Articles:

This ancient greeting of Christians to one another is core to our faith. Without the resurrection of the Lord we have no hope and no redemption. Let us celebrate this Easter season and rejoice in the new life given us by Jesus Christ.

A special welcome to those who have entered the Church through Baptism at Easter and by the profession of faith. We pray that your life in Christ will deepen in our company and that you will bring to us "old" members of the Church new life and enthusiasm.

During Lent the Parish Pastoral Council held its first "Town Hall" meeting. This is part of a process that Council is in to plan for the future of this parish. The Town Hall was one effort at gathering information. A survey of parishioners will be happening in the near future. There will be other Town Halls to come. Each piece of this process will help Council to lead us into the 21st century.

The process will have no result however without two things: the grace of the Holy Spirit and the ownership of the garish and its work

by all parishioners. In the nine days (novena) between the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost, we will be having special prayer each day for our parish and the entire Church. Please participate We need to pray for the parish and its work and also for each of us to take ownership of that work.

Taking ownership of the parish's work will take an attitude change and action on our parts. The attitude change is to claim that I, Joe-parish member, am responsible that the work of Christ go forward, not someone else. For example many observations about the state of the parish as community were received by Pastoral Council. Most of these seemed to imply that Council or someone else should do something to strengthen us as a community. Making us a community is the responsibility of each person, not someone else.

A community is built up by little deeds of welcoming and kindness. So I issue you, dear reader - yes, you - a challenge: move to a different section of the church on each of the Sundays this month. Meet the people that usually sit there. Say "hello." Shake their hands. Tell them you are glad they are there and that you are glad you are there.

Recently, Fr. Joe and I sat down for a tape recorded conversation. Part 1 of that conversation appeared in the Parish News last month. Our pastor talked about what he enjoys as a priest, his personal image of pastor(ing) and leadership, MHC public worship and pastoral council. In Part 2 we continue our conversation.
- Father John Kummer

Q: Here are two descriptions of spirituality: "Spirituality is lived faith" (Fiend) and "Spirituality is a way of viewing life and living life." (Broccolo) Does MHC Parish - its 1300 plus households - have a distinctive spirituality? What are your perceptions?

A: There are as many distinctive spiritualities as people in the parish. Over the years I have become aware that no single spirituality fits everybody and that every person has to work out his/her own. There are many different kinds of spirituality and a variety of religious aids. One way of life does not fit everybody.

Q: Do you have any practical advice to families about building or developing a spirituality?

A: Family worship rituals are important. Families need to worship at home and make rituals together. These could include Bible study, evening prayer, meal prayers. We call the family the basic church or little church (ecclesiola). Of course, families ought to join in the public worship of the church together, as often as possible. For example, to attend Mass on Sunday as a family.

Q: WPAFB is contiguous to our parish. What is its effect on us?

A: It means we have several groups of people with differing cultures and their own frames of reference. You could say that we have a multi- cultural parish. Such a situation is neutral. It may enrich or divide a parish, depending on what you do with it. It is the task of each parish member to bring us together as a community. This ministry belongs to each of us through baptism.

Q: How is MHC at religious education, pre- school through adult?

A: MHC has probably one of the most successful programs I've seen in my 34 years as a priest It is remarkable that our religious education is pre-school through adult. One of our successes is the ongoing "Coffee and Conversation" every Sunday and its good quality.

Q: How is MHC at academic education?

A: If you take objective measurements, we're consistently in the upper 1/3 to 1/4 on the Iowa tests. This seems to indicate we do a rather good job. I understand most of our students do well on the 9th grade proficiency tests, the first time around. I think it's fair to say MHCS is doing a pretty good job.

Q: What did you mean in August, 1996 when you said at the first MHCS faculty and staff meeting that our goal is "that

we could call ourselves and be a Roman Catholic school of excellence?"

A: It's essential that we be Roman Catholic. There's no other reason for us to exist. Our primary function is to enable students to know Jesus Christ, to embrace him and to become full and active members of his church.

At the same time we want to provide them with the academic education they need to function in this world. But if we don't accomplish the spiritual and faith-filled first, it really doesn't matter if we accomplish the academic.

The mission of the church is not just to provide a good quality education to students in this community. Maybe if we were an inner city school, the story would be different. But academics first in Fairborn - before faith - then we are indistinguishable from many other schools. As a Catholic school within this community we want to connect the children with Jesus, so that they serve him as members of his church.

We are also concerned about the faith lives of faculty and staff. There's an old axiom that the faith is caught not taught. We look to our faculty and staff to be living examples of faith; otherwise their words contradict their actions. It's not just a matter of teaching about the faith but showing what it means to live it. This is essential.

Q: What about students who are unbaptized or non-Catholic Christians? What is our ministry and mission to them and their families?

A: They come to us because we provide something different, and what we provide is that we are a Roman Catholic school. We certainly do provide them with particular values and have much the same mission towards them as we have toward the Catholic kids...at least that they know Jesus and relate to him. This is essential.

For some, besides the religious aspect of the school, we provide maybe what they experience as a safer environment in which to learn. In some instances, it's a smaller school within which to do that.

Q: If you could have a wish and just make it so, what would you like our school enrollment to be?

A: I'd like to see us up over 400. Probably our maximum capacity is 450 and ideally we move toward that.

Fr. Joe On The Record: Part 3 (May) --Our pastor reflects on our household and parish ministries and pastoral staff. He concludes our conversation with a gift.

My name is Annette Meyers. I am the Records Secretary in the Mary, Help of Christians School office. It is my job to keep the students' data and cumulative records up-to-date. I also record the daily attendance and handle many other activities, too numerous to mention, that come up during the school day. If you should call the school, there is a good chance that I will answer the phone.

My husband, Ron, and I are natives of Buffalo, New York, where we met and married. We left Buffalo for a military life and have lived on Okinawa, Boston, Mass; Rome, NY; and Washington, D.C., before coming to Fairborn and WPAFB in 1975 with our family. Since our arrival we have been active members of MHC parish and school. Five of our six children are graduates of MHCS. I believe in the importance of a Catholic education. Having graduated from Catholic schools myself, I know firsthand that the education, morals, and values provided are with you for life.

Ron and I are currently Eucharistic Ministers. We chaired the Fried Dough Booth for the parish festival for seven years. I was an active member of the Interested School Parents (ISP) group, and held the position of Secretary of the Education Commission. For five years, I was a Red Cross volunteer in the School Clinic. In my spare time I enjoy cross-stitching, long walks and spending time with my family.

I have been employed by MHC school for eleven years, first as a teacher's aide, and currently in the school office. I enjoy working with the children and a very talented and dedicated staff. It is a pleasure to be a member of the school staff.

Registration for the 1997/98 school year is going well. I wish to extend a warm welcome to our returning families, and to those new parishioner families who have joined our special school community. Positions are still available in all grades for our parish children. Our participation in the Tuition Aid Data Service (TADS) program, which assesses financial need and recommends financial aid, makes it possible for every parishioner to send their child to Mary, Help of Christians School. Our parish school was founded on the principle of teaching as

We want to establish a Hospitality Ministry at Mary, Help of Christians so we might once again have people to greet parishioners. This ministry would also include passing collection baskets, etc. This ministry will be open to all, high school age and over, and to families, including younger children. Anyone interested please call Al Metzmaier, 864-5700, anytime.

We would like to get this ministry started in April. Training would consist of some verbal instructions plus an instruction sheet.

Anyone interested in becoming a Eucharistic Minister or a Lector/Commentator should contact Al Metzmaier at 864-5700, anytime before April 9th, to make a reservation for a training session being setup for a Saturday morning during the month of April. More information will be available when you call.

The Knights of Columbus will be conducting their annual Measure-Up Campaign at the church this month. Measure-Up is a campaign to collect donations to assist organizations dedicated to the welfare of mentally retarded citizens.

Knights and their families will be stationed outside the church doors on Apr 26-27. Our thanks and the thanks of all those who benefit from your generosity go to all who have contributed and to those who will share again during this campaign.

The turn-out wasn't overwhelming, but those who attended (about 40 - plus the staff and Pastoral Council members) were interested, committed to our parish, and nearly everyone had something to say.

Bertrand Rund, Pastoral Council Vice Chair, served as facilitator and kept things moving in an orderly manner. The subjects were many and varied and elicited both pros and cons on nearly every topic. The Pastoral Council will be publishing a synopsis of the topics and will be asking for your help and suggestions.

One common thread that kept recurring and being affirmed was all the good things we have going for us here at MHC. Sometimes a small flaw can keep us from seeing and appreciating the larger good. If you missed this meeting, be sure to attend next time. It was a good experience, out of which more good can come.

Our annual celebration of Easter includes eight successive Sundays: from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. Our liturgical prayer on the Sundays of Easter is to be prepared well and prayed well. The official documents of our church encourage the wide use of singing, especially at Sunday Mass. (See "Importance of Singing," General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #19.)

Yet some people find that a Mass without singing is more to their liking and spiritual needs. We currently provide this and are glad to continue to provide it every Sunday morning at 7:00am.

At our other Sunday assemblies, we sing the liturgy. This, at times, includes the singing of the Eucharistic Prayer at 9:00 and 10:30. Such a practice is entirely proper and permissible. In fact there are four sung versions of the Eucharistic Prayer in the Sacramentary, the presider's book of Mass prayers.

Some may ask: Did Jesus sing the words at the Last Supper? Let's presume the answer is no. What we are doing on Sunday is not historical reenactment but ritual and sacrament. Singing is a fuller form of ritual. We sing "Happy Birthday," "The National Anthem," "Cheer, Cheer for old Notre Dame," "Lullaby and Good Night." Compare the difference between a spoken alleluia and a sung one.

We gather in Christ Sunday after Sunday to give God praise and thanks with all the resources of our beings: the arts, the gestures, the silence, the spoken word, the sung word. May we truly encounter the Risen Lord Jesus Christ during this Easter season. May our hearts burn within us as we hear the word proclaimed and preached in our midst. May we come to know the Lord and one another in the breaking of the bread.

As you read this, we will have tilled our parish garden (weather cooperating) Our design now includes four parallel 4' x 18' plots with walking paths between. We still have openings for parish groups to adopt one of them. Please contact our Master Gardener, Denise Wetzel, 878-3450. We also need two wooden signs labeled "MHC Green Garden" and "Compost, no trash!"

The Cub Scouts have added some nesting boxes to our bird sanctuary and we've been offered some additional houses. We're still not sure of the sanctuary design and could use some help. This is an excellent opportunity to "serve" for those Audobon Society members of MHC.

We have been asked to consider adopting one of our neighboring streams as part of the greater Dayton "Adopt-A-River" program. Besides cleanups, this program offers opportunity to observe, learn, and possibly MHC Green restore those critical "veins and arteries" of our community's water system.

On the facility front, our Finance Commission has ordered a copy of "The Green Cross Church Energy Program". We also have an MHC Green member now focused on recycling, especially at MHC related events.

We've had excellent support from MHC Youth Ministry and Youth Groups. We've just received our 1997 USCC's Environmental Justice packets "Let the Earth Bless the Lord. " To assist in any of the above projects, or to obtain a copy of the USCC packet, please call 878-6060.

Here's an MHC Green "Tip of the Month": Besides being less expensive and requiring less care, "native " plants are healthier. They are in balance with the local ecosystem - God's creation.