As we sat at clustering meetings it was evident that whatever suggestion we may have had was already decided between the pastor and the diocese.  It was a futile waste of time. We were being placated and duped to think our opinions mattered. Much like we were in the pastoral selection process 15 years ago.

Our forbearers such as Gen McCloskey and Tony DiNardo would chide us for getting ourselves into this situation. They, along with others, set the standard for a lay-directed community. The priest serves as presider at Mass and as authority regarding doctrine and matters of the church, all other decisions are made by the community council where everyone has a voice but one vote. I feel as though we have let this idea slip away and ceded control to the pastor.

This is not an indictment of our pastor. Fr. Tony is a good and honorable servant of the church. It seems as a governing body, council has become so conciliatory that the parish and community have more or less blended into one. If this is what the majority of the community members want, than so be it. But I think we should vote on it.

Unfortunately, many of our “elders” are tired and have served on council numerous times. They now want to turn over the community to the next generation. This next generation does not remember how groups like the community originated. Active Catholics, who love their church and wanted to embrace the reforms of Vatican II, founded them. These communities dragged the diocese into the reforms of Vatican II kicking and screaming by our example. I now see a more conservative generation, some actually embracing pre-Vatican II forms of worship. From my observation, I find this generation more compliant, more willing to accept the status quo without question or opposition. And in fairness, many are too busy raising families to be activists.

Maybe, its time to celebrate the gift of almost 50 years of the Community of St. Malachi. A community that empowered hundreds of people to as St. Francis said, “Go and spread the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” The fire of the Holy Spirit has touched us all – maybe its time to spread our gospel. I am speaking my opinion to open a dialogue. I look forward to see where we move from this point forward.  

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Responses to Ron Perger

     by Cindy DiNardo

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(Cindy is a member of the Community of St. Malachi.)

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Ron Perger in his Communio article addressed concerns which I have heard before.  Many of the founding generation of the Community of St. Malachi fear that we have lost our prophetic voice.  Ours was a grass roots organization which had to fight to be recognized as a parish.  We were inspired by Vatican II to incorporate recommended changes in the liturgy and to take action against social injustice.  As baptized Catholics we were (are) The Church.  There were exciting challenges.  A lot of time, thought, and effort were put into defining what we wanted to be and how we could accomplish it.

As with all things human, nothing stays the same.  Many of the Community’s avant-garde positions have become mainstream, e.g. non-territorial parishes, parish councils which actually have some power, liturgical changes which put women and girls into the sanctuary, Communion in the hand.

Have we settled down too much?  Have we lost our prophetic voice? All organizations go through a cycle from initial zeal to a more mature moderation.  The temper of the times is different.  The older generation is dying off and losing energy.  The torch must be passed.

From the younger generation I hear complaints that they are tired of hearing about how things used to be.  The older generation doesn’t seem to fully recognize the problems and challenges that must be met today.  The many ministries which the older generation was instrumental in establishing still need to be supported.  The pedophile scandals, which have wracked the Church, need our continued attention.  Very positively, a Christian Formation program, which didn’t exist in “the good old days,” is vibrant and effective.  What could be more important than the active engagement of our young people in the life of the Community?

The Community of St. Malachi has made visible, physical changes in the neighborhoods, which has been our home.  We have touched the lives of many people.  I might even dare to say that we may have had some small effect on the way the diocese does business.  So much more remains to be done.  This is again a time of change, of great challenges.  It isn’t a time to quit.  The old guard and the new recruits have to work together, draw strength from each other, and banish self-righteousness and pettiness. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

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Although I am still a newcomer, having joined the Community of St. Malachi in 2003, I can relate to Ron’s concerns about the Community. I was under the impression that our original Community pretty much trusted in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but that seems to have changed.

Having “chaired” the Social Action Committee for just one year, I am left wondering where are all the people who considered social action so vital to the Community of St. Malachi? Perhaps, partly due to the fact that I am so new, I was able to glean only a half-dozen members for this committee. And, although most of us are more than willing to remain members of the Social Action Committee, we are still searching for someone to “co-chair” the committee.

I also wonder if the Community hasn’t lost a lot of the feel of family. When I became chair, my committee was in agreement that there was a need for a means of connecting Community volunteers with Community members who may be in need of some temporary assistance. It speaks well of the Community that we now have some 28 volunteers who are offering such things as: transportation, an occasional meal, light housecleaning, 1-2 loads of laundry, pick up of a few groceries or a prescription, companionship to someone recovering from surgery, babysitting, and even some minor home repairs. Yet it seems that most of the Community membership is very shy about asking for an assist – or is it because they don’t know me personally (I am currently facilitating this plan) that they hesitate? It would be a shame to waste all the good intentions of these wonderful volunteers!

As a member of the Council this past year, I too have gotten the feeling that the Community of St. Malachi no longer operates as a lay-directed parish. And, yes, I am also concerned about the clustering process and how that might “water down” our identity.

Not being one of the founders of this wonderful Community, I certainly don’t know how to revitalize that spirit, if indeed there are still enough members who see this as important. When several people recommended St. Malachi to me, I first fell in love with the vibrant liturgy, and then with the wonderful coffee hour at which I met so many loving people. But I believe it is true that “what doesn’t change (grow) dies.” It would break my heart to see the Community of St. Malachi die or simply be absorbed into something less inspired.

And, finally, I want to thank you, Ron Perger, for opening this discussion. I am certain that there are many more Community members who share these feelings. Hopefully, they will also respond.

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Ron Perger has been a Community member much longer than I have. Short or long he has a right to his opinion of our Community as a “has been.” On the other hand, I see that proverbial glass half full, not half or nearly empty as Ron would have it. I see a vital Community presence in the world we live in and a list of noteworthy recent accomplishments. I’d hate to find myself deluded, but I continue to think I’m a member of a lively Community, one that is worth keeping fully alive.

I remember years ago, when I still belonged to a suburban parish, hearing about these people on West 25th Street who took really courageous action, providing sanctuary, housing new immigrants, taking stands on controversial issues like HIV-AIDS and inclusive language in the liturgy. That was Community of St. Malachi in those days. Guess what? Community of St. Malachi still spearheads action on the cutting edge. What is the huge event that has uncovered the greatest crisis in the history of the American Catholic Church? It has been and will continue to be discovery of the extent and cover up of sexual abuse of children by the clergy.

The sex abuse scandal broke the Boston Globe in January, 2002. It took our Community only a few weeks to react and to begin forming a task force. That task force has met regularly for more than four years. It has produced letters to the Episcopal leadership of the Cleveland Diocese, asking for clarification, for accountability and for transparency in communicating with the people of this Diocese about what happened here. We, as a Community, have signed onto statements requesting that our bishop live up to his responsibilities in dealing with the scandal. Members of the task force have been to Columbus to listen to and petition members of the Ohio General Assembly. A representative of that body came to St. Malachi to speak on how proposed legislation could prevent further cases of clergy abuse and give victims time to seek redress. With the exception of Voice of the Faithful, which meets in a very few parishes, we, Community of St. Malachi, remain the only diocesan parish still actively working to bring about greater accountability within the structure of the Church on the heels of the sex abuse scandal. I’d say we are right where the action is, in the middle of it, working to bring about reform.

Let’s not forget the tragic crisis our country finds itself in. At the present time an ill-advised, immoral war in Iraq preemptively undertaken by the United States has brought about untold damage and the prospect of armed conflict as far at the eye can see. Before that war was formally begun and the shame of “shock and awe” hit our TV screens, a thin line of peace marchers from St. Malachi went out every Wednesday evening. They carried a cross to Public Square and prayed for peace. They did it for months and months, in rain, snow, wind and sun. Maybe they couldn’t do much to undo the war; history is starting to say no one could. But they bore witness. The Community of St. Malachi with others bears witness for peace. A very active Social Action Committee is in the process of bringing a two part series of speakers to us to explore some ways our nation can extricate itself from the dilemma of destruction we find ourselves in. Our Spiritual Development Committee sponsored a well attended set of classes to help us educate ourselves in the culture and religions of other parts of the world, especially the Middle East.

Right now a group of nearly two dozen Community members is carrying on a Community tradition of welcoming the stranger in our land. Lots of volunteers are working hands on to make life livable for a Somali-Bantu family on the near West Side. Isn’t this service a continuation of what the Community as all about? We also practice our Mission Statement by reaching out to those in need in our neighborhood just like in the old days. Nearly all the children in the St. Malachi Center After School Program have Reading Buddies. The greatest hope of those born in poverty is education. Every week Community members and others work with children in small groups to reinforce reading skills.

These are only a few signs that the Community of St. Malachi is alive and well. The Community was birthed to make a difference in the world. We are still demanding justice and witnessing for peace. We, as members of an enlightened Community, are shouldering our responsibilities as citizens of the world. We continue in those works that bring hope and a chance for a better life to those who live close to us. Our Community is alive and intending to be so for some time to come!

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The Presence of God

The world is charged with the grandeur of God (Gerard Manly Hopkins).

I dwell for a moment on the presence of God

Around me, in every part of my body,

And deep within my being.

Freedom
Everything has the potential to draw forth from me a fuller love and life.

Yet my desires are often fixed, caught, on illusions of fulfillment.

I ask that God, through my freedom, may orchestrate

My desires in a vibrant loving melody rich in harmony.

From Sacred Space, the Prayer Book 2007, from the web site www.sacredspace.ie 

Going to school to learn more about spirituality taught me several things. Among those things is the ancients, whether in Scripture or not, expressed feelings I experienced as God in words much better than I ever could. Another thing I learned is I do not know what I do not know.

I thank Ron Perger for his courage to put his thoughts on paper and make them public to start a dialogue.

I have the deepest respect for those who had the inspiration and the courage to take some of the documents of Vatican II and implement them in their communities’ lives. Change is often difficult. Change takes courage.

If it were not for people and clergy like the founders of this Community, who implemented pieces of Vatican II, I would not have had the freedom to read Scripture for myself or been able to answer my call for more education and activity in the community I call Church.

Nearly 40 years ago (“Beginning on December 3, 1967” according to our website www.stmalachi.org/history/communi1.htm), a group of people were swept by the Spirit for more participatory liturgy and, later, social action. Awesome! According to the mission statement, all activity of this Community was centered on the teachings of Jesus in Scripture. I particularly embrace the line, “To love others the way we are loved by God.” Who are the others? Who did Jesus say was our neighbor in Scripture? Some say that is answered in Luke 10:29-37, particularly verse 37. “He [the person seeking to justify himself in the story] said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’”

I do not remember reading in Scripture or Vatican II that laity should have “control” of Church. “Though they differ essentially and not only in degree the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are none the less interrelated; each in its own way shares in the one priesthood of Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Chapter II, The People of God, Paragraph 10). Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, also defines the roles of bishops, priests, and laity. It does say we are obligated to make our opinion known. I do believe we do that.

I do not understand why clustering raises such fear and anger. If we do not cluster, there may not be any Church within the next century. Clustering does not imply we stop supporting groups like FutureChurch and individual theologians who are working to express faith experience in our time. It just may not happen in “our time.” What is a fact, in our time, is some parishes are financially poor and parishioner poor and there are fewer men being ordained. By taking the lead in clustering, the Community is not condoning the situation, but we are doing something about it. If we truly desire to follow Scripture and Vatican II, does it not make more sense to be among the leaders in embracing our neighbors?

True Christian lay leadership does not have to erode during clustering. If it does erode, I suggest it is our own fault for not taking action now. The fact that not enough Community members stepped forward to have all Committee chairs filled is not the fault of the existing Council. The process of clustering is laity led as there are four lay people and one pastor on each parish’s clustering committee. The way the Scripture and Vatican II ask us, as laity, to live in daily love and self-sacrifice, is difficult. It takes a lot of prayer and work. This seems not to be a typical choice (assuming state of life and health is not an issue) for most Americans, and sadly perhaps, for many Catholics.

The Spiritual Development Committee has invited Parish members to our meetings. It did not make sense to me to plan prayers, reflections, speakers, and events and leave out the people with whom we share our roof. I have always taken the Beatitudes, especially “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Mt. 5:9) as words to live by. As a peacemaker (hopefully), I do not think I lost any leadership gifts I might have been given by my Creator or by the Community. I may have had to learn about self-forgetfulness, but, according to Scripture, that is part of what Jesus taught too.

While I was not here nearly 40 years ago and do not know how council meetings were conducted at that time, I have not experienced any loss of lay leadership at council meetings in the two years I have been honored to attend. They are prayerful and full of perspectives and ideas, certainly not dull, and certainly not quiet.

I must admit, I have not understood why lay leadership in the Community seems to imply an invisible priest to some Community members. Priests are creations of God too, each with his own gifts, even beyond a sense and learned knowledge of Mass and doctrine. I do not see in any of Community documents where a priest is not a member of our Community. As such, he may have an opinion worth considering. After all, there is a good chance a priest spent more time than any of us studying Vatican II and even Church politics. There is a chance a priest spends more time in prayer than we do. There is a chance Spirit moves within him too. I think we ignore a significant opportunity of inspiration when we diminish any priest to what he does rather than who he is.

Within the next month we will have four prayer groups, one each Wednesday of the month. It will start in June. I hope it to be ongoing. The word prayer is mentioned over 55 times in the New Testament and seems important to Early Christianity. I offer that we need to pray individually and in community for guidance from Spirit on how we proceed as Church (or at least pray for the willingness to be open to Spiritual guidance). Though we may not receive what we want, perhaps we will receive what we need to do. After all, my understanding is God is more loving and creative than we can ever understand.

Perhaps it is time for us to deepen our relationship with our neighbor who is Parish and who is cluster as another step to sharing the Love that inspired the founders of the Community of St. Malachi in the first place.

Change is often difficult. Change takes courage.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

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My family network had a baby shower recently for my great granddaughter, Natalie. Although there is a large diversity of cultures in the family, Italian is the primary one so we customarily talk and talk and talk.

By coincidence, my oldest daughter, Jené from my first family, happened to see a copy of my essay for May Communio at the computer.  So a table conversation started about the topic of Community and Parish.  She reminded me that I was one of the main church activist members at St. Rose Church who helped build the church council after Vatican II and organized numerous other community activities.  However, over the years it has since suffered as a parish. I replied that it wasn’t my leaving that caused some of these things to end, but a sense of community that left St. Rose. After this discussion with my daughter Jené, I felt impelled to reflect on that topic.

SO WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY DIFFERENT FROM A PARISH?

A parish serves the needs of the poor and homeless – a community does the same thing but also encourages the poor and homeless to join us at Mass as members.

A Parish provides programs and services for the poor and homeless.  A Community also provides  services to  the poor and homeless but  it extends those services to members too—services such as visiting those who are ill, helping unemployed members find a job, helping members in need of financial help, helping members deal with serious social and religious issues with both clergy and other members, I might add. 

A Community also provides activities to young members for all grade levels, events such as Saturday movies with candy bars and popcorn in the cafeteria; team playing and story telling for the elementary children; going to concerts and plays; going to museums and garden centers; and putting on dances for middle school/high school young people ( a good way to meet maybe marry) the right kinds of people in their lives.  Community is not about just going to Sunday Liturgy.

A competent and committed priest is a necessity in a parish, but a competent and committed priest in a Community is not enough, because a diversity of lay and clerical members is essential for a collegial dialogue that makes a parish a vibrant Community. If there is no dialogue and no contact between clergy and laity regarding religious/social issues then there is no Church as they are beginning to realize in many parishes.

A Community has social functions for adult members too, like these programs started many years ago at the Community of St. Malachi: a divorced, separated, widowed, single group started by Frances May; Sunday potlucks at the Horning’s with religious discussions; picnics at the vacation cottage of the Pecnic’s—there was also spirituality; monthly potluck and games at the Bain’s—with a spirit building discussion always occurring; retreats at various campgrounds with the Schiros’–there was also religion; great programs that Dick Gibbons orchestrated among other activities, always with a religious intention; Baptism orientation at the Aylward’s house to support spiritual parenting; Marita Pompeanni organizing Children’s Liturgy to help make the Mass accessible to younger members.  All of these examples from years past show how Community members helped one another get to know and grow spiritually together.  They even helped me meet my wonderful wife, Ginny—and our best friends are still former and present St. Malachi members (mostly former). Does anyone believe the “old guard” would have allowed  the Community to cluster with Parishes? 

For the necessary “new guard who have the energy,” they must emulate some of  ”old guard.” For example, look to Dave Starre who was a prime model on how to keep a Community alive. A good Catholic (“not a Sunday go to Mass Catholic”) will make it his duty to serve his religion.

The prime ingredients of a Community are:  a committed supportive priest; a socially and religiously conscious membership; and a social and religious dialogue requiring clergy and  laity to form  an alliance  of common goals that give voice on issues such as divorce, contraception, abortion, gay prejudice, married priests, nuns as priests (someone has to remind the hierarchy that priests and nuns are getting harder to replace).  All of this is to encourage the hierarchy to come out of the shadows and start socializing with the laity of Catholic commoners.

P.S. My daughter Jené is skeptical that our community, as well as many parishes, will survive because the motives and the energy no longer exist.  She is a leader of teaching personnel for the County Board of Retardation and I trust her analysis as an intelligent person.

P.S. comments are welcome @ zorba2wo@aol.com

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I am a former member of the Community of St. Malachi (CSM).  My name is Al Mancuso.  Many in the community may remember myself, my wife Beth, & our daughter Rachel.  We were set to leave for Bolivia with Franciscan Mission Service, but had to forgo our departure due to the pending birth of our second daughter, Claire.  We now have a third, and her name is Anna.  But I digress.

I continue to receive the Communio and the Community bulletin via the web.  I have never submitted anything to the Communio before, but the article sent by Ron Perger has touched something in me that I would like to share with all of you.

I cannot speak to how the council runs now because I do not attend services there.  What I can speak to is my experience.  Let me first say that I am very grateful for all the support given to our family as we made the decision to commit ourselves to missionary service.  In particular, Fred Leonard, Gary Pritts, & Fr. Tony.  They went over and above to assist us.  So special thanks to them.

I want to more specifically address “the next generation.”  I speak for myself alone, and not my wife.  The CSM was completely unique.  It was “the first” in many things.  Years ago, many people laid some wonderful groundwork.  They took the vision of Vatican II and ran with it.

When I made the commitment to become a member of CSM, I was gung ho.  I wanted to do and be a part of many things, but I kept on getting the sense that members had assigned roles in established programs (i.e. Monday Night Meals) and were not willing to open up those roles to the new membership.  The longtime members were happy and set in the “status quo.”  This did not give opportunities to the newer/younger members of the community or as Ron puts it, “the next generation.”

Francis does say, “Preach the Gospel always; Use words when necessary.”  And to be fair to those “who laid the groundwork; who risked ridicule; who acted out of compassion for humanity,” there are some in my generation who are happy with the status quo, but that is true in every generation.  If we want change to occur, we need to seek it and embrace it.  Instead of teaching the next generation about what you all did to get this whole, unique, forward-thinking concept started, invite the next generation to be a part of all this.

The Community of St. Malachi is a wonderful place where people can join and praise God in word and in song.  It is a great place to start forming a sense of Christianity.  I am happy and proud that CSM touched myself and my family’s lives.  May God Bless You all. 

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(Thank to Carol Kuegeler for sending this is in!) 

A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.

That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: “I make God visible.” But others who see us together can say: “They make God visible.” Community is where humility and glory touch.

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 (Thanks to Ginny Schiros for sending this in. Ginny is a member of the Community of St. Malachi.)

What could a multi-million dollar art dealer and a homeless man have in common? A lot, of course, just as we all do. This autobiographical book helps us understand our shared humanity as Ron Hall and Denver Moore tell their stories of fear, distrust and doubt blossoming into love, friendship and faith. They both take risks and find a common bond in the unconditional love and example of Ron’s wife who brought them together.

Denver was living as a virtual slave in Louisiana in 1960, unable to read or write when he found his way to a homeless shelter in Fort Worth, Texas. Ron was a self-described “do-gooder white guy” trying to appease his wife’s pleas to do something meaningful with his life and help the homeless one day a week. What follows is an insightful story that any member of St. Malachi could find inspiration in. These two men tell a miraculous tale of helping the homeless in urban America and in the process develop the deepest kind of friendship.

I recommend this book to all Malachi members, since the story is much like our own ministry to the homeless, and it gives real meaning to the command to love the poor as we would love ourselves. In this book, evangelical Christianity has an appeal that is refreshing without being preachy or judgmental. The book reminded me that too often we think we need to do something dramatic and out of the ordinary to live out our convictions, but in the end what we need more than anything else is just the simplicity of love and friendship shared day to day to live as one family in God. To quote Denver Moore, “The truth about it is, whether we is rich or poor or somethin in between, this earth ain’t no final restin place. So in a way we is all homeless—just workin our way toward home”

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(Prayer created by Kay Vine based on selections from Bishop John Dearden’s Prophets of a Future Not our Own and the Community of St. Malachi’s Statement of Charisms/Values affirmed at the Annual Meeting of April 22.) 

Loving God, your Spirit has called us here – at this time and place – to bless You by Honoring the good within each of us and by loving and serving others. This is the essence of our being in community with each other. We thank You, O God, for giving us this precious gift.

As we reflect on Your Word and offer our petitions today, we are aware of the great need we have of Your grace. That for which we pray cannot come to be without Your blessing. We know that ‘in our lifetime only a tiny faction of Your magnificent work can be accomplished. And, while the Your kingdom always lies beyond us’, we are committed to working toward its coming to fruition.

We pray for our faith community that its charisms may enrich each of us as well as the many other people we encounter each day so that, through these practices, we may serve God better and make our surroundings a more sacred space.

“We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.” Through our celebration of Liturgy, sharing of Eucharist, and many programs of Faith Formation, may we be nourished and bring the witness of Faith to many, we pray: Loving God, bless us.

“We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.” Through our Welcoming Spirit that helps us to reach out to others regardless of what they bring with them and our efforts at Social Action guided by the needs of the common good, may we know gracious hospitality and peace of heart, we pray: Loving God, bless us.

“We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.” As a Community founded on Lay Leadership, we take responsibility for our practice of faith based on the gospel call, acceptance of our mission, and responsible self-governance. May we, and all the church, share Your Love through responding to the baptismal call sharing our time, talent, and treasure. For all this we pray, Loving God bless us.

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 (Sent in by Kay Vine. Used with permission from Pax Christi, USA. www.paxchristiusa.org/)

Come Spirit of God, grant us
the power to be gentle,
the strength to be forgiving,
the patience to be understanding,
the endurance to accept the consequences
of holding on to what is right.

Come Spirit of God, help us to
put our trust in the power of good
to overcome evil,
the power of love to overcome hatred.

Come Spirit of God, enlighten us
with the vision to see and the faith to believe in
a world free from violence,
a new world where fear will no longer lead us to

commit injustices,
nor selfishness cause us to bring suffering to others.

Come Spirit of Wisdom and Love,

source of all good teach us your truth and
guide our actions in your way of peace. Amen.

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Send articles or comments to joe_pulizzi@yahoo.com.

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