The Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, serves the Appalachian Mountains, where Catholics represent less than one half of a percent of the total population in most of its counties. That means that the percentage of Catholics in Saudi Arabia is actually higher than it is in East Kentucky. Parishes are small, their facilities often are very simple, priests are few and far between, and the Church’s financial means are extremely limited given that nearly all of the counties they serve in the mountains experience persistent poverty.
But these limitations have never provided an excuse for self-pity or small thinking among the Catholics of the Appalachian Mountains. Instead, their circumstances have pushed them to be more committed to their faith and more dedicated to the Church’s mission of bringing good news and glad tidings to the poor.
A largely dismantled coal industry, which was the longtime economic backbone of the region, has left many people in distress due to the challenges of poverty, food insecurity and inadequate housing that have ensued along with the dramatic economic downturn.
Nonetheless, the Catholic Church, with as few resources and people as it has, still possesses a strong reputation in the area as the place where anyone who has need can get help.
Giving back by loving all
Queen of All Saints, a parish supported by Catholic Extension Society in Beattyville, Kentucky, is a prime example. In 2020, a catastrophic flood destroyed all of its buildings, including its church, rectory and parish hall. Though the church remains in shambles, with its interior completely gutted, its mission remains alive and well.
Phyllis Gardner is a parish volunteer who was attracted to the Catholic Church five years ago after she encountered Sisters Marge Eilerman and Angie Kiel, OSF, from the Holy Family Catholic Church in Booneville, Kentucky. She now works up to 70 hours a week at the local parish outreach center in Beattyville, which delivers essential items to the poor and homeless.
She perhaps more than most people can appreciate this church ministry as she too was homeless at one time. She ate out of dumpsters to survive. But she said the worst part of being homeless was “having people look down their noses at you.”
Her mission is more than to just deliver items like coats, blankets and diapers, but rather to give the needy and homeless a sense of their God-given human dignity. She said her work is made possible through her love of Christ and her understanding of His self-sacrificing love on behalf of all humanity.
She said with conviction,
We are all God’s children. I love the homeless. If I see someone in need, I’ll help them.
A lay couple leads the way
In Hazard, Kentucky, Mother of Good Counsel Parish, with its 70 active families, has an equally strong presence in the community. The last permanently stationed pastor to serve this parish left five years ago. Now the church, built by Catholic coal miners generations ago, has three itinerate priests who periodically travel into town to offer Masses.
Meanwhile, the day-to-day administration and pastoral care of the community is led by a lay married couple, Lori and Dan Helfrich. Catholic Extension Society supports their positions.
Originally from Illinois, the Helfrichs began their roles in Hazard as parish life coordinators in 2018. They realized that to be effective they must be out in the community building relationships even though Catholics remain an incredibly small minority in the area.
In addition to their regular parish duties of religious education and facility maintenance, their primary focus is to be a visible presence of the Catholic Church in Hazard. They do everything from supporting the local food pantry to working with organizations to help address housing issues. Because transportation is such a problem in the “hills and hollers” of Kentucky, poverty can sometimes be hidden away and the people in greatest need can be the hardest to reach. The Helfrichs build trust with and give voice to these vulnerable people.
They estimate that 80 percent of their time is spent out in the community. Instead of just maintaining the church property and its operations, they are maintaining the church’s reputation of a profound willingness to help anyone, no matter what religion or background. They strive to simply “be normal” and authentic to create alliances and bonds with others, instead of trying to assume ecclesial personas to gain credibility.
Their approach works well as people place their trust in the Catholic parish, outside organizations collaborate with it, and some people even decide to join the Catholic Church. As many as one third of the parishioners are converts to the faith, with more joining each year since the Helfrichs’ arrival.
The Helfrichs now feel at home in Hazard and have a real familial sense of connection with the people of these mountains.
For those who are unfamiliar with what it means to be a “church on a mission,” they should look no further than East Kentucky. This is a place in the country where the Catholic Church never had the option to rest on its laurels, rely on its existing institutional strength or lean on its strength in numbers. Instead, it has always been a collection of people, small in number but resolute and clear about their purpose and mission as a Catholic people.
This article appears in Extension magazine’s summer 2022 edition, where you can read more stories on how Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people in America’s poorest regions to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities.
