Parishioners took Renew reins because pastors weren't around

St. Jude's Church in Wynantskill was without a pastor for several months until Rev. James Clark arrived as pastor in June. St. Francis of Assisi Church in Northville also lost its pastor, Rev. Augustine Kapinus, OFM; in July, Rev. Robert Powhida began serving as administrator.

Laypersons involved with Renew 2000 at these parishes say that those personnel changes didn't hinder their preparation, while the priests who have begun their ministry there in recent months have fit right in with parishioners as they continued planning for Renew 2000.

Evolution

He had been active in that group, which met twice a week since the previous Renew effort. When he attended an organizational meeting for Renew 2000, he decided to offer his services as co-coordinator.

Although Mr. Gwozdz was hesitant to step forward at first, he trusts that with help from God and fellow parishioners, Renew 2000 will go smoothly at St. Jude's.

"If I can continue letting Jesus do the coordinating and just focus on His will, He can do a fantastic job bringing Renew 2000 into our parish," he said. "I am asking for prayers to do this right. I have to put my own ideas behind me and focus on the Jesus coming out of every member of our parish."

Called to serve

"If Jesus can take a fisherman and make him a fisher of men, He can also take a machine repairman and make him a parish Renew coordinator," he said.

Continuation

At St. Francis of Assisi parish in Northville, another faith-sharing group that has been around for the past five or six years helped in the preparation for Renew 2000, according to Frederica Hoffert, co-chairperson of the core committee with her husband, John.

While he was at St. Francis, Father Kapinus was very involved with Renew 2000, Mrs. Hoffert pointed out. After he left, parishioners weren't certain that they would have another priest who would be as involved in Renew 2000 as he had been.

"We didn't know if we'd have any priest at all. We were gearing up to be able to continue this if we didn't have a priest with us," she said.

Stepping in

"We were so blessed to get Father Powhida, and he seemed to be so accepting of the way we were doing things," she said.

Having a priest such as Father Kapinus, who encouraged parishioners to join the Renew 2000 effort, made it easy to look forward to the program this autumn, she added. With his enthusiasm, the Hofferts are optimistic that the events will be popular and appeal to a wide range of parishioners.

Involvement

With people who have been involved in the parish for several years being a part of Renew 2000, the Hofferts have good reason to think that the effort will succeed, but Mrs. Hoffert hopes that more parishioners will consider joining the program and continuing the work of Father Kapinus and Father Powhida.

(St. Francis will hold a mission Sept. 27-30, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., as part of Renew 2000. Parishioners from other churches in and around the Fulton County deanery are invited to participate.)

(09-17-98) [[In-content Ad]]