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In Greene County, Catholics explore how to help others Christian service, say members of the "Called to be Church" planning groups in Greene County, starts in many places: * Building community is Regina McGrath's first step towards serving others; * for Frank Gerrain, a welcoming attitude is a prerequisite; * for Rev. James Schiffer, service finds its center in the Eucharist; and * for Harriet Bucca, beginning solid service involves making connections, and "hearing what the other parishes are doing" to find out who's covering what and what needs help. During July and August, "Called to be Church" planning groups throughout the Albany Diocese are focusing on the service ministry of the Church, including aid to the poor, advocacy on behalf of the needy, prison ministry, and care for those in hospitals and nursing homes. Challenges Greene County Catholics face many challenges in their service to others, including a dwindling number of priests, transportation needs for the elderly, nursing homes and two state penitentiaries. When it comes to service, "we do quite a bit. We probably need to do more," said Mrs. McGrath, a member of the planning group from St. Mary's parish in Coxsackie. She and other planners have been attending Masses at other churches and studying what they do to serve others, she said. That's one way churches can discover what they do well, what they don't, what they offer to other churches and what they can use help with. Youth ministry One example of this cooperation, planners say, is a youth rally Greene County parishes are planning to host in Greenville in the fall. Acting alone, some parishes struggle to keep teens involved in Mass and service projects; but they can link to provide more, said Mrs. Bucca, director of religious education at Immaculate Conception parish in Haines Falls. This togetherness "is a whole new way to look at Church," said Mrs. McGrath. "In my mind, it has nothing to do with the shortage of priests. We're all called by our baptismal vows; we should be having this conversation even with a surplus of priests. "It's not going to be easy, but it's exciting. And if you look at it as exciting, it will be. As things evolve, [talks] are going to get meatier, and I'm looking forward to working together with everybody." Many needs Looking over the questions "Called to be Church" teams were requested to discuss regarding Christian service, Eileen Becker, from St. Mary's parish in Coxsackie, felt a little overwhelmed. "Quite honestly, it's overwhelming to think of the service ministries we could or ought to be involved in," she explained. While St. Mary's and neighboring parishes do well in contributing to the food pantry, blood drives and Meals on Wheels, and in sistering with a parish in Biloxi, Miss., she said, the scope of what needs to be done can sometimes be daunting. That scope includes the migrant workers who come to the area during the summer. "They aren't often seen except when they're working in the fields," she noted. "How do you service their needs?" Size issues Ms. Becker wants more Catholics need to be involved in service activities outside of Sunday Mass and wonders if parishes in the future can harness "the power of the collective size of the Catholic Church" to push certain issues to the forefront and provide some relief. "What would happen if all the bishops in the U.S. asked their parishioners to buy fair-trade coffee?" she asked. "We have so much potential, but trying to organize it is a struggle." Size is an issue is another way: The county's population has grown over the past few years, with second homes being built by New York City families who come for weekends and summers, and skiers packing the pews on wintry Sunday mornings at Immaculate Conception and St. Theresa's in Windham. Mrs. Bucca wonders how to get those residents more involved in their part-time communities. Studies Mr. Gerrain, chairperson of the Coxsackie town planning board, said that his "planning background" prompted him to recommend surveys as a way of further discovering what parishioners want. A survey "tells you a lot about where you are with the people you have in your parish," he said. But he warned that "if you're only getting feedback from those people who are [active in the parish], if you don't reach out to the other individuals," the results will be skewed. Vocations Father Schiffer, pastor of St. John the Baptist in Greenville and St. Theresa in Windham, said that some people in his planning group want to write to the U.S. bishops, encouraging them to look again at "other means of accepting vocations. We are a Eucharistic community, yet we don't have the celebration of the Eucharist. We've got to look at this. "Certainly, people's involvement is very positive, and they've very much taken ownership of their parishes. But the sacramental life of the community -- the Eucharistic life -- is primary for us. "The laypeople have stepped forward, which has been wonderful," he said. But he doesn't want parishioners to "paint themselves too thin." (The "Called to be Church" planning groups in Greene County are divided into geographic categories. The "mountain" group includes St. Theresa's, Windham; Immaculate Conception, Haines Falls; St. John's, Greenville; Sacred Heart, Palenville; and Sacred Heart, Cairo. The "river" or "valley" group encompasses St. Patrick's, Ravena (which is nearby in Albany County); St. Mary's, Coxsackie; St. Patrick's, Athens; and St. Patrick's, Catskill.) PLANNING TOGETHER Bad weather leads to good relationships Bad weather forced the two Greene County planning groups to meet together a few months ago, and the result was illuminating, planners said. As a result, they are planning another large group meeting. "We got an idea about what's going on in other places," said Mrs. McGrath. Mr. Gerrain said, "We learned so much from each other. I hope that there will be more sharing, especially in the smaller communities and locales." Mrs. McGrath believes that interparish cooperation is absolutely essential, and she's seen it work before when she was a member of a planning team for a school merger. "After a while, [your school] didn't matter," she recalled. "I even forgot, in some instances, what school the [others] went to. Those things dropped away. We were people who had a common goal. Certainly, the same can happen here: We can keep our own identity but work towards the common group. "I'll be the first to admit that if my physical church was no longer, I'd be sad. But if it happened without knowing other people and [feeling] welcome, that would be worse. When you've done it with planning and looking forward to it, it can be okay." Said Mrs. Bucca, "People are genuinely concerned about all the people in our local planning group. We all know each other's names now, and a little about their families. It's been a wonderful experience for us all." (KDO) (7/26/07) |