In 2003 Glenmary’s mission in Ripley, Miss., won first-place for their “Christmas Dreams,” float—and they have remained the float to beat since then. Their participation in the annual Christmas parade is one way they make the presence of the Catholic Church known to county residents

A cherished part of Christmas tradition in many small towns is the annual Christmas parade. And the parade in Ripley, Miss., is no exception. The annual parade creates an air of friendly competition among churches and civic groups who vie for the best float award. And the float to beat each year is the one designed and constructed by St. Matthew Catholic Church, the Glenmary mission in Tippah County, which has won first prize in the competition for the last five years.

“We started entering the parade as a means of evangelization, a way of saying ‘we’re here,’” says Sister Kate Regan, the mission’s pastoral coordinator. “But we’ve got such creative people! They have created something out of nothing each year and the trophies just came. We’re not trying to win anything, we’re just trying to get the attention of the community.”

The mission’s float for 2007 has a “Peace on Earth” theme, which the creators hope will encourage the greater community to pray for peace. The float is constructed of materials donated by members of the St. Matthew community and 10-15 people will ride on the float, including children portraying angels. More members of the small community will walk alongside the float, waving to the crowd.

Evangelization is an important focus for the St. Matthew community and the members of this small mission—150 families—have found unique ways of carrying out the message that “we’re here.” In addition to the float entry they also run a taco stand!

On the first Monday of each month at the Ripley Flea Market, which draws up to 5,000 people, St. Matthew’s sponsors a wildly successful taco stand. Even the Ripley Main Street Association has made an official request that the mission continue with the taco stand because it’s so popular. Sister Kate modestly describes the beef tacos as “really good” and says the customers line up to wait for the treats.

The stand also features the culinary arts of Glenmary multicultural worker Sigifredo Bonilla who works with Sister Kate. “He creates hand-packed hamburgers that we call ‘Sigi Burgers,’” Sister Kate says. “He doesn’t have a recipe. He just opens up the cupboard and uses what he has and they’re always good! When people come up to buy a ‘Sigi Burger,’ they don’t buy just one—they’ll buy five!”

Sigi’s motivation for making and selling his famous burgers is to feed bodies as well as souls, Sister Kate says. “One time, a family started asking questions while he was cooking. It turns out that the dad was a former Catholic who was surprised to find out there was a Catholic Church in Ripley.”

The Catholic Community of Tippah County was called together in 1997 and its worship space continues to be a storefront building that Sister Kate says, “Is getting quite ‘rag tag.’ But we’re trying to do the best we can to raise money to build a new church.”

The St. Matthew congregation took a giant step forward with those plans in 2004 when they purchased nearly 14 acres of property. “We’re going to need help from the outside for the construction (of a new church),” Sister Kate says, “but we’re doing as much fundraising as we can.” The proceeds from the monthly taco sales go towards the construction fund.

On Dec. 15, the mission will host its traditional Christmas dance at the local community center—and it will be the last dance held at the center because it is scheduled to be torn down. Sister Kate says she hopes that the new church will include a gathering space where the entire Ripley community can come together for events such as the Christmas dance.

Keeping a balance between fundraising activities and spiritual development is very important to Sister Kate. “We have to stay focused on why we’re here,” she says. Religious education classes are one of the ways the mission community maintains that focus. There are about 60 young people who attend classes on Wednesdays and 12 teens, mostly Hispanic, participate in the youth group.

Tippah County is home to a large number of Hispanic families who make up a large part of the St. Matthew community. The mission offers English as a Second Language classes and they also offer classes to help immigrants study for their citizenship test, a process that can take a very long time.
“There’s usually months of waiting after you get on a list to take the test, and it takes years to get to the point,” Sister Kate explains. It’s also expensive to apply for citizenship especially for people who are working low-income jobs.

“As time goes on, the bar [to achieve citizenship] keeps getting higher and higher,” she says.
“They’re a treasure for us,” Sister Kate says of the Catholic community’s Hispanic members. “It’s so inspiring for me to see them working so hard. They love their families and they work so hard for their children.”

All of the activities of the folks of St. Matthew in Ripley are designed “to keep the faith alive,” says Sister Kate. “The people of this mission are trying hard to take responsibility for being church. We take pride in our church and we want to let people know that we’re here.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2007 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter