By Jean Denton
of The Catholic Virginian

One of the more notable physical appointments of any church in the Diocese of Richmond has to be the altar in St. Anthony Church in Norton made from a huge single block of anthracite coal.

It’s certainly appropriate for the small church in far southwest Virginia where the community and its surrounding Appalachian mountain region were settled by coal miners.

The coal industry has continued to be a central element of the local culture and economy through succeeding generations to today.

St. Anthony’s sanctuary is a conscientious representation of its community — both temporal and spiritual.

Other prominent features are the stained glass windows depicting mining, medical, communication and sewing industries as well as symbols of education, home and family, the local “trail of the lonesome pine,” religious practice and Christ and the Eucharist.

But in the same way, on any given Sunday, the living church of St. Anthony’s is reflected in the faces of its members, a representation of a faithful Catholic community that has endured in these mountains for over 70 years.

The most significant feature of today’s St. Anthony faith community is its diversity, said Father Timothy Drake, pastor.

“You’ll see, whenever the people gather after Mass, all these small groups — the Filipinos over here, the African Americans there, the whites, the Hispanics — but all together in the room under one roof,” he explained.

“It’s a very gifted community,” added Father Tim, pastor for the last eight years. “There are people here from all over. They are highly educated and sensitive to their diversity.”

With two hospitals in Norton, a large percentage of the St. Anthony membership is employed in the medical profession, particularly among its sizable Filipino community.

Parishioner and physician Dr. Rodolfo Cartegena estimated there are at least a dozen medical doctors in the congregation of only 60 households.

St. Anthony’s comes by its diversity honestly. Catholic immigrant families of coal miners first came to the Norton area in the mid-19th century. They were Hungarian, Slovak, German, Lebanese, Polish and Irish.

Later they were joined by miners from Italy and Syria, as well.

The parish history notes that in 1896 the Stonega Coal and Coke Company built “a handsome edifice” for its Catholic employees there, and priests of the Wheeling, West Virginia, diocese came to serve them.

The original St. Anthony’s Church was designed and built in 1936 by a priest, Father Peter Aarts, who was also an architect and owned his own construction company. The Glenmary priests served the parish beginning in 1946.

Parishioner Bob Isaac, 79, who grew up in the neighboring town of Appalachia and owned a clothing store in Norton, recalled when the coal communities were bursting with people and bustling with commerce.

He later saw the population wane and economy falter in the 1950s and ‘60s with mines automating and growing competition from the oil industry.

In 1979 when a new church was built on St. Anthony’s same site, Bishop Walter F. Sullivan named Father Richard Dollard as the first diocesan priest to be pastor of St. Anthony’s when the Glenmarys left.

With wide ranging backgrounds, the people of St. Anthony’s prize their Catholic faith and are actively engaged in sharing it with each other. They are particularly involved in liturgical and Christian formation ministry.

Elsa Miranda, a member of St. Anthony’s for 35 years, noted that the church continues to hold First Friday devotions, and a long-running rosary prayer group of some 27 participants still gathers in individual homes for faith sharing.

St. Anthony’s has a thriving program of catechesis with about 25 children enrolled. Beth Palabrica, who coordinates parish Christian formation, said the 5-6 catechists who lead Sunday morning classes all participate in the diocesan Pathways certification process.

Father Drake said a big challenge for the parish is serving its growing Hispanic community.

Overcoming language barriers will be necessary to increase catechesis and encourage participation beyond sacramental preparation.

Parishioners also would like to develop a campus ministry at the neighboring University of Virginia at Wise but limited resources currently don’t allow for it.

Beverly Willis, who leads the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, mentioned that the parish usually has at least one person preparing to enter the Church.

There’s no “systematic” approach to adult formation, Father Tim said, but occasional speakers and presentations attract good participation.

“The people want to know more about their faith and about the Bible,” he noted.

They want to learn more to pass their faith on to their children as well as strengthen their own spirituality, the pastor explained.

St. Anthony parishioners say the parish is very much accepted in the Norton community.

“They say ‘my faith is challenged here.’” Father Drake said. “They are on the defensive about the Catholic faith.”

He suggested that a lingering regional undercurrent of mistrust regarding Catholicism inhibits people from openly sharing their faith outside the church.

As in other parts of the state, Catholics are in a distinct minority in the Norton area. Small evangelical churches proliferate, seemingly peeking through the trees at every turn of the winding Appalachian roads, and religious people who have lived there a long time will tell you that a non-institutional spirituality runs deep throughout the region.

But Father Drake said his parishioners have told him they face “a lot of no-faith up here.”

The Glenmary priests, who maintained a strong presence in the region for some 50 years beginning in the 1940s, were more intent on informing people about Catholic belief and social teaching, he said.

“We are pretty timid about it,” Father Tim admitted.

Father Tim shares the people’s sense of challenge and caution regarding evangelization. In his personal call to bring the Gospel to the region he takes a gentle approach.

“I try to get to know people. A personal relationship goes a long way,” he noted.

A native of Cleveland, Father Drake was ordained of the Diocese of Richmond in 1971. Prior to coming to Norton he was pastor for several years of St. Matthew Parish in Virginia Beach.

He admitted that his transition from urban to rural life took a little time. But he adjusted and enjoys serving in the rural mountain parishes.

When Father Drake first came to Norton he was assigned to both St. Anthony’s and St. Mary’s in Coeburn.

Four years ago his pastorate expanded to include Sacred Heart of Big Stone Gap and Holy Spirit of Jonesville.

“Then when I became pastor of St. Joseph’s in Clintwood, it became clustered with the others,” he explained.

Father Tim spent five years in the Philippines with the Maryknoll community.

His ministry also includes visiting Norton hospitals and the area’s supermax state prisons, Red Onion and Wallens Ridge.

He shares visiting the local federal prison with neighboring priest Father Michael Herbert.

The necessary travel among the churches on weekends can be a test in itself, and an added challenge came when the diocese recently designated the grouping as a cluster.

Nevertheless, Father Tim said he believes the parishes will grow into their shared ministry, especially with the help of the diocesan “We Walk By Faith” planning process.

“It’s been great so far,” he said, “and it’s really going to help us look at each of the parishes and see who does what best so we can share those various ministries with each other.”