Parishioners at Ss. Philip and James weather cold snap with Christmas spirit

When the heat went off at Ss. Philip and James for Christmas Masses, parishioners didn’t have far to look for inspiration to weather the frigid experience.

“I said let’s embrace the poverty of the Christ child in the manger,” said Ss. Philip and James pastor Dominican Father Michael Weibley.

As a native of Cleveland, Father Weibley is no stranger to cold temperatures, but he said what his North Baltimore parish experienced was “unique” and “bizarre.” It was so cold in the Charles Street church that the holy water in the baptismal font located in the vestibule froze.

It all started Dec. 23, when a pine tree was blown onto a power line in the alley next to the church. Most of the church had power and the adoration chapel was well-heated. However, church personnel discovered that there was no heat in the main church on Christmas Eve morning because a circulator pump in the boiler room had lost power, knocking the radiator system off line.

“It was truly bizarre,” Father Weibley said. “Just that one area had lost power. Our maintenance staff couldn’t repair it, and we realized it was a BGE (Baltimore Gas and Electric Company) problem.”

When the parish was told it was something that couldn’t be remedied immediately due to widespread power outages from high winds in the Baltimore region, it sent out a parish-wide email notice that there wouldn’t be any heat in the church for Christmas liturgies.

“The parishioners were terrific,” Father Weibley said. “They couldn’t have been more understanding. They could see I was really upset because this was my first Christmas as pastor here and I wanted everything to go well. They were actually calming me down and saying ‘everything will be all right, we will just bundle up.’ “

The parish used a few portable electric heaters to provide some respite, but for the most part parishioners had to rough it.

“Truthfully, I was very disappointed at first, we had the church decorated to the nines,” said Father Weibley, who has been a priest for seven years and started at Ss. Philip and James in January. “It was a very cold Christmas for our parishioners. I could see my breath when I was giving my sermon. But everyone just bundled up, we had beautiful music and a beautiful service. It was just such a freak thing. I said to myself, ‘Why couldn’t this happen on the 26^th? But in the end, it certainly is a memorable Christmas experience.”

As Father Weibley headed home for a family visit to Ohio, the church was still without heat Dec. 27. He hoped assurances were accurate from the power company that it would be remedied soon.

“People were so good and understanding, but I don’t wish this on anyone,” he said.

Other parishes throughout the archdiocese faced some unusual challenges with temperatures in the teens and wind-chill temperatures in the single digits. Average daily temperatures for the area are 45 degrees in December with highs rarely going below 32 and lows rarely dipping below 21.

According to Thomas Alban, the director of risk management for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, most of the troubles parishes faced were the result of broken pipes from the deep freeze.

St. Louis parish in Clarksville had a broken water line on campus and St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley had a broken water line in the rectory. Our Lady of Hope/St. Luke School in Baltimore County had a broken exterior water line and School of the Incarnation in Gambrills had a broken water pipe in a classroom. Associated Catholic Charities Senior Housing also was dealing with damage from broken pipes, according to Alban.

Catholic Charities was also kept busy with the temperature dip, stepping in to help when Baltimore City activated its “winter shelter plan.”

Amy Collier, director of the Community Services Division of Catholic Charities, said the organization “continued to provide a hot meal to hundreds of individuals each day at Our Daily Bread Employment Center and My Sister’s Place Women’s Center. We also provided shelter for approximately 140 men and women each night at the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center as a part of the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services’ citywide winter shelter plan.” 

“The staff at My Sister’s Place Women’s Center worked diligently to encourage the women that access MSPWC, and that generally sleep outside, to access winter shelter and the majority of them took advantage of this opportunity,” Collier said. “The staff also provides supplies for women, that are not ready to access shelter, to stay warmer outside.”

Catholic Charities Family Services Division Director Kevin Keegan said the Sandtown Safe Streets site hosted an event that gave out soup, sandwiches, coats, hats, socks, scarves and long Johns “to keep the community warm.”

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

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