February 2019
Glenmary Home Missioners
People Hidden in the Fields They Harvest Many of us don’t think a lot about tobacco anymore. US farms now grow only 5% of the 16 million tons of tobacco produced worldwide. But that’s still a lot of tobacco, hundreds of thousands of tons annually. In some Glenmary areas, tobacco is still a key part of the agricultural economy. It’s a tough business, with a lot of manual labor. Ask Glenmary Father Vic Subb, who is serving missions in Macon and Clay counties in Tennessee. Father Vic, in his parish ministry, serves not only permanent residents of the counties, some of whom are Catholic, but also the transient, Latin American tobacco workers. Almost all of them are Catholic. These tobacco workers come to the US on work visas for some months each year, leaving young children and extended families back home. They are willing to work long hours, hard and fast, for about $10 per hour (about $1,600 per month for the harvest season). Low wages here, this is great money back home. But it comes at great personal cost. Father Vic describes some of the hardships. “It’s a long list,” he says, starting with the isolation of the men. “They live in work camps on the tobacco farms, far away from town. Once a week a van comes by and drives them in to the local WalMart for whatever supplies they might need.” Tobacco farming can be toxic, he says. “By the end of the day, it’s not uncommon for men to have their arms and upper bodies covered with toxic nicotine from cutting the tobacco plants. Many of the men become sick to their stomach during the day.” Some even are sick at night, but there is no medical care. “That lack of medical care is an even worse problem if someone falls ill for any reason other than injury on the job. ‘It’s not my problem,’ some farm owners say,” Father Vic reports, even though the workers are isolated from help by their living on the farm, without transportion. Father Vic visits the camps and tries to serve the workers’ needs, physical as well as spiritual. He gives rides, counsels workers, he celebrates Eucharist at their camp. I met Father Vic for breakfast one morning with David, a young tobacco worker. Father Vic was transporting him to (continued on reverse side)
New Church for Maynardville
O
n February 2, Bishop Richard Stika made the drive north from Knoxville to Maynardville, Tenn. for an important event. He came to dedicate St. Teresa of Kolkata parish’s new church in Maynardville. May I just say that I’m thrilled? Glenmary is about many types of ministry, bringing a Catholic presence to the people in the areas we serve. But to bring the full sacramental presence to a community, in the form of a permanent parish, is our dream. None of this starts, or ends, with a building. We first came to Maynardville in 2011, as a part of a new focus on eastern Tennessee. Father Steve Pawelk started laying groundwork, along with Brothers Joe Steen and Craig Digmann. Father Steve split his work between Maynardville and Rutledge, in Union and Grainger counties. The Brothers got into community ministries. People began attending Mass regularly at a storefront church (see the left-side photo on the back of this page). Less than a decade later, St. Teresa’ permanent structure is now built. Bishop Stika’s formal dedication is an important milestone for the Catholic community of Union County. Glenmary’s ministry will continue in the area. The bonds of a local Catholic community go far beyond the bricks. But to have a permanent place to bring it all together, to worship and celebrate—I’m thrilled! Yours in Christ,
Father Chet Artysiewicz President
“We all are the Body of Christ.”—Glenmary Father Vic Subb
Update: In eastern Tennessee, St. Teresa of Kolkata’s construction is complete. For the past 10 years, Catholics in Union County have gathered to worship in a converted storefront (left). On February 2 the new church (right) was dedicated.
the airport at season’s end. David, age 22, showed me cell-phone photos of his wife and child. Then he proudly played for me a video of men harvesting tobacco. One man rapidly hacks the plants free with a machete as another hoists plants up onto a cart, where a third worker hangs the plants for transport. It’s a maddening pace that goes from morning till dusk. In limited English, David tells me, “We are very grateful for Father Vic.” But mostly he has been quiet over breakfast with English-speaking people. It’s one of the challenges of being far from home. “We all are the Body of Christ,” says Father Vic. “I feel that we’re bringing a Catholic presence to our areas when we reach out to everybody—even, maybe even especially, to these Catholics who are among us for part of the year.” That’s a big-hearted, Glenmary approach. —John Feister
BAM Spotlight
Above: Father Vic brings Eucharist to tobacco workers.
Name: Lois Herzog Hometown: Monroe, New York Occupation: Social Work (retired) When she first heard of Glenmary she loved our “refreshing approach,” she says, our “spontaniety,” our “simple spirit.” Once a missioner herself in Brazil, she loves seeing men from Africa coming to Glenmary. “We have a lot to learn from other cultures, too,” she says.
This newsletter is published monthly by Glenmary Home Missioners, P.O. Box 465618, Cincinnati, OH 45246-5618 • www.glenmary.org For more information about the Boost-A-Month Club, contact Father Don Tranel, dtranel@glenmary.org, 800-935-0975.