ARTICLES

Ministry in Appalachia: Dedicated to justice

By Jean Denton
Special to The Catholic Virginian

Responding to the cry of the poor in Appalachia, a sizable contingent of women religious have come to far southwest Virginia and have served in that region of the Richmond Diocese for more than 35 years.

They brought with them the life and message of Jesus demonstrated in their unfailing care and commitment to both the people and land.

These sisters “became the heart, hands and face of the church for many people in that region, particularly low-income and struggling families,” said Michael Stone, diocesan director of the Office of Justice and Peace.

Coming from various places and supported by the mission and resources of many different religious orders, they founded important social services and dedicated their work to ecological and economic justice.

“Women religious have had a tremendous impact there,” Stone said.

He explained that many of the now well-established programs and services would not exist without the sisters’ leadership and access to resources and funding through their religious communities.

He added, “The women religious in southwest Virginia made the Catholic church accessible to ordinary people — mostly non-Catholic people — especially people with great need. They have been an incredible gift to the Diocese of Richmond and we should be incredibly grateful for that.”

Most of the more than 40 religious sisters who came to the Appalachian region within this diocese arrived in the 1970s and 80s in response to a pastoral letter by the Catholic bishops of 26 dioceses touched by the region. “This Land is Home to Me,” was issued in 1975 on the heels of both Vatican II and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s declared “War on Poverty.”

While embraced and signed by the bishops, the pastoral actually was initiated and written by religious and lay people living and serving in Appalachia. Their poetic expression of both the beauty and impoverishment of the region, along with the words and experiences of local individuals, enliven the pages of the document.

Some 200,000 copies were printed and sent out.

“It was picked up by people all over the world, and it continues to speak to marginalized people everywhere,” said Sister Jackie Hanrahan, CND, director of the diocesan Appalachian Office of Justice and Peace located in the heart of the region.

In 1995, a second pastoral by the bishops, “At Home in the Web of Life,” updated the circumstances in Appalachia and addressed needs that existed 20 years after the first letter. It focused on sustainability of the region’s communities and fragile ecosystem.

Referring to the segment of Appalachia that lies in southwest Virginia, Sister Jackie said, “I think we are at the heart of the heart. We have the greatest diversity and the greatest vulnerability. The places most heavily mined are the poorest. Ecological issues are the new frontier.”

But what now?

Last year the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA) published a combined reprinting of the two pastoral letters to highlight the continuing challenges the region presents to the church. In a statement accompanying the letters, CCA director Father John Rausch, a Glenmary priest, noted that many of the religious women who have long served in the region are “entering their senior years.”

“Their ministries that brought the compassion of Christ up the hollows and into the small communities face an uncertain future, until the power of the Holy Spirit calls forth a renewed commitment to the powerless of the region from the church, both inside and beyond Appalachia,” he wrote.

From the standpoint of the Richmond Diocese, Michael Stone agrees.

“I think many of the ministries will continue to thrive,” he said, “but I think it will be a challenge and a difficulty to maintain the religious identity and witness of the women religious.”

He added, “What they have provided as a presence of the church and with their financial resources, they have been unique and invaluable. It will be difficult to match what they have brought to Appalachia and southwest Virginia.”

Sister Jackie sees plenty of hope for the region she now calls home.

Many of the religious communities represented in Appalachia are examining the ministries they have supported and addressing how they will carry on as the numbers of religious decrease.

Many congregations, she pointed out, have an “associate program” of lay members. She suggested that this form of ministry is growing, noting that in her own Congregation of Notre Dame half the membership are associates.

“It’s a new model, a movement of the Spirit,” she contended. “Many of the associated members now have come to serve in the region and they connect,” she said. Sister Jackie explained that most religious communities maintain “mission trusts” to support the ministries that reflect their mission. She believes that while there may not be so many sisters actually on the ground in the region, the congregations still will lend existing ministries financial support — administered by vowed religious — “as a way to continue their mission.”

In the continuing struggle for justice, she added, “Parishes and Catholics in the region are supportive and play a part in sustaining it. The faith of the people is strong here,” she said.

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