Iowa Outreach turns five, plans for more growth

IOWA CITY — The Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Iowa marked its fifth anniversary by welcoming Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma. The timing of the bishop’s first pastoral visit to the outreach over the anniversary weekend was entirely coincidental and allowed members to discuss with him their hopes and plans for future growth.

The Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Iowa began in 2014, with the blessing of Bishop John Kudrick of Parma, now retired. The community’s first formal prayer service — a Typika service — was celebrated Sept. 7, 2014, at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in West Liberty, Iowa.

The outreach began with about 25 people. Deacon Sergio Ayala of the Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton led the weekly Typika service until he was ordained a priest in 2016; Father Bryan Eyman, pastor of St. Athanasius the Great Parish in Indianapolis, served as the administrator.

Father Eyman then instituted a rotation of priests from the Chicago area and Indianapolis, who would drive three to six hours each way, to celebrate Divine Liturgy once a month. A Vespers service was held on the other Saturday evenings of the month.

In early 2017, Father Andrew Summerson took on the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, increasing it to twice monthly. He also worked to move the outreach to its current location at St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church in Iowa City.

By mid-2017, the outreach had grown to about 40 regular members. The new location seemed more central, and the hope was also to draw students and faculty from the University of Iowa located there.

Currently, the outreach has 42 members — 15 adults and 27 children — and welcomes about three or four guests each week.

Since 2018, Father Thomas J. Loya, pastor of Annunciation Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois, has served as the administrator and has kept up the celebration of the Divine Liturgy twice a month. He drives 215 miles each way, on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, to celebrate the Divine Liturgy at 3:30 p.m.

Families drive between 45 minutes and two hours to come to Divine Liturgy. Parishioners are aware of more Byzantine Catholic families and individuals in the region who would join the community if it were to have its own stable priest and church building.

On Sept. 8, Bishop Lach celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos and the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Cross. Bishop Thomas Zinkula of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, Father Loya, and Deacon Francis Agnoli of Davenport concelebrated.

The congregation swelled that day, as members from St. Wenceslaus Parish, Annunciation Parish, and St. Raphael Antiochian Orthodox Parish in Iowa City, joined in the celebration.

Bishop Lach read his Pastoral Letter to the Faithful at the Beginning of the Church Year. At the end of liturgy, he remarked on the great effort of Father Loya to serve the community, the generosity of the Roman Catholic parish, and the struggles of being Byzantine Catholic in an area where there is no Byzantine Catholic church and where it takes hours to drive to the nearest Byzantine Catholic parish.

He shared how in his native Slovakia, as well as in Parma, Ohio, parishes are located only a few minutes apart. However, both in Parma and in Slovakia, people have moved or are moving to cities where there are no Byzantine Catholic churches. For instance, Slovaks are leaving for Ireland, he said, and many from the Cleveland area have moved to the southern and western regions of the country. This situation provides challenges for the eparchy, he said, but also new opportunities. He encouraged outreach members to remain faithful in their efforts.

After the abundant potluck dinner that followed the liturgy, Bishop Lach gathered the outreach’s adult members to discuss its future. He said other communities — in Omaha, St. Louis and Kansas City — were in a similar situation, being small but needing to be served. While it would be another four or five years before he could send a priest to Iowa City, he said, there are steps the outreach could take in order to prepare for that eventuality.

In order to grow, he said, the community needs its own proper Byzantine-style church. He said the church need not be big, as a small church building would be less expensive to build and easier to maintain, heat and cool.

Then, the community would need to show its commitment to supporting the church and full-time priest. He said that when he returns in two years, he would want to know if the community managed to save some funds. He gave the community a goal: to save $100,000 in two years or $50,000 in one year. Such an amount would indicate that the outreach is willing and capable of supporting a priest and, in the case of a married priest, his family, he explained. To that end, the community should also look for a house that could serve as a rectory.

He instructed the outreach to form a committee to start planning for fundraising and building. He reminded outreach members that each person needs to recommit and increase his or her effort and sacrifice. It is not easy, he said, but serious commitment is needed to show the stability and hope of the long-term survival of the community.
 
Caption: Father Thomas J. Loya, administrator of the Byzantine Catholic Outreach of Iowa, baptizes Noah Lee Meeks at St. Wenceslaus Church in Iowa City Oct. 13. Father Loya travels 215 miles each way, twice a month, from Annunciation Parish in Homer Glen, Illinois, where he is pastor, to celebrate Divine Liturgy for the outreach members.  (Photo: Adam Kemner)

As published in Horizons, Nov. 17, 2019.
Sign up for the digital newsletter.