Father Arul Carasala speaks with parishioners at St. Columbkille Church in Blaine before Mass recently. The native of India has come to the United States to help fill rural parishes that need priests.

St. Columbkille Church in Blaine stands landmark on Kansas route 99. The parish used to also have a school.

People attend the annual Soup Supper and Auction at St. Bede Church in Kelly. The annual fundraiser garners around $17,000 to support the parish.

Due to unseasonably cold weather, people wait inside the sanctuary for entrance to the soup supper at St. Bede's.

People enter into the church for the soup supper. St. Bede Church stands as a beacon on a hill in Kelly.

Four rural parishes united by faith – served by one priest

By Paula Glover
It is missionary work. Only in reverse.
Father Arul Carasala, a native of India, is one of 18 foreign-born priests in the Archdiocese of Kansas City who have come to the United States to help serve in the Roman Catholic Church.
Father Carasala, from the Diocese of Cuddapah, originally came to the archdiocese as part of his mission appeal on behalf of the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, based in Kansas.
“India was a mission country,” he said. “India is rich with pastoral ministries. Now it is time to help those in need in the United States.”
It is a trend common to most Catholic dioceses in the U.S. – countries where there are more priests than needed come to serve, sometimes specific immigrant populations, but sometimes, just to serve as a parish priest where otherwise, there might be no priest.
“I stayed four months and liked it here, liked the people, and found that the people liked me,” Father Carasala recalled. He spoke with his bishop at home and received permission to come and help out in the archdiocese and arrived in 2004. In addition to serving at four parishes, he continues appeals for the orphanage during the summer.
Father Carasala serves four rural parishes north east of Manhattan – St. Patrick in Corning; St. Vincent de Paul in Onaga; St. Columbkille in Blaine; and St. Bede in Kelly.
“This rural life is not what I grew up with,” he said. “It was a big cultural change for me. The food is different, the English accent is different, the driving is different … but the Mass is the same, unifying element all over the world.”
Father Carasala had stopped for a quick break amid the festivities of the annual parish soup supper and auction at St. Bede Church in Kelly. St. Bede towers over the Flint Hills like a beacon, and it is a beacon of faith for the 150 church members.
The night of the festival, Oct. 11, was so cold the hundreds of people who came for the festivities waited in the church sanctuary before the meal.
Fred and Kim Henry grew up in the area. The soup supper “shows a lot of spirit,” said Kim Henry. “Everybody knows everybody. People understand that faith is what keeps us strong.”
Janet Hermeach, a member of the church for all of her “50 plus” years said more people are returning to the parish because they want a rural lifestyle.
The Catholic parishes in the area are going strong, she said, pointing to the Kelly Youth Rally, held just after the school starts, which draws around 500 youth.
With one priest and four parishes, there is one Mass at each parish on the weekend and the schedule rotates quarterly, with two having Saturday evening Mass and two having Sunday morning Mass. It can be a little confusing when the schedule changes, but keeps it fair for each parish. Although there is one priest serving the four parishes, the parishes remain separate, with their own pastoral councils.
Kellie O’Shea, a parishioner at St. Columbkille in Blaine, noted that the 50 member families “pull together as a community to keep the parish alive. Each family contributes and we have a strong Knights of Columbus,” (the Catholic men’s organization). Although, as is the case throughout the United States, the parish school has been closed, students still come to the parish for religious instruction.
“I’m glad to have a priest who can come and say Mass,” said Michael Finan, who was born and raised in the Blaine area.
“The word catholic means universal,” said Father Brian Schieber, a priest at Most Pure Heart of Mary in Topeka, and the vicar for priests for the archdiocese. “The international priests bring the richness and diversity of the Catholic Church and we see the universality of the Church; whether Indian, African, or from the United States, we are all part of the same Church.” There are around 130 priests in the archdiocese, Father Schieber said. The international priests in the archdiocese mainly come from India, Korea, Ghana and South America.
With an upswing in the numbers of men studying for the priesthood, the use of foreign-born priests to help keep smaller parishes open could be just a temporary solution. “It has been a blessing to have these priests here,” Father Schieber said.
“We feel particularly blessed to have Father Arul,” Father Schieber said. “He’s been a great friend and has integrated into the presbyterate (the group of all the priests.) The archbishop is very grateful he is here.”

This story appeared in the Manhattan Mercury, Oct.23/24 issue.

Zeandale Community Church modernized country worship

Zeandale Community Church modernizes country worship

Story for Manhattan Mercury

By Paula Glover

The exterior of the Zeandale Community Church may be from 1896, but inside, worshipers participate in a modern worship service, complete with power point presentations and song lyrics displayed on a screen. At the same time the church with fewer than 100 members affords a sense of community.

“The components that make this church go are the people who are committed to keep it going and do what they believe God wants them to do,” said Wesley Paddock, a professor at Manhattan Christian College, who had led the congregation since 1999. “The church has always been very community minded as well as mission minded (concerned about the world at large). On one occasion we received word that a church had burned in Salina. They were asking for help to rebuild. The Zeandale church voted that night to send $5,000 to the church.”

Originally founded as a Christian Church, during the 1950s, it merged with the local Methodist denomination, and became a non-denominational church, Paddock said.

Together, the congregation supports overseas missionaries, with 40 percent of the church budget. The church members also participate in a variety of charitable efforts, including Angel Food, a program that helps provide groceries for those that might need it.

Carol Cowen grew up in the church, and said the Angel Food program is very gratifying. The women of the church also serve supper to various service clubs as a fundraising activity and that helps give a sense of community, Cowen added, recalling the women have done so since 1959. Marie McConnell coordinates the Angel Food program, and said of the 20 boxes recently brought to the Zeandale Community Center, seven were donated from the church. “It is a good community effort, and gives us fellowship in distributing the boxes,” McConnell said.

Such community efforts are important for a church, Paddock said, to develop a positive Christian experience.

Darrell Parks, who grew up in the church and has been a member for more than 50 years, said he thought people were drawn to the church because “it is definitely a Christ-based church. The Bible is taught here.” Over the years, there have been more young families than there are now. “The church needs to be rejuvenated with young families,” he said.

Paddock agrees. “The greatest challenge is finding young married people that want to be a part of the church. Our church is growing older every year and there are too few coming in to fill the gaps. As with all rural communities, the children grow up and move away.” He said the church has not come to grips with how to solve this problem.

Melissa Boutz leads the choir and the women’s Bible study. Her husband, Bryan, has family connections to the church. Members for 12 years and former students at Manhattan Christian College, they are among the youngest families in the church.

“We have a big sense of family here,” Boutz said. “But we also have a sense that the church community is part of our family.” She joked that the church set up a nursery area because of the birth of their child in 2002 in a corner of the fellowship hall.

As a leader of the women’s Bible study, she is instrumental in building that important fellowship within the church. During the Bible study, on Sept. 27, the women finished a book called “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.” With around ten women in the group, the women have developed friendships as they share their faith journeys. There are a couple of ladies in their 80s in the group, Boutz said, but most are between 40 and 60. In her 30s, she’s the youngest member.

Sean Warner, a freshman student at K-State who recently moved near Zeandale from Wichita, bucks the trend of young people not joining the church. “I saw the sign for the church (on Highway 18),” he said. He began attending and “I enjoy the sermons, Dr. Paddock is a great teacher. I thought this would be a good place to get involved.”

During the Sept. 27 service, Paddock began a series on knowing Christ, based on a book by Philip Yancy, “The Jesus I Never Knew” which featured a power point style presentation.

“MCC has provided leadership for the past 30 years,” Paddock said. With a Masters in Divinity in 1971 and a Doctorate in Ministry in 1995, he teaches Old Testament at the college. “I followed another MCC professor who had been there for a long time also.” The church has adapted its practices to the students. For example, they now celebrate communion every Sunday, because the students requested it.

Because of the participation of Manhattan Christian College students, Warner did not stand out due to his age. Students often come to the church, and while they might not be official members, they add a sense of vibrancy to the church. On Sept 20, students participated in the worship service, and the congregation then hosted a luncheon. The following week, members were still enjoying Paddock’s joke to the students that the luncheon would be food they were used to – noodles and mac and cheese.

“No,” said Cowen, “we fed them well.”

The pastor of the church was so kind as to send me a note saying how pleased they were with the story - and the exterior photo included a long-time member of the church, who was tickled pink to have his photo in the paper.