Outta st-8-ers come 2 Diocese

Aliens are among us.

Every weekend, they slip into the Albany Diocese unnoticed, mingling with Catholics in the Diocese's 14 counties in parishes from Hancock in Delaware County to Hague in Warren County, a distance of at least 150 miles.

Dorothy Plisko is one of the aliens. "I go back and forth," she confessed. "St. Mary's [in Granville] is less than ten minutes away; we're right on the line."

Border crossings

That line marks the border where New York State and Vermont meet. Mrs. Plisko, originally a native of Granville, is one of many Catholics at the edges of the Albany Diocese who live in other states -- Vermont, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania -- but attend churches here.

Mrs. Plisko and her husband, Michael, live in West Pawlet, Vermont. "Most of the time, I do go [to Mass] in Vermont," she told The Evangelist. But, "I'm very comfortable at St. Mary's."

Ironically, Rev. Thomas Zelker, pastor of St. Mary's and administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parishes in Granville, start crossing the border himself a year or two ago. He oversees tiny St. Frances Cabrini Church in West Pawlet, which was slated by the Burlington Diocese to close until he agreed to take on the duty (see sidebar).

Two-staters

"The Granville school district goes across state lines, so I know a lot of the people. It makes sense," the priest explained.

Besides, he said, "[to be] Catholic is to be more universal and not relegated to boundary lines. We're trying to do what our name says we are."

On a typical weekend, Father Zelker might bump into the Pliskos or a host of other "border-crossing" parishioners at any of his three churches. The trio of parishes have become so intermingled that collection envelopes can be dropped off at any of them and are simply sent on to the correct parish.

"They sort it out," Mrs. Plisko shrugged.

Keystone State

For Louis and Frances Usefof, practicality wins out over loyalty to their home state: St. Paul the Apostle Church in Hancock lies just four miles from their home in Equinunk, Pennsylvania. The closest church on their side of the New York/Pennsylvania border is in Honedale, 30 miles away.

"Everybody in this area goes to St. Paul's," Mrs. Usefof told The Evangelist. "People come from all over."

The Usefofs give thanks for their affiliation with the Albany Diocese in all four seasons. Honedale, Mrs. Usefof said, is "in the snow belt. Up here, in the winter, you're not going to go anywhere [that far away]; it's just not worth it to travel."

Even in the summer, "with the gasoline prices, nobody's going to travel!"

Summer visitors

Though she also credits Rev. Stephen Morris, the parish's sacramental minister, for drawing Catholics to St. Paul's with his good homilies, Mrs. Usefof noted that St. Paul's gets even more "alien visitors" in the form of vacationers.

"It's a busy parish because it's right on the Delaware [River]," she said. "We get a lot of visitors in the summertime -- people who fish and hunt."

Fellow parishioner Kate Antidormi has taken border-crossing a step further: Though she and her husband, Daniel, live in Lakewood, Pennsylvania, she's the parish secretary at St. Paul's.

"Occasionally we go to Mass in Pennsylvania," she acknowledged. "We like visiting different churches."

The Antidormis sometimes choose to drive to parishes in Pleasant Mount or even Scranton. During the summer, the lure of a seasonal church in Lake Como often keeps them on the Pennsylvania side of the border. But, "I'm registered here," Mrs. Antidormi said of St. Paul's. "This is my parish."

Coming home

Some Catholics believe a parish they love is worth a trip from anywhere. B. Mary Harrington drives an hour every Sunday in bumper-to-bumper traffic from Rutland, Vermont, to St. Mary's parish in Glens Falls.

"I'll travel to the ends of the Earth to support our Bishop and my faith," she declared -- noting that "our Bishop" refers to Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of the Albany Diocese, even though she lives in the see of Bishop Kenneth Angell of Burlington.

Raised in Whitehall, Mrs. Harrington attended Notre Dame des Victoires parish there (now merged to become Our Lady of Hope), and received her religious education by nuns from St. Mary's in Glens Falls. Her attachment to St. Mary's became so strong that she decided nine years ago to return to the parish.

Today, she's a Eucharistic minister and volunteers with the pre-K program -- and is planning to move back to New York State.

Belonging

Although Judy Whitman lives in Hancock, Massachusetts, she has found that St. Joseph's in Stephentown (the mission church of Immaculate Conception parish in New Lebanon) draws her over the border each week.

The difference between attending St. Joseph's (six miles from her home in the Springfield Diocese), or parishes in Williamstown or Berkshire, Massachusetts, is only about ten minutes' extra driving.

But, "I like small churches," she said. "You feel like you belong. And I've been there so long now [25-30 years], I wouldn't want to change."

'Border people'

Mrs. Whitman remembers helping to start the parish council at St. Joseph's many years ago, as well as pitching in with music at liturgies.

She still helps to decorate the church with flowers and is a backup lector.

"We're 'border people,'" she said of herself and her neighbors, joking that Catholics who cross state lines to attend Mass have it easier than many border-crossers because "there's no inspection!"

Priest is two-state minister

Serving three parishes in two states keeps Father Zelker in constant motion.

"My weekend starts on Fridays -- and once I get moving, there's nothing stopping me!" he stated.

On Sundays, he celebrates 8 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Granville, drives over the Vermont border for 9:30 Mass at St. Frances Cabrini in West Pawlet, and then heads back to New York for a 10:45 liturgy at St. Mary's in Granville.

"I can barely get from church to church" on time, he said. "People know when I can talk to them: at St. Frances, before Mass but not after; at St. Mary's, after, but not before."

Some Sundays are so hectic that the priest makes sure his vestments are laid out for him before he arrives, so he can just run into the churches and slip them on. Sometimes, he doesn't even take them off between liturgies.

One thing he doesn't do, though, is drive recklessly.

"I do a lot of mileage, but I decided not to rush," he explained. "In the winter, I spun out once, and I said, 'It's not worth killing myself.' But, I can't get behind a slow driver, either!"

Father Zelker believes his harried schedule is worthwhile, since it gives hundreds of Catholics the opportunity to participate in the Eucharist.

"The Eucharist is very prayerful and with a lot of meaning, and our churches are pretty much filled up" each weekend, he stated. "That makes it worth it: I may be tired, but once I get there and walk down the aisle...." (KB)

(6/30/05) [[In-content Ad]]