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PARISH PROFILE
 St. Olaf, Norge: Growing parish strives to keep intimacy
By Steve Neill
of The Catholic Virginian
When the new church of St. Olaf parish in Norge is eventually built and dedicated, parishioners will know that they had a chance to express their wishes on what they wanted for their church.
Father Peter Creed, the pastor, made sure the process allowed people to have input in the design and practical use of the building. Parishioners were asked to complete a questionnaire which was specific.
“You’d be surprised to see how many of them felt the same,” said Lillian Simcox.
“They wanted a lot of natural light, pews and kneelers and the feeling of intimacy.”
This feeling of intimacy is one of the strengths of St. Olaf’s, many parishioners say. The parish has about 635 families, but people feel they are a close-knit community whose members care about one another.
“We were looking for a small faith community where we could make a difference,” said Ginny Degnan who moved to Virginia from Connecticut 10 years ago.
“It was easy to get involved in ministries here,” she continued. “We hear about people’s lives here and it makes a difference. I know who’s sick in the parish and needs prayers and who has had a new grandchild.”
 Father Creed, ordained a priest for the Diocese of Syracuse, N.Y., in 1967, first came to the diocese in 2002 and was incardinated into the Diocese of Richmond in 2003.
Deacon Robert (Tom) Thompson, who had previously been assigned at the neighboring parish of St. Bede’s in Williamsburg, preaches twice a month at all the Masses. He is in charge of the baptism preparation program.
St. Olaf’s is located about seven miles west of Williamsburg and 45 miles east of Richmond. It was established in 1992. Before the first church was built, Mass was celebrated on Sundays at Toano Women’s Club and at Our Saviour’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on the Saturday vigil Mass.
The name of Norge is the common Norwegian spelling of Norway. The town was established in 1904 after Norwegian immigrants and other Scandinavians had settled in the area after leaving the Midwest where they had been farmers.
The parish has many retirees who have moved to Virginia from the Mid-Atlantic states and Massachusetts.
“My guess is that 30 percent of parishioners are retired,” said Jim Simcox, parish business manager.
“Word of mouth is getting out that Father Pete gives fabulous homilies and loves children so more young families are coming.”
 Many of them choose to be active in the parish and involved in a variety of committees.
There is the Justice and Peace Committee whose main project is the parish food pantry. Joe Henzel and Lenny Gentempo serve as coordinators.
The food which is collected comes largely from St. Olaf parishioners but other local churches contribute items to the food pantry. Needy people come Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon to pick up the food which has already been placed in bags.
“Pretty much the same people come every month,” Mr. Henzel said. “There are no questions asked.”
Adult faith formation is a primary focus at St. Olaf’s, said Terri Chang, director of religious education and a member of the parish for 14 years.
“We are starting an adult formation program on Sunday when the children and youth meet for their classes after the 10:00 Mass,” she said, pointing out that the sessions which begin Sept. 28 will involve a discussion of the Sunday readings of that liturgy.
 A team consisting of Father Creed, Deacon Tom Thompson, Mrs. Chang, Paul Power and Charlene Sullivan will alternately lead the discussions.
“We are going to shift our emphasis of adult formation from a weekday program which was more difficult for people to participate in to Sundays which will encourage more parents and working parishioners to take part,” Mrs. Chang said.
Because of limited space available, Christian formation classes are held for children in grades 2 to 5 on the first and third Sundays and for middle school and high school youth on the second and fourth Sundays after the 10 a.m. Mass.
There is children’s liturgy of the Word during the Sunday 10 a.m. Mass which drew about 35 children last year.
Among the other activities is a women’s spiritual formation group which meets on Wednesday morning. Mrs. Chang is facilitator of the group which can often be a book study.
“This is a starting point for what is happening in our faith life,” she said.
This past Easter two candidates entered the Church through the RCIA program. A new group will begin soon and will have at least two candidates.
“It’s a church in which so many participate,” Lillian Simcox said. “We have Colleen Kurdziolek who has 10 women in charge of cleaning and ironing the linens.
“We have six ladies in a knitting group who knit baby caps, shawls for seniors, sweater sets and blankets for new babies.
There is also a Men’s Group which comes out one Saturday a month to work on the church grounds and office and make repairs to the building.
 It is obvious to visitors that St. Olaf’s needs to expand its church. The sanctuary quickly fills up for the 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday and many worshippers must sit in chairs placed in the commons.
The building plans have been approved by both the James City County Board of Supervisors (5–0 vote in favor) and the Building Commission (7–0 in favor). Drawings from Brawer & Hauptman Architects of Philadelphia are posted in the commons to remind parishioners of their goal for a new building.
“We just have finished our interviews with the various contractors and are in the process of deciding which one to choose,” Father Creed said.
The parish still needs to raise a bit more money before the diocese gives permission for construction to begin. It is projected that the groundbreaking will be in 2010 with the building completed in 2011.
“We are in very good shape,” said John Colligan, chair of St. Olaf’s parish finance council.
 “We’re not a poor parish, but we’re not a wealthy parish. Our contributions continue to grow every year,” he explained.
The capital campaign to raise money for the building project exceeded its $1 million goal. To date parishioners have raised $1.17 million.
“Tom Moran, our professional fundraiser, said that on Pledge Sunday we had 80 percent of our goal which he said was unusual at that point. It showed the enthusiasm and support for the building program.
 “We’re always above budget in the Sunday collections and we raise the budget each year,” Mr. Colligan said.
“We’re conservative in our whole financial structure. I look at this as dealing with public funds and it requires an even higher degree of conservatism.”
Jack Bruno, a member of St. Olaf’s since 1995 who is a lector and Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, says he has always liked being part of a smaller Catholic community.
“We have wonderful people,” he said of his fellow parishioners. “The music is part of the liturgy as opposed to being a concert.”
The smaller size parish appeals to many of the parishioners who had worshipped in much larger churches
“At my age — I’m 83 — I’m now in the choir,” said Frank Seifirth who grew up and worked in New York before retiring in Virginia.
“I’d only done it once before and that’s when I was a kid living in the Bronx at Christ the King Church.”
Among the St. Olaf parishioners in an indirect way is Jonathan Goertz, a seminarian in the diocese’s priestly formation program. His parents joined the parish after they had moved to Williamsburg when he had already entered seminary formation.
“I came to St. Olaf’s for Thanksgiving and Father (John) Ridgell (who was pastor before Father Creed) asked me to serve. He said I was always welcome and I’ve felt welcome ever since.”
Ann Mattio, recently hired as St. Olaf’s youth minister, says the ministry is geared to youths from the 6th to 12th grades and will seek to allow the youths themselves to chart the course.
 There were 24 youths at the initial meeting and many parents as well. There were others who said they wanted to be there but left word that their families were on vacation.
At that meeting Mrs. Mattio charged the youth with coming up for a name for the group and an icon they felt symbolized the message they wanted to project.
They chose the name K for Christ, with K for “Kids” and for an icon chose a globe representing the earth with a cross extending in the center.
“The youth need to feel that their ideas and thoughts are important,” Mrs. Mattio said.
The St. Olaf’s group will attend the diocesan Youth Day at Busch Gardens in late September. They will also explore different service programs.
While she admits she was impressed with the good turnout for the youth ministry’s initial meeting, St. Olaf’s youth minister gave the credit to Father Creed for drawing the crowd.
“Father Pete has such good rapport with the youth and their parents that he got them there,” she said.
“He could sell ice to an Eskimo.”
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Copyright © 2008 The Catholic Virginian Press. Articles from Catholic News Services, including Fr. Dietzen’s column, may not be reproduced due to copyright considerations.
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