MUNSTER, Ind. — A new grassroots lay initiative in the eparchy is working to create a greater sense of community, connection and welcome among the Byzantine Catholic parishes of the Midwest region.
“It was an idea that kept nagging at me,” said Donna Tang of St. Mary Parish in Whiting, Indiana.
She shared her idea with a few members of the four Northwest Indiana and Illinois parishes last year and, before long, they had formed the Fellowship of St. Ephrem.
“Our early concern was that people might think this was a precursor to combining churches, but it is not that at all,” she said.
Rather, the goal is to strengthen and support the parishes in their respective initiatives and, thereby, help the Byzantine Catholic Church to flourish as a whole.
The core team of laity sought permission from their respective pastors and held their first meeting at St. Nicholas Parish in Munster, Indiana, last April. They worked on a mission statement throughout the spring, with the help of the group’s spiritual adviser, Father Stephen Muth, then-pastor of St. Mary Parish.
“The Fellowship of St. Ephrem was formed to strengthen the sense of spiritual community and collaboration among the parishioners of the individual Byzantine churches, missions and outreaches of the Midwest Region of the Eparchy of Parma,” the mission statement begins.
It says the fellowship is inspired and guided by the Prayer of St. Ephrem, which asks God to spare his people from “indifference, despair, lust for power and idle chatter” and to bestow “integrity, humility, patience and love.”
The plan of the fellowship is to facilitate communication and collaboration between the parishes, to “foster unity of faith,” and to encourage participation at each other’s various events, whether liturgical, spiritual, apostolic or social, the mission statement continues.
By the summer, “we had a mission statement, but nowhere to go,” said Tang. “We weren’t sure what to do next.”
Last fall, the reigns of spiritual adviser were passed on to Father Andrew Summerson, who “encouraged us to move forward,” said Tang. Father Muth retired from active ministry in January and was also succeeded by Father Summerson as administrator of St. Mary Parish.
“It is a work of the Spirit to see these lay people step up and take care of their church,” said Father Summerson.
He urged the fellowship to launch officially at the St. Nicholas Banquet, Dec. 3, in Munster in the presence of Bishop Milan Lach, SJ.
In his presentation Dec. 3, core team member Richard Palasz admitted he was not interested initially in joining the group. His attitude was, “I have everything I need at my church.”
However, the words of the Prayer of St. Ephrem later struck him: he was living with a spirit of indifference toward the future of the church.
Noting the church is “dwindling in number,” he invited all present to shed their indifference as well.
“As Byzantine Catholics we are called to evangelize and to support our church,” he said.
In January, the fellowship issued a questionnaire to the four area parishes, seeking suggestions on how to best support and assist the Byzantine Catholic community. In February, it held its first regional event — an afternoon Lenten retreat, led by Bishop Lach, on the meaning of the Prayer of St. Ephrem.
Tang said the Lenten event, which gathered more than 100 people from across the region for faith formation and prayer, was exactly in line with what the core team had envisioned for the fellowship.
“I was in awe,” she said.
Currently, the core team comprises nine people: four from St. Michael Parish in Merrillville, Indiana, two from St. Nicholas Parish, two from St. Mary Parish, and one from Annunciation Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois. The team will meet again April 15; it intends to extend membership to the core team to other Byzantine Catholic churches in the region soon.
While the core team is limited in number, membership to the Fellowship of St. Ephrem “is open to all,” said Tang. It does not require any fees, forms or registrations. Put simply, to participate at a fellowship event is to be a member, she explained.
“It’s about being community together,” she said.
Caption: The core team of the Fellowship of St. Ephrem poses for a photo after its first event Feb. 25. (Back row, l. to r.): Michael Hlebasko, Father Andrew Summerson, Donna Tang, Richard Palasz. (Front row, l. to r.): Susan Hlebasko, Jo Ann Hlebasko, Debbie Laczkowski and Martha Brunson. In absentia: Mary Ann Medved and Toni Smith. (Photo: Laura Ieraci)
As published in Horizons, March 25, 2018 Sign up for the e-newsletter.