Glenmary Challenge Winter 2012

t h e m a g a z i n e o f C at h o l i c m i s s i o n e r s t o r u r a l A m e r i c a

Winter 2012

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Signs of the Times Looking to the next decade

Remembrance Father George Mathis

Legacy of Beauty Appalachian artist’s works reflect faith, family and county

Glenmary Home Missioners Founded by Father William Howard Bishop in 1939, this Catholic society of priests and brothers, along with numerous coworkers, establishes the Catholic Church in smalltown and rural America. Glenmary is the only religious community devoted exclusively to serving the spiritually and materially poor in the rural U.S. home missions. Today, supported entirely through freewill offerings, it staffs missions and ministries throughout Appalachia and the South.

Glenmary missioners serve in areas where less than three percent of the population is Catholic, a significant percentage have no church affiliation and the Father William poverty rate is almost twice the national average. Glenmary is Howard Bishop known for deeply respecting the Glenmary Founder many cultures encountered in the home missions—Appalachian, Native American, African American and Latino among others. Its missionary activity includes building Catholic communities, fostering ecumenical cooperation, evangelizing the unchurched, social outreach and working for justice.

Glenmary Challenge This quarterly magazine has three goals: to educate Catholics about the U.S. 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 U.S. diocesan clergy and to anyone who requests it. (To begin receiving issues, use the contact information below.)

Publisher: Father Chet Artysiewicz Editor: Jean Bach Assistant Editor: Dale Hanson Art Director: Tricia Sarvak Staff Writers: Margaret Gabriel, Father John S. Rausch Planning-Review Board: Father Bob Dalton, Father Dominic Duggins, Father Gus Guppenberger, Brother Curt Kedley, Patrick McEntee, Kathy O’Brien, Father Neil Pezzulo

Glenmary Home Missioners P.O. Box 465618 • Cincinnati, OH 45246-5618 513-874-8900 • 800-935-0975 www.glenmary.org • info@glenmary.org

70 years

© 2012, Glenmary Home Missioners. Reprint permission granted upon request.

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Sharing our gifts with all FROM THE EDITOR / Jean Bach

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n the cover story (page 9) that pays tribute to artist Charley Campbell, his wife says when artists die “they leave tangible pieces of themselves behind.”

That is certainly true of Charley and his good friend, Father George Mathis (page 11). The two men died within a month of each other this past summer. But for their family, friends, fellow missioners and mission members, they live on through their art.

Father George said his ministry and art were about uncovering the inherent beauty he saw in all people and things. Charley strove to produce quality art that made people happy.

By using and sharing their artistic gifts, these two humble, spiritual men fulfilled their goals.

They have left legacies that will live on for decades through the windows, Stations of the Cross, paintings, and liturgical spaces that they designed, refurbished or produced.

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ooking at the decades to come and creating a comprehensive plan for Glenmary’s future home mission ministry were the tasks given to the Mission Planning Committee convened five years ago. The result of the committee’s Jean Bach work is Mission Plan 2010, which jbach@glenmary.org Father Dan Dorsey discusses in an article beginning on page 15.

Through this plan’s implementation, missions have been returned to the pastoral care of local dioceses, and new missions have been established in counties where the Church has never been present, allowing Glenmary to share the gifts of the Church with all.

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hank you for sharing your gifts and helping ensure that Glenmarians and coworkers can continue sharing the Good News of the greatest gift of all—Emmanuel. Merry Christmπas!  about the cover: Jesus, the newborn king, as sketched by artist Charley Campbell. This image graced the front of one of the many Christmas cards he created. Most of the cards featured likenesses of his children and grandchildren. The model for this card was his niece.

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THE MAGAZINE OF C ATHOLI C MISSIONERS TO RURAL AMERI C A

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Vo l u m e 7 5 / N u m b e r 4

Cover Story

9 original art by charley campbell

Legacy of Beauty

Artist Charley Campbell, a longtime member of Glenmary’s mission in Vanceburg, Ky., used a variety of media to portray the beauty he saw in the people and places of Lewis County.

Feature Story

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Signs of the Times

Glenmary’s missionary outreach continues to evolve and adapt through Mission Plan 2010.

New territories, Page 15

Departments & columns

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From the President / Father Chet Artysiewicz

The top four gifts to give this Christmas: kindness, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance.

Glenmary News & Notes

Mission receives 14.5 acres; missioners visit Kansas students; new bishop hails from Glenmary mission.

Kansas students, Page 7

Remembrance

As a missioner, Father George Mathis worked to reveal the inherent beauty in all people and things.

Then & Now

Era of missionary service officially ends in Ohio County, Ky., home to two of Glenmary’s first missions.

Bishop appointed, Page 8

Partner in Mission

Father Ralph Beiting was a missioner in his own right as he ministered to the people of Eastern Kentucky.

Final Words / from our readers

Letter writers announce a wedding, celebrate new members and priests, remember the past and more.

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Father Beiting, Page 14

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from the president / Father Chet Artysiewicz

A Savior born for us all Gifts to share this Christmas: kindness, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance

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park near our Glenmary headquarters is vibrant with activity—and accents.

On my constitutional walks during the balmy days of this past summer, I saw people taking part in quite a variety of games and exercises.

The park’s recreational center offers the standard indoor fitness amenities such as a walking track and a full range of exercise equipment.

Outdoor activities included rollerblading and swimming as well as games of basketball, soccer, tennis, football, baseball and cricket. An occasional skateboarder or cyclist added to the mix.

As I walked, I marveled not only at the variety of games but also the diversity of the participants. Like most major urban areas, Cincinnati is home to large companies whose workforces boast an international flavor. So I understood the laughter and shouts of exuberance but not necessarily the words. I think there is a common human bond through which we all understand “the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat”—and know the joy of passing an afternoon with friends taking part in an activity that unites us.

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lenmary mission churches are small and aren’t found in urban areas, but it is quite common to find a great cross-section of people of various nationalities in our congregations. I recall in one mission community we read the Pentecost story from the Acts of the Apostles in 10 languages. We read a verse in English and then repeated it in German; the next verse in English, repeated in Italian; and succeeding verses in English, repeated in Tagalog, Portuguese, French….

That Pentecost event may seem “unseasonal” at this time of year, but it really is in harmony with the Nativity of Christ. At Christmas we won’t be singing that a rock star or athletic hero is born, but that “Christ the Savior is born,” a Savior for all.

While I am touched and humbled to know Jesus came for me, it is also important to remember he came to be the Savior of the world— and that world encompasses a range of people quite different from me in some respects. Look around you at church, the market or a sporting 4

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event. Do you recognize how varied the group is? It’s important to remember, as we prepare to commemorate the birth of Jesus, that regardless of differences in appearance, accents, customs and languages, we are all gifts of God and gifted

by God.

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ometimes God’s people are described as a beautiful garden, made up of different types of flowers. The decorations that adorn your Christmas tree can also describe the human family. The lights differ from the Father Chet ornaments, the garland differs Artysiewicz from the “original” art object your cartysiewicz@glenmary.org kindergartner produced, yet each adornment, by its uniqueness, enhances the beauty of the finished product.

Division and polarization are realities of our lives, and those chasms are not easily navigated.

Often we hear those different from ourselves described as “those people,” who may want to do us harm. And even if they are perceived as not posing a threat, they are “draining our resources” or “hurting” us in other indirect ways.

But somehow the Christ-birth should move us to view “those people” in a different light. In God’s plan, Jesus came for all of us. Shouldn’t that affect our attitude toward “them”?

Christ’s birth brings joy to our world, a world filled with many accents, cultures and peoples.

Wouldn’t it be a great gift to our Emmanuel (after all, it is his birthday!) if we all made a pledge to increase the kindness, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance that we show to each other, not just during this holy Christmas season but throughout the coming year?

Indeed, these would be the greatest gifts we could give to each other and, most importantly, to our Savior!

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n behalf of all Glenmarians and our coworkers, I want to wish you and your family a blessed Nativity season. Thank you for all your support, spiritual and material, which enables us to serve those living in our  mission areas. You are a gift to us.

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Glenmary

Tenn. mission has 14.5 acres to call its own

news &notes photo / kathy o’brien

missions

Catholic Foundation of East Tennessee helps make dream a reality [tennessee] Over the last six months, the members of Glenmary’s mission in Unicoi County, Tenn., have had reason to celebrate.

First, Bishop Richard Stika of the Diocese of Knoxville announced the mission community’s new name: St. Michael the Archangel.

Then, at the end of September, the members of this newly named faith community learned that 14.5 acres had been purchased for the mission’s use with the assistance of the Catholic Foundation of East Tennessee.

The foundation provides funds to help the diocese buy property for new parishes and supports seminarian education.

Father Tom Charters, pastor of the barely oneyear-old mission, said the property is located in Erwin, the county seat, and is in “a very good location. We are beyond excited.”

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celebration: Members of St. Michael the Arch-

angel mission gathered for a picnic at the end of September to celebrate the parish’s first feast day and to kick off their religious education programs.

In the future, they hope such gatherings can be held on the mission’s newly acquired property.

But for now, he would just like to see a large shelter house built to use for periodic Masses, picnics and other parish gatherings.

Father Tom is also excited about the growth this community is experiencing. On average, 70 people attend weekly Mass at the Elks Club and “we’re using every chair we can find.” That’s about twice the number who attended the first Mass in October 2011.

“These folks have a wonderful sense of com-

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munity, mission and evangelization,” he says.

Those qualities have developed over the past year. Before the formation of St. Michael, many of the members of the mission knew one another because they were attending churches outside the county.

The first weekend of October, mission members took part in the county’s annual Apple Festival, selling original artwork and crafts. Sales from the event totaled a little over $800.

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In addition to the sales, mission members handed out St. Michael prayer cards attached to a pen imprinted with the mission’s name and contact information.

“Close to 100,000 people attended the festival that weekend,” Father Tom says. “I haven’t a clue how many folks we talked to, but I’m sure there are now a lot of visitors and residents alike who know there is a Catholic church in Unicoi County.”

After the land purchase was announced, Father Tom said he was congratulated by many local residents happy that the “Catholics got the land.”

“I was talking to a lady at the post office who isn’t Catholic,” Father Tom says, “and she told me that she’d often drive by the 14.5 acres and think it would be a good spot for the Catholics to build a church. We’re definitely becoming more known!”

Members of the Catholic community are already making plans to build the shelter house and to increase their participation in next year’s Apple Festival.

“We are focused on moving forward in service to our neighbors and on growing this community, both spiritually and in number,” Father Tom says. “We’re off to a wonderful start.”

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outreach

Eastern Ky. mission sees growth People drawn by community’s hospitality, welcoming spirit [kentucky] Sister Marie Colette Gerry, OSF, says one of the most amazing aspects of her five years as pastoral coordinator at Glenmary’s Grayson, Ky., mission is that every year, one or two people—and one year an entire family—have chosen to become Catholics and join the mission community. Some had never been baptized before.

When asked why they’re drawn to Sts. John and Elizabeth mission, Sister Colette replies: “I think God is send-

ing them to us.” But she also believes it may be partly attributable to the mission’s most outstanding qualities— hospitality, welcoming spirit and generous outreach to others.

“What a tremendous blessing, especially in a small rural community like ours,” she says.

The Grayson mission community is composed of about 45 Anglo and 10 Latino families—in a county whose population is less than 1 percent Catholic.

Around the Missions  Julian Crespo has been hired as the new pastoral coordinator of Glenmary’s St. Joan of Arc mission in Plymouth, N.C.  Brother Virgil Siefker has been elected to the Diocese of Raleigh (N.C.) Catholic Charities Board. Brother Virg is a member of the mission team serving the Catholic Community of Bertie County, one of Glenmary’s missions in eastern North Carolina.  Sister Pat Hinton, OSF, pastoral associate at Immaculate Heart of Mary mission in Houston, Miss., celebrated 50 years of religious profession in October.  Kathy O’Brien, a Glenmary Lay Missioner, is now serving as the pastoral associate at St. Michael the Archangel mission in Erwin, Tenn.  Glenmary’s development office has added a new staff member. Father Don Tranel began working at the Cincinnati Headquarters on Aug. 1 and has been meeting donors and giving appeal presentations since then.

This year, add Glenmary to your Christmas list!

A gift today will help our priests, brothers and coworkers continue establishing the Catholic Church in U.S. mission counties and serving the needs of the spiritually and materially poor!

Some of the ways you can partner with us: • Make an outright gift of cash or appreciated assets; • Donate to the Mission and Ministries Endowment; • Establish a Glenmary Gift Annuity.

Susan Lambert, Planned Giving Officer 800.935.0975 • slambert@glenmary.org Calculations are not meant to give legal or accounting advice. A donor should seek the guidance of an estate and/or tax professional to understand the consequences of a gift. All information is strictly confidential. Glenmary gift annuities are not issued in Hawaii or Alabama.

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 Father John Rausch is a contributor to two recently released books. Dead Ringers: Why Miners March, compiled and edited by Wess Harris, is a collection of articles that give details of the mine worker movement in West Virginia. Sacred Acts by Mallory McDuff is another collection of articles that depict how churches are working to protect Earth’s climate. Father John is the director of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia and serves on the board of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.  The members of Sts. John and Elizabeth mission in Grayson, Ky., gathered on Sunday, Nov. 11, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the dedication of their church. The celebration began with a Mass, followed by a luncheon in the mission’s Applegate Hall.

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photo / brother david henley

mission regions: Father Neil Pezzulo uses the “U.S. Religious Families” map to show students at Tipton (Kan.) Catholic Junior-Senior High School the areas of the United States with high and low Catholic populations.

mission education

Sharing Glenmary’s home mission ministry with students Kansas teens learn about mission needs, Glenmary’s ministry and are challenged to respond [kansas] For the second consecutive year, Glenmary participated in the Salina (Kan.) diocese’s mission education program for schools during the week before the Oct. 21 observance of World Mission Sunday.

The theme for both events was “Missionaries of Faith.”

Glenmary first vice president Father Neil Pezzulo and vocation director Brother David Henley led sessions at the diocese’s five high schools over five days.

“We were honored and grateful to be invited again,” says Father Neil. “It was a chance to raise students’ awareness about mission needs and Glenmary’s ministry in the South and Appalachia. The students didn’t know missionaries worked in w w w. g l e n m a r y. o r g

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places that close to them, so we definitely had their attention.”

Brother David adds that “we also shared our own stories as missioners and talked with them about how we’re all called to respond to mission needs in the best ways possible, including prayer and possibly missionary vocations.”

Father Steve Heina, director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith office, says he thinks “we’re the only home mission diocese that offers such a comprehensive mission education program for schools. So Glenmary’s experience working in rural home mission areas is a very valuable resource for us.”

As in other home mission dioceses, he says, support from outside sources is needed. “But our Wi n t e r 2 0 1 2

(mission education) program helps students become more aware of U.S. and world mission needs and what they themselves have to give, as opposed to seeing themselves as just recipients of assistance. And it helps them understand they have the opportunity and responsibility to share with other people and the Church in any ways they can.”

This past summer, Father Neil and Father Aaron Wessman also gave appeal presentations at four parishes in the Salina diocese.

TO LEARN MORE: For information on Glenmary mission education programs for dioceses, schools and parishes, contact Allison Barrett at 800-935-0975 or abarrett@glenmary.org. 

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photo / courtesy Catholic East Texas

mission vocation

New bishop of Tyler diocese hails from Glenmary mission Strickland family were mission’s founding members [texas] Msgr. Joseph E. Strickland, former vicar general of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, has been named by Pope Benedict XVI as the fourth bishop of the diocese. He was ordained to the episcopacy by Cardinal Daniel Dinardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

Bishop Strickland, 53, and his family were founding members of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Atlanta, Texas, a former Glenmary mission established in 1963. The mission was returned to the Diocese of Tyler for continued pastoral care in 1997.

His appointment is a first in Glenmary’s history. While several priests have come from Glenmary mission communities, none has ever been appointed bishop.

Ordained a priest in 1985,

Bishop Strickland served as parochial vicar and pastor of several parishes in the Diocese of Tyler before returning to school to pursue canonical studies at the Catholic University of America in 1992. He received texas bishop: Msgr. Joseph E. Stricka licentiate in can- land, right, poses with Pope Benedict XVI and Bishop Alvaro Corrada del Rio during on law in 1994.

Since then he a March 2012 ad limina visit. At the time, has served as pas- Bishop Corrada was apostolic administor of the diocese’s trator of the Diocese of Tyler and Msgr. cathedral and judi- Strickland was his official delegate. cial vicar. He was also elected twice to serve as administrator of the almost 1.4 million people, only diocese when the office of bish- 4 percent of whom are Cathoop was vacant. lic. The diocese comprises over The Diocese of Tyler includes 23,000 square miles.

d e p a r tm e n t o f p a s t o r a l m i n i s t e r s / p a s t o r a l s e r v i c e s

Process helps mission communities prepare for the future Pastoral planning key to ‘making things happen instead of letting things happen’ [tennessee] For the sixth consecutive year, Liz Dudas, Glenmary consultant for ministry development, facilitated a oneday pastoral planning session in August for the Grayson, Ky., mission’s parish council.

It’s one of many services provided to missions on request by Glenmary’s two-person Department of Pastoral Ministers and Pastoral Services (DPMPS) in Nashville.

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“Pastoral planning challenges a parish council to make things happen instead of letting things happen,” Liz says.

“As an outsider, I can make observations and help them evaluate past accomplishments and brainstorm about future priorities.

Then I pull together this information with recommendations so they can develop their own plans and goals for the future.”

Sister Colette Gerry, OSF, the

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mission’s pastoral coordinator, says that with Liz’s help, “our goals are reasonable and simple and give us a focus for the year.”

Liz and department director Lorraine Vancamp also facilitate follow-up requests for help with workshops, training sessions and retreats.

“This whole process makes a mission stronger, more grounded in the mission of Jesus, and better able to achieve its goals,” says Liz. DONATE NOW

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faceted glass: One of the many windows in Glenmary’s Grayson, Ky., mission designed by Glenmary Father Pat O’Donnell and executed by Charley Campbell.

Appalachian Artist Leaves a

Legacy of Beauty

By Jean Bach

Husband. Father. Grandfather. Artist. Prayerful man.

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hose are the words that Charley Campbell’s family chose for the cover of the memorial booklet distributed at his July funeral at Glenmary’s Vanceburg, Ky., mission, where he was a longtime member.

And it’s evident upon walking into the Campbell home in tiny Concord, Ky., those words describe exactly who Charley was during his 74 years on this earth.

Photos of family are everywhere, as is his art. There are oil paintings of Native Americans and elderly people painted on barn wood and canvas; wonderfully detailed watercolor portraits of rural Lewis County scenes and dilapidated houses and barns; faceted-glass windows that he designed and constructed; walking sticks he whittled; boxes and photo albums filled with ink and pencil sketches.

“When you and I die, we won’t leave much of ourselves behind,” says Carol, his wife of 40 years. “But when artists die, they leave tangible pieces of themselves behind.”

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graduate of the Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute, Charley followed a path to Lewis County in 1972 that was, in Carol’s view, providential. He happened to see an article in a Louisville newspaper about a stained-glass workshop in Vanceburg run by Glenmary Father Pat O’Donnell.

Charley recognized a workshop employee men-

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tioned in the article as a friend of his brother. Upon contacting the friend, Charley was offered a job as a designer. He accepted, and he and Carol—newlyweds at the time—moved to Lewis County.

They didn’t have many possessions, but Carol says they had walls filled with art! She got a job as a high school math teacher, and Charley was a stay-at-home dad. He worked with Father Pat and on other art projects. Charley and Carol’s five children—and later the 20 grandchildren—often were his models and helpers.

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he Campbells became well known in Glenmary circles as active members of Holy Redeemer mission and friends to many missioners and coworkers. They have stations: Charley with also hosted countless volun- two of the Stations of the teers who participated in out- Cross he created for Holy reach organizations Father Pat Redeemer mission. started and the Glenmary Farm group volunteer program.

But Charley was perhaps best known for his facetedglass work and the Stations of the Cross he created for Holy Redeemer.

Over the decades, he designed and/or produced  Wi n t e r 2 0 1 2

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 faceted-glass windows for the chapel at the Glen-

mary Farm, Our Lady of the Fields Chapel at Glenmary’s Headquarters in Cincinnati, Sts. John and Elizabeth mission in nearby Grayson, Ky., and the chapel at the Glenmary formation house in St. Meinrad, Ind. charley working His last project was the design and completion of two windows at Sts. John and Elizabeth in June 2012. He also did glass work for local people and businesses.

For the Stations of the Cross at Holy Redeemer, he used Lewis County buildings as well as hands and feet as the subject matter. Both Carol and Sarah, his second-oldest child, laugh as they remember traveling all over the county taking photos of buildings and of people’s hands and feet for Charley to use as models. designer: Over the years, Charley designed and “He had the vision to take the sufferings around us, created countless faceted glass windows, many of in our everyday lives, and show that we are suffering which adorn Glenmary worship spaces. along with Jesus, that we are all part of the Stations of the Cross,” Carol says. It took him three years to complete the stations, described in a 1993 Glenmary booklet as a “contemporary Via Dolorosa focusing on wasn’t interested in self-marketing or financial gain.

“He took the same care painting a running horse the societal as well as spiritual suffering in our world on someone’s barn as he took with his most detailed today.”

Sarah remembers that her dad “always had multiple watercolors,” she said. “The important thing to him projects in the works and was never still. Even during was making people happy through the art he created.”

Charley was a quiet, deeply spiritual man, Sarah meetings, he couldn’t help doodling as he listened.” says. “He communicated who he was through his art lthough all of his art holds a special place in the and he brought God into everything he did.” He also hearts of his family and friends, Carol says his demonstrated a “silly sense of humor” with his family best work is seen in his watercolors. “Each one and friends—and sometimes in his art. For example, is so realistic, almost to the point that you feel like you he might hide a rabbit in the foliage of a tree or in a can reach out and touch the building or the scene.” field and challenge family members to find it.

Sarah, who holds a fine arts degree, says her dad’s His art continues to speak volumes about how he work could have been gallery-worthy, but that he saw the world, showing that even in a falling-down barn, there is beauty. Following Charley’s death, Brother David Henley, one of the many Glenmarians who knew him, wrote that “Charley could resurrect the beauty in a dilapidated object…bringing it back to county art: Through Charley’s detailed waterlife with the colors from his paintbrushes.” color paintings, many homes, outbuildings and businesses in Lewis County are preserved forever. arol says it was God’s will that brought her and Charley to Eastern Kentucky in 1972, connected them with a Glenmary mission, and allowed them and their family to be part of a larger extended family of mission members, Glenmarians, coworkers and volunteers.

That never went unnoticed by Charley. In his later years, he set aside two hours each morning for prayer.

He prayed, by name, for the many people on his intentions list and prayed the Prayer of Abandonment, which reads, in part: “Father, I abandon myself into your hands. Do with me what you will… Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures….”

Charley tried to follow God’s will, a path that helped him become the best husband, father, grandfather, art ist and man of prayer that he was able to be. photos / courtesy the campbell family

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View more of Charley Campbell’s art online by visiting www.glenmary.org/campbell-art.

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Father George Mathis, 1928–2012

Missioner, craftsman, artist A remembrance / Father John S. Rausch

Priest helped others ‘discover, or uncover, their own…beauty and value’

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fter 23 years of support ministry within Glenmary and service to missions in Kentucky and Georgia, Father George Mathis was ready for a sabbatical. He began researching places unaffected by Western ways, realizing that being a missioner means intentionally crossing cultures. His “eureka” moment came when he discovered Palau in the Carolina Islands in the territory of Micronesia.

Excitedly he wrote his Glenmary superiors for permission to spend his sabbatical in the South Pacific. By return mail came the response: “No way, George, will we allow you to go to the South Pacific and be a beachcomber. Come up with something else.”

Obediently, Father George shifted his sights from a sabbatical on a paradise island to a year studying liturgical arts in Italy.

On Aug. 26, 2012, Father George died and entered his true heavenly paradise after 61 years as a Glenmary missioner. During those years he served in leadership, public relations, student formation and parish ministry.

“George was gentle, caring and compassionate,” reLegacy: Father George’s flects Father Tom Charters, last stained-glass winwho was a seminarian under dow design in Ripley, his direction.

“He drew gifts out Miss. of me I didn’t think I had.”

During his years as a missioner, Father George integrated Glenmary’s mission in Claxton, Ga., in the 1960s, making it the first such parish in the Savannah diocese; encouraged ecumenism to stifle anti-Catholic prejudice; and promoted the use of lay leaders for Glenmary missions.

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e grew up in Cleveland during the Great Depression, where he learned to fix things rather than buy replacements.

As an artist and craftsman, he was willing to find an object’s hidden beauty by painstakingly scrubbing through coats of dirt or layers of paint. In 1977 he said that it was with “much satisfaction I have spent hours polishing and w w w. g l e n m a r y. o r g

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buffing a common brass door knob so that its simple elegance can also communicate ‘Welcome.’”

As a pastor he could easily move from fixing things to empowering people. “Through ministry I can help others discover, or uncover, their own forgotten, or doubted, beauty and value,” he said.

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t age 65 Father George took senior member status in Glenmary and became the society’s liturgical arts consultant, fulfilling another vocational desire: “I would have liked to become an engineer, or an architect, or a sculptor had I not become Father george a priest,” he said.

Besides designing and renovating li- Mathis: He addturgical spaces, he also created numer- ed a “kaleidoous stained-glass windows in Glenmary scope of color.” missions from Georgia to Oklahoma.

His yearlong sabbatical in Italy had included two weeks in Assisi studying the art under a master glass worker—and he excelled at the craft. And Father George shared his artistic talents like a teacher.

When Father Dennis Holly was leading a building project for a new church in Franklin, Ky., he watched Father George teach 30 parishioners how to make the stained-glass windows.

“He came with a design and ordered all the materials. Then he got the people involved.”

The design called for the creation of 28 windows, 2 feet by 2 feet. On the day the contractor installed the completed windows, Father Dennis found a parishioner, on her lunch hour, sitting on the sanctuary steps admiring the beauty and feeling the pride of ownership. She had tears running down her cheeks.

Father George once wrote a friend: “Strange but good that my preoccupation with buildings is giving way to the greater priority of building a people rather than a structure.”

In a sense, stained glass eventually symbolized Father George’s priesthood. By deepening his sensitivity and developing his talents, he added a kaleidoscope of color to the uplifting light of Christ that came shining through his life  and work.

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Then & NOW

Era ends in Ohio County Western Kentucky mission area celebrates Glenmary’s presence

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 1957: Father Carl Boehler arrived in Beaver Dam to

call together Ohio County’s first Catholic Church community. That community would become Holy Redeemer, one of several missions that traces its beginnings to Glenmary’s very first mission established in Sunfish, Ky.

photos / glenmary archives

lenmary missioners and coworkers have been a constant Catholic presence in Ohio County, Ky., since 1957, when what would become Holy Redeemer mission in Beaver Dam was established. In the following decades, another mission in Fordsville and a house of formation were established and staffed by Glenmary.

In 2004, Holy Redeemer mission was returned to the pastoral care of the Diocese of Owensboro. And this past summer, the last Glenmarian in the county, Brother Larry Johnson, received a new assignment in Tennessee. His departure marked an end to Glenmary’s active ministry in the county.

But those to whom the missioners, coworkers and students have ministered for over 55 years say that Glenmary will never truly be gone, because its missionary charism and outreach are ingrained in the Catholic community.

 1967: Father Joe O’Donnell further extended Glenmary’s

ministry in Ohio County when he began mission outreach in Fordsville after the mission in Dundee was relocated there.

St. John mission began in a trailer chapel in Fordsville before moving to the house above. Eventually a new church was built by the Glenmary Brothers’ Building Crew.

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 1971: Numerous Glenmarians and co-

workers have passed through the Glenmary missions in Ohio County, including Father Jerry Dorn (right), who ministered at Holy Redeemer as Brother James before becoming a priest and later a president of Glenmary.

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 1987: Glenmary’s formation house relo-

 1987: Father Joe O’Donnell (left) was the longest-

cated to Hartford, Ky., the county seat of Ohio County, to give students both a place for their formation and a connection to a Glenmary mission. The words painted on the wall of the chapel at the house reminded students of the task of a missionary. Today, Glenmary’s formation house is in St. Meinrad, Ind., near St. Meinrad School of Theology where Glenmary’s priesthood candidates are students.

photo / courtesy bob higdon

serving pastor of missions in Beaver Dam and Fordsville (1965-76; 1982-87). During his time in Ohio County, he worked to build ecumenical relationships with his fellow ministers­—relationships still maintained today between the Catholic and Protestant communities. Father Fid Levri was the last Glenmary pastor in Ohio County.

 2004: New Catholics have arrived in Ohio

County through the years, helping the missions in both Beaver Dam and Fordsville grow in number. In addition, these predominantly Catholic newcomers have introduced some of their traditions, such as celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a parade, Mass, prayers and fiesta.

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 2012: Brother Larry Johnson (right) and Glen-

mary Home Missioners were honored during a June Mass celebrated at Holy Redeemer by current pastor Father Jean Rene Kalombo. Also in attendance were two former county residents, Glenmary Fa13 W i n t e rVic 2 0Subb 12  l e nand m a rJerry y C hDorn a l l e n(far g e right). thers (far Gleft)

Partner in mission / by Margaret Gabriel

Eastern Kentucky’s patron Father Ralph Beiting tended to the spiritual, material needs of those living in region

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ather Ralph Beiting, a priest of the Diocese of Lexington, Ky., had a vision and a passion for mission that leads Glenmary Father Dan Dorsey to describe him as a true partner in Glenmary’s home mission effort.

Glenmary’s founder, Father William Howard Bishop, knew that many partners would be needed to help Glenmarians establish the Church in areas of the United States without a Catholic presence, Father Dan says.

In the past six decades, Father Beiting, who died on Aug. 9, provided that partnership in many of the mission areas of Eastern Kentucky.

Father Beiting first experienced rural ministry in 1946 as a seminarian when he accompanied a priest to Eastern Kentucky to take part in summer street preaching.

Although Father Beiting was a child of the Great Depression, born in 1924, he had never seen poverty like he saw in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. As a native of Northern Kentucky, a heavily Catholic area, he had also never experienced suspicion and mistrust of Catholics.

But 60-plus years later, Father Beiting described the summer of 1946 as “the summer I fell in love.”

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photo / courtesy CrossRoads, diocese of Lexington

ne year after his 1949 ordination, Father Beiting was assigned to establish churches in Kentucky’s Garrard, Rockcastle, Jackson and southern Madison counties,

street preaching: Father Beiting used street

preaching to evangelize. This outreach also helped demystify Catholicism among the local people.

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a total area the size of Rhode Island. His “parish” had no church, no rectory and few Catholics. For the first six months, while living with the pastor of the church in an adjoining county, Father Beiting remodeled a house in the mission area to be used as a residence and chapel.

During this first assignment, he established and constructed four Catholic churches. In his 63 years of ministry, he built and pastored a total of 10 churches, five of which were the first Catholic churches in their respective counties.

He also helped acquire land for, design and finance six additional churches that he did not pastor. These 16 churches represent 25 percent of the churches in the Diocese of Lexington, which encompasses 16,400 square miles.

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lenmary missioners and coworkers consider all residents of a county to be members of their mission, a concept Father Beiting learned when he was a seminarian at Catholic University and a student of theologian Father Francis O’Connell.

This inclusion of people of all faiths, races, and economic levels set Father Beiting on a path that would shape not only his ministry but his life. In addition to his pastoral ministry to the few Catholics in a county, Father Beiting also attended to the needs of people living in that county, helping them acquire food, clothing, shelter and jobs.

Beginning in the early 1960s, Father Beiting appealed to family and friends for assistance, requests that led to the establishment of the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) in 1964, and the Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center, which in 2005 came under the umbrella of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Lexington. CAP remains the largest service organization in Eastern Kentucky and employs nearly 200 people. Both organizations have pledged to continue the work started by Father Beiting.

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ather Beiting worked tirelessly to introduce the Church to counties in Eastern Kentucky, and for 62 years provided the area with a vibrant Catholic presence. “He was, in his own way, a personification of Glenmary  spirit,” says Father Dan. DONATE NOW

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feature story

Responding to the

Signs of the Times Over the decades, Glenmary’s approach to home mission ministry has been debated, adapted, changed and innovated in order to stay faithful to Father Bishop’s vision. Today, Glenmary’s missionary outreach continues to evolve through Mission Plan 2010.

By Father Dan Dorsey

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n a snowy, cold February 2011 morning in the mountains of West Virginia, a determined-looking parishioner approached me after Sunday Mass at St. Francis of Assisi mission in Logan.

I braced myself for what I thought would be a critical response to Glenmary’s recently announced decision to return St. Francis to the pastoral care of the Diocese of WheelingCharleston in June.

However, the parishioner proceeded to thank me for then-pastor Father Tom Charter’s ministry and then concluded—to my surprise and delight—by saying, “But you made a good decision to leave. Glenmary needs to be starting churches!”

In one sentence this parishioner captured the essence of Glenmary’s charism and our missionary vision that follows in the footsteps of St. Paul’s missionary work.

Glenmary’s founder, Father William Howard Bishop, reflected much the same sentiment in a sermon on Pentecost Sunday some 60 years ago: “Our quest for the neglected and forgotten takes us out beyond the boundaries of where the Church is at present established and obliges us w w w. g l e n m a r y. o r g

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to invade new lands where the Church is unknown, to settle down in these new lands and build up Catholicity from the ground.” (1948) And Father Clem Borchers, superior general of Glenmary from 1953 to 1965, defined our missionary charism in an article featured in the Autumn 1957 Glenmary Challenge: “You’ve heard of the Irish Travellers. These Hibernian gypsies stay in a place only long enough to accomplish their purpose. We find many people surprised to hear that Glenmary, too, must be ever on the move. Our founder warned us not to stay too long in an area….”

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ive years ago Glenmary established a Mission Planning Committee consisting of Glenmary members and coworkers who have worked closely with the Glenmary Executive Council. Since then, they have envisioned Glenmary’s home mission ministry for the next five to 10 years in what has become known as Mission Plan 2010.

What prompted such a move? There were a number of factors: fewer Glenmary priests and brothers; a felt need by Glenmarians to live and do mission in community; a need to renew our commitment to collaborate with  Wi n t e r 2 0 1 2

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 our coworkers; and maybe the most important

factor—the need to keep our missionary identity in a Church that faces a serious clergy shortage.

Mission Plan 2010 responds to the “signs of the times” and charts our future missionary course.

Likewise, the plan attempts to be faithful to Father Bishop’s understanding of mission—that is, to be a leaven in the Church, creating an environment in which God’s kingdom of truth, justice, love and peace becomes a reality in our country.

The fact that Glenmary is a missionary society has never been questioned. Our understanding of mission and how we do mission, however, has evolved over the past 73 years. Seeing the signs of the times, we have debated, adapted, changed, responded and innovated.

The key questions about which we have reflected and prayed over these past five years are: How long do we keep a mission? What does it mean that Glenmary goes to a mission territory for a “limited, not perpetual tenure”? Does it mean we stay for 10 years? 25 years? 50 years?

For most of our history, Glenmary has operated on a somewhat open-ended approach to mission.

That is, we take on a mission territory and more or less commit ourselves to stay until a community has matured and can be turned back to the pastoral care of the local diocese.

The dilemma becomes, though, what to do about those territories and missions that have “plateaued” and show little or no sign of further development. How can we best staff missions with

mission success: Pastoral coordinator Polly

Duncan Collum was charged in 1997 with calling together a Catholic community in Tippah County, Miss., which had no Catholic church. St. Matthew mission began with five Catholic families meeting weekly. Today, the community of 150 families gathers weekly for Mass in their new church (above).

The mission was returned to the pastoral care of the Diocese of Jackson in 2011.

a decreasing number of personnel, particularly priests to serve as sacramental ministers?

As part of our ongoing mission strategy reflected in Mission Plan 2010, periodic evaluations will be done based on goals set.

In this way, we are regularly assessing the progress of the mission and are working on specific goals as we move toward the eventual transition of the mission to the diocese—so our missioners and coworkers can move on to new mission territory.

photo / glenmary archives

father bishop’s vision: Upon founding Glenmary, Father Bishop (right) envisioned his society of priests and brothers as serving in mission areas for a “limited, not perpetual tenure.” Mission Plan 2010 helps define what that means today.

photo / fabvienen taylor, The mississippi catholic

Mission Plan 2010 ‘is an attempt to be faithful to Father Bishop’s understanding of mission’

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n the summer of 2011, Glenmary began implementing the first phase of Mission Plan 2010 when we opened new missions and ministries in three counties (Union, Grainger and Unicoi) in the Diocese of Knoxville (Tenn.) in areas that have never had a permanent Catholic Church presence. We hope additional missions will be opened in the South in 2013.

Another part of this phase has included returning established missions to the care of their respective dioceses. Since 2010 14 missions in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia and Georgia have been DONATE NOW

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A woman in East Tennessee began praying ‘Please God, send the Church to my county.’ returned. In the process, we have made missioners and coworkers available to serve new mission communities and better staff our current missions.

We have also developed regional ministry clusters that place Glenmarians and coworkers in closer proximity to one another, allowing them to maintain a sense of community while focusing on their specific ministries.

In addition, we are focusing more on a team ministry approach in our missions. Instead of assigning one priest to a mission area, we assign a team of priests, brothers and coworkers to work collaboratively in order to better meet the needs of those they are serving.

Mission Plan 2010 is organic and will need to be reviewed and revised as future events unfold. Future phases of the plan call for continuing to explore new mission territory as well as implementing administrative policies that will help us, as a society, better serve the home missions.

Fathers Steve Pawelk and Aaron Wessman and Brothers Craig Digmann and Joe Steen in her county is an answer to prayers.

She was welcomed into the Catholic Church on Easter 2012, when she received her first Communion and was confirmed. But she actually started studying the Catholic faith independently three years ago and began praying, “Please, God, send the Church to my county.”

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photo / dale hanson

erhaps the greatest gift Glenmary can offer is to constantly remind the Church in the United States that we are a missionary Church and that there is a lot of mission work which needs to be done here at home.

Might Glenmary’s primary call over the next 10 years be to continue to act as the kind of leaven Father Bishop envisioned, reminding the bishops, dioceses and people in the pew of their baptismal call to be missionaries and the responsibility of this call? t the end new territory: In 2011, Glenmary opened three new As missionof the day, missions in East Tennessee in counties—Grainger, Union Glenmary is (above)­and Unicoi—where a permanent Church presence ers, Glenmarians are continually following the had never been established before. New missions in the called to conversage advice South will be opened in 2013. sion: to rethink of the parishioner and reform our in Logan, W.Va., in sending missioners to start new churches. For internal structures while having, as a guiding example, Father Tom Charters arrived in Unicoi principle, the missionary audacity to share our County, Tenn., in August 2011 to call together a faith. Like St. Paul, we are called to a permanent Catholic community in a county that had never state of mission.

Ultimately, all missionary activity is the work had a permanent Catholic presence.

Father Tom will soon celebrate his second of the Holy Spirit. It is our goal to continue to Christmas with the small but growing Catholic discern the Spirit’s movement and to respond community that he, Brother Tom Sheehy and pas- with the same fervor as previous generations of toral associate Kathy O’Brien continue to nurture. Glenmary priests, brothers and coworkers. And We’ve also assumed leadership of a mission in through Mission Plan 2010, I think we will do just  Celina, Tenn. Father Vic Subb, Father Cris Adongo that. and Brother Larry Johnson are ministering to this mission as well as missions in Scottsville, Ky., and Father Dan Dorsey served as president of Glenmary Home Missioners from 2003 to 2011 Lafayette, Tenn.

And in Grainger County, Tenn., another new and was deeply involved with the development mission community has been called together. of Mission Plan 2010. He currently serves as diSara Armistead, who has multiple sclerosis and rector of Glenmary’s novitiate program based in is partially homebound, is certain the presence of Cincinnati.

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final words / from our readers

Memories, appreciation shared Missioners, mission experience remembered; Farm played role in couple’s marriage farm volunteers wed

photo / courtesy amy eichten

we wanted to thank you for having such a wonderful mission and program that ultimately brought us together.

In 2007, Jake Eichten was a volunteer Farm manager at the Glenmary Farm from Minnesota and Amy Fagan a college student volunteer from California.

We were just friends while at the Farm and never thought we would see each other again, farm couple: Jake but we stayed Eichten and Amy Fagan in touch. When first met at the GlenJake completed mary Farm where they his time as a both worked as volunFarm manager, teers. he returned to Minnesota and eventually, Amy visited. The end result: our wedding day on July 8, 2012, in Eden Prairie, Minn.

Thank you for all that you do!

Jake and Amy Eichten Richmond, Calif.

Conduit of God’s Grace

i heard today that our dear Father George Mathis had passed away. I can tell you I’ve cried and prayed all day long. He was so special. The last time I saw him was at my wedding, one year ago.

He had such an incredible smile and was so warm. His face would just shine when he talked about our faith.

He was the priest I chose to return to the Sacrament of Rec18

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onciliation with after way too long away.

There’s no doubt in my mind Father Mathis’ love is what helped me feel safe enough to face my sins again and enjoy the mercy and healing of confession. He was a true conduit of God’s grace and mercy.

Ann Heibel Bristol, Tenn.

Memories Evoked

i was reading through the recent Glenmary Challenge [Autumn 2012] and noticed on the “News & Notes” page that Fathers Bob Dalton and Wil Steinbacher celebrated their 50 years of priesthood this last summer.

That item of news brought back interesting memories.

Back in the late 1950s, when I was in second-year theology, I spent most of the summer at Glenmary helping out in a summer camp. Fathers Bob and Wil were seminarians and we got to know each other.

After the camp term was over, Father Wil and I drove some of the campers home. Two things about that trip I remember. The first is that it was my first visit to the East Coast. The second was the accident that one of the seminarians had while driving the students home.

The car was a rather topheavy Volkswagen station wagon. One of the campers mentioned after the accident (with a straight face), “Looks as if we will have to send the car to the old Volks home.” Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt!

Father C. Gilbert Romero, Ph.D. Seal Beach, Calif.

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Following in Footsteps

in reading the autumn 2012 Challenge, it was with joy I read of the ordinations and temporary Oaths of several Glenmarians.

May I suggest that in the past couple of years, Glenmary has lost three giants of the missions whom I have been privileged to call Father. They were Fathers Pat O’Donnell, Larry Goulding and George Mathis.

No finer men have I ever known. None more dedicated to their mission and their Lord has crossed my path in life’s journey.

May all the new Glenmarians and seminarians aspire to follow in these holy men’s footsteps.

Robert Caummisar Grayson, Ky. enjoyed every bit

what a wonderful article that Father John Brown wrote in the Glenmary magazine [“Georgia’s Farm Workers,” Spring 2012] about the onion field workers. Reading the article was like visiting a good neighbor. I enjoyed every bit of information about all that is happening in Georgia and at Holy Trinity mission.

Patricia Fox Puyallup, Wash.

Readers’ Views welcome!

Send comments to: Editor, Glenmary Challenge, P.O. Box 465618, Cincinnati, OH 45246.

Fax: 513-874-1690, E-mail: 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.

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w w w.glenmary.org t h e w e b s i t e o f C at h o l i c m i s s i o n e r s t o r u r a l A m e r i c a

O n line Co nte nts

What’s new Senior Member Grateful for Time, Ministry

Father Bob Dalton may be a senior member but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down. He says one of the blessings of this role is “the gift of time,” as he continues to serve those living in northeast Mississippi. glenmary.org/time-ministry

Senior member

Departments Ways to Help

Make a secure, year-end gift today to help Glenmary missioners continue their ministry. www.glenmary.org/ways-to-give

Vocations

Want monthly updates from the Vocation Office? Sign up for the vocation e-newsletter today. www.glenmary.org/enews

E-news

Commission on Evangelization

Read and implement evangelization ideas that have worked in Glenmary missions. www.glenmary.org/coe

Glenmary Farm

Are you a former volunteer who has moved recently? Update your address so we can stay in touch. www.glenmary.org/addressupdate

Visit this page online

Feature Story Couple Answers Call to Give Back

For 25 years, Marilyn and Rich Knor have generously supported Glenmary with prayers and financial gifts. It’s their way of giving back for all they have received. glenmary.org/knors

Marilyn and Rich Knor

Stewardship Report for FY 2011-12

An updated Statement of Accountability for FY 2011-12 is posted. A 20-page report and an audited financial statement are available. www.glenmary.org/stewardshipreport Remember Special People With Special Cards

Celebrate & Remember family and friends at Christmas and throughout the new year with Glenmary’s all-occasion and Mass cards. www.glenmary.org/cards w w w. g l e n m a r y. o r g

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. Postage PAID Glenmary Home Missioners

photo / tricia sarvak

Glenmary G l i m p s e / President’s Friends Gather

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embers of the President’s Friends gathered for a presentation, Mass and luncheon at Glenmary Headquarters on Oct. 5. This annual gathering honors Glenmary donors who have contributed $1,000 or more during the fiscal year. Above, Father Chet Artysiewicz, Glenmary’s president, talks with Ray Hentges following Mass in Our Lady of the Fields Chapel. Father Steve Pawelk, pastor of two of Glenmary’s newest missions in Tennessee’s Union and Grainger counties, was the guest speaker during the event. In all, 34 members and five guests attended. For more information on the President’s Friends, contact Glenmary’s Development Office at 800-935-0975 or donations@glenmary.org.

Catholic Missioners to Rural America

Glenmary Home Missioners P.O. Box 465618 Cincinnati, OH 45246-5618