Archdiocese of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania
Orthodox Church in America
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Small Parish Forum Keynote Address

ArchPriest Daniel Rentel
ArchPriest Daniel Rentel
ArchPriest Daniel Rentel

The following notes are 'talking points' from the keynote address by Archpriest Daniel Rentel at the 2014 Small Parish Forum.

I’m from central Pennsylvania, a largely rural mining area with a smattering of small towns. These towns were connected by Pennsylvania Routes 53 and 36. At one time, coal and the railroads were king. There were small Orthodox churches in virtually all of  of these towns.

I was born on Rt. 36 and spent much of my early ministry on Rt. 53. Growing up, our priest was shared by another parish because neither parish was large enough to support him.

I  knew somehow even as a teen that the priesthood beckoned. Our canter,  who lived next door to the Church,  taught me to read Old Church Slavonic without the proper accent. We were, after all the Russian Orthodox Church of North and South America. As he got older I took on his responsibilities  in both places -- a powerful experience. I never heard any prayers in English.  Seminaries -- South Canaan, Johnstown, back to South Canaan.

I  married and was ordained in 1962 for the parish of St. John the Baptist Church in Phillipsburg, Pa. The move put me on Route 53. My best clergy pal was Fr. Nick Solak, 4 miles away in Osceola Mills, Pa. (Prof. Drillock knows the place.)

Fr. Nick  and I  worked well together. He was active with the Penn State OCF. I joined him often. We concelebrated. The Orthodox ties meant something. ‘Hunkeys' were not well received in the larger English speaking America. In truth often exploited. Before I left the area, I served parishes in Indiana, Patton, Madera, Urey. These parishes at the time were insular, largely ethnically confined.

Although they struggled, this engendered no sense of outreach, nor desire to engage outside  community. If anything, we were known for ethnic festivals, perohi sales, and pictures of pysanki in local newspapers.

Positives

A particular Faith people strove to maintain.

Support  -- Brotherhoods, sisterhoods, cohesion.

Fellowship - full sense of community

Tribe-like thinking -- to this very day you know somebody or somebody there knows someone who knows you.

Education: even if only a Russian School. The idea ?????????

On the other hand….

Often Churches were family run affairs.-- Clan/tribal chieftains.

Not-for-profit organizing, left hierarchy weak, often ineffective.  The Church Committee often left clergy  in the altar, administration elsewhere. We had to leave P-burg because we couldn’t afford to stay . . .

But it was a period of transition for these communities.  People left for better jobs elsewhere.

Decline of coal industry, decline of rail industry. A few years later, the decline of the steel industry had a similar impact in other parts of the country.

For those who remained behind:

- A time of sharp decline

- Attempts to remain  loyal to the church;

- Retrenchment, but again, with little emphasis on outreach.

- Family clusters that often morphed into family feuds as problems of survival took hold. There was resistance to any changes, so newcomers had to conform or go elsewhere.  There existences an antiquated sense of stewardship.

The belief persisted  that the Church would not, could not, die. But this did  not engender a sense of need to reach out beyond the parish community.

Priests often had to serve multiple parishes because none could stand alone and sustain the priestly family.

Does not engender parish life or mission! Sometimes gossip -- not good!

In the end, sacrifices had to be made. Ministries of the church became minimal. Church schools disappeared.   Choirs and cantors, dwindled and in some cases just disappeared. Priests were often left to sing their own responses during services.

Often the communities took on a dismal, foreboding appearance:. slag heaps, scarred earth, company towns deserted -- almost.

There became a need to establish, then, new churches in more populated areas.  Some were successful, but we always had to deal with the major issues of ethnic identities, which often did and still do get in the way of the church’s larger mission. I worked on a mission in Indiana, Pa. -- not far from Rte. 53. Great little university town.   After several years of lots and lots of work, we could not attract more than 1 Greek family and one Serb lady. Were there more Orthodox in town?  We  worked hard with townspeople and university students, many of whom became involved in a service project connected to a halfway house for mentally ill persons.  (Incidentally, this halfway house was itself run by a Ukrainian Orthodox priest who had  a strong sense of mission. I believe that this halfway house is still in existence.)  There was great potential in Indiana l, but ultimately the mission collapsed over economic and ethnic issues.  For me to be able to stay there, I would have had to have a full time secular job, or my wife would have, or both.   

Consequence

We must allow essential Orthodoxy to escape its ethnic confines so that it might be presented in its fullness to the larger community. Otherwise, our future is dim indeed.

O Lord, how I learned from those earlier experiences.

Now once again I find myself involved in a kind of Rt. 53 experience, but this time in Ohio.

There has been no influx from Old Country. Sometimes we gain members from marriages.

Mostly, we’re on our own..

So?  

In place: people still here, there on Rt.53, in downstate Illinois, rustbelt, wherever, Byesville, Ohio

That's good; there is a foundation on which to build, tested through several generations.

The way I see it: We must be ready to grow, attract, survive and minister in the places we're called to serve.  Where’s the nearest college or university, prison, or assisted living facility? Who cares if Russians, Slovaks, Greeks come? For us as believers in the New World, the new world means the place that We must be:

- Sharing essential Orthodoxy.

- Inviting through living the Gospel those who live next door.

- Reinvesting in worship --  it has always been the key that unlocks the door  to conversion.

- Recognizing daily the value,depth, and vitality of our  Orthodox Faith

Experiencing now, hence knowing in the future you are connected. 2 dioceses. In community with Canada. Several states Small parishes equals:

- Support

- Desire

At This Forum

You’ll hear more of what we have in common as we move through the agenda with opportunity to exchange ideas and problems seeking solutions. Get to know one another. Make yourselves a human chain. Use the strength found in such a situation to work together and maybe more importantly when you get home/

Long live those who make their lives along the state routes of America. Could it be that we will be the ones who bring  America to the Church in  the 21st century? It often happens that the good stuff is found close to the ground.

Why not?  So be it! So be it!

Amen.