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From an article by Renee K Gadoua in The Post Standard 3/29/04:
St. Andrew Celebrates 50th Year
The 50th anniversary Mass for St. Andrew the Apostle Church began with drums and a shofar, or ram's horn, calling the community to worship.
The nearly two-hour service at the church at 124 Alden
St., Syracuse, included prayers and praise, laughter and applause.
It also featured a violin solo, hand bells, sacred dance, singing by
children and adults, a homily by a longtime parishioner, and greetings
from a representative of Syracuse's Gay/Lesbian Catholics.
That diversity was intentional, said Lisa Neville, who
chaired the Catholic parish's anniversary committee.
"All of the ideas came from the idea that we should
value the beliefs of all the people here," she said.
Neville made her First Communion and was married at the
parish that began in 1951 as a mission of St. Anthony of Padua Church.
Two of her children were baptized at St. Andrew, and her oldest child
will make her first Communion there this spring.
She was among more than 240 current and former members
who celebrated the parish's jubilee with an energetic service. St.
Andrew has evolved from a neighborhood parish to a community in which
more that 70 percent of the members live outside parish boundaries,
according to a history prepared for the anniversary.
During a homily - technically called a meditation
since it was not delivered by a priest - longtime member Nancy
Murray highlighted activities that have created the parish's reputation
as one of the most liberal and socially active in the seven-county
Syracuse Diocese.
The parish has long had a sister community in
Nicaragua, and for years the church has given 10 percent of its Sunday
collection to the poor. In 1983, the parish adopted Jane Doe, an
unidentified woman's remains, and gave her a funeral and burial.
Parishioners include some of Syracuse's most visible activists and
several former and married priests. Many members volunteer with
prisoners, abused women and children, and provide shelter, food and
support for the poor.
Since 1994, the parish has hosted twice-monthly Masses
for local gay and lesbian Catholics. The parish has sponsored
events opposing the death penalty, supporting black churches, and urging
peace in Syracuse and the world. Since the 1980's, lay men and
women have served as homilists.
"We are the salt of the earth, we are the light of the
world," Murray said referring to the day's Gospel reading from the Book
of Mathew.
"We've continually been energized by the spirit to live
our baptismal vows," she said. "It's only as a community that we
can dare to accept that call to be salt and light."
In 2002, as part of the diocese's reconfiguration, the
Rev. James Mathews was named pastor of St. Andrew and St. Lucy Church.
The Syracuse parishes are among several pairs of parishes with one
pastor as the diocese restructures in response to demographic changes
and the declining number of clergy. Since 1989, Sister Patricia
Bergan has worked as parish associate at St. Andrew, one of the first
local parishes to turn to lay or female religious to help run the
parish.
Murray said the clergy shortage, which she termed "a
crisis," has meant fewer people can receive Holy Communion.
"As long as the celibacy of the all-male priesthood
takes precedence over the breaking of the bread, the problem will
continue," she said. "We must continue to practice the priesthood
of the laity."
The Rev. Joseph Kane, who served as pastor from 1967
until his retirement in 1996, praised parishioners past and present for
their commitment to the St. Andrew vision.
"It's the Holy Spirit coming through in the community,
that's why we're here," he said, his voice breaking. "Anyone who
exposes themselves to St. Andrew will figure out this is where the
church is and where the church is going."
From an article by Kristen Fox in the Catholic SUN 3/18/04:
A Church Community
In its long and rich history, St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Syracuse
has stood out for its uniqueness. It is a parish that has embraced
change but has remained true to its mission of love, faith and service.
Church members have much to be proud of this year as they celebrate the
parish’s 50th anniversary. “St. Andrew’s is a special parish,” said Sue McSweeney, parishioner and parish council member. “It is a gem in the
diocese.”St. Andrew’s was the vision of Msgr. Charles McEvoy. In 1951, while serving as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Syracuse, Msgr. McEvoy began the process of forming St. Andrew’s. According to church records, initially St. Andrew’s was called a mission, but from the start Msgr. McEvoy indicated his intent was to have a separate parish. Groundbreaking occurred on May 1, 1953; the church was opened and formally dedicated on Laetare Sunday, March 29, 1954 by Msgr. McEvoy.
Parishioner Jack Sessler’s life history is entwined with St. Andrew’s history. Shortly after St. Andrew the Apostle Mission Church was dedicated, Jack Sessler and his wife Phyllis moved into a house next to the church. As Sessler reflected on the church’s history, he said that it was the early parishioners –– along with the support of Msgr. McEvoy –– who paved its way. “St. Andrew’s truly began as a traditional, neighborhood parish. It was the neighbors who petitioned to build the church,” Sessler recalled. At that time, Route 81 was not yet built and Salina Street was a major thoroughfare, making it dangerous for children to go from east of Salina to St. Anthony’s for Mass and religious education. “The neighbors wanted their own parish to keep everyone safe. It all was built up from there,” Sessler said.
In the midst of St. Andrew’s history, several monumental worldwide events occurred, including Vatican II. These changes were mirrored by profound changes in the parish. After a parish vote, the first Mass facing the people was offered on Jan. 1, 1965; the first sung Mass in English took place Nov. 7, 1965, followed by the use of English. “We put into practice the things allowed by Vatican II,” said Sessler. “Most parishes in the diocese were not thinking of doing what we did. They were shocked.” “We have always been a progressive church that still holds true to the traditional ideals and values,” added Katie Doucette, who serves on the parish’s marketing committee.
Father Joseph Kane served as pastor of St. Andrew’s for 30 years and presided over a portion of those changes. He was open to new ideas, to leadership from the laity and was willing to institute new practices. Under Father Kane’s direction, the parish was the first to have a lay person serve as director of religious education. Father Kane believes that promoting lay involvement was one of the great things about Vatican II. He praised St. Andrew’s as a “model parish.” “We took Vatican II to heart at St. Andrew’s,” he said.
“We were a model parish for the days we were living in.” Sister Pat Bergan, OSF, pastoral associate, said that St. Andrew’s has never been afraid to take risks. “We have done what we believed in. We are not as much concerned about the numbers as we are with being an inclusive parish,” she said.
According to parishioner Kip Hargraves, the diocese needs a unique parish like St. Andrew’s. “We need to have different parishes and different experiences in the diocese,” he said.
Father James Mathews currently serves as pastor of St. Andrew’s and St. Lucy’s in Syracuse. Church membership at St. Andrew’s is around 200 families. Though it is a smaller
parish, there is a blend of young families, professionals and older members. "Small is beautiful,” said Hargraves. The parish community reminds him of the basic Christian communities he saw serving as a missionary with Maryknoll in Latin America in 1980. “The pastor and the parishioners had face to face contact with each other. This is what a parish should be like,” he said.
McSweeney appreciates the close-knit community found at St. Andrew’s. “In other parishes, you could sit next to someone for 10 years and not know their names. Here, everyone knows each other,” she said. “We are like a large family.” What started out as a “neighborhood parish” has grown to include parishioners from as far as Chittenango.
Sister Pat estimates that 70 percent of parishioners live outside of parish boundaries. This is a credit to St. Andrew’s mission of acceptance and inclusion. In 1991 she began a parish organization for senior citizens. For a dozen years she has taken them into the community to participate in various activities, including nature walks and the theater. “Sometimes seniors feel a disconnect with the church. We want everyone to feel welcome,” said Sister Pat.
Starting in 1994, the Catholic Gay and Lesbian Community of Syracuse has celebrated Sunday Mass twice a month at St. Andrews.
The church’s continued mission for peace and justice for all has made an impression on the parishioners, and many believe that it is the quality that most embodies the church’s spirit. “There are in our pews people from all walks of life who are each in their own way living examples of God’s love,” said parishioner Lisa Neville. She grew up attending St. Andrew’s and now brings her own children to the parish. “There is something different about St. Andrew’s,” Neville said. “We care about each other and the larger community. These are the values that I want to pass onto my children.”
From an article by Walt Shepperd in The New Times, March 17-24, 2004:
Faith-Based Initiative:
St. Andrew's progressive ways appeal to left-leaning Catholics
St. Andrew the Apostle is not your typical Roman Catholic church. Tucked away on a side street coming up Thurber Street from Brighton Avenue toward outer Comstock Avenue, the parish was established to handle the overflow from St. Anthony's when that congregation held a premier position on the South Side. But Monsignor Charles McEvoy, then pastor of St. Anthony's, had a dream to build a separate neighborhood-based parish. In 1953, with money loaned by St. Anthony's, construction began on the new church. It was formally dedicated the next year on March 29 and in 1956 the Rev. Frank Harrison, later bishop of the Syracuse Diocese, was appointed the first pastor.
Parish bulletins from the early years note a 9 a.m. mass for children, card parties and a bowling league with eight teams. In 1959, with a congregation of about 250 families, Frank Woolever, then a priest, was appointed assistant at the parish. He organized units of the Christian Family Movement, faith-based support groups for couples, one group composed of what wee then called "mixed marriages," where one spouse was Catholic and the other wasn't.
Now married and no longer a priest, Woolever remains a communicant at St. Andrew, which bolsters his faith as a community activist. The parish has become a comfortable space for former nuns and priests, including Bill Cuddy, director of the Jail Ministry.
"As a lighthouse to spiritual wayfarers, our parish has tithed on a relatively meager income for almost 40 years to support the works of mercy," Woolever reflects now. "It has sustained a sister community relationship in a third World country (Nicaragua), offered liturgical space to a gay-lesbian community, inviting them to integrate to the degree they feel comfortable, worked for peace in the face of war-making, and stepped forward to urge a moratorium on the death penalty. By this we have set an example that other parishes are beginning to follow, as the clergy shortage deepens. While the composition of the parish has changed significantly over the years, the essential spirit and mission have remained. Holding to this vision should be a cause for celebration."
Sue McSweeney grew up on South Side and attended St. Anthony's before moving into another parish: she wasn't happy there. "I was searching for another parish and every Good Friday I would make kind of a pilgrimage to a different parish," she recalls. "One Good Friday I ended up at St. Andrew. It was such a quaint little church. I had never been there before. I decided to try it the next week for mass and when I walked in everybody started shaking hands with me and telling me their names. Then they were saying they hoped to see me again. So I tried it another week. It has an atmosphere there you don't find in many churches. The good times are shared with the bad. When there's a funeral you'll find as many as three-quarters of the people there are from the parish."
In the early 1960s the reforms of Vatican II focused on collegiality, subsidiarity, ecumenism, and the role of women in the church. The civil rights movement shook the congregation as white flight to the suburbs changed the complexion of activities at St. Anthony's and raised concerns at St. Andrew. "St. Andrew became a progressive parish," McSweeney notes, "and began to draw from all over Onondaga County and now includes a couple of families from Madison County."
According to St. Andrew's pastor the Rev. James Mathews, who also pastors St. Lucy's parish, the 250 family congregation is drawn by the progressive spirit. "That's why they assemble," he says. According to Mathews, that spirit is the legacy of Father Joe Kane, now retired at 80, "who was open to so many things. He would welcome new ideas and different ways of thinking about things."
The first lay homily in 1966 set a precedent that continues today. During petitions, two prayers offered, one for a woman's right to choose and one for the unborn on the same day underscores the uniqueness at St. Andrew, where a call for action-group lobbies for reforms within the church.
"We take care of each other," McSweeney says, "and then we move out into the
community to take care of others."