Going to the Edges

"In our day Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples” echoes in the changing scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization, and all of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”. Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel," (Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel, 20).

Last week I attended a catechetical leaders meeting that focused on "Inclusive Ministry." The two-hour presentation focused on practical ideas for ways that our parish religious education programs can reach out to families with children who have special needs and do a better job of serving them. The conversation drew wider as we considered who in our communities is most in need of someone to pay attention to them and let them know that they, too, are part of the community.

It sort of felt like an examination of conscience for ministry leaders. Am I spending most of my time and resources serving the people it's most easy to serve? Or am I looking to serve the ones who are in most need of the saving news and consolation of the Gospel? Am I mostly serving the ones who are comfortably "in the middle" or am I being attentive to those who are on the edges?

This discernment of the "path the lord points out" will involve a good deal of work and a lot of discussion. We have a few volunteers who are planning to attend an upcoming Inclusive Ministry Conference (www.inclusiveministryconference.com) in November, and this is open to parents and volunteers and parish ministers alike! One thing is certain, it will take a lot of "workers in the vineyard" to identify and do the work our parish is called to do.

In our CGS program, we are putting together a sort of "task force" of interested catechists and volunteers who want to help build resources to serve children with special needs. Children who are less verbal or who are more in need of structure and schedule building will soon have a "schedule builder" with pictures of actual materials and work choices in the atria so that they can plan their time in the atrium with their catechist.

Following the lead of St. Francis of Assisi Parish's Special Needs Ministry, we are also working on the development of a picture missal that will be available in all of the pews for anyone who would benefit from having a visual way to follow what is happening in Mass. (We are looking for sponsors to help us in the printing of this project!)

Also, on the parish side, we are excited to announce that we have three assistive listening devices available (from the ushers at the main entrance) for parishioners who could use this assistance to hear the Gospel proclaimed at Mass more clearly. We are also looking for ways to better serve our parishioners who are not able to receive our Lord in the host at communion because of Celiac Disease or other reasons.

As Pope Francis says, we are not likely going to be able to help parishioners and community members while we sit comfortably in our comfort zone. I don't know what it will look like for our parish, but I invite you into the conversation. First, I suppose, we ought to explore those edges, those peripheries, and find out just who is out there. Then we will have three big questions to answer: What can we do? Who will help do it? What does it look like for us to go and make disciples of ALL?

Someone Has Been There Before Us

I hope that the whole parish will join me in welcoming our new parish sacristan, Robert Thacker. Robert is a ten year old young man who has been in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for three years now. His mother, Diane, gave me permission to share with you the story about how he came to serve our parish in this way.

Diane brought her son to us three years ago because she heard that we have Catechesis of the Good Shepherd as the formation program for our 3-12 year olds. Due to Robert's special needs (something called Sensory Processing Syndrome), his parish DRE and Diane realized that his parish religious education program was unable to meet his needs. He had already spent some time working one-on-one in a CGS atrium at another parish, but his mother hoped that we would be able to help Robert work together with other children, especially so that her other son would be able to have time in an atrium without putting undo time pressure on an already burdened family.

Working together with a one-on-one assistant, Robert thankfully was able to work and participate successfully with the other children in our CGS atrium (our word for classroom). Although Robert was not able to sit still or quietly for very long, one thing that the catechists and other children could not fail to notice was that Robert had an unusually profound grasp on the Mass and other devotions.

This child who would bounce around from room to room and touch whatever he could see, was drawn powerfully to the works on the gestures of the Mass and even a special work on the Rosary where he would sit and recite the whole prayer with his special assistant.

His assistants and catechists all spoke with awe about his reverent attention and command of the Mass. He would repeat the words of the priest verbatim and insist that his "congregation" (which always included his assistant and, sometimes, other children) kneel all the way up (no resting on your heels!) A parent whose child was in his atrium last year (but is in a different room this year) mentioned to me a few months ago that her little girl was wondering aloud about Robert, "I wonder how he is. I think he is going to be a priest."

Unfortunately, due to difficulties inherent in children with Sensory Processing Disorder, Robert has not been able to serve as he would like at Mass. And as this year progressed in school and in the atrium, it became apparent that his occasional SPD outbursts that were manageable when he was smaller had become more difficult and sometimes dangerous to others as he had grown. This sweet, gentle boy who loves the Church and loves the Mass could not join in the community the way that it is usually done. Both we and his mother were heartbroken.

After a long discussion with Diane involving the extreme difficulty of bearing the cross of special needs especially without the help of the Church, I promised we would do all we could and that we are not giving up. After all, Robert is not just a boy with special needs. He is a boy with special abilities, too. In a discussion about what to do, one of his catechists suddenly offered a crazy idea: What if Robert could help prepare for Mass? What if Robert could serve as a parish sacristan?

Even as we prepare to present the work of "The Preparation of the Chalice" in the atrium, we introduce the cruets and tell the children: "When we go to Mass, someone has been there before us." That someone is the parish sacristan. From the age of three, we show the children how to prepare the cruets of water and wine. Robert had also seen presentations on the liturgical colors and he always knew what color Father's chasuble would be. He has had years of preparing the altar with everything that was needed: the paten and chalice, the corporal, the purificators, the hand towel, etc. We knew immediately that she had discovered the answer.

After receiving approval from Father, I called his mom to ask her if Robert would be willing to serve as parish sacristan. She broke down into tears. Just ten minutes earlier, she told me, she had offered a prayer of abandonment to the Holy Spirit and told God that she trusted Him completely to take care of Robert. It was an answer to prayer.

So for the past month, each Friday afternoon, Robert and his mom or dad meet me at the Church. Robert takes his special cross necklace (like the altar servers wear) and goes to the front of the tabernacle and offers the special "sacristan prayer" asking God to bless his ministry and he gets to work. He ensures there are enough hosts in the sacristy, the cloths are prepared, the proper chasuble is set out, and now he likes to make sure that any burnt out candles in front of our Mary statue are replaced with fresh ones. Sometimes he will open and read Sunday's Gospel to me, sometimes he will pose in front of the mirror as he holds up the large hosts (like a priest would do) while he counts them. Always he will sign and date the paper that has his duties written on it and turn it in to the office mailbox.

A few weeks ago, his father, Larry, was able to be there and watch him do his work for the first time. "Bob," he said with emotion in his voice, holding his son's shoulders so that he could look at him straight in the eyes, "I'm so proud of you, son." And we all are.

It is the highlight of my week now to come and do this work of preparing for Mass with Robert. My favorite part is at the end, just after he has dropped his completed paper in the mailbox and he turns and shakes my hand and says, "See you next week, Ms. Mandie." Then off he goes to his next adventure.

God's blessing on you and your family this week and always,
Mandie DeVries, Director of Religious Education