Communio . . .

For those who were not present at the 11:00 liturgy that Sunday, I wanted to share this information in writing.
Beginning in July, 2007, the nineteen representatives from the four parishes and a facilitator assigned by the Diocese began meeting. The July and August meetings were for the purpose of getting to know each other and to elect a leadership team. At the August meeting, the following leadership team was elected:

Jim Connell, Community of St. Malachi, Chairperson
Jim Armstrong, St. Wendelin, Vice Chairperson
Tony Coyne, St. Patrick, Secretary
Mike French, St. Malachi, Communications Liaison.
The group purposely decided to elect a leadership team with one person from each of the four parishes in the cluster. 
Pamela Ziss serves as the facilitator for the group.

The September and October meetings as well as the November meeting are for the sharing of information. To date the parishes have shared a Staffing Summary and a Ministry Summary for each parish. At the November meeting a Composite Summary of each parish’s thoughts regarding its strengths and areas for growth will be shared along with a Five Year Financial Trend’s report for each parish. Once all of this information has been shared, the cluster team will attempt to summarize the Areas of Strength, Areas for Growth and Key Priorities for the cluster.
As part of our process of working together, the cluster team has decided on three important procedural points. First, at each meeting we take time to share what’s in our heads and what’s in our hearts. The team wants people to say what they are feeling and thinking. Second, all of the meetings rotate locations. We have visited all three churches, and are in the process of our second rotation. We expect to continue this rotation process. Third, a summary handout is distributed to each parish for inclusion in the bulletin following each cluster meeting. We want to keep the members of each parish informed regarding what is being discussed.
In December the team will spend an evening together in prayer and trust building. This will be done under the direction of a facilitator who can guide this process. The team sees this as a good step prior to beginning the next four to five meetings. The January through May meetings will primarily be for the purpose of setting forth a direction for the cluster. This series of meetings will probably be the most difficult as the group works to meet the original directives outlined in Bishop Lennon’s letter.
The five representatives to the cluster team from the Community of St. Malachi want to make sure that the Community is kept informed regarding this total process. As a reminder, the Community’s representatives to the cluster team in addition to me are Father Tony, Kay Vine, Bob Simoneau and Karen Duffy. At this time we are providing a simple form attached to this week’s newsletter by which any Community member may submit any question regarding the cluster process. The form may be signed or anonymous. The form may be given to any Council member, cluster team member or may be put in the collection basket. All questions that can be answered at this time will be answered through the newsletter or some other vehicle if necessary. I anticipate that we will have a full Community meeting in January to allow all of us as a large group to discuss where we are in the process and where we might be going.

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Male Spirit Fireside Summer & Fall Gatherings
    by Mike Graham

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

Tom Bullock organized a Male Spirit Fireside Gathering that was held this summer on a Friday night, July 13. It was held at Dick Schwertle’s house in Westlake, Ohio. We are planning to make this a summer and fall annual gathering for now.  We did poetry readings and story telling around a campfire.
July 13: We had beautiful weather as men began to arrive around 7:00 p.m. Dick had two tables set up for drinks, chips, a veggie tray and fruit. I must say we ate well and then after everyone arrived Dick took us on a hike back to the end of his property that ends by a huge pond type lake. It was good to see and be in nature. After the hike we gathered around the bonfire and Tom Bullock set up the outline for the night. I then offered to lead the Circle of Respect prayer to open the night. We then shared one or two stories of physical injuries that have happened in our lives. Most seemed to center around bikes. I think Bill Appleton and Tom Bullock can attest to that (Both had bike accidents this summer). We had some great deep belly laughs. Then we shared some wonderful poetry readings and before we knew it, it was time to close the night at 11:00 p.m. It was really one of those magical summer nights.
October 12. We again gathered at Dick Schwertle's house at 7:00 p.m. being treated to coffee, hot apple cider and of course goodies. It was again a nice number of men figuring the Indians were playing their first game against the Red Sox. We even had one Male Spirit brother Rich Murray come all the way from Chicago to join us that night. As we gathered around a warm camp fire that night Rich Murray offered to lead us in the Circle of Respect opening prayer. We then each took a turn sharing on the topic “Men in my Life.” The quality and depth of sharing had me in awe. We then broke for a coffee refill and some goodies and then settled back for poetry reading. Three of the men who came that night write their own poetry. As they took many turns reading their poetry it was like honey dripping off their pages. Yes, Kim Langley, it was really good stuff. We had invited Lou Gutierrez’s spirit to be with us that night. He was a dear community member who loved poetry. We knew he would enjoy sitting with us and soaking in the poetry. We could have gone on all night but we wrapped it up at 10:30 p.m. So with many hugs and much laughter we all drove into the night. It again was just one of those magical nights and a gift from God.

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National Catholic Youth Conference
    by Ellen Brinich

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

The Community of St. Malachi Was a Truly Enriching Experience
    by  Tom Hatcher    

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(Tom is a former president and member of the Community of St. Malachi.) 

I recently made a quick trip to Cleveland, after an absence of more than a decade, to attend an international conference, and, of course, made a stop at St. Malachi’s, which was such an enriching part of my life during the time that I lived in Lakewood from 1979-1990. Upon moving to the area, I quickly checked out the Catholic Churches in the Cleveland area and heard immediately about the Community of St. Malachi at every turn. A convert to Catholicism at age 21, I had always considered my religion as such an important part of my spiritual journey, and I knew the first Sunday that I attended the 11:00 AM Community service that I was in the right place. Fr. Paul Hritz was so inspirational and dynamic in his homily that day that I thought he was speaking “right to me” and, naturally, I wondered how. As I came to find out, his messages continued to be directed not only toward me, but also toward most people who attended St. Malachi. Without any doubt, whatsoever, Fr. Hritz was, until I left Cleveland, the motivational “mover and shaker” at Malachi—both at the Parish and Community—and his influence on my life is still being felt, some 17 years after I have moved in other directions. He always had the “right” words.
My parents, long ago, reiterated to me, time and again, that what you get out of an experience is in direct proportion to what you put in, or commit, to the endeavor. I pursued the St. Malachi experience with vigorous actions. I found the following:

1. An Enriching Mass and Religious Experience. I never came away from a Mass or a St. Malachi activity feeling “empty or down.” My Christian beliefs were expanded, enhanced, and challenged. My knowledge about Catholic doctrine increased. I also recognized why the Community of St. Malachi came into being and totally accepted the challenges identified by the Community in “pushing” the agenda of Vatican II. Most of this was related to the fact that those attending St. Malachi shared a common agenda and were also active in their participation.

2. A Church of Caring Christians. Both the Parish and Community were composed of people who loved others, were concerned about them and were following through with others with their actions and contacts. During my first introduction to the “Coffee Hour,” I met so many people who became friends at the Church, in Church activities, and in social events in and out of the Church. Those coming to St. Malachi were very different from many Catholics I had met before and from those I have met since. The people were unique and were of various ages—from young to older. Since I left Cleveland, I have never met so many caring Catholics in one place, and I miss this tremendously. I now live in a WV County, with less than one percent Catholics, compared to the more than 30 percent in greater Cleveland. As a single, divorced Catholic, my “fit” into St. Malachi was perfect. It did not make any difference that I was single and divorced. My friends were those who attended—single, divorced, married, with or without children, remarried, poor, middle class, well-to-do, gay, widowed, formerly a religious, non-Catholic, etc. The mix of people was beautiful, and you do not find this in many places.

3. A Church with Programs. The many programs at St. Malachi stimulated activity on various levels and people identified with the purposes of the programs—from the weekly meal on Monday evenings, to the community center on the Malachi complex, to the center for those who were dying alone, to the “Hands Around the World” (mid 80’s), to the sanctuary program with Central American refugees (My home in Lakewood was the residence of the first refugee.), to the cooperative (with other churches) housing program for people with AIDS (Our first housing person was a young mother {who eventually died}, with a six year old child. The family had been rejected by their relatives and did not have a place to live.), to Malachi Mart, to the many educational programs at the church, etc. I could go on and on with various examples, but the point is that there was something for everyone, and all you needed to do was volunteer and find your place among the many opportunities for growth. What I got from these activities so enriched my life that I will never forget them and each of them, in some way, made me a much better Christian. The programs were dynamic, intellectually challenging and expanding, and invigorating from both Christian and Catholic viewpoints.
The Central American Sanctuary Program was an excellent example for any church. The Community voted to participate in the program, after the Catholic Sisters were killed in Central America, one of whom had a close connection to people at St. Malachi. Since the Community did not own any property at St. Malachi, Fr. Hritz and the Community consulted with the Parish. Together, the Community and Parish decided to have a discernment process program, each week, from January until May. We had many speakers and consultants—those who understood sanctuary, the IRS perspective, the Immigration and Naturalization Service perspective, the involvement of the FBI, the Catholic Church view, thoughts from both Parish and Community members, etc.—all in all a wonderful learning experience from both the knowledge bases and the church views on sanctuary. At the completion of the process, each church—Parish and Community—voted separately, with the Parish voting 20 % for and 80 % against, and the Community voting 80 % for and 20 % against. After consultation with Fr. Hritz, the Community voted to go ahead with a sanctuary program, but with all activities held off the Malachi complex. Hence, there was a need for host families, instead of the refugees living at the church. We linked with a Catholic group in Arizona, accepted our first refugee, Henri, from Guatemala (escaping from political persecution), used the Press to be very open about our actions, kept both Parish and Community informed, and eventually got Henri and his family to Canada, because Canada accepted refugees at the time and the U. S. did not. The 40+ refugees and their families, helped by the Community, were fleeing from real cases of persecution, and we, at St. Malachi, took a stand on a justice issue that was also a relevant issue for Catholics, given that most of the refugees were of Catholic background. Granted, some people did not agree with those of us who were a part of the program, and many changed their minds over time, but the Parish and Community existed with peace and harmony, learning from each other, without any discord. This was truly an example of what church can do with a peace and justice issue. We did it with integrity, with sincerity, with openness, with Christian principles, and with the belief that helping others need not just occur within our immediate premises.

At the Community, I eventually served several terms on the Council, became the President in about 1987-88, and left the Cleveland area with a job change in 1990. There is not a week that passes today that I do not think of the Malachi challenges and the wonderful experience I had there with people from all avenues of life. My life has changed drastically since retirement, when I moved back to my hometown in Southern West Virginia. I am still involved in church, at Christ The King Catholic Church in War, WV, with about 65 active members. I serve as President of the Pastoral Council, pay all bills, take care of all correspondence, do the weekly bulletin, serve as Eucharistic Minister and Lector, set up the Church for all Masses, arrange the music for Masses (We have no one who plays. The music is on CD.), supervise repairs and maintenance, teach RCIA, and do anything else that is necessary. There are other volunteers who do other aspects of church. We share one Priest, who does not live in War, with three other Catholic Churches in the County, although a Sister has just come to live at our Parish. Our Mass schedule is on different schedules—now on a Saturday 4 PM weekend Mass, and this shifts to another time each quarter. We have just gone through an attempt by the Diocese to make us a Mission, which we fought, with success for the time being, but change is coming with the Priest shortage, here and everywhere, so, that we know our small, wonderful Christ The King Church will be eventually closed. When this occurs, we will have to drive about 40 minutes one way, across several curvy mountains to the nearest church and in 2025, we are told, the nearest church might be about 70 miles away—about an hour and 40 minute drive.
While I retired, I did not actually stop working. I have been the Mayor of War for about 12 years and will officially retire in 2009. During my tenure, we have a new sewer ($8.2 million) and our new water system is underway ($7.6 million). The water system is 85+ years old. Before the sewer, the wastewater was straight piped to the streams (67% of McDowell County homes still do not have wastewater treatment.) We do have DSL, and an improved telephone system, and we live in the most beautiful, mountainous section of the Country. Tourism around Coal and the Hatfield-McCoy ATV Trail in Southern WV are our hopes for an improved economy, on which we are presently working.

In the meantime, we are exuberant about our place and time, and our opportunities for volunteer efforts which help make our lives bright, challenging, and meaningful, and, hopefully, which help to change and improve the lives of others. My St. Malachi experiences changed my religious world and my life forever in both small and large positive ways. I like to tell people that I was born in the hills of WV, eventually got a Ph. D. at The Ohio State University, was posted to Cleveland, where everything about me was altered and changed, and was then returned to my birthplace to use the skills and abilities I learned working with people at St. Malachi.
If any of you reading this are not involved with the many activities within your place at St. Malachi, please take the time to “find yourself in relation to the opportunities there.” I guarantee that your life will change. I pray that St. Malachi may have continued success. I would love to hear from any of you.

In the Peace of Christ,

Thomas (Tom) C. Hatcher, Ph. D.
65 River Road, PO Box 369
War, WV 24892
304-875-2841 Home
304-875-3111 Office
304-888-2377 Cell
tomhatcher@wv.securespeed.us

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Send articles or comments to joe_pulizzi@yahoo.com. 
Next issue is Nov. 25.
Due date for editorial – Nov. 11.

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