Catholics sharing worship space with Protestant neighbors

Two Albany diocesan parishes, one in Rensselaer County and the other in Columbia County, are paving the way for ecumenical relations with Methodists and Lutherans in an unusual manner.

St. Francis de Sales parish in Troy and St. John Vianney parish in Claverack share worship space with their Protestant neighbors.

In one case, the relationship reaches back decades; in the other, the connection is more recent.

'Way of life'

St. Francis de Sales parish in Troy maintains a mission in nearby Eagle Mills. Rev. Donald Ophals, pastor, told The Evangelist that the parish has had an agreement with Hope United Methodist congregation for more than 30 years.

"Sharing that little building is a way of life for our parish," he said.

The parish, which used the original Methodist church for several years before the current church replaced it, pays their neighbors a nominal fee for use of the space.

Switch-over

According to Father Ophals, transforming the worship space for a Catholic service is easy. The parish has been given the use of a small closet to store its liturgical items and vestments.

"It takes only about 20 minutes," he explained. "I used to do it myself, but now we have a team of volunteers. The altar must be set up for the Saturday liturgy, songbooks set out, and bread and wine prepared."

Commenting on their long relationship, Father Ophals said that the two congregations "get along just fine."

Link to past

Ironically, Rev. Raymond Ethier, pastor of St. John Vianney parish in Claverack, spent a year of his diaconate in 1984 serving the mission at Eagle Mills. Today, as pastor of the two-year-old Columbia County parish, he finds himself once again utilizing the worship space of another denomination.

St. John Vianney parish was born in 2005 as the result of a merger between Sacred Heart parish in Philmont and Holy Cross parish in West Taghkanic. Because the new parish is still without a building, weekend services are held at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church in the appropriately named Churchtown.

The use is the result of an agreement between Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and Bishop Marie C. Jerge of the Upstate [Lutheran] Synod.

Win-win

"It's been a win/win situation for both groups," noted Deacon Warren Dorsch, who told The Evangelist that sharing the building has helped parishioners of St. John's make the transition from two long-standing parishes and given them a new sense of community.

"You might say our parishioners were divided into three groups when they learned we would be worshipping at St. Thomas," he noted. "One group said, 'Let's do it' and had no reservations. The second group said, 'No way,' and left the parish. The third group said, 'Let's do it and see what happens.' For the most part, after two years, everyone has embraced the situation."

In addition to sharing the building, Deacon Dorsch said that the two parishes have accomplished some important ecumenical work, formed great friendships and learned to share ideas with one another.

Said Father Ethier, "Ecumenically, we've been journeying together as sister communities ever since."

(1/18/07) [[In-content Ad]]