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PARISH PROFILE
 Christ the King, Abingdon: ‘a family to ground us’
By Jean Denton
Special to The Catholic Virginian
There’s only one weekend Mass at Christ the King Church in Abingdon. That seems to be a good thing for the 150-household parish in the center of the Richmond Diocese’s rural Region 10 because members say it enhances their sense of family.
“The parishioners here will tell you this church is family,” Father Paul Maier, pastor, explained.
“It’s not just like family,” said Kate Jacob, religious education coordinator, “it truly is family for many of us because a lot of parishioners are not from the area and don’t have their own family members nearby.”
As it is located in a rich agricultural area on the edge of Appalachia, one might guess Abingdon’s population (8,000–51,000 in the county ) is mostly home-grown, but there are many transplants in the town that, with its historic Barter Theater and Virginia Creeper Trail, is a favorite Virginia tourist spot.
“When people come through the door at Christ the King, they are looking for new friends; we are all wanting a family to ground us,” said longtime parishioner Bill Andrews who grew up in Roanoke.
 As if to prove a point, several members of three different families sat on sofas in the commons area. It was an hour after Mass and no one appeared in a hurry to leave.
Adults drank coffee and chatted with each other’s children as they put the finishing touches on a blanket that the youth group would donate to a local foster child.
Father Maier came to Abingdon four years ago, the sixth pastor of the parish that was formed in the mid 1970s when the small Catholic community began meeting at St. Thomas Episcopal Church and then at St. John Lutheran. To this day the three faith communities maintain strong ties and a spirit of cooperation.
Christ the King’s church building was dedicated in 1983. The first pastor was Father Dan Bain who also was then pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Marion.
As the congregation grew, the worship space was expanded and a kitchen, classrooms and fellowship hall were added in 1994.
 Father Bob Krenik was the longest serving pastor, leading the parish from 1989 until he was transferred in 2003.
The parish’s doors, so open to new “family,” also swing the other way with a spirit of enormous generosity toward the region’s poor, Father Maier noted.
Outreach is a fundamental part of Christ the King’s parish life in a community where many people have serious needs. The church tithes to community outreach, explained Jim Baldwin who, with Mr. Andrews, coordinates much of the parish social ministry.
“Because we don’t have a church staff no one is present at the church during the week. So we struggled for years not having a ‘system’ for assisting people,” Mr. Baldwin said.
“But now we partner with several other organizations — especially Ecumenical Faith in Action (EFA) which is right across the street — and that seems to fill the bill.”
 Christ the King is one of 20 member churches in EFA, an umbrella agency that provides a variety of assistance to Washington County families in need. One of its biggest services is a food pantry that serves 400-500 clients, Mr. Baldwin estimated.
The organization also provides medicines, transportation and caretaking.
The church supports other social service agencies as well, including Crossroads Medical Mission, a mobile clinic that offers health care to the indigent. Christ the King parishioner Dr. Jeff Merrill helped establish the popular clinic.
“When we agreed to support this mission we committed to a monthly donation, an effort to match that with individual parishioners’ donations and to actively pray for the medical mission each week,” Mr. Baldwin said.
Additionally, Mr. Baldwin estimated that church members contribute about $10,000 each year during Advent to two particular parish projects, “Friends of Santa,” which provides Christmas gifts and food baskets to scores of families who are clients of Washington County Department of Social Services, and “Josè’s Villages.”
 The latter was begun by parishioner Josè Olguìn who coordinates the annual collection that provides food staples year-round for the poor of nine “colonias” around his native Mexico City. (Several other parishes in Region 10 also support Josè’s Villages.)
Individuals and families in the parish span a wide range of ages. There are about 50 children in Christ the King’s Christian formation classes.
Deacon Richard Cronican, the parish’s first deacon who moved to Abingdon in April, has taken an active role in Christian formation. Ordained in 1976, he also preaches on some Sundays and serves in Catholic Campus ministry at nearby Emory and Henry College.
The parish’s youth group, led by volunteer youth ministers Patti Smith and her husband Charles Goolsby, has about 25 active members in grades 6–12.
 “It’s a first rate program,” the pastor noted. “They are very devoted, very dedicated.”
Ms. Smith explained that Christ the King’s youth ministry places strong focus on “Catholic identity” and she makes special efforts “to connect our young people with large numbers of other Catholic youth” through regional and national conferences and programs.
 Each year a group of Christ the King high school youth take a summer mission trip to Catholic Heart Workcamp where they repair homes and make improvements to low income neighborhoods in various cities around the country.
“We emphasize that they are the church of today, and we try to make that point particularly through social justice ministry,” Ms. Smith said.
“One of my concerns is that they keep their Catholic faith active,” she added pointing out that several former parish youth group members have leadership roles in their campus ministries.
The active Knights of Columbus chapter at Christ the King has been a great supporter of youth ministry, Ms. Smith said, noting that the Knights raised a fourth of the cost for three parish youths to attend the recent National Catholic Youth Convention in Ohio and also provides funds for the group going to Heart Camp each year.
 The whole parish is talking about an exciting new addition to youth ministry, too — a youth band. Parishioner Brandon Nadler contacted Smith almost as soon as he and his family arrived in Abingdon recently. At their former parish in Mississippi Nadler and his two teenage sons, Alexander and Andrew, played in a youth band and wanted to start one at Christ the King. It came together quickly and now there are 12 members. “They are really good,” Ms. Smith praises. Named “Paschal Initiative,” they debuted at a church Halloween party. They play mostly praise music but plan to continue adding “gigs” for youth activities and soon expect to provide music for the parish’s monthly youth-led Sunday liturgy.
“It’s impossible to listen to that band and not stand up and start clapping your hands,” Ms. Smith said.
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Copyright © 2006 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced here due to copyright considerations.
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