding of Roman Catholicism beyond the media, just as many Roman Catholics have little understanding of Evangelicals. But they have much in common.

Nathan brings his many talents to the work of ecumenism for Glenmary.

Photo by John Feister

Consider this, for example: Many Evangelicals are charismatics. Yet most charismatics globally are Catholic, explains Nathan. Charismatics emphasize the spiritual gifts that most Catholics would recognize from the catechism: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

Among Evangelicals, says Nathan, “there’s a strong emphasis on one’s personal salvation, and on having a personal relationship with Christ.” This was a big concern for Catholics even in recent years when one of the Creed translations prayed at Mass was retranslated for English speakers as, “I believe in God” rather than the previous “We believe.” (Both are true, of course, but our bishops were concerned that personal responsibility not be forgotten.)

Evangelical Christians are deeply devoted to prayer. Sound familiar?

But the most basic place of common ground is our belief in the Christian redemption, says Nathan, “the salvific work of Christ.” In other words, Christ breaks whatever barriers exist between us and God. Nathan lists others: “belief in the Trinity, belief in the role of Christians in the world, serving other people.” Evangelicals are centered on Christ, are devoted to the Cross, and have “a strong emphasis on the role of Scripture guiding one’s life.” And of course, Evangelicals, like Catholics, are missioners.

But misconceptions abound, observes Nathan. “One is that Catholics are thought to believe we only can be saved by their works. Evangelicals believe that if you pray, Christ will enter your heart and forgive your sins; then you’re saved. So there is a deep difference there,” observes Nathan.

Dialogue about all of this is the work of Glenmary’s ecumenical ministry, which Nathan leads.

Working with leaders

Much of this work is happening in local communities, and Nathan sometimes visits Glenmary parishes to give workshops among Christians of many faiths that local Glenmarians are working with, week to week.

Nathan spends much of his time forging relationships. For example, Nathan and Evangelical layman Alexei Laushkin led a dialogue over the past few years that resulted in a groundbreaking statement of areas of agreement among Catholics and others nationally, one endorsed by both the US bishops’ ecumenical office and Laushkin’s Kingdom Mission Society (see Glenmary.org for more on The Gift of Being Christian Together). It is being used as a study tool primarily in the US and also by some European Christians.

Another example: Last year Nathan was invited by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity to be one of two North American Catholic representatives at a worldwide gathering in Ghana, Africa, of the Global Christian Forum.

And closer to home, there is a gathering at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, a theological discussion among Catholics and Evangelicals. In November, Nathan will give a talk in Philadelphia to a group representing five major families of Christian Churches about new approaches to inter-Church discussions, ecumenism.

All of these points of contact are opportunities to grow the relationships that lead to mutual understanding and unity among Christians. Yes, there are committees, formal discussions, ways of doing things, says Nathan, but fundamentally “it’s looking out, being attentive to the Holy Spirit at work within another person’s life. Listening is a big part of that.” For Nathan, that goes from Glenmary missions to the broadest corners of the Church.

Five Pillars of Mission

Glenmary’s mission focuses in five areas:

Photo by Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP ZARAMA

GLENMARY SERVES THE Greatest Need

Born in Colombia, he is the first Latino bishop of the Diocese of

On the periphery of the Diocese of Raleigh, Glenmary defends human dignity.

BY OMAR CABRERA

Three years after his ordination as a priest, Father Luis Rafael Zarama was assigned to two parishes located in small towns north of Atlanta, Georgia. These two parishes were missions where Glenmary had served before the young priest's arrival.

Bishop Zarama recalls that when he arrived, he saw “the fruits of the work, dedication, and generosity that they [Glenmarians] showed during the time they served there.”

A decade later, in 2017, Pope Francis appointed Father Zarama as the first Latino bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina. As such, Bishop Zarama—a native of Colombia—now oversees more than 140 priests and 80 parishes, including two served by Glenmary.

The bishop received us in his office in Raleigh, where we discussed the growing presence of Latinos in the Catholic Church in the United States and the role of Glenmary, among other topics.

Bishop Luis R. Zarama likes to call his “the best diocese in the world.”

Raleigh, NC.

Q: So your first parishes had previously been led by Glenmary priests. Tell us a little more about that.

A: They were the ones who were there when Mass began to be celebrated in a community hall, little by little a church was built, and the community grew in a rural area where Catholics were scarce.

Well, with the presence of the Glenmarians, the few Catholics found, through the Eucharist, a way to unite, to begin living the faith, to work for the faith, to be present in the town, to build a church, to form a community.

And then, when I arrived, the church became too small, and a project to build a larger one was needed, given the way the community grew.

Q: What is your opinion of Glenmary's work in bringing the Church's presence to small towns like the ones where you served as a parish priest?

A: I believe it's what the Holy Father Francis spoke of, about going to the peripheries.

That's the reality; it's service where it's needed, in places where generally few have the will to serve or few have the will to go, and that's where it's needed, where service is needed.

Q: The Catholic Church in the United States is experiencing a considerable increase in Hispanic parishioners. What is your pastoral approach to this reality?

A: Often, what happens is that the Latino presence is not recognized, but the Hispanic presence, the Latino presence, is there. In many places, there is fear of acknowledging that reality. And if it is not recognized, it is impossible to serve.

Here in the diocese, I believe half of the Catholic population is Hispanic, Latino. The goal, at least in my way of serving, is for all priests who are trained in the seminary to be bilingual, at least to celebrate the sacraments, so they can provide that service, because we cannot ignore it, and if they are not bilingual, there is practically nowhere to assign them.

On the other hand, it is about being able to make the communities at least feel comfortable and recognize the presence that is there. Because often one seeks to force integration, and that is not healthy; that is a process.

Q: Can you expand a little on that, of integration being forced rather than pursued as a process?

A: The thing is, friendship can't be forced. Friendship comes as a process. You can't force someone to be friends with someone else. And often, unintentionally or without understanding it, people force acceptance of each other when that's not possible.

Friendship grows through a process of getting to know each other little by little, in moments, in events, in situations. And that's what must be cultivated without pressure, without forcing, but simply with an open attitude. And to see that, as in every family, when a new member arrives, that new member changes the routine completely, not for bad reasons, but because there's someone new, and that new person changes what we've been doing. It's uncomfortable, but we accept it with joy and are open to what this new person brings.

It's the same with our faith, it's the same with our parishes. We are so diverse, because our Church is universal, it's catholic, and we have that reality in a small way.

Q: Although it may seem like a rhetorical question, why are we as Catholics called to serve those most in need, including undocumented immigrants?

A: First of all, the situation of migration of undocumented people: It's a situation that has existed here forever. And it's a situation for which there is no political intention to fix it, because undocumented people are the workhorse in electoral campaigns, where they are used and manipulated to win votes. Some talk about removing them, others talk about fixing them. It's the battle, it's what they use to win votes, and once undocumented people have been manipulated, they simply ignore them. That is an abuse. Furthermore, it's cheap labor that the country needs. So, they have no intention of granting them legal status because it's cheap labor; undocumented people are needed.

Faced with that reality, why do we have to help? Because they are human beings. And a human being cannot be manipulated, a human being cannot be used. A human being must learn to be respected. We must help a human being discover his or her dignity. Amidst the circumstances of his or her life, he or she must find a place where he or she feels respected, appreciated, and cared for. And that is our role as the Church.

Assistant Editor Omar Cabrera holds an MA in journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is editor of El Reto Glenmary, where this interview first appeared.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

OUR LADY OF THE FIELDS

I always enjoy your magazine and to hear and to learn about your ministries in rural America. I was especially delighted to read about Our Lady of the Fields in your recent publication. My husband and I grew up in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and we are familiar with the legend of the Native American chief and Our Lady of the Fields. We know where this is thought to have occurred and the mighty works there.

Mary G Little | Mercersburg, PA

FROM A VISITING PRIEST:

Very grateful that you gave my name to Father Vic. It was like 10 days of post-grad Missiology. The experience with Brother Craig was fascinating. Everywhere I went with him, there were these, "Here is a friend

of mine from both sides, ecumenically and racially a model. I presume you saw the letter from the school principal in admiration and thanks to him. It appeared in the local newspaper, the Roanoke Beacon

Fr. Robert M. Beirne | Providence, RI

LOVE IT!

I want to say I literally love your magazine. I love reading about the African missioners. They have faith that is so outgoing! I chuckled over the Sisters when they were asked if they were Muslim. I am an eastern-rite Catholic—in the Western world we wear the eastern Catholic habit: a monk’s robe, black in the fall and winter; white in the spring and summer.

I am just absolutely thrilled with the work you do in our southern and

WE WANT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!

mountain communities. I will pray continuously for your growth. I also would like to mention the writing of [late Glenmarian] Fr. John Brown. I really enjoyed the article, “Life to New Life.” It was inspiring, contemplative, and humbling. He had a deep, abiding spirit and faith.

I loved the article on Our Lady of the Fields and how it relates to different cultures you reach out to.

Rev. Keith S.H. Eash, MHICSA | Macomb, IL

NEWLY ORDAINED

The cover photo Spring 2025 featuring our two new priests lifted me up. Congratulations to them. We all should feel such joy as we strive to do God's will.

Jenine Giron | Yelm, Washington

Send to: Editor, Glenmary Challenge, PO Box 465618, Cincinnati, OH 45246. Email: challenge@glenmary.org. Comments are printed at the discretion of the editor and may be edited for clarity and space. Please include a postal address with your letter.