Seeds planted to create men’s ministry parish programs throughout archdiocese

Men pray the Our Father during a liturgy celebrated on Nov. 16 at St. Agnes Church in Nashville. (Photos by Mike Krokos)

By Mike Krokos

NASHVILLE—Steve Schelonka is not a fisherman by trade, but he hopes to become a “fisher of men” through the men’s ministry program at St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis.

A member of the parish for 26 years, Schelonka has been a part of a men’s group at St. Monica since it began a few months ago.

He was among the 85 men in attendance at a daylong gathering at

St. Agnes Parish in Nashville on Nov. 16 focused on getting more men in parishes off the sidelines and more involved in their parishes to live out their vocations as husbands, fathers and disciples of Christ.

Titled “Brotherhood in Christ: Building a Community of Disciples,” the workshop sponsored by the archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Ministries was about building brotherhood in Christ, identifying needs and challenges in men’s ministry and having attendees leave emboldened to build parish men’s ministry in all 126 parishes that comprise the Church in central and southern Indiana.

Schelonka said he and other members of his ministry felt it important to gain insight at the workshop “to strengthen our bonds and see where we can take [our ministry].

“We’re on fire, so it’s going to be fun to see where the Spirit takes us,” he added.

Reflecting on Archbishop Charles C. Thompson’s reference in his homily during a Mass that afternoon to St. Peter answering Jesus’ call to follow him, Schelonka said a seed was planted in his heart that he hopes will bear fruit.

“I’m wearing a shirt that says, ‘I’m going fishing,’ so when [Archbishop Thompson] talked about St. Peter I was just like, ‘Wow! He knew it!’ ” Schelonka said. “That’s what the call is: for us to be fishers of men, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to do with our ministry.”

‘Called to be saints’

“We are all called to live holy lives. We are all called to be saints,” noted Clayton Nunes, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bloomington, who helped organize the workshop.

“Saints are ordinary people living ordinary lives in extraordinary ways. That’s what we’re called to do,” he continued.

“The Lord doesn’t call the empowered. He empowers the called,” Nunes added.

A strong example of what it means to be a man

In his keynote address, Benedictine Father Denis Robinson, president-rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in St. Meinrad, talked about the lessons he learned from his dad, who offered a strong example of manhood.

The only child of Thomas and Margaret Robinson, the priest said that one of his most profound memories was his dad leading their extremely devout family from practicing the Baptist faith into entering the full communion of the Catholic Church.

When Father Denis was 13, he thought about becoming Catholic. His parents agreed to attend a Mass with him, and despite not being familiar with any of its rituals, the family sat through an entire liturgy.

Despite their uneasiness with what they witnessed, as they discussed the Mass afterward, his dad’s response to the Mass surprised and shocked Father Denis and his mother.

A man of few words, his father said, “I know that I’m not going back to the Baptist Church.

“I’ve been searching for my God my whole life, but I never saw him face to face until today, and I can’t go back,” he told his family.

All three joined the Church, and his father became involved in their parish, leading its St. Vincent de Paul Society and being a witness of living out his newfound faith to his family.

Sadly, he died at age 44, but he left a legacy and many lessons shared, Father Denis said.

As Saint Meinrad’s president-rector, the priest said he considers himself a father to the 118 seminarians currently in priestly formation there.

Reflecting on the lessons he learned from his father, Father Denis asked, “What does it mean to be a man?

He cited the following:

• Men must be patient, including “being patient with ourselves.”
• Men must be gentle, “even in discipline.”
• Men must be kind, “showing kindness to everyone.”
• Men must be focused. Men are goal-oriented. “The goal isn’t the thing. The way [to the goal] is.”
• Men must be people of love.“St. Augustine once said, ‘If you love, you may be what you will.’ If we are loving people, if we show our family and children love, if we show our neighbors love, if we show our workplace love, then everything else will fall into place. If we don’t do that, then nothing will fall into place.”
• Men must have a closeness to Christ. “Your faith must be first in your life. … We must first be men of Christ, and then everything will fall into place.”

‘Our focus must be on Jesus’

During a Mass celebrated later in the day, Archbishop Thompson encouraged the men in attendance to be Christ-centered in all they do, especially in their relationships.

“Our focus must be on Jesus … for our ministries, for our services, in our identity, in our mission of bringing the Gospel to the world,” he said. “Our focus has to be on him: on Jesus Christ … in our call to missionary discipleship.”

Building community

During a panel discussion led by Deacon Thomas Hosty, director of the archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Ministries, several men highlighted how their parish has formed men’s ministry groups through various national programs.

The list included That Man is You!, Heroic Men, Christ Renews His Parish, King’s Men, Cursillo, Exodus 90 and Escuela de la Cruz (The School of the Cross), among others.

Panel members shared how the groups started at their parish, how the groups have evolved and how they hope and pray they continue to grow.

Several men talked about how important it is to have the parish pastor’s support. Others also cited the value of having a dedicated leadership team to keep the momentum of the men’s program going and having a consistent format that includes fraternity, formation and prayer. Utilizing the four C’s—confess, commit, challenge and confirm—was also listed as an integral part of programs.

Moving forward

While there are some parishes in the archdiocese that offer men’s ministry programs, Nunes’ goal is to have every parish offer some form of it.

“It was clear that each parish could benefit from having an initiative with goals to help leadership at a parish level and men’s ministry groups grow in maturity, ways to encourages men to cultivate a brotherhood, increase their understanding of God, and how to lead their families,” Nunes said after the workshop. “Current challenges include ways of getting men to prioritize and commit, and [finding] ways to get to the below 40’s-age group involved.”

With that in mind, an archdiocesan continuing ministry team to support the parishes is being launched. For more information or to become involved, contact Nunes at nunesclayton@yahoo.com, or Deacon Hosty at thosty@archindy.org or call him at 317-235-5804. †