www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology How to set up a Mission Church?

Christ is Risen!

I was so happy to learn that others feel the way I do about not being in quite the right place at a Western Catholic church, and everyone said such wonderful things! I esp. liked the quote from Schlemann (sp?) about having the same kind of spiritual lives.

A couple of people suggested going to an Othodox church, but it is as far away as the nearest Byzantine church, but I was intrigued by the idea of a mission church. (Oddly enough, our Roman Mass is celebrated in the building which was originally built as a mission church. Yeah, I am way out in the sticks!)

So, how would someone go about doing that? The first problem might be that the nearest Byz church is not the one I am in the parish of, which is another hour farther.

What sort of bulding would be needed? What sort of schedule would they need? Could they do this in the Roman rite church? (because we have a lot fo visiting priests)

Who would I contact--the eparchy or the parish?

Any other info would be geratly appreciated.

God bless you all!
Philothea

Christ is Risen!

I am sorry that this question has not been responded to. What I would suggest is starting a core group that are interested and have meetings-a prayer group. Start a bank account and raise money. spend time getting informed-read. Talk to the Byzantine Bishop of your interest and give him updates. When you have enough money for a plane ticket invite one of the monks from Holy Resurection Monastery to come and talk to your group. Their e-mail is on this sight. They are wonderful monks. Infact you should e-mail them for suggestions.

I know the Church near Olympia, Washington started with one lady that wanted her Easter Basket blessed. I will pray for you.

Joyce

>>How do you start a mission parish?<<

1. Pray

2. Start by networking and making lists of all those who would be interested and who will make a commitment to do lots of work over the next 10-20 years as well as provide regular financial tithes. These people need to be individuals who are seeking to live and worship according to the Byzantine Tradition. Those who are fleeing from something they don't like in another Church (i.e., conservative Roman Catholics) should not be included because they tend to want to turn missions into pre-Vatican II Roman Catholic parishes. Once you determine that there is an interest, contact your bishop. My understanding is that a group needs at least 50 people before any of the Byzantine hierarchs will actually consider setting up a Byzantine Fellowship. After that, a regular monthly Divine Liturgy is a possibility but not guaranteed. Once you get 60 families (not people) you could qualify for a weekly Divine Liturgy provided the people take the responsibility for all the organizing, communications, set-up, and etc. This, of course, is dependant upon the availability of priests.


>> Yeah, I am way out in the sticks!<<

If your group believes the numbers cited above to be achievable then move forward with gathering names and seek advice from your bishop. There is a tremendous amount of work in starting a mission. Given the limited financial resources of our eparchies and the significant costs of starting a mission your group needs to be self-sufficient. Depending upon your location bringing in a priest might by your greatest expense.

Above all, be realistic about who will be involved and what is achievable. You might consider contacting the Byzantine Mission in Germantown, Maryland (there's a link to their page on the "Parishes with Home Pages" page) for support from people who are in the middle of starting a mission parish.

Philothea:

As a founding member of the Byzantine Catholic Mission of Upper Montgomery County, please feel free to contact me directly regarding starting a mission. And many thanks to Moose for stating the "mission ground rules." He's right on target, especially about prayer. Sometimes, we forget how essential it is.

Beginning a mission can prove to be an unbelievable means to grow in Faith. But it doesn't come without MANY frustrations. We will be entering our third year in existence this coming October (some of us refer to it as our third year in the wilderness). Hopefully, by the grace of God, we won't have to wander for 37 more years. We started with one Liturgy a month, then two, then every Sunday. We now (through the unwavering dedication of several priests) also celebrate days of obligation and observe many of the Great Fast devotions.

One thing that we all must remember is that there is a shortage of priests of both the Byzantine and Roman rites. Although there are priests around the country who have bi-ritual indults, I know that the Roman Archdiocese of Wastington, D.C., will currently not allow any of its priests to have bi-ritual status. I'm guessing they don't have enough priests to handle the Roman parishes, let alone have some of them take on the Liturgical duties of Byzantine parishes.

Please let me (us here on the Forum) know what particular geographical area you are looking at for a mission. I will certainly put in our bulletin for several consecutive Sundays that "there is an interest in a mission church in the XXX area. If anyone knows of Byzantine Catholics living in that area, please tell them to call so-and-so at (number) for more information." I would also add in the bulletin announcement that our mission remember in its prayers your endeavor. We have the following prayer in our bulletin every Sunday:

�Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, and visit this vine and the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, and the branch that You made strong for Yourself.�
Psalm 80:14-15 NKJV/OSB

God bless you and your efforts.

P.S. I know that there are two "recent" missions in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. There might be someone from these missions who could also add some additional suggestions/insight.

Philothea,
Christ is risen!
I am one of the priests who is working with a small group of people to start a Byzantine Mission. We are in OKC. I am a "bi-ritual" priest. I serve the Liturgy twice a month because of other responsibilities I have to the Roman Archdiocese. There is also a bi ritual priest in Tulsa who is doing the same thing.

Because there has been no Byzantine Catholic presence here many of the Byzantines have been assimilated into the Roman parishes or gone into Orthodoxy, both are unfortunate situations.

A few suggestions: I'd contact the pastor of the closest Byzantine parish first and ask him what he thinks. There were many wonderful ideas offered in in this strand as well as the earlier one you started. The way we started was by asking for any Byzantine Catholics to get in contact with me. (In your case to contact you.) We did this through the local Roman paper and the Greek Catholic Union. The GCU is a fraternal organization, they offered a membership list of people who lived in OK. They might not give you a list but you could ask. If you are of a different jurisdiction they also have fraternal organizations and might give you a list of people in your area. Prayer is an important thing. If you can get other Byzantines together you could pray the Services (Matins or Vespers)together. There is, of course, provision to do this in a simple way without a priest ("Reader Services").

Money is not the main issue in developing a Mission, nor is a building. Most Roman Churches would allow a forming group to use theirs, this is not ideal but it would work temporarily.

You might also call the local Roman diocese to see, if by chance there is a bi ritual priest in it. This is a long shot, but you never know. Maybe, if you get a small group together a priest could come occasionally. Most important to the Hierarch is that a group will be able to support a Mission or Parish, not so much with money but by involvement, prayer and stability. Please contact me if I can do anything for you. Pray for me as I will for you.

[This message has been edited by Batushka (edited 05-08-99).]