LEWES — Perhaps there’s something in the air.
Father Brian Lewis and director of religious education Michael McShane both feel the joy at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church in Lewes is almost “palpable.”
Perhaps it’s the two new murals created by parish artists which adorn the Religious Education Building. Perhaps it’s the new sign in front of the church featuring the Holy Spirit, also created by a parish artist. The murals and sign will be officially unveiled at the parish picnic on Sunday, Sept. 25.
Maybe it’s the extra focus on music, history and literature as the children begin the new school year in the wake of COVID shutdowns.
Perhaps it’s an emphasis on parental involvement and making children feel they are not just the future, but the here and now of the church.
Whatever it is, Father Lewis and McShane are trying to bring energy and joy to a rapidly growing religious education program. “If there is joy in this parish and there is, praise God, then there is also love,” said Father Lewis.
“People are saying there’s something special going on here … I want people to feel the joy I feel daily,” said McShane.
“Joy is infectious,” said Father Lewis. “It is palpable.”
Dialog photo/Michael Short
Father Lewis gives credit to the church team, the catechists, new church members, a welcoming community and other factors. Simply returning from COVID may also be a factor. “A lot of it continues to be spurred by the uncertainty and fear of the last two years. I was so ecstatic to go back together in person and to do it the right way,” said McShane.
Father Lewis said the parish is trying to approach catechesis in a “more authentic, more engaging way.”
That means making the children feel welcome, getting parents involved and reaching out to the community. The mural idea began when McShane lowered the desks in one classroom for the young children. That made the room feel more open, but he suddenly found himself facing a large blank wall. “This room needs life,” he said.
So, the idea for the murals was born. He solicited parish artists to submit sketches and received three qualified applicants. “I didn’t think we would get one. We got three,” he said.
Susan Waters Short was chosen to do a seven by nine-foot mural on the wall as soon as you enter the building. It features Jesus with a multitude of children under the Matthew quotation “Let the children come to me.”
Karen Kouneski did a second mural on that huge blank wall which so concerned McShane. It also features Jesus, holding a golden chalice, surrounded by children.
Amy Dietz was chosen to do a sign in front of the church. It features the Holy Spirit as a dove surrounded by flames with the words “Be who God made you to be and you will set the world on fire.” The quote is from St. Catherine of Siena and the depiction of a dove is found in all three works of art.
McShane said the three artists’ work is an effort to create something new as the children return to school in the fall. They hope to expand the program next season and there are still plenty of blank walls to fill. “I like to have something new every year for the kids when they come back. It doesn’t have to be visual like a swanky new smart board. It could be something like monthly parent assemblies,” he said.
“I’m always looking for that innovation,” he said. “It doesn’t have to have a lot of bells and whistles. It can be simple, but it’s got to be breathing and living.”
“We aren’t afraid of the new,” said Father Lewis.
It’s all in keeping with the parish theme for this year — “Not me, but God.”
Father Lewis refers to the murals as “visual catechesis.”
“It’s a way to encounter Christ visually,” he said. “Our walls become canvases.”
“I am impassioned by my love of Christ and of this parish,” Father Lewis said. He quoted Bishop Fulton Sheen that as a priest, you have the choice to either burn out or rust, saying it is much better to burn out (it’s also a lyric from singer Neil Young).
Waters Short, who has an art degree from Rutgers University, said she was inspired by a statue of Jesus with the children in her home parish of Corpus Christ in Willingboro, N.J. “I always felt comforted by it and always felt like I belonged … Nearly 60 years later, it still has an impression on me.”
She said she wanted the mural to show children of different races, nationalities and physical abilities so that any child can see themselves in the painting. “My message is that the children of the parish are all welcome no matter what they look like or are going through so that they will all feel welcome and see themselves and their classmates as God’s children.”
Kouneski also featured Jesus with the children in her mural. She said she wanted to show the children “that Jesus is with them always. To bring happiness to the kids.” She has done murals for other churches and day care centers as well as portraits, faux finishes and furniture painting. Painting in churches holds a special place for her and her dream job is to paint the Ascension over the altar, she said.
“I work a lot with churches,” she said. “I love doing it. That’s my passion.”
“In an effort to capture the essence and power of this phrase we needed a way to make this sign really stand out against the backdrop of the church and the side lawn,” Dietz said of her sign. “The black background and bold colors of the flames really seem to make that happen and to me the sign seems more visible as you travel down Coastal Highway. The dove is really the focal point. As a classic symbol of the Holy Spirit, I wanted the dove to be the real stand-out here.”
The art is the most visible component of St. Jude’s efforts, but it is only one of many. They plan to begin monthly parent assemblies in October because parents are considered the first and most important teachers. “We need to have them be part of this for it to be complete for the children,” McShane said.
Monthly Masses focus on each grade with children helping select hymns, present gifts and sometimes cantor. “They are a living and dynamic part of our parish. They are part of our church now,” said Father Lewis. “I don’t like saying that kids are the future. They are essential and elemental now.”
Besides, participating will help them learn the parts of the Mass, he said. “It helps the youth take ownership.”
The parish is hoping to start a youth choir, but that is not yet established.
St. Jude will continue its traditional “Darkness into Light” children’s nativity pageant in December. The long-running program was on hiatus for a time but returned last year. The cast is made up entirely of children with the exception of an adult narrator who plays John the Baptist.
McShane said book club, the library and adult faith will offer literature and historical elements of religious education. “Our adult faith offerings are littered with historical aspects,” said McShane. Some of that focus will include a book which prompts parishioners to ask, “who is the boy in the striped pajamas?”
McShane said religious education numbers for kindergarten to age ten are about 215 and are rising dramatically. There have been a large number of new registrants, many of whom are Hispanic. The adult faith mailing list also has over 300 names, he said.
“We can never rest on our laurels. There is always more to learn, always more to love, always more to live,” Father Lewis said. “They (parishioners) find here the fire of the Holy Spirit, of joy, of love and of faith. It’s lived here in an uncompromising way.”
Editor’s Note: Susan Waters Short is the wife of Dialog correspondent Michael Short.
