October 2, 2009 - Issue #17
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Losing their Religion
Some educators and students see philosophical inquiry fading
With the start of the fall semester in Anchorage, many college students are wandering about campus — spiritually, that is.
Historically, many students have found college a place to explore the spiritual issues of life, but more and more arrive on campus without any experience or language of faith — and expressing little apparent interest in finding ultimate truth.
A new study on religious affiliation conducted by Trinity College Hartford says the number of American adults who don’t identify with any particular religious group has almost doubled — to 34 million — since 1990.
According to “American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population,” about 22 percent of adults under age 30 identify themselves as “Nones.” In the study, they include the irreligious, unreligious, anti-religious and anti-clerical. Increasingly, the “Nones” report having had no formal religion as a child.
This modern phenomenon is evident in the student bodies of Alaska Pacific University and University of Alaska, Anchorage.
“A lot of families, at least that I have noticed, kind of wait on that (introducing their children to religion),” APU Chaplain Doug Lindsay told the Anchor in an interview.
“They don’t necessarily discourage their children to go that route, but they don’t necessarily encourage them either.”
UAA religion professor Kristin Helweg Hanson regularly teaches students whose parents have taken that hands-off approach.
In introductory essays for Hanson’s class, students “often reveal a relative absence of exposure to any religion,” she explained.
She said students write how they appreciate their parents’ laissez-faire stance because it allows them to “choose their own.” But in most cases, Hanson thinks that just means the students “haven’t done any choosing and don’t have the tools to even explore.”
In fact, one mother confided to Hanson that leaving out religion had been a mistake in raising her children.
“She said, ‘I didn’t realize until after they were grown that they didn’t have the vocabulary or any experience to even seriously consider spirituality,’” Hanson said.
Still, some students want answers to life’s deeper issues, though they are “not usually ‘looking for God,’” Hanson observed.
UAA Philosophy Department chair and professor John Mouracade said that “they’re trying to figure out what’s real and what’s true, without any preconceived notion about whether that’s some supernatural being or a subatomic particle.”
Chaplain Lindsay hears a few of the “age-old” questions about God or the presence of evil in the world. Increasingly, however, he hears concerns about the environment and diversity – though he doesn’t hear those expressed “as plainly and purely” as they might be asked in a theology or philosophy class, he added.
But now, without the experience and “vocabulary” of faith, those questions aren’t so easily expressed in class, Hanson explained.
Hanson said that initially, students in her classes “do not ask questions outright,” but only at her suggestions.
Plus, she said, often students come to class with “very truncated” impressions of religions. And students’ opinions of entire religions — especially Christianity — can be outright negative when they point to religious “hypocrites.”
Chaplain Lindsay believes teaching critical thinking skills is especially important. Helping students find ways to discern life and faith, he said, is “one of the biggest challenges of higher education.”
Junior and French major at UAA, Ben Carpenter generally doesn’t see college helping students explore the deepest questions of life.
“Very few teachers have really provoked me to think about a lot of things,” or in the order they should be considered, he said. And only a “minority” of fellow students he’s acquainted with delve into the big questions.
Carpenter was quick to say that he thinks students have “the potential to ask these questions or to think about these things,” but that secular universities don’t generally center around the philosophical pursuit.
“It’s just very career-oriented,” he explained.
Students “don’t have any deep desires, or their desires might be to jump through the hoops of work or of college and getting a degree,” Carpenter observed. “And so, it’s kind of hard to extract deeper questions they may have. Not that they don’t have them, I just think it doesn’t come up.”
But Carpenter believes the lack of religion in childhood handicaps students before they arrive at college.
Carpenter is Catholic. As a child, he was mainly schooled at home by his Catholic mother. And the family library includes works by St. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle.
Meanwhile, some of Carpenter’s friends and classmates had no religion as children.
“They don’t have any framework from which to build their pursuit for knowledge,” he explained. Not having that framework, he said, stalls pursuing the “deeper questions, especially philosophical questions about God and about religion or about being.”
Natalia Balaban and Sheila Sine of UAA’s Cardinal Newman Club – a Catholic student organization that hosts Masses on campus and charitable projects – agree that most students aren’t focused on issues of faith.
“For most nonreligious people, they’re not really too interested in talking about it,” observed Balaban, a junior and liberal studies major.
Even for church-going students, college can be a distraction from faith, added Sine, who is an English literature major.
“They’re away from home, so I think they kind of forget about attending church regularly. It kind of takes a back seat to studies and club activities and athletics and stuff like that,” explained Sine, who joined the Newman Club to become more involved in her faith.
As to whether she engages in many deep, philosophical conversations with others still searching for the truth, “no, not really,” she said.
In fact, generally, religious students are quiet as well, explained Windy Thomas, a junior UAA student studying accounting. Thomas is president of the Students for Life group on campus, and she considers herself a nondenominational Christian.
“I don’t always find myself usually opening up about my faith. You have to kind of monitor what you’re saying to people. You don’t go, ‘I am so blessed today!’ or something like that.”
Typically, Thomas doesn’t feel excluded from classroom discourse because she has faith, but “it’s not easy by any means, and it really depends on the classroom and who the teacher is.”
Carpenter agrees that usually, “you don’t have propriety if you speak a lot about religion” in class discussions.
“It kind of seems like there’s a range or spectrum from neutral to bias against the faith,” he added.
And outside the classroom, the atmosphere is “just very sterile in regards to religion and religious pursuit,” Carpenter observed.
College is a great place to have discussions about life’s questions, Thomas believes. But she said she hasn’t seen “too much willing discussion because most people that discuss this kind of stuff have an agenda and it turns into a debate, and debate never really changes anyone.”
“Very few people are actually completely open-minded,” she said, “even though they would like to think that they are.”
Valdez sister honored with papal medal
Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz presented Sister Marie Ann Brent, pastoral administrator of St. Francis Xavier Church, with the highest honor awarded to the laity by the pope.
The archbishop bestowed the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal – which recognizes service “For Church and Pope” – to Sister Brent during the Sept. 27 Sunday Mass at the Valdez parish.
In an interview with the Anchor, Archbishop Schwietz said he requested the award from the Vatican to thank Sister Brent for her many years of work in the archdiocese.
“She has been so instrumental in bonding the community together and carrying out so many pastoral services to the people down there in Valdez. It’s been really marvelous, and she’s very, very well appreciated for that service,” he said.
“She’s done all kinds of wonderful work,” the Archbishop Schwietz added, “not only shepherding the parish but working in the name of the church in caring for the people of the whole community.”
As pastoral administrator at St. Francis Xavier — which has been without a resident priest for 22 years — Sister Brent leads Communion services in lieu of Mass, runs the church and visits homebound parishioners and those in the local hospital and jail. She is a certified Catholic chaplain.
In Valdez at large, she coordinates with area ministers, organizing area-wide charitable projects and annual blessings of motorcycles and pets. She has served on a local governmental task force on assisted living care, and this year, Sister Brent was nominated for the “Woman of Distinction” award sponsored by Advocates for Victims of Violence, Alaska.
In addition, she is a trained emergency medical technician and paramedic who was honored as the State of Alaska’s “EMS Educator of the Year” in 1984. Her medical work, she once told the Anchor, “opened doors and broke down barriers,” thus extending her reach and the church’s into the community.
Sister Brent is a member of the California-based religious congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, which she entered on January 6, 1953 from the Diocese of Oakland.
Founded in San Francisco in the late 1800s, the congregation cared for prostitutes and others who fell prey to bad times in the rush for gold.
Sister Brent once described the Sisters of the Holy Family as independent women “who pray with our boots on.”
True to that trailblazing charism, Sister Brent came to Alaska in 1972, at the request of then-Bishop Francis Hurley of Juneau. Sister Brent worked out of Sitka, from where she was flown on a small Bush plane into outlying lumber camps — bringing the Eucharist with her.
She then spent seven years as parish administrator of St. Christopher-by-the-Sea Church in Unalaska — where she became the first parish director of an Alaskan parish without a resident priest. While at Dutch Harbor, she boarded foreign commercial ships in the Bering Sea, climbing swaying chain ladders, to attend to urgent medical needs of sailors.
From 1986 to 1993, she served as pastoral administrator of Holy Rosary Church in Dillingham. From that base, she flew to St. Theresa Mission to encourage Catholics in remote Naknek with Communion services, religion classes and Bible studies.
Since Sister Brent arrived in 1993 in Valdez, long-time residents Deacon Dan Stowe and his wife Trish have worked closely with her at the parish. The couple leads religious instruction classes for adults inquiring into the faith and trains parishioners for parish projects.
“Sister’s very dedicated, and she is open to listen. You can go and talk to her at any time,” Deacon Stowe observed. “Now that doesn’t mean she does everything you would like to see done,” he added, “because she will do it according to what she thinks is pastoral to the community.”
“She’s quite a lady,” he noted.
Archbishop Schwietz has asked newly ordained Deacon Stowe to continue working with Sister Brent and to take over some of her duties, “so she has some more free time,” Deacon Stowe explained.
Given the transition, Archbishop Schwietz said he thought it an “appropriate” time to thank Sister Brent for her work.
“It’s not that she’s retiring,” he quickly added. “She’s continuing to carry on her work, so this is not a retirement party at all.”
“It’s a recognition of her continuing work in the archdiocese and, through her, to thank the other women religious who have served over the years in so many different capacities, in not only this archdiocese, but throughout the state and who in their lifetime were not recognized sufficiently, I think.”
Archbishop says scouting links faith and citizenship
Deacon Moore to direct program
If you’ve only observed Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from a distance, you may think of them as just another American secular organization that teaches kids how to pitch a tent and “be prepared.”
In fact, according to Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, who has a whole bagful of his own Scouting patches, Scouting has a definite spiritual side, and he hopes to encourage more Catholic kids to participate in Scouting.
“Scouting builds character; it gives kids goals and self-confidence as they reach those goals,” the archbishop told the Anchor. “When you can put that together with faith, it’s marvelous.”
Pairing Scouting with faith is inherent to the program, according to Kim Bakic, who is executive secretary to Archbishop Schwietz. She has been heavily involved in Scouting for years.
“There are over 100 religious Scouting awards given out by various denominations,” said Bakic, who serves on the Alaska Catholic Committee on Scouting. From the Baha’i faith to Judaism to every Christian denomination, there are awards a young person can attain which relate to his or her religious tradition.
Bakic’s two sons, Seth and Roman, have won all four Catholic awards, and they are both Eagle Scouts, she said. Fourth-grade daughter Maeve, a student at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School, is also working on Scouting emblems like “Family of God” and “I Live my Faith” through the Girl Scouts.
Bakic stressed that “your faith is an expression of regular Scouting.” Scouts, in addition to being “trustworthy, loyal, thrifty and kind” are urged to be “reverent.” Catholics and Mormons make up two of the largest religious bodies involved in Scouting.
Archbishop Schwietz’ enthusiasm for Scouting led him to appoint one of the newly ordained deacons, Harry Moore of Palmer, to serve as his liaison to the program.
“I’ve always had a strong interest in youth ministry,” said Deacon Moore. His own son was once a Scout, and he hopes to help form and promote Catholic Scouting.
“Catholic Scouting really can help kids understand and enrich their Catholic faith,” Deacon Moore said.
Although some troops are organized through parishes or Catholic schools, there’s no such thing as a “Catholic troop.” Scout troops are open to all faiths, and within each troop, youngsters of various faiths can pursue their religious patches and awards by seeking out a faith mentor.
Each Catholic award has a list of requirements for attaining it, and each is mentored by Catholic adults. There are also religious activities, like the rosary series and the Footsteps of American Saints.
Bakic said these awards and activities help kids realize that “their religious beliefs apply to their whole lives.”
“When I was helping with the Pius XII award, we discussed social things, like the death penalty, just and unjust war and abortion,” Bakic said. “We talked about how within five years, some of you might have women in your lives who are talking about abortion. You need to see how the world thinks and what the church stands for.”
The archdiocese promotes Scouting with an annual Scouting Mass which the archbishop attends. Most parishes also observe Scouting Sundays and present religious awards at Mass.
Bakic said that next year is the 100th anniversary of Scouting. The first Sunday of February is Catholic Scouting Sunday, and all Scouts are urged to wear their uniforms to Mass. Those who do, will receive a special patch.
In honor of the 100th anniversary of Scouting, there will be a design competition among Scouts for the local 2010 Scouting Sunday patch. The winning designer will have the honor of seeing his patch worn by all Catholic Boy Scouts who attend Mass on Scouting Sunday.
“Like the Knights of Columbus, Scouts are a bridge between our faith and our citizenship,” said Archbishop Schwietz. “In Scouting, you grow as Americans as you grow into your faith.”
For information on Scouting or the design competition for the Scouting Sunday patch, call 297-7755 or email kbakic@caa-ak.org.
St. Paul’s discipleship seen as ‘radical’ and rooted in prayer
Visiting bishop opens Discipleship Days in Anchorage
Saint Paul was front and center at the recent Discipleship Days conference in Anchorage.
Hosted by the Archdiocese of Anchorage, the two-day event followed Pope Benedict XVI’s lead by first focusing on the characteristics that defined the life and ministry of the great apostle.
In June, the Catholic Church concluded the “Year of St. Paul,” which the pope called for to highlight the apostle.
In that vein, Bishop Victor H. Balke, D.D., former bishop of the Diocese of Crookston, Minn. delivered the opening Discipleship Days address, “Paul’s Concept of Discipleship” to a gathering of about 150 attendees at Lumen Christi High School Sept. 18.
Bishop Balke said discipleship is a “multi-faceted reality,” containing three essential elements — faith, poverty of spirit and prayer.
Faith in Christ Jesus as the “very ground of our existence,” is the first principle of discipleship, he explained.
According to St. Paul, faith is a “radical, total openness of self” to the Gospel and involves a “personal, intimate relationship with Jesus,” he added.
“Paul couldn’t imagine disciples without a personal attachment to and deep love for Christ,” Bishop Balke said.
That love compelled disciples to tell others about Christ, but in order to honor Christ as the deepest core of one’s existence, Christians must be imitators of him, Bishop Balke told the gathering. That entails breaking “with anything in our lives that contradicts Christ.”
A second characteristic of discipleship is “poverty of spirit,” he continued.
Referencing the work of theologian Johann Metz, he said that poverty of the human spirit means that we have nothing we would brag about before God.
Not to be poor in spirit is an attempt to be divine “in our own right,” Bishop Balke added. It is “renewing in ourselves the sin of Adam.”
Indeed, he noted, humanity’s “only innate treasure is radical neediness.” It is “one of the most fundamental truths of being” and the only thing to boast of before God.
For example, Bishop Balke explained, St. Paul detested self-adulation and self-boasting. He cited a number of the apostle’s letters in which he admonished early Christians to give sole credit to God and to boast of nothing but weakness, which is the vehicle for the power of Christ.
Prayer is a third principal feature in discipleship, Bishop Balke said.
He cited several Pauline letters urging believers to pray “constantly.”
A disciple like St. Paul prays because he has nothing to boast in, Bishop Balke said. He added that St. Paul could have evangelized more had he not spent so much time in prayer, but he never conceived of discipleship without prayer.
Prayer must be an “integral part” of life, he said, not something extra to be squeezed in.
If the faithful do otherwise, the bishop continued, “we are trying to save the world not through Christ but through ourselves.”
That signifies a disbelief in Christ’s words, “‘without me, you can do nothing,’” Bishop Balke said.
He added: “We might well work less than we do and pray more than we do.”
Angels among us
Beginning in August, the Catholic Church began a three-month stretch of celebrations honoring the angels.
In August, the church celebrated the Virgin Mary as Queen of all angels. Then Sept. 29 was the feast of archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael. On Oct. 2, the church observed the feast of the guardian angels.
The recent celebrations provide a chance to consider what the church teaches about these ethereal beings.
Angels are spiritual, non-bodily creatures, who do not depend on matter for their existence or activity. They are also personal, immortal creatures who possess intelligence and will. The term “angel” applies to those who are faithful to God, although devils, including Satan, who rejected God, are also angels by nature.
According to Scripture, the existence of angels is a truth of Christian faith, which is unanimously attested to by church tradition.
According to the Scriptures, there are innumerable angels, beyond the human ability to fathom. Scripture also reveals that angels are ordered in three hierarchies, containing three choirs each. The highest order of angel is the Seraphim.
Yes, but by way of Scripture, the only names known are St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael — all archangels. Their names signify their respective attributes.
Because they are pure spirit, angels do not have wings. But in art, often angels are depicted with wings that signify their speed in the physical world.
Angels are servants and messengers of God. In fact, the word “angel” comes from the Greek “angelos,” meaning “messenger.”
According to the Catholic Catechism, the angels’ first role is to glorify God. According to Revelations, angels always enjoy the vision of God in Heaven and their worship before him there is a prototype of the worship of the church on earth.
In the Sanctus prayer at Mass, the church joins with the angels to adore God. In the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy, the church remembers the archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and the guardian angels.
Angels’ second role is to serve God’s “saving plans for other creatures.” According to St. Thomas Aquinas, “The angels work together for the benefit of us all.”
In salvation history, there are numerous examples of angels executing God’s law and delivering his message. For instance, angels sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden after the Fall, stopped Abraham from killing his son Isaac, guided young Tobiah, announced to Mary that she would be the Mother of God, announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, comforted Jesus in the desert and in the Garden of Gethsemane, announced the Resurrection and freed St. Peter from prison.
The fallen angels or devils are capable of activity, too. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, some remarkable things apparently done by magicians or psychics may, in fact, be due to the influence of bad angels.
According to tradition, every person is assigned a guardian angel, and there are angels overseeing churches and nations.
Christ spoke about guardian angels when he said, “See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you that their angels in Heaven always see the face of my Father who is in Heaven.” (Mt 18:10)
St. Ambrose, one of the fathers of the early church said, “We should pray to the angels who are given to us as guardians.”
Guardian angels protect a person’s body and soul from evil and they pray for the person until his or her death. A guardian angel leads a person, if he or she wishes, to Heaven.
A guardian angel can act upon a person’s senses, imagination and intellect. But the angel cannot act upon his or her will.
In the funeral liturgy, the church invokes the assistance of the angels for the dead: “May the angels lead you into Paradise ...” And after death, guardian angels remain with souls in Heaven.
Our Lady of the Angels Church in Kenai and St. Michael Church in Palmer.
— Sources: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholic Encyclopedia, Modern Catholic Dictionary, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, aquinasonline.com/Topics/angels.html, tanbooks.com/doct/angels.htm
Fr. Means departs Magadan mission
After 13 years in the Anchorage Archdiocese’s mission in Magadan, Russia, Father David Means is returning to his home in Missouri, where he will serve at the parish of his grandparents. It is a bittersweet goodbye, Father Means explained in the mission’s September newsletter, because he leaves “brother” priest – Father Michael Shields – and a growing “family of faith” in the Siberian city.
“These past years have been a privilege and blessing for me,” Father Means wrote. “I’ve been privileged to be part of the reemerging Catholic Church in Russia during this very historical period. I’ve been privileged to be part of the Church of the Nativity as it grew from a few faithful believers to a vibrant Catholic community. I’ve been part of a parish that began meeting in people’s apartments, to see and help it build its own beautiful church proudly witnessing to the faith which could not be put to death.”
In an email to the Anchor, Father Shields said he was especially grateful to Father Means for having heard his confessions across so many years. “From this, he started turning gray,” joked Father Shields.
Next year, a priest from Poland is expected to assume Father Means’ responsibilities in the mission. In the meantime, visiting priests will stop in every two months to help Father Shields.
Scripture is focus of ‘Discipleship’ conference
More than 180 people attended the 2009 Discipleship Days conference at Lumen Christi High School in Anchorage.
The Sept. 18-19 conference featured two national keynote speakers, plus a slate of local and national workshop leaders who spoke about Scripture and discipleship.
The opening night speaker, Bishop Victor Balke from the Diocese of Crookston, is a close friend of Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, who welcomed attendees to Discipleship Days and introduced Bishop Balke.
Bishop Balke told the Friday night audience that St. Paul’s concept of discipleship to Christ centered on three things: faith, poverty of spirit and prayer (see related story on page 1).
Saturday morning’s keynote was delivered by Dr. Arthur Zannoni, an author and Scripture scholar who spoke about why “Catholics take the Bible Seriously but not Literally.”
Zannoni discussed the two different creation stories in Genesis, the radical compassion of God as illustrated in the story of the Prodigal Son and the way in which Christ himself was a master storyteller.
“Are you comfortable with a God who acts with the foolishness of love?” Zannoni ask the crowd of mostly priests, deacons, religious and lay ministers.
In one jab at “literal interpretation,” Zannoni suggested that “the Garden of Eden is not a place but a situation, the ideal situation intended by God.”
This year’s Discipleship Days offered a Spanish track, presented by Dominican Father Paul Scanlon, a former pastor at Holy Family Cathedral visiting from California, and local Dominicans Father Dominic DeMaio and Sister Lorraine Reaume.
The approximately 45 participants in the Hispanic track were, in general, younger than the conference’s English-speaking participants, and according to Sister Reaume, “We had a lot of fun. They just love Father Paul.”
With more than 25 workshops, the topics were varied throughout the two-day gathering.
Dr. Gretchen Gundrum, a psychologist and spiritual director from Seattle, offered two sessions. One focused on “Aging as a Spiritual Pathway,” another addressed the “The Psychospiritual Tasks of Human Development from Mid-life to Elderhood.”
Several sessions featured scriptural themes in keeping with the conference’s title: “Formed by the Word.”
Jesuit Father Ted Kestler, from St. Marys in Western Alaska, spoke on the Gospel of Luke as well as the Gospel of John, and Dr. Regina Boisclair, who holds the Newman Chair in Catholic Theology at Alaska Pacific University, discussed the Lectionary, the Four Christologies presented in the four Gospel portraits of Jesus and the guidelines for good Scripture programs proposed by the Catholic Biblical Association of America.
The latter session aimed to shed light on the many scriptural programs cropping up in Catholic parishes around the archdiocese, some of which she said were higher quality than others.
Angela Liston and Father Fred Bugarin discussed the scriptural foundations of faith-based community organizing. In Anchorage, that organizing is done by AFACT, or Anchorage Faith in Action Congregations Together.
Other sessions focused on prayer forms, formation for catechists and topics for cantors and lectors.
Although last year, Discipleship Days took a hiatus from its yearly schedule, Archbishop Roger Schwietz said preparation for next year’s program will begin early and will focus on liturgy.
“We’ll look at some of the liturgical changes coming,” he said. “How do these relate to our faith? What is unchanging, and what can be changed?”
News & Notes
Pet blessing on Oct. 4
On the occasion of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi – patron saint of merchants, ecologists and animals – Sacred Heart Church in Wasilla will host its annual blessing of pets. The blessing will take place after the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Oct. 4. Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage will hold its pet blessing the same day at 4 p.m.
“Living Rosary” for life
On Respect Life Sunday, Oct. 4, St. Andrew Church in Eagle River is hosting a “Living Rosary” at 1 p.m. In the “Living Rosary,” an individual represents one bead of the rosary and leads his or her designated prayer as the community prays the rosary together. Pastor Father Ben Torreto will start the rosary and the Knights of Columbus will say the Our Father prayers throughout. To sign up as a bead, visit the narthex of the church or call Marc Balnius at 622-6710 or 351-0537.
Theology & Brew back with Catholic author
Oct. 7, Theology and Brew is hosting Mark Shea, nationally-renowned Catholic author and speaker. Shea was raised agnostic, then converted to Christianity and considered himself non-denominational evangelical. In 1987, Shea came into the Catholic Church. The talk – which is free and open to the public – will take place at the Snow Goose Restaurant. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the presentation start at 7:30 p.m.
Theology of the Body for college students
College students are welcome to join an ongoing group discussion on “Theology of the Body” – Pope John Paul II’s views on the nature of the human person – body, soul and spirit. The late pope explained that the body has a specific meaning, revealing answers to fundamental questions about life’s purpose and the vocations of marriage and the consecrated life. The college student group meets at St. Benedict Church Wednesday evenings, 9-10 p.m. The next gathering is Oct. 7.
Providence honored for being family friendly
The nonprofit group, Providence Health & Services Alaska, that runs Providence Alaska Medical Center — the state’s only Catholic hospital — recently was named one of the “100 Best Companies” for its family-friendly policies, according to Working Mother Magazine’s annual survey. This is the third time in five years that Providence has been among Working Mother’s “100 Best Companies” nationally.
The magazine rates companies on workplace issues such as compensation, child care, flexibility programs and leave policies. According to Providence’s Sept. 22 press release, this year’s competition gave “particular weight” to benefits, flexibility and parental leave.
In 2008, Providence added preventative wellness programs to employee benefits, expanded its prenatal program to include prevention and treatment of postpartum depression and developed a program to help employees with the travel costs and placement fees associated with adopting a child.
“Providence Health & Services Alaska feels a special responsibility to provide benefits that encourage a healthy family life and a supportive work environment for all its 4,400 employees,” explained the press release. Providence Health & Services Alaska is Alaska’s largest private employer, with women constituting almost 80 percent of its workforce in the state.
Profiles of Working Mother’s “100 Best Companies,” as well as national comparisons, are at workingmother.com.
Rosary for Unborn
The second annual Worldwide Rosary for Unborn Babies campaign is scheduled to take place Oct. 16-18. Participants in the event will pray at least one rosary on any of these days for the intention of an end to the killing of the unborn. According to Catholic News Agency, last year’s Worldwide Rosary was one day. A press release from the Memphis-based St. Michael the Archangel Organization, which is coordinating the event, said the addition of Friday was particularly intended for students at schools, while the addition of Sunday was intended to help encourage people to pray the rosary before or after Masses. For more information, visit SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org.
Red Mass on Oct. 4
On Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m., at Holy Family Cathedral, Archbishop Roger Schwietz will celebrate the annual Red Mass. Held annually in many major American cities, the Red Mass is a special Mass at which the church prays for all who practice law, especially attorneys, judges and politicians.
Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, a Catholic, will deliver the keynote address at a brunch at the Marriott Hotel, after the Mass. The mayor’s talk will be followed by a panel discussion on St. Thomas More’s final words: “I am the King’s good servant, but God’s first.” The Anchorage Red Mass is open to the public. To reserve a seat at the Anchorage brunch, contact Jenny Michaelson at 297-7729 or tribunal@caa-ak.org. The annual Red Mass celebrations in Anchorage are sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society of Alaska.
Archbishop’s Calendar
Oct. 3, 9 a.m., Archdiocesan Catholic schools’ summit, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m., Red Mass, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 4, 2 p.m., St. Francis feast day Mass, Brother Francis Shelter
Oct. 6, Pastoral day, Holy Spirit Center
Oct. 7, 9 a.m., Mass, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Oct. 8, 9 a.m., Mass, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Oct. 9-11, Meetings, Fairbanks
Oct. 13, 8 a.m., Mass, Blessed Sacrament Monastery
Oct. 15, 9 a.m., Mass, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
Oct. 17, 5 p.m., Confirmation, St. Patrick Church
Note: Events are in Anchorage unless noted.
Community Calendar
Oct. 2, 7 p.m., Christ in the City eucharistic adoration and social, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 3, 12 p.m., Dominican rite Mass, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 4, 9:30 a.m., Red Mass, Holy Family Cathedral (brunch at Marriott Hotel)
Oct. 4, 11 a.m., Native Mass, Alaska Native Medical Center
Oct. 4, 4 p.m., St. Francis feast day pet blessing, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 5, 7 p.m., Respect Life Month lecture series, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 11, 11 a.m., Native Mass, Alaska Native Medical Center
Oct. 12, 7 p.m., Respect Life Month lecture series, Holy Family Cathedral
Oct. 16, 6:30 p.m., Oktoberfest dinner dance, Parish hall, St. Patrick Church
Note: Events are in Anchorage unless noted.
PRIEST PROFILE
Editor’s note: In conjunction with Catholic Church’s world-wide celebration of the Year for Priests, the Anchor is publishing profiles of the priests serving in the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Father Tom Gills is the Catholic chaplain at Elmendorf Air Force Base, where he has served since August 1, 2007. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 10, 1986 for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland.
What was your inspiration to pursue the priesthood?
I was inspired as young boy by the priests who pastored our church. I knew at the age of three or four that I was going to be a priest when I grew up.
What is the greatest challenge and joy of being a priest?
The greatest challenge is fulfilling all the requests made by the military, the church, the people I serve and my family at home. God’s amazing grace is always sufficient and empowers me to meet this challenge, and this brings me great joy.
What is your favorite saint or devotion, and why?
My favorite devotion is praying the rosary as it can be prayed at virtually any location including deployed locations such as Afghanistan or Iraq, even while flying on Blackhawks or Chinooks. Some of my most cherished moments have been spent praying the rosary with friends at home before dinner or after an outing.
What hobbies do you enjoy in your free time?
To maintain a proper balance in my work/prayer/recreation life, I find running most beneficial. I have been running consistently for 33 years, generally about five miles a day. I enjoy hiking and biking and weight training at the gym when time permits. Music is also an important part of my life and spending time with friends is invaluable to be sure.
What is unique about being a priest in Alaska?
The joy of serving God’s people here at Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson and assisting at the local parishes for communal reconciliation services and Mass coverage has been second to none. Ministering under Archbishop Broglio, the head of the Archdiocese for Military Services, as well as Archbishop Schwietz here at the Archdiocese of Anchorage has been uniquely rewarding. Getting together with some of the local priests here and in Fairbanks has also been enriching. The generous sharing of time and resources on the part of the priests, deacons and administrators at the tribunal, archdiocesan offices and in the local parishes surrounding Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson has been greatly beneficial to me and countless military members. The parishes here in Alaska have been warm and welcoming to Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Coast Guardsmen and their families who choose to worship God in civilian churches.
Local Columns
Why do we cling to one another?
I’m sure some folks in Catholic-land imagine that priests lead a pretty dull life. Let me try to convince you of the contrary.
I must admit I’ve never visited the gambling dens of Las Vegas or Reno. Truth be known, I’m a penny-pincher. I’ve not gone on world cruises or on wild shopping sprees. All those sorts of things give me pause, not because I happen to be a Catholic priest but because I would not want anyone to imagine me a clerical wastrel.
Nonetheless, I have not had a dull day in my life. Like most lay folks, I have had experiences that made me want to shout at the top of my lungs, “Awwwright, it can’t get any better than that.”
Once I stood on the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland — another time on top of Mt. Blanc in France. Both times, I gasped. I almost cried for joy when a certain bishop laid his hands on me a long time ago and said, “You are a priest forever!” For sure, it doesn’t get any better, at least for me.
On the other hand, some folks may say: “Hey, all that’s nothing like being married!” True enough, but I have had the intimate experience of being part of young people’s lives when they were engaged or married. Some of the funniest and happiest experiences I’ve ever had occurred at weddings when I believe I was as happy as the couple that put their trust in me.
Okay, I know it’s not like being married, but we all make our choices and we try to live with them.
| The Scriptures: Genesis 2:18-24, Hebrew 2:9-11, Mark 10:2-16 |
I have also had the opportunity to travel with couples as they grow and love each other more deeply as the years go by. I have been part of their lives when they fought and when they laughed, when they lifted a glass of ruby red wine in honor of their first son or daughter. I have also cried as I watched them separate and go their individual ways.
But what impresses me the most in all the relationships of young people is their fierce determination to cling to one another despite all matters that tend to pull them apart. They will fight with all their strength to make this marriage work; alas, however, it does not always seem meant to be. Human differences and individual backgrounds are too deep. Given enough time, many things go badly.
But the God who speaks to us out of the Book of Genesis today lets us know that this God means for man and woman to cling to each other as tightly as they can, to hug one another in hard moments, to grasp one another’s hand and never let go. “That’s the way it was meant to be,” says God.
And why was it meant to be like this? Why do we cling to one another? Simply because if we do not, we will ultimately suffer a deep and pervasive loneliness that can send us into despair. Without someone to travel the world with us, our lives can drift into a vacuum.
My friend, Father John Dunne, philosopher at Notre Dame puts it this way: “The story that God tells us is that our life is a journey in time and God is our companion on the way.” I, for one, am uproariously happy to have been part of a journey through life with God and with some extraordinarily dear friends.
The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives in Notre Dame, Indiana.
True compassion can face the brokenness of abortion
When I was first ordained to the priesthood, a young woman came to me. She had an abortion earlier in life and suffered terrible guilt when she later gave birth to her first live child. As a Catholic, she had confessed her sin but still suffered from deep guilt.
I wanted to be compassionate and ease her guilt. I explained that she needed to just receive the forgiveness of God and she would be OK. She left me after a couple of sessions and I felt I had done my work.
Some time after this, I received a small book in the mail. It was the story of a woman’s pain after her abortion and how she finally found help. I was mentioned in this book as the priest who didn’t understand how deep her pain was and therefore could not help her.
She found help elsewhere and was working in a pro-life outreach, helping women like herself recover after their abortion. This event deeply marked my conscience and caused me to never again take abortion lightly or think that it does not leave real and long-lasting effects.
I know abortion harms women and leaves deep scars. I understand better now the deep pain that can be hidden in the heart of a woman — pain that can surface much later in life.
Living in Russia, I see this pain slowly coming forth from the lives of women in my own parish. We now speak more openly about the forbidden topic. Some say it is not compassionate to openly speak about abortion or condemn it because it will produce greater guilt in women. My reaction is just opposite. True compassion faces the broken reality of abortion, while remaining in solidarity with the unborn child and the woman who suffers.
Rachael’s Vineyard is a program that offers retreats for women who have suffered from abortions and who desire peace and freedom from the effects of their decision.
We offer these retreats and see healing taking place. I see great courage in women who have started to speak out, and as one movement is named, are “silent no more.” I pray for such a movement in Russia.
Of all the life issues, abortion may be the single most divisive of our time, but we can’t remain silent and simply wish the problem would go away. To believe this is a failure to understand the depth of conviction of both sides.
Can there be dialogue between people who hold opposite convictions about abortion? Some say hope for dialogue between these two camps is naïve and just ends in shouting slogans at each other. The alternative, however, is to simply hope things won’t get worse.
The truly pro-life person opposes violence against anyone — mothers, children and doctors who perform abortions. We must work to show why the pro-life position is the most logical and compassionate position for mother and child and ultimately best for our society.
We must be in solidarity with mother and child and uphold the truth that sets all people free to see the sacredness of every life, even the smallest most defenseless life that is still being formed in the womb.
No slogans, just the truth. May it set us free to ask forgiveness, repent and heal.
The writer is pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Magadan, Russia. The church is a mission of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
Respecting life means empowering parents
Catholics throughout the nation are celebrating Respect Life Month during October. Parishes of the Archdiocese of Anchorage are participating in prayer services and pro-life activities. These actions are part of the church’s ongoing effort to cultivate a world where every human life is held in reverence.
Respect Life Month is much broader than our aversion to abortion; it also gives us an opportunity to think about how we can help those who have chosen life. Along with prayer and witnessing, I encourage you to consider adding a service component to your pro-life activities.
Last year Catholic Social Services’ Pregnancy Support & Adoption Services provided assistance to 446 women and men who, when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, chose life for their unborn babies. CSS treated these vulnerable individuals with dignity and respect by providing pregnancy counseling and material support.
CSS provides support to women and their families throughout their pregnancy. We assist in meeting the challenges of becoming a new parent through counseling, information and referral to community resources. We help educate expectant mothers and fathers so they can make informed decisions concerning their future and that of their child. All services are provided at no cost and are completely confidential.
Our program assists parents in becoming self-sufficient, knowledgeable, and responsible through realistic planning. A pregnancy support counselor is available to listen to expectant parents and assist them with critical issues such as relationships, stress and coping, health and nutrition, community service referrals, hospital planning and if it is the choice of the expectant parents, adoption planning.
The services provided by “Baby Boutique” — guidance, free maternity wear, diapers and baby clothing — have been offered in the archdiocese since 1974 (The Baby Boutique was formerly a local branch of Birthright International). Volunteers currently staff the Baby Boutique eight hours a week; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.–3:00 p.m. If CSS had more volunteers working at the Boutique, we could be open on Saturdays. Our goal is to reach more vulnerable families in need and provide encouragement as well as practical items for parenting.
The vast majority of the expectant and new parents that come to us live in poverty and they seek the most basic supplies. Literally they have no money for diapers. Parish and community donors provide all the items we give to these families. We are grateful for these supplies, but there is always need for more.
If you feel called to add a service component to your Respect Life Month activities please consider one (or all) of the following suggestions.
1) Make a financial donation; it will help pay the salary of our pregnancy support counselor and buy needed baby supplies.
2) Volunteer your time at Baby Boutique on a Saturday; it will help us reach more expectant parents and new parents who have chosen life for their child.
3) Donate diapers, maternity wear and baby clothing, it will ensure the most basic of needs are met for vulnerable families.
4) Share our Pregnancy Support & Adoption Services program information with someone who might be facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Implementing your faith through service affirms the words of Pope Benedict XVI: “Every child brings us God’s smile.”
The writer is the executive director of Catholic Social Services in Alaska. For more information about CSS, call 276-5590 or visit cssalaska.org.
Offering lives to God – consecrated religious and lay faithful
Editor’s note: This is part three of a three-part series on the priesthood of Christ and the Christian vocation.
Last time, we spoke on how the priest offers his life as an act of sacrifice to God. We discussed this in terms of “Priest, Prophet and King.” Now, we will look at how the church-in-the-pews offer their lives to God in these terms.
It may seem odd that religious and the laity would be in the same camp. However, allow me to suggest that those who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders live out this sacrifice in a different way from the rest of the faithful. As we had earlier discussed, a ministerial priest’s way of life is different from that of the rest of the faithful.
Simultaneously, in some ways, the vocation par excellence is not that of the priest. Spiritually speaking, we are all called to be the Bride of Christ. The Song of Songs has been interpreted to be a love song between the soul and God. The Song speaks about how much the bride and bridegroom yearn to be with one another.
It makes sense that a great vocation here-on-earth is one that lives out this desire. It seems to me, then, that the greatest vocation that the church has been given is not that of the priest, but that of the contemplative nun.
The contemplative nun spends her entire life in prayer, adoration and anticipation. She spends her time waiting for the spiritual consummation between herself and her divine spouse, Christ. Her life is focused on all things eternal. This is a wonderful imitation of the Blessed Mother.
The Blessed Mother pondered the actions and words of her Son all her life, anticipating the coming of Christ to full stature. This is the life of the Christian — to spend her life waiting and serving the Lord, conforming her heart to Christ’s.
Active sisters, in their witness outside-the-cloister, remind all Christians of our spiritual union with Jesus. Sisters remind us of the fidelity to Christ by their way of prayer, their apostolate and evangelical life.
Male religious too, spend their lives like John the Baptist, watching for the Bridegroom. Anticipating the Lamb, he spends his life searching for him in all his works.
The laity too can offer their lives as sacrifice to God, especially in terms of Priest-Prophet-King.
In terms of the priestly office, we read in “Lumen Gentium,” that “the laity consecrate the world itself to God.” The laity participate in the priestly office by their way of life. A father who works overtime. A layperson praying Holy Hour at 3 a.m. Living the married and family life. The trials of life can be a sacrifice in themselves.
Within the prophetic office, the documents focus on the Christian family. We read that the “Christian family loudly proclaims … the present virtues of the Kingdom of God.” Beautifully, the family is called “the domestic church,” where Christian values are promulgated through a constant communication of love. Within and without the familial context, the laity proclaim the faith to others and collaborate with the ministerial priesthood on many justice and family issues.
In terms of the royal office, John Paul II makes a startling statement: “But in particular the lay faithful are called to restore to creation all its original value.” It is the task of the laity to bring Christ into the office, the highways and in the media. They have the task to restore creation to the divine design.
It is helpful to remember aspects of Jesus’ life. He lived a quiet life for almost 30 years. He was a carpenter. He had family. Christ lived in the world. The world, then, is where the laity find Christ, in order to bring the world back to God.
Ordering creation back to its “original value” is an amazing adventure, fraught with difficulty and impossible odds. Yet, if Christ is with us, who can be against us? May the laity all around the world bring Christ to all nations.
The writer is a Dominican brother who served in Anchorage at Holy Family Cathedral this summer, where he taught a three-part series on the priesthood of Christ and the Christian vocation. These columns are based on his talks.
Editorial
Unity before diversity
A dispute boiled over last month when Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan changed the name of the annual “Diversity Dinner” to “Unity Dinner.”
The name change might seem a trifling matter, but it struck a nerve with some Anchorage residents, which suggests that this was more than a semantic disagreement.
A coalition of homosexual rights groups put together an alternative to the mayor’s dinner, “The True Diversity Dinner,” in which they claimed to celebrate “true diversity.”
This raises the question about the meaning of the term, “diversity” in a modern society.
If celebrating diversity suggests that we must accept, promote and encourage all the differences that exist in our community, then it seems diversity is being employed to promote a kind of moral relativism in which every difference should be accepted — excluding differences of opinion. Under this view of diversity, it would be inappropriate for a person to voice a difference of opinion in to moral or ethical matters. Instead, one should keep disagreement to oneself. In fact, it would be better to have no disagreements at all — especially when our fellow citizens ask that one of their beliefs or practices be celebrated.
There is another way to understand diversity, however, one which does not devolve into moral relativism. It’s not certain that Mayor Sullivan had this in mind when he changed the annual dinner from “diversity” to “unity” but his official statement seems to point to a different understanding of diversity.
In defending his decision to change the name, Sullivan said: “Our community is made up of many unique groups, but we all share some common values: the importance of family, quality education for our children, and safe, vibrant neighborhoods. This year’s event is meant to celebrate these values while respecting the diversity that makes Anchorage such a great place to live.”
This approach to diversity begins by looking at what unites us — not what makes us different. What values do we hold in common? What core convictions can we agree upon?
Defining those “common values” without making them so generic as to render them meaningless is no easy feat in a pluralistic society. However, it is a critical job if we are to share a common vision of a healthy society. Once we acknowledge our mutual, bedrock values, we can then work outward to the diverse ways in which we celebrate and uphold these values.
At times, we will have heated disagreements — and we won’t feel like celebrating them. Ultimately, however, a pluralistic society is built on the values common to the majority of citizens.
It’s hard to consider terms like unity and diversity without thinking of the strength of the Catholic Church in these areas. It is perhaps the best, living example of how diversity and unity have woven together for 2,000 years. Holding core, foundational beliefs, Catholics are united across languages, cultures, nationalities, ethnicities and generations. We don’t celebrate our differences simply because they are different. Rather, we celebrate the many different ways in which we all recognize the same unchanging virtues and truths that lead to true fulfillment and happiness. In this sense, unity comes before and creates the very possibility for diversity.
— Joel Davidson, editor
Letters to the Editor
Keeping a historical record is important
The story “Big Lake marks 40 years as Catholic community” (Sept. 4), is a sign of the growth in the archdiocese of what started as a small mission.
Two names should have been included as part of the story and history. First, and very important, is that of Mr. “Bud” Beach, a resident with his family in Big Lake. “Bud,” as all knew him, was the primary and indispensable builder of the present church, which replaced the previous one which had burned. His idea, his enthusiasm, his zeal, his hours of labor got the task done.
In God’s surprising ways, “Bud” died suddenly. Then, perhaps also by God’s plan, his funeral Mass was the first Mass celebrated in the new church. What an appropriate headstone to his memory.
To that historical note might be added the name of Father Edward Slattery, the then-President of Extension Society of Chicago which had made a generous gift for the construction. He also personally dedicated the church, a first for him.
It is good to keep a record of history.
— Archbishop Emeritus
Francis T. Hurley,
Anchorage
Inmate thankful for prison outreach
Editor’s note: The writer’s last name was withheld from this letter.
I am an inmate at the Palmer Correctional Center. I am writing because the Lord has placed it upon my heart to share about my experiences with Father Thomas Brundage and the love that he has extended to me and many others.
I am involved in a faith-based therapeutic community within the facility called the Transformational Living Community. In this community, our beliefs and old thinking are challenged and transformed into new Biblical, healthy ones that match up to God’s Word.
On Easter of 2007, I wanted to attend church and so I went to Catholic Mass in which Father Tom had come to celebrate with us. My family in Ohio are Catholic, but I had only been to Mass a couple of times, so this celebration was new for me.
After Mass, Father Tom asked if we wanted to talk, so a few of us stayed behind and just by talking with him I felt inside of myself that Father Tom had exactly what I wanted, a deep love for the Lord that bled out in all areas of his life, resulting in peace and joy.
On one of Father Tom’s monthly visits, he started talking to me about baptism and confirmation and provided me with anything that I needed to bring me closer to the Lord and to have a better understanding of what it means to be a Catholic Christian.
He would come in during the week and talk to me and other brothers about baptism. During a visit we had on a Friday in October, Father Tom shared with us about his own life and testimony. This willingness to go below the surface and share about himself confirmed in me that Father Tom has the Spirit of God moving through him, and I was lifted up about the sacraments I was to receive.
Father Tom asked Archbishop Roger Schwietz to come out and celebrate the sacraments with us, and it was far beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
I feel that, in part, I am the man I am today because of Father Tom’s guidance in my life. He has been someone I can trust and depend on, but most importantly, he has shown me how to love others.
The attendance at Mass is growing and lost souls are being brought to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I hope that you can get a glimpse at what’s going on in the lives of many men who are diligently seeking the Lord and his will for their lives.
— Kenny,
Palmer Correction Center, Sutton
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