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What will happen next?

From The Plain Dealer: Parishioners, priest from closed St. Peter Catholic Church defy bishop, celebrate Mass in new home

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Defying the authority of their bishop, parishioners and their priest from the closed St. Peter Catholic Church in downtown Cleveland celebrated Mass Sunday in leased commercial space they transformed into a church independent of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

The move by the new Community of St. Peter puts members in danger of excommunication because they had been warned by Bishop Richard Lennon, who shuttered St. Peter’s in April, not to hold worship services in places without his approval.

Still, about 350 people, joined by their spiritual leader, the Rev. Robert Marrone, gathered for their first Mass and communion in their new home — a newly renovated, century-old building on Euclid Avenue and East 71st Street.

“This feels real good,” said parishioner Bob Kloos of Cleveland Heights. “This is the handiwork of hundreds of people over many, many months.”

Group leaders emphasize that they see themselves as traditional Catholics and are challenging the closing of St. Peter’s, not the tenets of their faith.

“Here, enlightened by Christ . . . we can renew our dedication to the traditions of our faith which we hold as precious,” Marrone said in his sermon. “Today is a day for action, not reaction; imagination, not fear.”

He added, “I know it has not been an easy journey for you as it has not been an easy journey for me. But standing here today, I am filled with gratitude, peace and confidence.”

…

The St. Peter rebellion is unique because unlike in Boston, where five congregations, in defiance of the archdiocese, have been illegally occupying closed churches for up to five years, the Cleveland group has created its own worship space complete with a new altar, baptismal fount and sacred icons.

…

The group’s annual budget for rent, staff and a reserve fund is about $200,000. So far, about 325 people out of 700 parishioners at the old church have made the switch to the Community of St. Peter.

The congregation, made up mostly of suburbanites, had been quietly considering the breakaway ever since Lennon announced in March 2009 that he was closing their 151-year-old church building on the corner of Superior Avenue and East 17th Street.

The bishop’s order was part of a downsizing that saw the closings of 50 churches over the last year because of dwindling collections, fewer parishioners and a shortage of priests.

…

They told Lennon that the non-profit corporation was set up as a means to raise money to continue their social service and education programs after their church closed. The leased commercial space, they said, was for social gatherings to keep the congregation together. They did not tell the bishop they were setting up a church because at the time the community was still exploring the idea and had not made a decision.

Still, the bishop sent letters at the end of March of this year to each member of St. Peter’s, suggesting their salvation was in jeopardy if they conducted worship services outside of a sanctioned church.

…

Despite the bishop’s admonishment, many in the congregation pushed on after their church closed in April, meeting every Sunday at Cleveland State University to pray and collect money for their new space.

But much of the flock was vexed with two gnawing questions:

Will Marrone come with us?

Are we willing to be excommunicated from the Catholic church for breaking off from the diocese in disobedience to the bishop?

Some left the group. Some stood by undecided. Some moved ahead.

But for months, Marrone, who has been on an extended leave of absence from the diocese since St. Peter’s closed, stayed silent, talking only to those closest to him.

At age 63, he had spent his whole life immersed in the Catholic culture. He entered a seminary at age 13, was ordained at age 26 and lived his whole adult life under a vow of obedience to Catholic hierarchy.

Now Marrone had to decide whether to be faithful to the congregation he had inspired and nurtured for more than 20 years, or to the bishop who closed his church.

…

Marrone, in the earlier interview, described the Catholic church as being “in deep conflict with itself” and St. Peter’s split as “a tragic comedy.”

“None of us wanted to be in this position,” he said. “We did not seek this out. There just comes a point when you stand up and say, ‘We can’t do this.'”

“This is a sociological story,” he added, “not just a religious one.”

“It’s an ongoing story. It’s an evolving story. In my last sermon at St. Peter’s I said, ‘The exodus begins. Come, let us go.'”

As a member of the PNCC I absolutely understand the struggle these folks are facing, and on a personal level I know the hurt they feel. Doors will now start slamming and papers will be flying (interdict and excommunications). Smaller hurts will grow into bigger hurts and people will say: “This is Church?” That said, I do hope that these folks are able to hold onto their Catholic faith. I also pray that they find their way through this difficult time to a renewal of their faith.

Now for my prognostications. Based on the evolution at St. Stanislaus in St. Louis, those attending are likely to fall out in three groups — and my prediction is that they will evolve as follows:

Roman Catholics who are angry, upset, and feel stymied by an intractable bishop. These folks love the Am-Church Catholic culture with communion in the hand, the required eucharistic minister (just look at the pictures), and the remainder of the kumbaya experience of the American Church model. That is home for them. This group will eventually fade back into their local suburban parishes once they get tired, or will just stop going because of the hurt. Many will end up as nominal, paper only, Roman Catholics so someday they get the Church wedding for their kids, baptism for their grandkids, or their own funeral. Probably about 65% of the current contingent. They will disappear from the scene.

Liberal Catholics (quasi-Protestants for the time being), those who want to make-over the Church in their image, to suit their agendas. In about a year, they will be joined by other dissenters and will push for womenpriests, gay marriages, and whatever else fits their image of Church. Probably about 25-30% of the current contingent. They will grow.

People with ethnic connections to their faith, and others who have a traditional Catholic understanding, but reject the idea of bishops who can take their property. They will find a home in the PNCC or in other more conservative Churches because it makes sense for them, an infallible Church with solid teaching and a proper bishop, but where they won’t be manipulated and pushed around. The remainder of the current contingent, 5-10%. They will disappear from the scene.

The same thing is happening at a parish in the Albany, New York diocese, albeit on a smaller, slower scale. The bishop’s play in Albany was to close an extremely liberal parish and merge it with an extremely conservative parish. Funny bishop. I imagine he’s not there mediating any of the parish council meetings.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, , , ,

Knowing your [Church] market segmentation

From Captura: The Digital Divide Represents an Opportunity for Hispanic Online Marketers

The recently published report by the Pew Hispanic Center, The Latino Digital Divide: The Native Born versus The Foreign Born, highlights some important facts and opportunities for Hispanic online marketers.

From a high level, the report shows that there is a significant digital divide between Hispanics who were born in the US and those that were born outside of this country. The Pew Hispanic center indicates that 85% of US-born Hispanics use the Internet and 80% use cell phones. Compare this to foreign-born Hispanics where Internet usage currently stands at 51% and cell phone usage at 72%.

…

Although foreign-born online Hispanics represent a smaller, less affluent and less sophisticated segment, they are easier to reach and represent the greatest upside. Foreign-born Hispanics are more likely to use Spanish language website and search engines making them easy to reach. What’s more, the foreign-born segment is growing much faster than the US-born segment and foreign-born Hispanics tend to be more open to online advertising and are more brand loyal. To reach foreign-born Hispanics, marketers should consider creating and advertising trustworthy, culturally relevant and intuitive online user experiences in Spanish.

It is important to point out that these two segments are by no means mutually exclusive or absolute. Many US-born Hispanics prefer Spanish and are novice technology users while many foreign-born Hispanics prefer English and are advanced technology users. What’s more, most Hispanic households likely have both US-born and foreign-born Hispanics in them.

Most of us view the digital divide as an unfortunate social problem. I view it as an opportunity. Only by proactively investing in, engaging with and educating the less fortunate can we begin to bridge the digital divide.

Of course the same type of analysis applies when considering parish outreach. It is important that we understand the demographic and the needs of the people we mister to and who may be in search of a spiritual home.

Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC,

Don’t avoid clergy burnout, embrace it

From the NY Times: Congregations Gone Wild

The American clergy is suffering from burnout, several new studies show. And part of the problem, as researchers have observed, is that pastors work too much. Many of them need vacations, it’s true. But there’s a more fundamental problem that no amount of rest and relaxation can help solve: congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling.

The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them. It’s apparent in the theater-style seating and giant projection screens in churches and in mission trips that involve more sightseeing than listening to the local people.

As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.

The trend toward consumer-driven religion has been gaining momentum for half a century. Consider that in 1955 only 15 percent of Americans said they no longer adhered to the faith of their childhood, according to a Gallup poll. By 2008, 44 percent had switched their religious affiliation at least once, or dropped it altogether, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found. Americans now sample, dabble and move on when a religious leader fails to satisfy for any reason.

In this transformation, clergy have seen their job descriptions rewritten. They’re no longer expected to offer moral counsel in pastoral care sessions or to deliver sermons that make the comfortable uneasy. Church leaders who continue such ministerial traditions pay dearly. A few years ago, thousands of parishioners quit Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Ariz., when their respective preachers refused to bless the congregations’ preferred political agendas and consumerist lifestyles.

I have faced similar pressures myself. In the early 2000s, the advisory committee of my small congregation in Massachusetts told me to keep my sermons to 10 minutes, tell funny stories and leave people feeling great about themselves. The unspoken message in such instructions is clear: give us the comforting, amusing fare we want or we’ll get our spiritual leadership from someone else.

Congregations that make such demands seem not to realize that most clergy don’t sign up to be soothsayers or entertainers. Pastors believe they’re called to shape lives for the better, and that involves helping people learn to do what’s right in life, even when what’s right is also difficult. When they’re being true to their calling, pastors urge Christians to do the hard work of reconciliation with one another before receiving communion. They lead people to share in the suffering of others, including people they would rather ignore, by experiencing tough circumstances —” say, in a shelter, a prison or a nursing home —” and seeking relief together with those in need. At their courageous best, clergy lead where people aren’t asking to go, because that’s how the range of issues that concern them expands, and how a holy community gets formed.

Ministry is a profession in which the greatest rewards include meaningfulness and integrity. When those fade under pressure from churchgoers who don’t want to be challenged or edified, pastors become candidates for stress and depression.

Clergy need parishioners who understand that the church exists, as it always has, to save souls by elevating people’s values and desires. They need churchgoers to ask for personal challenges, in areas like daily devotions and outreach ministries.

When such an ethic takes root, as it has in generations past, then pastors will cease to feel like the spiritual equivalents of concierges. They’ll again know joy in ministering among people who share their sense of purpose. They might even be on fire again for their calling, rather than on a path to premature burnout.

I do not believe it is solely a problem in Churches with a democratic nature, nor solely among Protestant congregations. The cause is, as is typical, in sins of pride, selfishness, and blindness — both the congregations and ours.

I have seen this sort of thing in many different settings, and have heard many a tale of woe. These experiences, and the stories I’ve heard, have spanned the spectrum of Churches, from Protestant, to Oriental, to Roman Catholic. In fact, my earliest recollection was of division in the Roman Catholic parish in which I was raised. A certain faction was fighting over the removal/reassignment of an assistant priest. Of course it caused some to leave the parish, and perhaps the Church. I’ve seen it among pastors who have given it, who have watered down their message, tickling the ears of the congregation with the messages they want to hear. Of course the PNCC gets its share of the problem too. Being a “democratic Church,” on occasion leads one group of parishioners or another to shop for clergy, especially if they do not like what they hear or experience from the current pastor.

While identifying the issue is a start, we as clergy need to find a way to get past the problem to the root causes. We cannot play whack-the-mole with sinfulness. Rather, we need to gently, yet firmly stay on the message that transforms. At the same time, we must avoid the urge to run away from the problem when it rears its ugly head over and over. Vocation is in part about self-sacrifice, as well as leadership by example. Take the time needed to refocus, spend time in prayer, recollect Christ’s commitment (sure, He got burned out and was saddened by people’s failure to respond — but He kept on message), and lean on the support of family, fellow clergy, your Bishop, and those who “get it.” In time, burn out will lead to renewal.

The Young Fogey covers his take on the issue in More on Clergy Burnout. Valid points.

Christian Witness, Mac, Media, PNCC, , , , , ,

Internety, bloggy, softwarey stuff

Several readers have written to me and have noted that they enjoy the new blog design. Thank you. The theme is from Theme Sheep. Of course like the sheep reference – we are the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:1-3 or Psalm 95:6-9).

Fr. Jason opines on the state of the PNCC on the Internet. St. Stanislaus Cathedral has done a wonderful job on their redesign. It is really beautiful, and offers all the great interactivity necessary for parishioners and seekers. I believe it is based on Joomla, which like WordPress is all about providing content.

As I tell the pastors and parishes I work with, people want to know you. They want to know you as pastor, teacher, community, fellow workers, and companions. The only way to do that is to show who you are, how you know Jesus, and how you teach Him. How do you celebrate Him, and each other as part of Him? It doesn’t take a ton of work, only being who you are and telling your story. Think of the video I posted from Sta. Sunniva Parish in Norway… Who are they? Would you want to be part of that community?

Some cool stuff for your iPad, iPod, iPhone from Twitter friends, DivineOffice and Just 1 Word:

Just 1 Word has a new mobile app for various platforms so that you can read the Bible anytime, anywhere on your mobile device. Various versions of the Bible are available and the apps are suitable for the iPad, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

Divine Office’s app provides an audio version of the Liturgy of the Hours, including scripture readings, psalms and prayers for the Hours of each day. The app automatically downloads the day’s audio Liturgy as well as the Liturgy for the days following to your iPhone or iPod Touch over-the-air.

I believe music and chants are also included. I will update as I find out more. Of course, this is the Roman Catholic usage of the Hours. Note to my fellow PNCC members, when I pray the Hours, I make substitutions for any prayers mentioning the Bishop of Rome.

Events, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , ,

Summer — food and festivals

Minneapolis, MN: From the Twin Cities Daily Planet: Two Polish festivals for Minneapolis

For Polish families in Northeast Minneapolis there is the Twin Cities Polish Festival – and then there is THE Polish Fest. The latter, sponsored by Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church, was Saturday, August 7, at the church at 420 22nd Ave NE. Parishioners at Sacred Heart of Jesus know that their fest long preceded the neophyte Twin Cities Polish Festival which is coming up August 14-15 at St. Anthony.

The bottom line: you just can’t have enough Polish festivity.

The Twin Cities Polish Festival, new on the festival scene, features a wide range of cultural, historical and educational displays, musical and dance entertainment and traditional foods and beverages. Attendees of whatever ethnic persuasion will enjoy “all things Polish,” presenting a kaleidoscope of unique cultural and educational displays, food and entertainment. Highlights include the Kresy-Syberia Exhibit, a literary display featuring Polish writer Joseph Conrad, a major Chopin performance, a whirlwind of polka, and a Polish Film Festival co-sponsored by Minnesota Film Arts.

Albany, NY: The Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave Ext, Albany is sponsoring a Polish-American buffet, Friday, August 13th from 4 to 8pm and a Polka dance – picnic with Rymanowski Brothers Band on Sunday, August 15th from 2:30 to 6:30pm. Call 518-456-3995 for more information.

Wilkes-Barre, PA: Takeouts-Only Chicken Barbecue on Saturday, August 14th from 1 to 4pm at Holy Cross Polish National Catholic Church, Sheridan Street, Heights, Wilkes-Barre. Dinners are $8. Tickets sold at the door.

Buffalo, NY: Annual Dozynki Harvest Festival and the Third Buffalo’s Best Pierogi Contest at Corpus Christi Church, 199 Clark Street, Buffalo, NY on Saturday, August 21st from 12:30pm till 11:30pm and Sunday, August 22nd from 12:45pm until 5:30pm. The Pierogi Earting Contest will take place Saturday at 4:30pm.

So come watch or particpate!!! The Church’s Pierogi contest has grown to become a big hit. This year they will have three categories… traditional, non traditional, and for the first time commercial (restaurant, businesses, etc.). The judges…Steve Watson (Buffalo News), Greg Witul (Local Historian), Tom Kerr (Executive Director of the Broadway Market), Alan Bedenko (The Buffalo Pundit and restaurant reviewer for Buffalo Spree), Marc Poloncarz (Erie County Comptroller), Marty Biniasz (Dyngus Day Buffalo/Forgotten Buffalo), Christina Abt (Local Author and host of Buffalo Style On WECK), Mark Lewandowski (President, Central Terminal Restoration Corporation), And Josh Boose (WGRZ-TV)…

Christian Witness, PNCC, , ,

Renewal and joy in Denver

From the Denver Post: Griego: Theft at church rallies goodwill

St. Francis of Assisi (Polish) National Catholic Church, from which the statue of St. Francis was stolen sometime the evening of July 30, is a small building tucked off South Jersey Street and East Leetsdale Avenue. “You know where the McDonald’s is? We’re right across the street,” the Rev. John Kalabokes says.

Despite the name, the Polish National Catholic Church has not served a predominantly Polish congregation for a long time. Kalabokes, you might notice, has a distinctly Greek ring to it. Father John is, in fact, the grandson of Greeks, with a little Italian thrown in. He grew up in the Greek Orthodox Church, though he attended Sunday school with a Methodist friend. Young John Kalabokes had long been inclined to the life of the soul, though he did not become a priest until he was in his 50s. Ask him how this came to pass, and he will say: “I finally relented.”

The name, PNCC, speaks to the church’s organization in the late 1800s by Polish immigrants to the United States who could not find a home within the Roman Catholic Church. The PNCC shares more in common with the Roman Catholic Church than it does not, but the differences are significant, and among them are that the PNCC does not adhere to the belief in papal infallibility. Also among the differences, its priests are allowed to marry after ordination. Father John is a husband, father and grandfather.

This little church was started by a former Episcopalian priest named Father Mustoe. The building once housed a pediatric practice. The congregation, most of them older, many on fixed incomes, worked themselves to transform the offices into the lovely, light-filled church it became. They celebrated their first Mass in the building on Easter Sunday in 1990. Eighteen joyful people sitting on lawn chairs.

Every year, St. Francis of Assisi runs at a deficit, and every year the financial secretary warns Father John they might not make it. But they do.

In the past couple years, the congregation has doubled in size to about 50 people who sit in their regular spots and listen to Father John sing the Mass. They are a family in Christ, yes, but a human family as well. So it was not from a building that vandals stole a statue. It was from them.

The St. Francis statue stood about 5 feet tall. It was located at the front doors of the church and so greeted all who entered. It was white and constructed from fiberglass and so was not particularly heavy, but the parishioner who installed it 12 years ago did so with attention to detail and the desire to prevent the wind from knocking it over.

Given this, Father John speculates the thieves, or, as he says, the kidnappers, wrapped the saint in a chain, attached the chain to a truck and hit the gas. Father John suspects the perpetrator(s) might be teenagers out getting their kicks. It could have been someone who simply coveted the piece, though it’s hard to imagine anyone knowingly stealing the replica of a saint who turned his back on worldly possessions.

The theft of St. Francis was discovered Saturday morning by the woman who tends the flowers in the church yard.

“It was devastating,” Father John says. “We all got a little angry about the theft, the kidnapping, but if we know and practice our faith, we will forgive, and we pray for the thieves. We don’t expect to ever get the statue back.”

Here is what happens after the theft. Father John calls a few media folks. Parishioner Thomas Lynch calls a few others. Stories hit the air that weekend. We run a brief story that Sunday. Checks start coming in. Not a lot of them. But just enough. They amount to about $1,500 and come from outside the parish. From a neighbor. From one of Father John’s former bosses from his days in the information-technology field. One comes from a former parishioner, the very same man who had installed the first statue.

By Wednesday, Father John had already picked out a new statue. On Sunday, he told his parishioners he’d placed the order.

“The congregation burst into applause,” Lynch tells me. “It was really moving.”

It was Lynch who called me over the weekend. He sounded jubilant. “There are so many good people in this world,” he says, “and they cared enough to help this little church.”

Father John believes good will come from bad. It has already, he says. The reunion with the former parishioner, the reaffirmation of goodness in people, the attention to a church that has otherwise gone unnoticed. He says he hopes the statue arrives by early October. He will ask all who desire to bring their pets to the church in honor of St. Francis, the patron saint of animals, and under the beneficent eye of the new statue, he will offer both his thanks and his blessing.

PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, ,

Odd, sad, and odder yet

Why PNCC members should use care when referring to themselves as the “National Catholic Church” without the PNCC qualifier:

From the Florida Times Union: St. Anthony’s celebrates priest’s 10th anniversary

St. Anthony’s National Catholic Church in Jacksonville will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of its priest’s ordination during the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Aug. 15.

The Rev. Marsha McKinlay Brandt is pastor of the parish, part of the National Catholic Church of North America. The denomination ordains women to the priesthood and permits clergy to marry. Formerly known as the Free Catholic Church, it is not part of the Roman Catholic Church…

Noting oneself as the “National Catholic Church” confuses us with a lot of vagante communities out there. If you visit their website, note the stress on “Apostolic succession,” a common feature of vagante type churches.

When the gods get angry

A sad story, but reading the Polish struck me as funny. From Wirtualna Polska: Piorun śmiertelnie poraził mężczyznę

Ok. 50-letni mężczyzna nie żyje, a drugi został ranny w wyniku porażenia piorunem w Mokrej koło Jarosławia (Podkarpackie) – poinformował rzecznik podkarpackiej policji, Paweł Międlar.

– Obaj pracujący przy budowie autostrady mężczyźni przed deszczem schronili się pod drzewem. Jednego z nich piorun poraził śmiertelnie. Jego kolega trafił do szpitala, nie pamięta jednak zdarzenia – powiedział Międlar.

Na Podkarpaciu gwałtowne burze w pojawiły się głównie w okolicach Przemyśla, Lubaczowa, Jarosławia, Przeworska i Leska. Uszkodziły m.in. most w Majdanie Sieniawskim koło Przeworska

In short, lighting struck and killed a 50 year old man in Jarosław. Another man was injured. If you don’t know, Piorun was the name of the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology. Reading the article’s title overly literally, Piorun fatally struck a man.

Eternal rest grant onto the man who was killed, O Lord.

PNCC, , , ,

From Sta. Sunniva Mission Parish, Bergen, Norway

Their summer picnic. Their priest (in cassock – hope its summer weight) is the Rev. Erik Andreas. Prior to coming to the Nordic Catholic Church in 2001, Father served as a Norwegian Naval Chaplain. He was ordained a deacon in Holy Mother of the Rosary PNC Cathedral in Buffalo on November 29, 2001 and as priest on November 30th. Between 2001 and 2004 he served as an assistant priest and later vicar at the Parish of St. John the Baptist and St. Michael in eastern Norway. From autumn 2004, he has served as chaplain and administrator in the Sta. Sunniva Mission Parish in Bergen. He and his wife Solveig have three children.

Christian Witness, Homilies, Perspective, PNCC, Political, ,

Preparing, a few weeks before Labor Day

From indeed – a job search website: Job Market Competition: Unemployed per Job Posting

How hard is it to find a job in your city? Here’s the number of unemployed per job posting for the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S…

Most upstate New York cities have 1 opening for every 4 unemployed persons, and this is after significant population losses in those cities. Workers are facing job losses, and the loss of prospects in an unprecedented way, and likely without recovery in sight for the next 8-10 years. If jobs aren’t completely gone, hours have been cut and benefits have been slashed. People need the hope an encouragement of the Church, as well as its activism. Recall the PNCCs long history of Labor activism.

If you plan to speak to working people the Sunday before Labor Day, to speak a word of hope and encouragement, Interfaith Worker Justice has resources available in its New Resources for Labor in the Pulpits 2010

Is your congregation holding a Labor Day service or event as part of this year’s Labor in the Pulpits/on the Bimah/in the Minbar program? If so, let us know about it! If not, consider celebrating the sacred link between faith, work, and justice by inviting a union member or labor leader to be a guest speaker on Labor Day weekend, or focus your Labor Day weekend service on worker justice issues.

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