Presentations

El Nino at BTC

El Nino at JP II

Last week was the  Presentation of the Lord.   For some countries, this really is the end of the Christmas season.  It is only after Feb. 2 that the nativity scene is put away until next year. At both missions we celebrated the custom with activities following Mass.   Through in one sense both Spanish Speaking communities did a similar presentation, there were significant differences.  Both groups prayed the rosary and had a meal, but the presentation of the child Jesus was different.

BTC reverence of the child Jesus

At Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Mission,  Maynardville the folks placed a very large image of the child Jesus, known as "El Nino" on the lap of one of our young mothers.  Individuals then approached the child on their knees and kissed the infant Jesus and then they were given a bag of candy.  Where as at Blessed John Paul II, Rutledge they dressed the child with handmade clothes, then took him around for everyone to honor and finally placed him on a throne like an infant king.  The reverance and care they put into this this prayer ritual demonstrates a deep appreciation for Jesus.  It may too, represent a strong sense of family life and the importance of children.  Either way, it is beautiful to be a part of it.

JP II the dressing of the infant

 

John and Lourdes presenting at JP II

The weekend before two representatives of the Bishop conducted a presentation on the possibility of a capital campaign that would include a new Cathedral for the diocese of Knoxville.  It was an education for all of us as the presentation on the dream for a Cathedral meet with the financial reality of our people.   At this moment, many of our parishioners are working only 6 - ten hours a week.   One week when the snow shut everything down, they worked no hours and had their children at home because school was closed. 

In light of this being such a tough winter with electric bills high because of the cold, children at home instead of in school which means more meals, and little outdoor work for those in construction and agriculture, we presented a few families with some food.   It was not much, but hopefully it made a difference.

Joe and Sarah preparing the food for delivery

 We were happy to present Donna to the local community during these basket delivery.   She is our first long term volunteer for the "Toppa Joppa" Glenmary volunteer program. She is a mother and grandmother, speaks Spanish and served in Liberia, Africa before joining us for one year in mission here.  Just one more dimension of our on-going missionary ministry.

Donna, our first long term volunteer

With all these presentations, please dear reader, present your prayers to our Lord for his continued blessings on these missions.

Chuck, our faithful driver

Property Owners

This month both Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Blessed John Paul II Catholic Missions reached important mile stones in their development.   They both now own land for their future permanent home.  This accomplishment in just over two years is a miracle.

After signing the deed for BTC

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta purchased 24 acres across from the High School, so it will remain a downtown church in the center of the county seat of Union County.   The price was high, but the Diocese of Knoxville made this purchase possible without cost to the local community.  East Tennessee Catholic Foundation, Inc. is a charitable organization of the diocese to help support our seminarians and to purchase property for new missions.  Without these donors, this purchase would not have been possible.

Discussing matters at the church planning meeting

Br. Craig sharing his image of what it means to be "Church"

Our first church planning meeting was very successful.  As we listened to Br. Craig's image of church we were all challenged to answer the question if "I love God then I will ...."  He also demonstrated how Glenmary's five missionary activities are present in our mission.   These categories are Catholic Nurture, Ecumenism, Evangelization among the Unchurched, Social Outreach and Justice, and connection to the Universal Church.   Then, I shared on Chapter 21 of book of Revelation. The community was also invited to reflect more deeply on our patroness, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta and what she might want to see from us.   In the various reflections that followed, one parishioner summed up the meeting by saying, "Jesus built hearts, not temples.   That is what we are doing tonight ... we are building our hearts in Christ.   The building will follow."

BTC gathering for church planning

One fact that stands out is that in the year of 2013 we averaged 75 people at the English Mass and 74 at the Spanish Mass for a total of 149 people a weekend.   The high in the English Mass was 123 and the high for the Spanish was 145.   That shows tremendous growth from 26 people at the Mass under the carport in September of 2011.  We also have over $13,000 dollars in a building fund, some of which is from memorials made in the name of Robert Freeh and Kitty Scott.

It may take us some time to raise the funds necessary for building, but what a wonderful start.

Blessed John Paul II also owns 9.4 acres of land on Hwy 11, the main road through Rutledge just as you enter the town coming from Knoxville.  The first fund raiser netted $1,111.00.  (I should have tossed in 11 cents just to make it fun.)  There are plans for a spring concert to raise additional funds towards our building.   This Saturday will be their first church planning meeting.

After signing the deed for JP II

 
At Blessed John Paul II Catholic Mission is very different community than Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.  More folks are either on fixed income or have seasonal jobs like agriculture and construction.   This effects both attendance and income.   Yet, there is a beauty of faith and family that is so very present within this community.   They really do love one another.

Celebrating life at JP II

Even through we only average 30 people for the English Mass and 66 folks for the Spanish Mass, they have over $10,000 dollars in their building fund.  They support commodities four times a year and feed the volunteers, members are on the board of directors for the food pantry, and they send cards and offer phone calls to our ill and homebound.  

Preparing for one of our many socials

Both communities will someday have permanent worship spaces on these properties.   When will depend on God's timing.   The only condition that is a given, is that half the projected cost must be in the bank before we can start.  God will send it to us at His time.   We will be waiting.

A Wonderful Ending to a Great Year

The year of 2013 closed with a series of beautiful events.   Most notable, is that Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Mission, Maynardville, TN as of December 30, 2013, with the help of East Tennessee Catholic Trust Fund, now owns 24.9 acres on Hwy 33 across from the High School.   This will be site of the future home for our faith community.   We are deeply grateful to God, all the supporters of the trust fund, for the sellers to help find a price we could afford, and all those who have prayed for this day.  We have asked each parishioner to do an act of charity this week as a means to demonstrate our gratitude for making this possible.   Maybe you too wish to join us by doing a special act of charity, especially for the poor, after reading this blog.

At the transfer of title and deed for BTC future property

Also, we had nine wonderful days of the "Las Posadas" with Blessed John Paul II in Rutledge beginning on December 15.   Many of these were held in people's home and were followed with tamales, "pan" (Mexican bread) and hot chocolate.   We concluded on the 23rd of December with our Nativity play and piñata.

Fr. Aaron trying to find the piñata.

JP II Nativity Play

There were soup and penance services in both missions helping us prepare ourselves in a more intense spiritual way.  We also celebrated 60 years of marriage for a couple at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Mission.

60 years of Marriage

Of course, our Christmas Eve and Christmas day was also a delight.  So rather than fill you will more words, here are a few extra photos to highlight the end of the year.    Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.   May 2014 be a terrific year for you!!!

Mannanitas at JP II

BTC preschool

BTC Middle School at Christmas Party

Santa comes to visit at BTC

Family of  the Happy Couples

Christmas Decorations at BTC

JP II Christmas Decorations

My house --- May 2014 be a wonderful year in full bloom.

A different type of Advent

Altarista in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe

If you walked into Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Mission, Maynardville, TN today you might be confused is this the Advent Season or some Marian feast day.   If you are a Baptist or Methodist or other Christian friend, it might even be more confusing.

For many Catholics the four weeks prior to Christmas are Advent with purple cloths and four advent candles burning.  This is the season for preparing for Christ's second coming.   Yet, for any Catholic priest or community associated with Mexicans or Mexican Americans it is the time of Guadalupe and Posadas. 

The Guadalupe Tradition is a very powerful religious experience for the Mexican people.   In some ways it overshadows in terms of popular devotion almost any other event, including Christmas and Easter.   Good Friday would most likely be just as important, but certainly not at joyous.

our young people as Our Lady and Juan Diego

This tradition begins in when a Aztec Indian named Juan Diego, a faithful Catholic, had an aspiration of Our Lady, Mary, the mother of Jesus on his way to church on December 9, 1531. Mary asked him to build a church in honor of her Son, Jesus.  On December 12 when his uncle was sick  and wished to see a priest.  He took a different route in hopes of not having an aspiration, but Our Lady appeared again.  She told him to pick the roses to take to the Bishop to proof she was who she said she was.   Roses do not grow in the rocky ground outside of Mexico city in December.  This, then was the first of several miracles associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe.   When he presented the roses to the Bishop the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on his tilma.  This tilma is on display at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico today.   The third miracle is that Juan's uncle was healed by the power of Christ through the intercession of Mary.   As a result of these miracles thousands became Christians in Mexico.

The miracle of the tilma

The other part of the story, however, has to do with the power of Christ to help people know the truth of his salvation.   Christianity came to Mexico under the power of the sword.  It came as a foreign religion preached by an invading force from Spain.   However, some local people discovered the truth of Jesus and the Christian faith.   Mary calls herself "quatlasupe" which in the Nahuatl language means "one who steps on serpents".  However, it sounded like "Guadalupe" a place in Spain, and thus the name.   She has a black belt that means she is pregnant with Jesus.   Her message is that her son, is the SON of God, the most powerful light of the world.   Aztecs' worshipped the sun, the stars and the moon.   Our Lady, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is wrapped in the stars, stands on the moon and in front of the sun.   Without any other words, this image tells the Aztec people that her Son, the Son of God is the only true God.   He is more powerful than any of these false icons and gods.  She confirms that believe in Jesus is not a foreign religion of oppression, but the true religion and that Jesus is the only way to Salvation..  Thus, this is a story of evangelization and as a result, Mexico became a Christian nation.

A traditional Dance

Today, in our missions we keep this tradition.   At John Paul II, they have been praying the rosary, singing songs and sharing fellowships for nine days prior to the feas,t which is tomorrow, Thursday, December 12.   We had a large celebration on Sunday which included Mass, dances, music and lots of food.  Thursday morning at 5:30 a.m. we will gather for the morning praises which we where we will sing and pray.   Then in the evening we will have the celebration at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in Maynardville beginning at 6 p.m..


Waiting to begin prayer at a home gathering

To an outsider, the rosary, the image of Guadalupe, and the songs and food may seem strange and could be misunderstood.  Yet, this is all about Jesus and the conversation of Mexico to Christianity.  It is very inspiring in Grainger County to see 30 - 70 people gathering each night to pray and eat together.  Most of these are in people's homes.  In Union county we are only doing three nights of rosaries, but we have between 40 - 60 have been attending.   This is a huge commitment of time and sacrifice.   It is one of faith where we are giving praise to Mary for her role in bringing us our Savior Jesus Christ.  Really, it always about Jesus -- for Mary has no meaning or significance without Him. Jesus is our brother, and thus, Mary is our Mother.   Yet in Jesus, and only in Jesus, is our Light and Salvation!!!

Good Food and good friends

What an honor for me to be a part of this wonderful way of keeping Advent.

Come on the journey of faith with us!!

The Mission Team after 2 years

Br. Joe and Br. Craig at early  planning meeting

Vocation Prospects visiting (now Jeremy is a student!!)

Our first year as a mission team involved Br. Craig, Br Joe and myself.   Occasionally we had Glenmary vocation prospects and students.   Then last September we added Fr. Aaron Wessman,  a newly ordained priest.   Last year and this year we have also had novices who serve for about five months in the mission with us.   Then in May of 2013 we welcomed Joe Grosek and his family.  Joe is the director of volunteers and in launching the new site on "Toppa Joppa" as we like to call it.  This increase of Glenmary missioners has a large impact on the two communities we aim to serve.

Welcome Fr. Aaron and Godfrey

The first six months of Fr. Aaron's time here was for all of us to get to know each other and figure out each others gifts and talents.   Also, every student brings a set of gifts and limitations which require another dimension of learning and adapting.   Now we have hit our stride and a certain rhythm has developed.

Joe's Housing Ministry

Joe at work

Br. Joe Steen  after a year of waiting on the Spirit has found his home repair ministry to be in full swing.   His ministry, also, includes caring for the emergency calls for help.   This ministry is greatly aided by a generous donor who funds his ministry.   He has been able to help numerous individuals with medicine, rent, food and utilities.   Also, he has fixed floors, repaired bathrooms, built handicapped ramps, and improved general housing conditions for several families.   He has been working on a long term project for a individual where my car can not make it to the top of the mountain.   His truck struggles to make the climb.  Br. Joe also serves on the board for the Narrow Ridge Community in the Hogskin area of Grainger County.   This community is committed to trying to live with nature and respecting many aspects of "green" living.  They are also reaching out and helping their neighbors in any way that might be able.

Br. Craig visiting

Not standing on his head, just in a banana suit

Br. Craig Digmann has visited over 90 homes of Catholics, both inactive and active.  Furthermore, he has visited more than 30 other Christian churches in the last year. He is also very deeply rooted in the local events and pace of people in both counties. He is a greeter at the High School every Monday morning.   Br. Craig volunteers with most of the Senior Citizen Centers and Nursing homes in both counties.  Recently he began serving on Grainger County Senior Citizen Board.  Yet, he is best known for being a good friend, visiting with the local people and once in a while, standing on his head!!
  

Fr. Aaron Wessman has taken on three large responsibilities, he is conducting faith formation K- adult in both missions, directing the RCIA program and helping with music and musicians for four Mass hours. ( I will touch more on our faith formation programs in next week's blog.)   One of the opportunities Fr. Aaron created last year was eating lunch at Grainger County High School in Rutledge one day a week.   This ministry of presence allowed for some deep faith sharing with teachers, staff and students.   Unfortunately, with a change of Principles it was not possible this year.   However, this has not stopped him.   He now is making arrangements to volunteer at the Maynardville or Union County Middle School, most likely using his Math skills to tutor students.  His youthfulness, his reflective homilies and his deep spirituality are a great gift.

Fr. Aaron after a Baptism

Hanging out

Guitar lessons

Godfrey, last year's novice, and this William, this year's novice, provide other opportunities of mission presence.   Both of these students have been involved with Kingswood Home for Children--   A great ministry that allows children and teenagers a safe place to overcome various home challenges.   They too visit many of our homebound and volunteer with a number of civic and service oriented organizations and businesses.   Both of these men came from Africa --- Uganda and Kenya-- specifically.   Sharing their culture, demonstrating the mission spirit, and seeking understanding of our American ways brings another level of joy and depth to these two missions over the last year.

Novice William with friends

Finally, Joe Grosek, with wife Laura and his two children bring a new dimension to our area.   This summer Joe organized the volunteers to help with a day camp, a weekly lunch program, and several repair projects.   He personally has gotten involved with two local food distribution programs.   I am confident that as the winter and spring programs begin, he will continue to expand the mission effort of establishing the reign of God in Union and Grainger Counties guided and aided by the Holy Spirit.

Joe Grosek with the other Joe

Setting up for Summer Camp

I guess, I do a few things around here too.   Yet, I am amazed and blessed with such a faith-filled missionary team.   These men are only part of the story.   There is another great group of parishioners involved in the mission effort as well.   Wait until you hear their stories.

Yo, enjoying food (the work of the pastor is never done!)

Happy 2nd Anniversary

2nd Anniversary Brunch BTC

This weekend both Blessed John Paul II and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta celebrated our second anniversary.   For Blessed John Paul II the weekend following all Saints day November 2011 was our first Sunday Mass in our current location and for Blessed Teresa of Calcutta it was November 1, 2011.



2nd Anniversary Brunch BTC

A lot has happened in this short time.   Over the next few weeks, I hope to reflect on these changes in greater detail.   Here, however, are a few facts.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta began with 26 people for Mass under my carport.   Now we have two Masses every Sunday; one in English and one in Spanish with 95 registered households.   Blessed Teresa of Calcutta has expanded twice our current location.   We now have an office for Fr. Aaron which also serves as an extra classroom and counseling space.   In the eyes of our landlord we are renting seven storage units (three which we have personal converted into a sanctuary, kitchen, and classroom.   We are also in the process of purchasing land for our future buildings.


Heritage Festival Fund Raiser

We have had many social activities, fund raisers, and a strong faith formation program.  Besides the four Glenmarains serving here, we usually have a student and four wonderful office volunteers during the week.   We have been organizing our internal structures and now have a Mission Advisorary Team, Mission Resource Team,  a social committee, a  prayer committee and  Evangelization Committee.



Fried Food for Building Fund

Br. Joe is busy with home repair ministry and serving with the Narrow Ridge Community.  Br. Craig is involved with many Senior Citizens organizations, a Greeter at School and more.   Fr. Aaron works with your faith formation, RCIA, and youth. Our church help support two food pantries in Union County.  We are also involved with I-Care, a drug prevention program.

We will be sponsoring our third Thanksgiving service and hosting it here at Blessed Teresa of Calcutta this November.  These are but a few signs of the Holy Spirit working here.

JP II 2nd Anniversary Dinner

Blessed John Paul II moves at a different pace than Blessed Teresa.   Yet, many good things are happening there as well.   We have grown from 11 English speakers at our first English Mass to over 30 and sometimes over 40 with a registration of  92 households. Our Spanish speaking community continues to celebrate new life with a baptism almost every weekend since September with a slow down finally in December.  Also we have celebrated two Quinceaneas (15th year old birthday parties for girls) and have wedding happening at the end of the month.

The Glenmary Volunteer Program has moved into the property on Joppa Mountain and this year sponsored a successful summer program.   Rutledge Methodist and Rutledge Baptist and their pastors continue to be great friends of ours.   The joint food pantry, sponsored by the three churches is now fully stocked and we will be giving out turkeys for some families for Thanksgiving.  We are planning a joint revival in the Spring and continue to search for ways for our communities to be supportive of each other.

Just before Baptism - JP II

First Communion-- JP II

Quinceanera JP II

Blessed John Paul II is also planning to purchase land with a closing before the end of the year.

Hopefully these few tidbits let you know that the Holy Spirt is moving here.  Come on back to this blog for more reflections on our second anniversary next year. 

Vocation Prospect with Br. Craig