Greenfield parish raises funds for New Castle church

Franciscan Sister Shirley Gerth, third from left, parish life coordinator of St. Anne Parish in New Castle and St. Rose Parish in Knightstown, accepts a check for $16,488 for the St. Anne Building Fund on Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, from St. Anne parishioner Doris Addington-Brooks of New Castle, left, and St. Michael parishioners Connie Smith, second from left, and Lori Mayfield, right, of Greenfield. St. Michael Parish gave half of the proceeds from their annual fundraiser on Nov. 3 to help rebuild St. Anne Church, which was destroyed last year in an arson fire on Holy Saturday, April 7. (Submitted photo)

By Mary Ann Wyand

They came bearing a gift—a very large gift—on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. They weren’t magi, and their gift wasn’t gold, frankincense or myrrh.

They were representatives of St. Michael Parish in Greenfield, and their gift was paper—a bank check for $16,488—to help rebuild St. Anne Church in New Castle, which was destroyed last year in an arson fire on Holy Saturday, April 7, 2007.

The gift represents half of the nearly $34,000 in proceeds from St. Michael Parish’s annual dinner and auction held on Nov. 3 at their Parish Life Center.

St. Michael parishioners and auction co-chairs Lori Mayfield and Connie Smith joined St. Anne parishioner Doris Addington-Brooks, who helped with the auction, to present the gift-wrapped check to Franciscan Sister Shirley Gerth before Mass on Jan. 6 in the temporary worship space in the basement of St. Anne’s Parish Center. Parishioners applauded enthusiastically when Sister Shirley opened the box and displayed the check.

“They were very, very surprised,” Sister Shirley said in a telephone interview on Jan. 14. “It was very heartwarming. … For me, it was [a gift from] a parish who reached out to us, not just with their money but also with their concern, their care, their love. It certainly touched me.”

The past year hasn’t been easy for St. Anne parishioners or Sister Shirley, the parish life coordinator of St. Anne Parish and nearby St. Rose Parish in Knightstown.

Since an arson fire gutted St. Anne Church during the Easter Triduum, parishioners have grieved the loss of their historic brick church.

They have struggled to forgive William L. Abbott of New Castle, who was arrested last May by Henry County authorities and charged with felony counts of arson, burglary and theft for breaking and entering the locked building, stealing sacred containers then starting the fire in the middle of the night. His pre-trial hearing is scheduled in February with the trial set for March.

Sister Shirley said St. Michael Parish’s generous gift brings the amount of donations to the St. Anne Building Fund from parishes and individuals to $174,025.

“It was very appropriate to receive this gift on Epiphany,” Sister Shirley said. “I had just read The Christmas Promise by Donna VanLiere. In the book, she says, ‘We can play the What If? game forever or we can let God bring beauty out of tragedy and chaos.’ … I said to the people, ‘I think we’ve seen a glimpse of the beauty that has come out of this tragedy.’ ”

Mayfield and Smith said sharing the auction proceeds with a parish in need reflects the true spirit of Christmas.

In 2006, St. Michael’s “We Give Thanks” fundraiser earned about $19,000, they said, but area business owners were especially generous with donations for the 2007 auction when they found out that half of the proceeds would be given to the St. Anne Building Fund.

Mayfield grew up in St. Anne Parish and wanted to do something to help in the wake of the church fire.

For six months, Mayfield and Smith worked hard and prayed hard that the event would be well-attended and generate enough proceeds to share with St. Anne Parish. They were thrilled beyond words when the 2007 dinner and auction raised so much money.

Benedictine Father Severin Messick, pastor of St. Michael Parish, said in a recent telephone interview that he is proud of the parishioners who worked so hard to make the fundraiser a success.

“It makes me very proud of the people of our parish,” Father Severin said. “Since St. Anne’s is basically next door, it only makes sense that we would want to do something to help St. Anne’s in their rebuilding efforts.

“Doing the dinner-auction together gave us a chance to share with them our sorrow at the loss of their beautiful church building,” Father Severin explained. “But more importantly, this event gave us the opportunity to join with them in hope as they rebuild for the future.”

Mayfield cried when she saw the gutted church on April 9.

“You couldn’t get very close to the church because there were still fire trucks outside,” she said. “We just stood across the street over in the funeral home parking lot with tears running down our faces. There were so many memories, and it was just so tragic. It truly did break my heart. It was very overwhelming emotionally. You think, ‘How could this happen?’ ”

A week later, Mayfield asked Father Severin if St. Michael Parish could help St. Anne Parish with some of the proceeds from their annual fundraiser.

“God teaches us to be good stewards and do what we can for other people,” she said. “… Father Severin loved the idea. … I went to the parish council and they loved the idea, too. … Everyone jumped on the bandwagon. … We sent out invitations to all the neighboring parishes around the East Deanery. We also asked if they were interested in giving a donation. We got great results from the items that came in from businesses in Indianapolis, Knightstown, New Castle and Greenfield.”

About 300 people bought tickets for the dinner, including 56 St. Anne ­parishioners.

“The evening was just fabulous,” Smith said. “We raised much more than expected, and we thank God for that. I get emotional just talking about it. Lori and I never expected the amount to be that high. Our whole goal was to help St. Anne Parish so we put it all in God’s hands.”

Sister Shirley said a decision about how to rebuild the church probably won’t be made until March, but the parish will remain at its current address.

St. Anne parishioners gathered for Christmas Eve Mass in Bundy Auditorium at New Castle Chrysler High School—the same location where they celebrated the Easter liturgy hours after the arson fire—so everyone could worship together.

“I don’t think anybody realizes—until you do not have a church—what it is like,” Sister Shirley said. “It’s very hard. We stressed during Advent that we started our Advent journey in April, but it is still kind of hard. We’re waiting in hope.

“A few years ago, someone stole the Baby Jesus in our outdoor crib, and I said at the time that we have to make Christ present in our own hearts,” she said. “I think that’s one of the essential messages for Christmas. … I’ve just been awestruck by the number of folks who have given donations and been concerned about us. The longer it goes [without a church], the more we have to rely on prayers.”

(To help St. Anne Parish with uninsured expenses related to rebuilding the church, send checks addressed to St. Anne Building Fund to the archdiocesan Mission Office, P.O. Box 1410, Indianapolis, IN 46206.) †