The following story first appeared in the Autumn 1999 Glenmary Challenge.
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Windows Into Glenmary—A Vocation Journey Through
Mission Land, USA
By Father Mike Caroline

Father Mike Caroline (right) uses Glenmary Chapel windows to explain the key aspects of Glenmary mission.

“How do you find people interested in joining Glenmary?” This is what friends want to know when I mention that I am a vocation director. My answer: Men come to us from a variety of sources with a wide variety of back-grounds. Some see our ads in vocational publications and magazines. Others hear about Glenmary through family, friends or people in ministry. We are now even floating in cyberspace with a web site.

Presently I am in conversation with about 35 men who are considering priesthood or brotherhood. People are curious about the missionary dimension of Glenmary. Most are attracted because we work in areas where the Catholic Church is beginning to make inroads and because of our ministries among the rural poor. They are college students and teachers; businessmen and social workers; recent converts and “cradle” Catholics.

Some of the first questions they ask focus on Glenmary’s mission, its spirituality and its style of community. Vocation prospects today are looking for meaning in life, a closer relationship with God, and communal prayer and support. They wonder about working in areas where Catholics are such a minority and about leaving their homelands for missions in the South. I respond to their questions through phone conversations, by sending vocational materials and making personal visits.

One of the best ways to learn about Glenmary, however, is through a journey called a “mission trip.” Several times during a year I invite people to travel with me for about five days through mission areas in the rural South. Along the way we meet with priests, Brothers, Sisters and lay people who open windows into home mission life.

Each trip begins at Glenmary headquarters in Cincinnati. Five stained-glass windows in our chapel set the context for the journey. These windows contain symbols of the five facets of our mission—building Catholic communities, furthering Christian unity, inviting others to our Church, working for justice among the poor and neglected in the rural South, and connecting with the Universal Church. They take on new light and luster as we move down the hill from Glenmary into the lives of others.

In early March I traveled with five folks four hours south of Cincinnati to a Glenmary mission in Franklin, Kentucky. There Father Frank Ruff welcomed us with home-made soup and interesting conversation about his work with Southern Baptists and other evangelicals. As an ecumenical representative of the U.S. Catholic bishops, he helped us to appreciate the similarities and differences of these Churches. We discussed how we can be “co-workers rooted in Jesus and not competitors.” 

Later in the afternoon we met with Father Dennis Holly, the pastor of the church in Franklin. He told his story of life as a Glenmary missioner and gave us a tour of the new church and parish hall under construction.

After a good night’s sleep at the Glenmary house in Nashville, Tennessee, we visited the offices of several programs that support Glenmary in its parish and regional ministries. Brother Bill Wright, Sister Susan Klein and Liz Dudas spoke about the diverse activities of the Depart-ment of Pastoral Services, including evangelization of the unchurched, parish pastoral planning, spiritual development, Hispanic outreach, and religious education. Evelyn Lucas of the Glenmary Research Center shared maps and studies developed by Glenmary to enhance the effectiveness of our work.

Words about mission “took flesh” as we drove four hours down the highway into “the heart of Dixie.” In the small town of Ripley, Mississippi, we visited a storefront church with a sign proudly proclaiming “Tippah County Catholic Church/Iglesia Catolica.” Polly Duncan Collum, a Glenmary lay pastoral coordinator, began this church two years ago. It now numbers about 25 members who speak English and about 50 whose first language is Spanish. Polly brimmed with faith and enthusiasm as she spoke of the challenges and blessings in helping a mission parish be in mission to others. Her husband, Danny, a native of the Mississippi Delta, unfolded some of the cultural realities of the state, such as the centrality of faith, family and race.

Finally, our van weaved its way to its final destinations, the Glenmary churches in Pontotoc and New Albany, Mississippi. Father Steve Pawelk and Brother Joe Steen were our tour guides and teachers for the next few days. In Pontotoc we gathered with several Mexican families for Scripture study and the Rosary in Spanish. In New Albany we participated in an ecumenical prayer service, sponsored by Church Women United. Later we visited a low-income housing project which Brother Joe directs.

Other highlights of our time in Mississippi were two home visits. M. B. Mayfield, a well known local African-American artist, showed us some of his paintings and shared his story of taking art courses at “Ole Miss,” even before this state university was integrated. We also visited the home of Candido Lopez and his family. About a year ago Candido lost one of his legs in a car accident. During our visit Father Steve helped Candido find his way through a jungle of hospital bills. He inspired us with his loving smile and strength in the midst of great loss.

After conversations with Protestant ministers and a potluck meal with Catholic parishioners, our visit in the South came to an end with Sunday Mass in Pontotoc. Nine hours later we were back at Glenmary headquarters in Cincinnati.

As the group reflected on the experience on our drive home, I heard the following comments: “amazing,” “wonderful,” and “I have a much better understanding of Glenmary.” One traveler said, “Before this trip I was dealing with impressions or stereotypes. Now I have a taste of the realities of life and Church in the rural South.”

Father Bishop, founder of Glenmary, would be glad to hear these thoughts. In fact, there is a sixth stained glass window in the back of our chapel which bears his image. During his lifetime he opened many windows into the home mission world. The light continues to shine through him and his community as it beckons others to follow.