Faithful from Hopewell, Dinwiddie, Prince George gather as one
A little bit of collaboration among the parishioners of St. James, Hopewell; St. John, Dinwiddie; and Sacred Heart, Prince George, helps the cluster move forward.
“Here we are in the second round – because of our collaboration, because of people’s awareness, partially because we’ve done it before and we’re refining and we have a lot of skills that we’ve learned along the way,” said Father Joseph Goldsmith, pastor of the cluster parishes. “It’s neat, you know. There’s a healthy energy to it. There’s a healthy vitality to what we’re doing.”
That energy was evident among the 318 people who celebrated the bilingual cluster Mass at St. James on Sunday, Feb. 27, when the parishes came together for the only Mass offered in the cluster that weekend.
Cluster Masses are planned by the Diversified Parish Council (DPC), which was reformed in 2019 with six members from each parish.
Sam Jones III, DPC chairman, said the council’s vision “was to bring three parishes and communities together” while respecting the individuality of each community, and the cluster Mass is an example of that.
“It’s the same Mass, it’s our same Lord present in the Eucharist and present in the people who gather,” said Father Goldsmith, “but the circumstances, we’re taking advantage of them to highlight the reasons that we have to celebrate.”
Those reasons included the Rite of Sending for catechumens who would go on to become “the elect” the following weekend, and recognition of candidates, confirmation students, children preparing for first Communion and married couples from the cluster.
“We’re going to use processions as part of the prayer,” Father Goldsmith said prior to the Mass. He said that those groups would process to the front of the church during the prayers of the faithful, lending the congregation a visual aid.
Father Goldsmith also noted that the cluster Mass is one of the special times when all of the clergy who serve the three parishes are able to be together.
Welcoming parish
Jeff Stoke’s daughter, Zoe, was one of the confirmation students recognized at the cluster Mass. His family has attended Sacred Heart, Dinwiddie, since 2009.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity as she becomes a full member of the Church,” he said, noting that his son has already received that sacrament, and he looks forward to “watching all three of my children become fully absorbed into the Catholic Church as adults” when his younger daughter is confirmed in the future.
The St. James choir, self-described as “multi-generational,” was excited to host parishioners from other parishes for the cluster Mass.
“That’s something we pride ourselves on as a parish – that we’re very welcoming,” said Mary Hayes.
Choir members joining Hayes at the Mass were Patti Allen, Therese Parker and Patricia Robinette – decades-long members of the parish – and Alexys Collins, who said she has been coming to church with her grandfather “for a while.”
The choir embraced the bilingual element of their songs with the help of Jezebel Aramburo, a member of Sacred Heart, Richmond, who helped them pronounce the Spanish words in their songs.
“They learn really fast,” Aramburo said as the choir shared a laugh.
Communal prayer
Robinette said she feels a special connection during the cluster Masses.
“It is so nice to see other cultures that can come together in a common belief system and a common worship space, and we know what everybody else is thinking and saying,” she said. “When you share that religious belief with somebody, you just have that extra connection with them, and it’s just sort of an extended family going out into the community.”
Stoke said he sees the cluster Mass “from a regionalization.”
“We are one region, one family. Whether it be Dinwiddie or Hopewell or Prince George, we need to act as one region, and I think having the cluster parishes and having a cluster Mass, showing that regionism, is very important,” he said. “If one of us fails, we all fail, and I think that’s what today is all about.”
Outside of the cluster Masses, the regional family Stoke mentioned is unified by a shared communal prayer to conclude the prayers of the faithful at every weekend Mass.
Father Goldsmith said that the current communal prayer is for the synod; previously they prayed the bicentennial prayer and one that all the parishes contributed to by identifying specific social concerns on which to focus.
“So we have a prayer in common, and it’s nice,” he said. “If someone were to go to another church (in the cluster), they know that prayer is going to be there. There’s these little seeds of us working together.”
‘Stepping up in new ways’
Among the challenges COVID brought to the cluster were staying in touch when the community could not gather and “the stewardship piece,” according to Father Goldsmith.
He noted that finances were a big concern for everyone. One of the ways the cluster navigated the challenge was by communicating constantly about parish needs, and that resulted in “building momentum.”
“People have also been creative and passionate and stepping up in new ways,” he said.
The cluster turned what began as Father Goldsmith’s video reflections into “basically a weekly news program,” redesigned the cluster website and “worked out in different ways at each of the churches our mechanisms for keeping in touch.”
Drive-up blessings for parishioners were offered. St. James organized a phone call tree to reach people who were at home. St. John had a monthly church information pick-up where parishioners would also exchange notes, card or small gifts.
“We definitely did that for a strong year, and then this past year, things have opened up a great deal,” Father Goldsmith said.
With things getting back to the new normal, Jones described the Feb. 27 cluster Mass as “the start of the reenergized DPC.”
“Think of every positive thing there is when you hear the words ‘faith,’ ‘love,’ ‘hope,’ ‘charity,’ ‘brotherhood,’ ‘community,’” he said about the DPC’s efforts.
“We are seeing the fruits of leadership working together, and I think we’re seeing the fruits of virtue for people just to be a little more patient or a little more helpful,” Father Goldsmith said. ”And I think that just cultivates a healthy heart, a bit of holiness among all of us.”