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 A couple
in Cleveland, Ohio, were looking for advice about a problem seriously
threatening their marriage. They didn’t know where to turn. Like
many young people these days, they did not have the benefit of extended
families. There was no trustworthy elder person with whom to talk
things over. But now the couple has found such a person in Our Lady
of Fatima/Saint Agnes Parish.
The
story began when a group of parishioners visited a village in a part
of Africa from which their ancestors had come. That visit showed them
the value placed on the wisdom and experience of elders in the village.
They realized such a blessing was needed in their own parish. Young
people want to do the right thing, they reasoned; they want to work
out the difficulties in their lives, want to think things through.
But many have no such resource among their family and friends, leaving
them groundless and at the mercy of the fastest-talking street-smart
elements around them.
The
parish council at Our Lady of Fatima/Saint Agnes Parish talked to
Father Michael Barth, S.T., the pastor of the parish. Together, they
set up a “Wisdom Council” of folks over 65—parishioners
for over ten years, respected in the community at large and known
for their dedication and service.
Father
Mike meets with the group quarterly. They emphasize a strong spiritual
orientation, as this is the most important contribution they can make
to those who rely on them. Among themselves they also discuss their
own issues: growing old, death and dying, the role of the elderly
in helping the young.
Now,
when Father Mike or one of the parishioners hears about people like
that young couple, they tell them about the Wisdom Council and encourage
them to talk things over with one or two of the members. One person
who went to the Council with a problem of trying to make ends meet
financially said, “It’s like talking to the grandfather
I never had around.”
Sometimes
they are advised to seek more professional help or to talk to Father
in confidence or in the confessional. This unique ministry is a case
of a church community being alert to a need and then reaching back
into its own roots to find an answer. And it is just one example of
how your support of Trinity Missions allows us to touch people’s
lives in a myriad of ways.
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