Glenmary Challenge Autumn 2023

HALF A CENTURY OF SERVICE

How does a missioner retire?

DEDICATION OF A NEW CHURCH

A home they can call their own

BROTHERS Among Us

HOME MISSIONERS GLENMARY

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 U.S. 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 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.)

From the Editor

Let me introduce the newest editor of this magazine. In younger days, Cathy Bookser and I worked alongside Glenmary in the Eastern Kentucky missions. Soon we were married at our parish, Sts. John and Elizabeth, one that Glenmary started in its typical way: come to a county, gather a community, eventually build a church, ensure the parish can take care of itself, and move on. A thriving community there celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.

I would never have dreamed that one day I would edit Glenmary Challenge, edited at that time by our pastor, the multitalented Father Patrick O’Donnell. He was known to dictate stories to Rochester Franciscan Sister Marcan Freking as they sped along mountain roads between Holy Redeemer parish in Lewis County and our own in Carter County. (Once he arrived at Mass an hour late to a worried congregation—yes, we would wait an hour for the only Mass for many miles around. His car had broken down, and he persuaded a farmer, a stranger, to lend him a truck for a few hours. So Glenmary!)

There were times when Father Pat wrote more than one story in the same issue of this magazine. The second one was by Llen Nodotap—read it backwards. His amazing photos were awarded by the Catholic Press Association of the US and Canada.

Father Pat, and other editors since him, carried on the tradition of Glenmary founder Father William Howard Bishop, himself a Harvard-trained journalist. I’m proud to follow in all of their footsteps in our now-multimedia enterprise, print and digital. We want to share Glenmary’s story widely. Thank you for being part of it.

GLENMARY HOME MISSIONERS

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

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

John Feister

ON THE COVER: Vocations Director Brother David Henley recently walked El Camino de Santiago. A painter he met along the pilgrimage, Glenn McInnes, created this image of Brother David as a gift to Glenmary.

© 2023, Glenmary Home Missioners. Reprint permission granted upon request.

Publisher: Father Dan Dorsey

Editor: John Feister

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

Design: E + R Design Studio

BROTHERS Among Us

Social workers, nurses, builders, educators and more, Glenmary Brothers’ outreach brings the Church to the people.

by brother david henley page 7

half a century of service

She was inspired to offer her life as a lay missioner with Glenmary. Now at retirement pace she asks, “How does a missionary retire?”

By Omar Cabrera

12

10 14

crossing cultures for ministry

Four Glenmary students immersed themselves in Black Catholic culture last summer. Here’s what they learned.

By John Feister

dedication of a new church

Catholics in Smith County, Tennessee, now have a home they can call their own.

By Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

Planning-Review Board: Brother Craig Digmann, Brother David Henley, Chris Phelps, Lucy Putnam, Father Aaron Wessman

Porch Prayers

Sitting on the porch of our novitiate house on a rainy Saturday morning, preparing my sermon for Sunday, I was mesmerized by the sights and sounds of the rain as it gently fell to the ground. I was filled with a sense of peace and well-being.

The air was filled with a unique, earthy fragrance! Fun fact: Did you know that earthy scent when rain falls on dry soil is called petrichor? It is caused by the water from the rain, along with certain compounds like ozone, geosmin, and plant oils. You learn something new every day!

The Holy Spirit was leading me as I began to pray over the first reading with the gentle summer rain falling. “Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth” (Is 55:10).

As my prayer continued, my thoughts of the mission ministry that was occurring during these summer months was similar to the gentle rain, sharing the word and giving life to people.

Holy Family Catholic Church in Macon County, Tennessee, came immediately to mind. They had just concluded a very successful Vacation Bible School session, in partnership with a youth group from Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Community in Maryland, who had driven nearly 12 hours to support mission youth in Holy Family! Over 100 young people participated in the Bible school of this small mission parish.

And then, I thought of the youth group from Glenmary’s mission in Erwin, Tennessee, St. Michael the Archangel. They had just participated in a week of service and learning called FIAT, or Faith in Action Team. The teenagers had the opportunity to learn about Catholic social teaching principles and complete service projects in the local community. Two of the service projects included helping with maintenance at a local elderly parishioner's home and beautifying the parish's Rosary Garden. ( continued, opposite page)

Photo by John Feister

from the president Father Dan Dorsey

Father Dan prays on the novitiate house porch.

GLENMARY NEWS & NOTES

Chapter steers Glenmary’s course

The Glenmary Home Missioners gathered from June 5–12 for their 18th General Chapter. During this quadrennial event, they created a new missionary vision statement centered on Glenmary’s five pillars of mission: Catholic Nurture, Evangelization, Ecumenism, Social Justice and Ministry, and Universality. The statement also describes how the Glenmary way of life is expanding to share our charism with many co-workers or co-missioners. Also several updates to the Constitution and Directory were approved. Among them was strengthening our call for the Care of Creation by adding this phrase to our constitution as an obligation that follows out of our love of Jesus and the Eucharist.

Celebrations during the week included the 60th anniversary of the First Oath for Father Dominic Duggins, the 40th for Father Mike Kerin, and 20th for Brother David Henley. Brother Larry Johnson was honored at a banquet in thanksgiving for his eight years of service on the Executive Council as the Second Vice President. Also, Brother Jude Smith made his first oath as a Glenmarian and the newly elected Executive Council (Fathers Dan Dorsey, Aaron Wessman and Steve Pawelk) was installed.—Father Steven Pawelk

community / Society gathers porch prayers (continued)

St. Michael’s parish has a goal to support those who are forgotten. Recently, over 80 workers on a temporary visa arrived from Mexico to work at a farm nearby in Unicoi County. St. Michael worked with the farm owners to welcome them and provide a meal and fellowship. Fathers

Kenn and Tom often celebrate Mass at the farm for those who lack transportation.

Finally, I thought we as a community gathered in St. John XXIII center in Charleston, West Virginia, for our 18th General Chapter (see above).

As I sat there that Saturday

morning, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for Glenmary’s missionary effort and how it is described in the Isaiah reading. Our missioners are nourishing and serving those who are forgotten and neglected, “giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats.”

ABOVE: The Glenmarian group photo at 2023's Chapter

missions / New assignments

Winds of change for Glenmarians

New assignments were recently announced:

Father Kenn Wandera became the new pastor of the St. Michael the Archangel mission in Unicoi County, Tennessee. Father Tom Charters is taking sabbatical.

Father Vic Subb is new pastor at St. Joan of Arc mission in Washington County, North Carolina. Father Richard Toboso leaves there to become new director of the Glenmary House of Formation in Saint Meinrad, Indiana. Father Bruce Brylinski leaves there for Macon County, Tennessee, where he will serve as associate pastor and resident artist.

Father José Carlos Miguel López will also leave St. Joan of Arc to serve as associate director of Vocations at Glenmary headquarters.

Brother Craig Digmann is assigned to Washington County, North Carolina, to St. Joan of Arc mission.

education / Building unity

Father Aaron on Aspen panel

Glenmary Father Aaron Wessman participated in a panel on pluralism and polarization during a conference organized by the world-famous Aspen Institute in Washington, DC, June 21–23.

“The conference was the most religiously diverse setting I have encountered in my life,” Father Aaron says. “There were Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Zoroastrians, atheists, Native Americans, Christians from many denominations, and more.”

The First Vice President of Glenmary shared the stage with two representatives from Georgetown University on a panel titled, “Pope Francis, Pluralism and Polarization: Opportunities and Challenges in the Catholic Community.”

“There is a vast network of people seeking to overcome the challenges of polarization,” Father Aaron adds.

Earlier this year New City Press published Father Aaron’s book, The Church’s Mission in a Polarized World. The book highlights that we as Christians are called to listen to others with openness and curiosity, and overcome the temptation of assuming a tribal position and disregard those who think and act differently from us.

Father Vic is heading for the missions.

Father Aaron speaks against disunity.

Photo by John Feister

Photo by John Stegeman

legacy / Our founder

Father Bishop museum dedicated

Glenmary dedicated its Father William Howard Bishop Memorial Museum on August 14 at Glenmary Headquarters in Fairfield, Ohio. The museum is a room of photos and artifacts from the life of Glenmary’s founder, dedicated to preserving memory of Father Bishop and inspiring those who have joined the mission he started in 1939. His goal: to bring the Catholic Church to regions of the United States where the Church has no permanent presence.

About 50 people attended the event, some who had contributed funding for the museum’s construction.

Glenmary President Father Dan Dorsey blessed the

around the missions

faith in action team

Fourteen kids participated this year in the Faith in Action Team (FIAT) program at the St. Michael the Archangel Glenmary mission in Erwin, Tennessee. The one-week program included prayer, reflection, games, and cleaning the house of an elderly lady who served the parish for several years as a choir leader.

Glenmary's founder had a vision that keeps giving.

museum room, and Father Steven Pawelk gave a brief talk about Father Bishop’s life. Glenmary Archivist Lucy Putnam talked about why memorials are important.

“Storytelling is much more than a recitation of facts and figures,” she said. “Stories teach us about the world around us and help to define us. Stories help connect us to our beginnings and to each other. They root us in our foundation and help us grow beyond it.” Though Father Bishop started this story decades ago, his story informs how we do mission today, she added. “All of us gathered here today are part of this story. We all have a role to play.”

back to school

Blakely, Georgia, mission served their community at a recent back to school bash. They gave out essential items to children in the community including socks, underwear, and backpacks. In collaboration with St. John Paul II of Carroll, Iowa, Glenmary was able to serve the mission in Rutledge, Tennessee, by providing students with backpacks filled with school supplies.

student volunteers

Six Glenmary students provided support to different missions this Summer. Evarist Mukama worked at Holy Family, in Lafayette, Tennessee. Raphael Kavita, Willy Kyagulanyi and Aloysius Ssennyondo were assigned to the mission in Early County, Georgia. Philip Langford and Alex Omari helped Brother Craig Digmann in Hartsville, Tennessee.

Archivist Lucy Putnam inspires museum supporters.

Photo by John Feister

Youth prepare for national conference

The National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) takes place every two years in Indianapolis, Indiana. This year, it will run November 16–18.

“NCYC is a festive encounter centered on Jesus Christ for young people of high school age,” explains Glenmary Father Kenn Wandera. He is the pastor of the Glenmary mission St. Michael the Archangel in Erwin, Tennessee.

around the missions (cont.)

sacraments

St. Michael's is planning to send 14 young parishioners to the conference, while two other Glenmary missions are counting on 19 participants.

“I think this conference is to teach other young people that they are not alone following the path of God and the Church,” says Jocelyn Trujillo, a youngster who plans to participate for the first time this year.

Jocelyn, a parishioner from St. John Paul II mission in Rutledge, Tennessee, says that they began raising funds in the summer to attend the conference. One of these activities was a dinner cooked by Glenmary Father Neil Pezzulo. Diners also participated in an auction.

The parish previously asked local businesses to donate items for the auction. “The response was overwhelmingly positive; everybody was so kind and generous,” says Clarisa Chavarría, pastoral associate at St. John Paul II.

Elsewhere, young people washed cars to collect funds at Holy Family Glenmary mission in Lafayette, Tennessee. They also organized a dinner and food sales to raise the money to send nine young people to the conference.

Father Vijaya Babu Katta celebrated the sacraments of baptism and first communion for the first time in the United States. Originally from India, Father Vijaya came to the country in 2022 to serve at the Holy Trinity Glenmary mission in Williamston, North Carolina, where he assumed this past June as pastor, after Father Chet Artysiewicz was transferred to Cincinnati.

Young people from three Glenmary missions are preparing to attend a national conference that is expected to gather some 25,000 participants.

ABOVE: Father Vijaya Katta ministers in North Carolina.

Father Neil Pezzulo and Donna Turchi cook a fundraising Italian dinner.

Photo courtesy of Holy Trinity mission

Photo courtesy of St. Jon Paul II mission

BROTHERS Among Us

by brother david henley

Social workers, nurses, builders, educators and more, Glenmary Brothers’ outreach brings the Church to the people.

It is often said that Catholic social teaching is the best kept secret in the Catholic Church. I would argue the same could be said about Glenmary brothers, or even religious brothers in the United States. As vocation director for Glenmary the two questions I have been asked more than any other are: “What is a brother and what is the difference between a priest and a brother?” And at the many different Church events I have attended over the years it is too common for the emcee to ask all the priests and religious sisters to stand up to be recognized—but not the brothers.

Probably the biggest reason for the secrecy or lack of knowledge about brothers is because of their sheer lack in numbers. While 50 years ago there were 11,623 brothers in the United States, that number has plummeted to only 3,550 in 2023. By comparison, there are over 35,000 priests and 37,000 sisters in the United States today.

Like the national trend, the number of Glenmary brothers drastically reduced in the last 50 years. In 1973, Glenmary had twice as many brothers than there are today. In addition, Glenmary had a drought of 16 years in which no new brother professed final oath. That lasted from 1990 until 2006.

One new trend that cannot be explained by those statistics is that 50 years ago Glenmary priests outnumbered the brothers three to one. Today the ratio between new priests and brothers in Glenmary is becoming closer to equal. Since 2006, when I professed my Final Oath with Glenmary, there has been nearly the same number of priests and brothers to profess the final oath (six priests and five brothers). In our cur-

rent Glenmary student body, seven men are preparing for priesthood: Five are brothers in training and one student is still discerning brotherhood vs. priesthood. These recent entrants in Glenmary have given us a new hope for an increase in Glenmary brothers.

Whether Glenmary priest or brother, we see ourselves as missioners first. We live together in mission and profess the same oath, which includes promises of poverty, chastity, obedience, and prayer. But brothers are not ordained ministers, meaning they do not receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Their roles will be different, and it will vary widely as will their training.

While all Glenmary brothers study some philosophy and theology, the master’s degree level required for a Catholic priest is not required of a brother. After theology, Glenmary brothers generally study another trade or skill that can be of service to building up the kingdom of God in our mission areas.

I think one of the unique gifts of Glenmary brothers is their trade or ministry reflects their deep concern and love for the people of God in our mission counties. Their ministry is what allows brothers to be available to the people.

Variety of ministries

Glenmary has a long history of brothers who have been part of building crews that built many of our mission churches, constructed or repaired thousands of homes for the poor, and made innumerable home repairs for people who could not otherwise afford it. By doing so, Glenmary building brothers have come to know the people in the missions. Glenmary Brother Joe Steen,

a carpenter in our Tennessee mission, says, “Working alongside people or having a trade outside of the typical church role gives me an opening with people. People can feel more at home with a brother; there is less separation or more connection in a human way.”

is a lack of healthcare.

Currently, Glenmary has two brothers in our mission areas who are trained nurses and two others who are studying nursing and physical therapy.

Other brothers have specialized in social work or other direct service to the poor. Glenmary Brother Jason says, “As a student I served some summer assignments in the missions. While serving in Georgia, I saw the need of service to the poor. I saw very few social workers in the mission areas.” Brother Jason Muhlenkamp helped start a program that serves people on the margins and provides transitional housing.

Like the Good Samaritan, Glenmary brothers are outsiders in our mission territories but are moved by compassion to serve those most in need. “Many people don’t want to stop because they don’t want to be inconvenienced; as a brother we end up saying yes to lots of things,” says Brother Jason. Brother Thomas Nguyen describes Brother Jason’s and other Glenmary brothers’ ministries as, “an inspiration to me. They are being present in places that are alien to us.”

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Glenmary brothers walk with the people on their journey. Brother Thomas, who is working on a pastoral ministry degree at the University of Dayton, knows that as a brother he can witness a presence of God anywhere. “Even walking across campus people have shared their struggles, pains, and difficulties with me.” He adds, “To be a brother in their life is to listen to them, pray with them in their pain, and let them know that their story is important.”

Among people in poverty

Glenmary brothers try to be present wherever there is a need. This might be seen as a Glenmary brother sitting

in an emergency room with a family awaiting a loved one, or in the ministry of another Glenmary brother who visits the local county jail. Brothers are spending time in the county nursing homes visiting the isolated and listening to their stories. Glenmary brothers volunteer at the local schools making themselves available to the students and teachers.

In the rural areas where Glenmary serves, there is a scarcity of jobs that pay a living wage. The poverty level in some of our mission counties is two or three times the national average. Among other things that means food insecurity. Glenmary brothers are packing up food boxes at the local food pantry to give to those who are hungry. Through their presence, they are building relationships with the people on the margins.

Brother Tom Sheehy has a ministry of serving the hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Brother Craig Digmann also meets people at churches where he is stationed. He tries to visit any church in the county that someone has invited him to. And that is literally hundreds of churches over the years.

Brother Craig has now visited numerous nonCatholic churches in his mission county. He says, “The Spirit led me to getting involved in other churches.” He added, “I am an introvert; therefore it must be the Spirit leading me into new churches.”

In his ministry, Brother Craig is often the first Catholic to visit and pray with the members of these small country churches. His presence has helped him to build relationships with people and break down many of the misconceptions of the Catholic faith. In some of the churches he has even been asked to preach. When asked, his message is always about the unity that Christ wants for his Church. “I preach on Church unity, John 17, ‘so that they may all be one.’”

With their steady growth in numbers the last 15 years, of new brothers professing the Glenmary Oath, their presence has brought a renewed hope to the entire community. They join the work of other Glenmary brothers, who by their presence in Mission Land USA, are bringing hope. They are witnesses to the Gospel to all those they encounter.

What is a brother? Brother Craig sums it up well: “We are called to be with people not always having to do something, but offering hope to people just by being present with them.”

Some Glenmary brothers have studied nursing and used those skills to serve in rural areas where there

If you are feeling called, or know someone who might have the vocation to serve as a Glenmary brother (or priest) contact Vocation Director Brother David at 513-881-7411 or dhenley@glenmary.org.

Brother Joe Steen is a carpenter on a mission.

Brother Levis Kuwa practices nursing.

Brother Corey Soignier makes his Final Oath as Father Dan Dorsey looks on.

Brother Erick Orandi (right) helps Brother Josiah Kimani vest as an altar server.

Photo by Cassie Magnotta

Photos by John Feister

Kathy O’Brien

Half a Century of Service

by omar cabrera

She was inspired to offer her life as a lay missioner with Glenmary. Now at retirement pace she asks, “How does a missionary retire?”

Kathy O’Brien spots a cardinal on the window of her cabin. The little creature pecks at the glass and stares at her. The bird’s intense red and its friendliness remind her of the beauty of God. Kathy is on a 30-day silent retreat at a Catholic center in the middle of the woods, in Kentucky. During this period, she is discerning what her life will look like now that she left her last full-time job. She dedicated almost 50 years to serving in the Glenmary missions in several states. She is the last member of a littleknown institute: the Glenmary Lay Missioners.

More than half a century ago, she had her first contact with the institute through a vocational brochure standing at a lounge table in her college in Wisconsin. “I contacted them to ask if they would take a volunteer for some of the summer,” she recalls. They replied affirmatively. “I got on a Greyhound bus and rode all the way to West Point, Mississippi.”

That summer, she helped run Bible schools with the Glenmary Lay Missioners. She liked the experience so much that she stayed one more week than expected. Kathy felt that she probably wanted to join the

women’s institute. Its leaders recommended that she finish college and then come back, if she was still interested. And that’s what she did. In September 1974, after completing her religious formation, she joined the group.

Religious education and more

“From then, I’ve always worked in teaching and parish work,” Kathy says. Her most recent and final assignment was as a pastoral associate at the St. Michael the Archangel mission in Erwin, Tennessee.

“She developed our youth ministry here,” says Glenmary Father Tom Charters, who served as pastor of St. Michael from its foundation in 2011 until June this year. “She developed our religious education program here. She was also very instrumental in working with the Hispanic community.”

In earlier times, Kathy learned Spanish in Mexico before taking an assignment in Waldron, Arkansas, where Glenmary served a large Hispanic population. “I was 50-some years old by then,” she says. “It was not easy.”

Kathy continues volunteering to protect the environment and doing parish work.

Photos by John Feister

Kathy is now 71 and has diabetes. Five years ago she had a heart attack. She knew that this year was right to leave her full-time job. “I need to slow down, to have a more contemplative mission,” she says. “In other words, more time for prayer and leading others to prayer.”

And even when these days she is discerning what to do in the future, one thing is clear: she will remain active in her ministry. “One day, we were taking the college kids out to Johnson City for a meal, and one of them told me: ‘Miss Kathy, you can’t retire; Mother Teresa never retired,’” Kathy says. “And she’s right, how does a missionary retire?”

A lifetime of service

She will remain active with community organizations like Keeping the Valley Beautiful, which seeks to improve and inspire environmental awareness. Earlier this year, for example, the group cleaned up a river stretch, collecting 16 bags of trash and large items. Kathy helped out, handing trash pickers, bags, and drinks to the volunteers.

The organization has adopted two miles of a highway that they clean four times a year. They also participate with a booth during community fairs to raise awareness on keeping natural resources.

Kathy has served as president of Keeping the Valley Beautiful, but stepped back from that position. However, she plans to remain volunteering. She will also keep serving as a volunteer for the Kiwanis Club of Unicoi County, which runs charity programs for kids, such as sponsoring baseball teams and buying Christmas gifts.

Even though there are plenty of volunteers and lay coworkers active in the Glenmary family, the institute called the Glenmary Lay Missioners will now end. After its founding in 1957, this small group of female members served along with Glenmary priests and

brothers in different capacities. But it never grew beyond a handful of passionate members.

It was a colorful career: Kathy served in Glenmary missions in Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. She is happy to see that the mission where she worked for the last decade is growing. She’ll live in the area and will still collaborate, but now, at a more relaxed pace. “I feel rewarded,” Kathy says. “I have close relationships still, thanks to the Internet, with people that I had in youth groups that are now grandparents.”

“I need to slow down, to have a more contemplative mission. In other words, more time for prayer and leading others to prayer.”

ABOVE: Kathy helps a volunteer to collect trash during a river-bank clean-up in Unicoi County, Tennessee.

Crossing Cultures for Ministry

by john feister

Four Glenmary students immersed themselves in Black Catholic culture last summer. Here’s what they learned.

Iwas amazed how little I knew about the Black experience in the United States!” That’s Glenmary seminarian Fredrick Ochieng’, describing his experience this past summer at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies (IBCS) at Xavier University of Louisiana. Four Glenmary students, Fredrick along with Joseph Maundu, Cavine Okello, and Jude Smith attended a 7-week session at the Institute to learn more about African American culture and its expression in Christianity, in Catholicism.

Fredrick found it to be an educational boost, helping him, in his words, to “feel inspired, well-informed and ready to work and minister to the specific needs of African Americans, especially in our missions (like Blakely, Georgia, and Plymouth, North Carolina).”

Glenmarians often work across cultures. Northerners join Glenmary and come to the Deep South, where all sorts of casual things a Minnesotan or Chicagoan might say cause misunderstanding. New Yorkers might talk too fast for southern Applachians.

Truthfully, we all encounter these cultural divides even in our hometowns. Glenmary is devoted to bridging cultural divides, to bringing people together in unity.

Dr. Cecilia Moore is on the summer faculty, teaching the history of US Black Catholics (there are three million). “We think one of the benefits is that the Glenmary students will be ministering in rural and southern communities. It will be to have a good sense of African American history and spirituality, and a theological perspective.” Dr. Moore, like the rest of the IBCS faculty, is herself African American. She is a professor at the Marianist-run University of Dayton.

Glenmarian Joseph Maundu reflects on what he learned. He says, “I awaken the spirit of community life in me. I will increase the spirit of collaboration in my ministry.” He adds that he will “employ the African spirit of communion in the ministry.” The days at the Institute are marked by a combination of college class and cultural experiences. “This is an opportunity for them to see and to participate,” explains Dr. Moore. There is morning praise, in the style of Black Catholic culture, that the students help to prepare. There is daily Mass at noon. “On Tuesday and Thursday nights, there’s African dance and African drumming at the chapel.”

Drum photos by John Feister

Joseph had a personal awakening at the Institute. He says he will now “be able to speak more for myself to tell my story and my experience.” In other words, no missioner gives up who he is to come to another land. “I have recovered my joy and realized that no one can take my joy. It comes from God.”

Cavine was perhaps surprised to learn that the cultural training at IBCS is not only for Black people. Attending were White religious from Jesuit and Josephite religious communities. The program also welcomes lay participants. “I was able to learn more about the Black church in terms of evangelization in a very inclusive way,” says Cavine.

“I see this affecting my ministry in Glenmary missions in a very positive way, since I will be able to put into practice the skills I got from Black church preaching classes, evangelization, and catechetics classes.”

Jude, a White Louisianan, found it all a bit challenging hearing “about whiteness and white privilege, about white nationalism, racism, white supremacy.” It struck him as a bit divisive, even one-sided, he says. “I will never consider myself a racist,” he insists. He was willing to share that point of view in the classes. “I was always taught that whatever you believe and conceive, you can achieve with hard work.”

So he was often uncomfortable. On the other hand, he found the worship to be “beautiful, really. Lively. It’s just different. So I like it. But it’s not for everybody!

“I just want to live my life and just do well, do good,” he says. “Treat people fairly, love one another.” But he did learn some new things. “Leaving there, I found this class was enlightening, learning about the struggles.” At age 50 or so, he admits that he has taken “a blind eye. Even though I've lived, worked and breathed amongst Africans and African Americans, I've never asked any questions that were in depth and very personal.”

It’s tempting to group people together by the color of their skin or their place of origin. Yet consider the differences between a Ugandan missioner and a Black citizen of North Carolina. The missioner will need to learn how to navigate that. Consider the way a White missioner might, in his mind, lump Kenyans and black Georgians into the same culture because of similar skin tone. In either case, the missioner will need to understand African-American culture more deeply. That’s what the Institute is all about.

(L to R) Cavine Okello, Jude Smith, Joseph Maundu and Fredrick Ochieng’

Photo by Kendrall Martin, courtesy Xavier University of Louisiana

Dedication of a New Church

by theresa nguyen-gillen

Oh my gosh, look what we’ve done,” is what Michael Manor thinks when he walks inside Saint Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. There are pews installed. There are lights on. There are people inside. Two years ago, there were more than 100 churches in Smith County, Tennessee, and not one of them was Catholic, Michael says. That statement is no longer true.

Saint Peter the Apostle sits in downtown Carthage, the county seat, right off a main road close to the bank of the Cumberland River.

In two and a half short years, from January 2021 when Father Don Tranel arrived in Smith County to present day, the Catholic community in Carthage has celebrated their first weekend Mass, bought and renovated a permanent church location, and most recently had the church officially dedicated.

On the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul—June 29, 2023—Bishop J. Mark Spalding celebrated a special Mass at Saint Peter the Apostle with Father John Hammond, vicar general of the diocese, and Father

Catholics in Smith County, Tennessee, now have a home they can call their own.

Photo by Katie Peterson/ Tennessee Register

Don. As the assembly prayed and watched, the bishop anointed and blessed the altar and building, and signed a decree establishing Saint Peter the Apostle as an official parish of the Diocese of Nashville.

During the first year, when the community was still celebrating Mass in the Carthage United Methodist Church, Michael and fellow parishioner Chris Woodard would drive all over Carthage looking for properties on sale.

One day, Woodard drove past a Protestant church and thought, “This would be the perfect place for a Catholic church.” The next week, that Protestant church property was for sale. The two buildings on the four-acre property now serve as the Catholic church and a parish hall, with classroom space in the basement of the parish hall.

Chris was a member of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Hendersonville since 1972. She was making the hour-and-fifteen-minute drive, with no traffic, to church on Sundays. In May 2021, Father Don called a meeting at the chamber of commerce to gauge community interest in a Catholic church. “We were expecting maybe four or six, and there were 32 people there,” says Father Don.

Woodard was one of them. “It was, to me, eyeopening,” she says. She was surprised at the number of people in town she did not even know were Catholic. “And that we had hope that we were going to have a church here.”

A parish is born

The church grew quickly after that initial meeting. A parishioner had said to Father Don, “Why don’t we start now?” and so the first Sunday Mass in Smith County was celebrated a month later, on June 24, 2021.

Father Don proposed the name Saint Peter the Apostle because of the familiarity and recognition that the saint has among the general population. The presence of a Catholic church has made a significant difference not only to the Catholics in the area, but also to non-Catholics alike. “In my opinion, it answered a need in Smith County,” says Father Don.

ABOVE: Catholics in Smith County, Tennessee, finally have a place for Catholic worship at Saint Peter the Apostle, as their sign proudly states. Nashville’s Bishop J. Mark Spalding came to dedicate the parish.

The sentiment toward Catholics was not always friendly, Michael says, but now people are coming up to him to ask what the Mass times are. And this year, Father Don was one of the speakers at the town’s annual National Day of Prayer celebration.

When Mass was first being celebrated, the church averaged 40 people a weekend. Today, that number has more than doubled to between 80 and 100 people each weekend. It seems like there is someone new at Mass each week, Michael says.

Chris considers it part of her ministry to greet all those who enter. “You mean something,” and “We’re so happy you’re here” is what she hopes each person understands when they celebrate Eucharist with them.

With the permanent church building in place, ministries are beginning to grow. The third year of RCIA—the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults— is underway. The Women’s Club is already collecting recipes for a cookbook fundraiser, and a neighboring Knights of Columbus council has hosted a meeting to determine interest in beginning a council.

Parishioners are also taking turns cleaning the church each week. “So many people want to participate,” Chris says.

“We just have to do our part,” says Michael. The process of forming a church has not always been easy, he adds, but “what a blessing it is to see something start just from a meeting and how it grew to this church.”

“Again, thank you Glenmary for believing in us as a community,” says Chris. She now enjoys a 15-minute commute to church where she can worship with her neighbors. “You don’t know what you have done. You have given us hope and a church and faith. It just feels like home.”

Photo by Theresa Nguyen-Gillen

Reading an Award-Winning

Gift of the outsiders

The Association is a 880-strong group of Catholic media members from 350 newspapers, magazines, communications offices, book publishers, digital media—almost any type of Catholic publishing. Members’ publications are across the United States and Canada; there are official ties to the Vatican communications office.

The highest honor went to Father Vic Subb, whose whole essay, “Gift of the Outsiders” was deemed the best that appeared in any of the mission magazines. The essay was about how we see each other, and how much the well-to-do have to learn from those who are excluded. Said the judges, “Engaging tale of what it means and feels like to be a so-called outsider. The persuasive plot twist: Everyone is at once an outsider and a gift.”

Father Vic appeared in another first-place award, this time as the subject of a photo story by Editor John Feister and Art Director Cassie Magnotta. “Excellent idea and execution for a photo story that

enlivens the subject and interests the readers,” the judges wrote.

Glenmary Challenge overall received honorable mention in the “Magazine of the Year” category. Father Dan Dorsey’s “From the President” column was honored.

Our sister publication, El Reto Glenmary, a Spanish-language magazine edited by our own Omar Cabrera, received first place honors for Best Cover, as well as three third-place awards, writing and photography, for a story from our Macon County, Tenn., mission, on their youth program. Said the judges: “A nice feature on youth activity that connects children to the Church. The photos are a key part of the story.”

Glenmary’s new video series, specifically “Who Are Glenmary Home Missioners?” co-produced by Katie Rutter and John Feister, with videographers/directors Matt Stoltz and Eric Filson, was a runner up in the prestigious Gabriel Awards.

father vic subb

omar cabrera

john feister and cassie magnotta

We welcome your prayers for our students in formation! Our students minister in the missions, study Spanish, complete chaplaincy training, and more.

Glenmary pastors Fr. Jose Carlos Miguel Lopez and Fr. Vijaya from our North Carolina missions recently visited migrant farm workers at a farm in Bertie County. Diocesan priest, Fr. Jairo also joined them. They heard Confessions and celebrated Mass. The Edenton St. Vincent de Paul chapter also provided a meal for everyone to enjoy.

Happy Feast Day of St. Teresa of Kolkata, especially to our mission parish Saint Teresa of Kolkata Catholic Church in Maynardville, Tennessee! Better known as Mother Teresa, she dedicated her life to serving and loving the poor. May we follow her example to love the people God has placed in our lives.

Photo by John Feister