Missionary discipleship sees growth after Seek the City initiative

Not long after five area parishes came together to form a renewed faith community at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, a Sunday Mass began several minutes late.

Father Louis Bianco, cathedral rector, apologized to the large congregation, explaining that the delay had a good reason.

An influx of people had come to receive the sacrament of reconciliation – so many, in fact, that the rector said the parish (which had already been offering the sacrament daily and twice on Sundays) would begin having two confessors present for Sunday liturgies.

At Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Essex, the first weekend of its merger with nearby St. Clare brought a touching moment. Beverly Perkey, a parish greeter, approached a hesitant newcomer and offered assistance. Before sitting down, the new parishioner thanked Perkey, saying she had never felt so welcomed in a church.

“Then she asked if she could give me a hug and my response was, ‘absolutely,’ ” Perkey recalled in a testimonial published in Mount Carmel’s bulletin. “So, with smiles on our faces and tears in our eyes, we hugged – and at that moment I knew that God was with us, working in our lives.”

At New All Saints in Liberty Heights – where three parishes came together as one – nearly every pew was filled at an April Mass marked by spirited gospel music. Following a liturgy that lasted more than 90 minutes, more than 30 young people gathered in the church hall to discuss faith in action and plans for Easter. The group regularly meets alongside younger children affectionately called “mini-youths.”

“We are really excited to see how committed the young people are to becoming involved,” said Spiritan Father Kenny Udumka, pastor, noting they are eager to collaborate to become “the new image of the church.”

Across the Archdiocese of Baltimore, a renewed call to missionary discipleship is taking root. It is most recently outlined in “A Light Brightly Visible 3.0,” a pastoral letter released Ash Wednesday by Archbishop William E. Lori, and was the foundation of the archdiocese’s Seek the City to Come pastoral planning initiative that merged 61 Baltimore-area parishes into 30 worship sites.

Building on earlier pastoral letters, the update affirms that changes from Seek the City are the launching point for something more transformational. The deeper goal is to ensure every parish becomes a center of missionary activity, reexamining everything from sacramental prep to social outreach.

“This is the time when dreams and visions become reality,” said Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., who spearheaded Seek the City. “It’s an exciting time and it calls forth missionary creativity.”

A variety of offices at the Catholic Center accompany parishioners to not only believe in the Gospel, but to live it in a way that inspires others to grow in their relationship with Christ. That includes staff from the Office of Parish Renewal to the offices of Black Catholic Ministries, Hispanic Ministries, Advancement, Facilities and Real Estate, Fiscal, Communications and more.

Signs of renewal are visible. Nearly 800 people in the archdiocese entered full communion with the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil – 100 more than the previous year. At UMBC in Catonsville, Catholic campus ministry Mass attendance has quadrupled from a few years ago.

Father Jeffrey Dauses, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baynesville, said weekend Mass attendance increased from 500 to 800 after merging with nearby St. Thomas More. Some parishioners of St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge, one of the parishes that merged with the cathedral, have also joined. Deacon Patrick Woods, their former deacon, now serves at Immaculate Heart, and a giving garden was relocated to the campus.

“There are a lot more people at Mass and you feel a lot more of a sense of excitement,” Father Dauses said. “There’s a lot more children and young families, so that’s all really great.”

Immaculate Heart of Mary was able to welcome the entire staff of St. Thomas More, Father Dauses said. The parish intentionally incorporated liturgical ministers from other parishes and welcomed a contemporary music group from St. Thomas More.

“They’re feeling not just like they’re welcome to be at Mass, but they’re welcome to serve at Mass – which makes a big difference,” Father Dauses said.

At a time when many are still grieving the loss of their former parishes, Father Bianco noted the importance of listening.

“One of the biggest challenges was to make sure that as many people from the merging parishes were heard,” he said. “Our newly formed hospitality committee was extremely helpful with this.”

Weekend Mass attendance at the cathedral has grown to about 1,100, several hundred more than in past years.

Julie St. Croix, director of Seek the City and director of the Office of Parish Renewal, emphasized the power of shared worship.

“The eucharistic community is always diminished if there’s one person who doesn’t show up,” she said. “Coming together is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.”

At New All Saints, Father Udumka, a trained psychologist, hopes to offer counseling services at the parish.

“I have a few parishioners who are in the counseling field who want to be part of the ministry,” he said. “I do parenting counseling, so I want to do a kind of group counseling for the young parents.”

Other parishes are expanding outreach. Cathedral parishioners recently filled “blessing bags” for people experiencing homelessness, increased contributions to Catholic Charities’ casseroles program and held a baby bottle campaign for a pregnancy center.

Although change is never easy, pastors are optimistic.

“Everything we’re doing – buildings, youth ministry, finance – is about asking: how is this making missionary disciples?” Bishop Lewandowski said. “Ultimately, we want to help people get to heaven.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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