The following article first appeared in the January 2001 Boost-A-Month Club Newsletter.  For more information about becoming a Boost-A-Month member, call 1-800-935-0975 or contact Father Dominic Duggins.

Mission's 50th Anniversary: An Occasion for Ecumenical Outreach

Father Frank Ruff (left) and three parishioners present a gift to Deacon Johnson (right) for his Baptist congregation in a novel celebration of the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Sts. Mary and James Church, Guthrie, Ky.

November marked the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Glenmary’s Saints Mary and James Church in Guthrie, Ky. To mark the occasion a parish council member proposed giving gifts to other local churches as part of the celebration.

Pastor Father Frank Ruff supported the idea because, he says,  it “creates a sense of goodwill, openness and community.” The gift-giving was designed to be two-fold: “as ministry to other churches to create oneness and to be better understood so that we are more accessible to the unchurched.”

The gift they selected: a nine-inch by 12-inch wood plaque with the the Lord’s Prayer engraved on a metal plate. Gifts were wrapped in gold paper, tied with ribbon and presented to the 50 Protestant Churches in a 12-mile radius of Guthrie.

“There is still a great deal of misunderstanding here about the Catholic Church,” Father Frank explains. “That’s not the people’s fault. We have not communicated our faith well enough. One of the ideas behind the giving of the Lord’s Prayer plaques was to let people know that we’re here because we’re disciples of Jesus.” (Excerpts from the letter that accompanied each gift are found at the end of this article.)

Since arriving in Guthrie in August, Father Frank has seen some of the challenges that face the Catholic Church there.

“The unprecedented national economic boom does not apply to all places. There are many places that are not doing that well, such as here in Todd County,” Father Frank says. “The biggest challenge is how to build a faith community in a small county when there’s not the economic foundation to bring in new people. Therefore, if we’re going to build a Church community, we need to reach out to those who are not active in any Church. In order to do that, we have to create a context for our message to get heard. And this gift is one of the ways to do that.”

  According to Father Frank, the reactions from the Churches that received the plaques have been positive. In fact, many of them have sent letters and notes.

The members of Tiny Town Baptist Church on the edge of Guthrie all signed a card that read, “May God bless your Church and your ministry.”

  “That’s one of the qualities of a community such as this—the personalization of signing a card for someone you don’t even know,” Father Frank says.

  Other Churches wrote back of their “heartfelt appreciation” and said the plaque will be “prominently and proudly displayed” in a place of honor.

In a phone interview, the Reverend Laura Dargitz, minister of First Christian Church in Guthrie, said, “The plaque was a real surprise and a treat. We’ve been very appreciative of their (the Catholic Church’s) ministry here,” she continued. “They really know the needs of the community.”

Rev. Dargitz has been involved with Saints Mary and James Church before in community projects and realizes the significance of this gesture of gift-giving. “Guthrie’s not a large community, and we have a lot of Churches,” Dargitz says. “Because many of our congregations are small, we really need to do things together.”

‘Pray with us and for us...’

The following are excerpts from the letter sent by the Glenmary mission in Guthrie, Ky., to surrounding Protestant Churches, along with a Lord’s Prayer plaque, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Sts. Mary and James Church.

“Each Sunday for the past 50 years, we have gathered for worship and prayed this prayer that Jesus taught His disciples.…

“We confess that we have not always been faithful disciples of Jesus, following His example and witnessing to Him by everything we say and do. We ask His forgiveness, and yours, too. We want to follow Him better and we ask you to pray to God that we will be more faithful disciples....

“We have experienced the graceful presence of God as we have gathered in our little church on the corner of Third and Green Sts. in Guthrie each week for the past 50 years. We would be honored if you would join us some Sunday for worship at 8:00 a.m. (We know it is early, but God is awake at that time, too).

“We will continue to pray for God’s blessings on your Church, and beg your prayers for us.”