March 2001
We have a limited number of back issues available in print. To request back issues, e-mail jjob@dioceseoflansing.org or call 517-342-2595. You will be charged the regular cover price of $2.50 per issue.

	COVER STORY One Priest, Two Churches Fr. Bill's Story of East Meeting West Janet Cassidy
	In Depth Part 2 of FAITH's Interview with Local Religious Leaders Read the FAITH Interview Patrick O'Brien
	Culture A New Kind of Coffee Break Take a Coffee Break that Really Revives Ronald Landfair

One Priest, Two Churches

By Janet Cassidy

Fr.William Wegher, pastor of St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Flint, has been surrounded by Byzantine Catholics his whole life. It is an enveloping that he cherishes. “I was fortunate to grow up under the spiritual influences of two particular Catholic Churches – the Church of Rome in which I was baptized and ordained, and the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church which filled our home with unique customs, foods and spiritualities,” says Fr. Wegher.

In fact, the profound influences of his Byzantine friends and mentors have helped shape him into the Roman Catholic priest he is today – a priest with biritual faculties. Fr. Wegher has, by agreement of bishops of both rites, the capacity and willingness to celebrate two traditions of the Church, consecrating in both the Latin and Byzantine rites.

“My parents, who have been married more than 30 years, are both Roman Catholic” explains Fr. Wegher while reflecting on his unique faith journey. “Growing up, my mom lived in a neighborhood surrounded by many eastern European immigrants, some of whom were Byzantine Catholics. She was baptized at St. Joseph Hungarian Catholic Church in Flint. Her best friend went to St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church. Her best friend became my godmother.

“My mother cherished many of the Byzantine Catholic traditions she grew up with, especially those surrounding Lent and Easter. These were traditions she shared with my father and us kids (one brother and two sisters). Faith was part of our lives. There was no question about it. It was simply who we were.

“We usually went to the Byzantine church once a month. At one time, my mother was head of the altar society there. Most of the people there are family friends. Many of the parishioners at the Byzantine Church were a real support and influenced me as I pursued the idea of priesthood.”

Fr. Wegher began to discern the call to the priesthood while still in high school. “From 1978 until I graduated (in 1981), I was involved in a home seminary program offered by the Office of Vocations. Anyone thinking about the priesthood and living at home could attend retreats and monthly meetings. They were fun and spiritual, providing an opportunity for boys in high school to talk to a priest and get information.”

Following his graduation, Fr. Wegher attended the University of Michigan-Flint. “I planned on going maybe one year and transferring, but the honors program I was in provided a lot of perks, such as scholarships, educational trips, etcetera, so I stayed. I spent one semester abroad, studying in Paris. One semester prior to graduation, I moved into St. Michael’s (Roman Catholic) rectory in Flint. It was a house of formation at the time. I graduated from the University of Michigan-Flint in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in French and continued discerning my call.

“After a one year internship at St. Michael’s as a seminarian, I left for the American College of the Immaculate Conception at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium (the French Campus).”

Five years and a master’s and a doctorate degree later, Fr. Wegher was faced with a question not posed to many men preparing to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. “People would ask me, ‘For which rite are you going to be ordained?’” says Fr. Wegher. “Quite simply, I followed Church law. I was baptized in the Roman Church and was a member of the Roman Church. Changing your Church can be done, but it is a complicated ecclesiastical process involving Rome.”

Another factor which weighed heavily in Fr. Wegher’s decision was his family – the family which embraced both rites. “For one thing, the Byzantine eparchies are large. I love Michigan and I wanted to stay close to my family.”

Thus, Fr. Wegher was ordained for service to the Diocese of Lansing Aug. 31, 1991, by Bishop Kenneth Povish.

The Byzantine Church, however, still played a role in his life and Fr. Wegher was able to find a way to embrace both rites. “Fr. David Hannes (pastor of St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church) asked me, about four years ago, to get the biritual faculties for the Byzantine Eparchy of Parma so that I could fill in when he had to be gone. This required permission from the Diocese of Lansing and the eparchy, along with the Congregation for Eastern Churches in Rome.”

After receiving permission, Fr. Wegher is able to serve as a priest in the two parishes which played such an integral role in his faith journey – St. Michael Roman Catholic Church where he discerned his call to the priesthood while in college and St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church where he learned the rich spiritual traditions of the Eastern Church.

“As a Roman priest presiding at the great Vigil of Easter, I love singing the words of the Exultet, ‘Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!’ Such words echoing in the darkened church as the light of the new Easter candle spreads among the baptized takes me back to the words and the tradition of the Western Church Father, Ambrose. On this night, more than all others, as we recall and enact the ancient Western rites of Christian initiation, I feel my soul filled with the ancient faith of my ancestors. Easter, with all of its smells and bells, connects me profoundly to the faith of the apostles.

“At the same time, since my childhood, no Easter would be complete without the singing of the great Eastern Church chant, ‘Christ is risen from the dead!’ Growing up, it was not uncommon for us to attend the Easter Vigil at St. Robert Bellarmine Roman Catholic Church in Flushing before rushing over to St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Church for the Easter Vigil and Matins which began, in those days, closer to midnight. The smell of lilies and incense, the chants of the great liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the bright vestments and icons, the blessing of food, and the eating of pascha (Easter bread), various sausages, and Slavonic sweets made for a wonderful childhood experience. My life would be all the poorer without them today.”

“It’s not about how many rites I can celebrate,” Fr. Wegher emphasizes. “It’s about spirituality and the call to go back and serve the people who helped nourish my vocation, those who need my assistance as a priest to provide them with the sacraments.

“Part of my spirituality is Western – part is Eastern. I need both to feel whole spiritually. The spirituality of the East has everything from iconography artwork and chant, to the writings of the Eastern Fathers. Eastern spirituality infuses me so much that I can’t get away from it. It’s a part of me. It’s like incense – when you use it and walk away, the smell stays with you, it infuses you.”



Part 2 of FAITH's Interview with Local Religious Leaders focuses on Protestant and Orthodox Religions

Hey! I Believe That, Too! (Part 2)

FAITH Interview by Patrick O'Brien

It’s safe to say the vast majority of us have good intentions. And while we love to be inspired, we don’t like to be preached to. Sometimes we want to read the Bible but don’t get around to it or don’t stick with it. Maybe we find ourselves a little bored with the same tradition, the same Sunday routine. We would rather stay in bed than get the family bundled up to go to church. As far as Christian unity is concerned, those feelings can be universal. That’s why FAITH Magazine is continuing its discussion with local religious leaders about areas we feel we have in common. We hope their perspective will help make us all better Christians and Catholics.

Millions have been inspired by the Bible. Christians share this book yet read it differently. Recently Catholics and Lutherans reached an agreement on the role of the Bible and tradition. With this in mind, FAITH interviewed retired Pastor Ted Jungkuntz of Cross and Resurrection Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, about the Bible:

FAITH: What does reading the Bible do for you that nothing else can?
Pastor Jungkuntz: The Bible is what Jesus says. Anyone who takes seriously the necessities of life will find comfort in it. I have found that personally. ... It is an authoritative teaching in your life. It is in the Scriptures that you come to an inner conviction. It speaks.

FAITH: Christians have a painful history of fighting about the Bible. Has religion been hurt by all of this?
Pastor Jungkuntz: I believe each denomination has a weakness but also a strength. We should look at our weaknesses and strengths, as we relate to each other, instead of pushing our strengths without looking at our weakness.

While I was teaching theology, a Baptist student asked: “Why weren’t there any altar calls?” So I said to him, “As I think about it, your Baptist altar calls help us. When we go to the Eucharist, we go to receive. We should reflect about the altar call of Jesus saying ‘Come all you who are weary.’ But He is also saying, ‘Come follow Me, go out and serve.’ There is an exchange in the Eucharist. Now that we have received we can respond. The Eucharist really is an altar call!” When he (the Baptist student) could see that we could integrate what he was talking about, he felt better. We (Lutherans) were only conscious of one side of it. The Lutherans missed the “giving your life to Jesus” part of the altar call in the Eucharist and the Baptists were missing in the altar call that “before you can follow Him, you must receive Him” part of the Eucharist. We allowed this side to be underplayed. This side of our theology could be more filled out by ecumenical dialogue and he could also learn about being a Baptist in a Lutheran university.

FAITH: Does it dilute or strengthen what denominations believe by looking at how others read the Bible?
Pastor Jungkuntz: If immature people are entering into the mix, that could be true. It comes from a familiarity of Scripture. I think I had the maturity to see what could be strengthened. If I had said, “You know you have a point about altar calls. You are right, we should drop the Eucharist for an altar call,” that would have been a weakening. How do these things fit together? What will they strengthen?



Sunday after Sunday, it’s the same Mass or Liturgy. Why is this repetition so important? What are we missing if we get bored? We asked Fr. Mark Sietsema of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Lansing, to talk to us about tradition.

FAITH: Why is tradition so meaningful to you? Why is it so important?
Fr. Sietsema: When we talk about tradition, we first have to talk about the sources of revelation in the Christian Church. For those of us of the historic Christian faith, such as Orthodox and Catholic, revelation is more than what’s found in the written Scriptures. It is also found in the ways of the Church – its tradition. Behind those two is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to us through the whole life of the Church, including our own life. Tradition is what comes out at the end but it is not the goal. Tradition is often thought of as something passed down that we receive, like a football, without thinking, but it’s deeper. By the work of the Holy Spirit, we reaffirm, by the continuity of our actions, the unchangeableness of God. It is not a passive reception but a personal affirmation. What you see is the work of the same Spirit and the unchangeability of God working in each one of us. The experience of forgiveness and virtue is not a passive reception but an open reception to faith
lived out.

FAITH: What if you just find Mass or Liturgy boring? The same things are done over and over. What about that?
Fr. Sietsema: Lukewarm is the toughest to deal with. Outright antagonism is easier. Lighting a fire is the toughest challenge. There are some differences in our (the Orthodox) Liturgy and the Catholic Mass but not enough for this story to be helpful. In fact, it is my homily for this weekend. This isn’t going to press before this weekend is it?

FAITH: No, you’re OK.
Fr. Sietsema: All right. The Liturgy is so beautifully designed that no matter what state you are in – bereaved, depression, divorce, doubt or joy – there is something there for you. The Liturgy is the same but we are different. If we are only receptive that Sunday, those words or actions will strike like they never will before. It has this power to reach people in every
situation.

Nobody likes to be preached to but almost everyone has been inspired by a good homily. Some say that the African-American preacher proclaims the Good News of Christ like no one else. That’s why we decided to talk to Elder Levon R. Yuille, Pastor of the Bible Church in Ann Arbor, about preaching.

FAITH: Why is preaching so important?
Pastor Yuille: I think that when you talk about preaching, it is the expounding of the truth. Preaching is the narrow proclamation of Jesus as the Lord. The African-American mode places a lot of importance on preaching. The African-American experience tries to reach for the intellect and the emotion. Teaching is the intellect. In our dichotomy of preaching, in the preaching mode, you are trying to emotionally arouse and also teach. This is acceptable across the board, but us African Americans are accused of too much emotion. We call it whooping. Whooping is when we bring it on home, we elevate the voice and we put a sing-song quality to the way we are talking. It is part of the homiletical technique. I am going to give you an example: “The Lord is good.” Then we really get into it. “THE LORRRRD ISSS GOOOOOOD!!” “Wow! He is whooping today,” parishioners say. And in the experience of the Black church, it has been effective. You don’t depend on that, though. You want to make sure that you laid a good intellectual foundation.

FAITH: What has had the most impact on you that someone has said from the pulpit? Can you give me a specific story?
Pastor Yuille: Pastor E. E. Cleveland, Sr. said, “What is in you will come out. Your reaction to the unknown will almost always express what is in you. The method that you respond to the unknown will express what is in you.” So, if someone scares me and I say, “Oh, Jesus!” that expresses what is in me. As opposed to someone scaring me and I say something else. It is in times of the unknown that we express what is in
ourselves.

FAITH: Some people hate preaching. They are uncomfortable with it. Can it really make an impact? Some criticize that ministers preach to the choir in the sense that the same passages are read over and over and the priest or minister puts the same old meaning to it. What would you say to those people?
Pastor Yuille: That sounds familiar. I believe, with human beings especially, that there is a force that takes away for believers the ability to think Scripturally. Let’s say the Catholic Church didn’t speak about its tradition for three years. You would see a big impact. We find that redundancy is helpful. Even though people say, “I’ve heard that before,” minds are somewhere else.

I repeat what the first five books of the Bible are and half the folks don’t remember. So, we find out, for many reasons, times of really paying attention vary. That’s 200 different minds sitting out there.

FAITH: Even though you’ve heard this already, you need to hear it again?
Pastor Yuille: Yes, after 20 sermons on punctuality, you are still getting to church late. Quite often, if the pastor gets strong, then he is harsh. But if he says something in a soothing voice, then he’s boring. So, all you have is redundancy. Sometimes people’s minds are set so contradictory to Scripture. This is the frustration of every pastor. If you find out the answer, let me know. You know the Apostle Paul said, “God chose through the foolishness of preaching to bring the Word of God.” He actually said “foolishness.” It is the Holy Spirit that will energize the heart and make it receptive.

Sometimes we just don’t want to get up Sunday morning for church. Some think that church is unnecessary, that “I can pray better just me and God.” Why is praying together so important? We decided to ask Barbara J. Yoder, Senior Pastor of Shekinah Christian Church and Coordinator of the Strategic Prayer Network for the state of Michigan, about community prayer.

FAITH: Some say I don’t need to go to Church to pray. I can spend time with God alone in the woods. Why is it important to pray not only alone to God but together with a community of believers?
Pastor Yoder: Both are essential. We need that personal contemplative time with God but I also believe we need the corporate. In Ephesians 2:21-22, it says: “Through Him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in Him you are also being built together into a dwelling place. God inhabits us as a holy temple.” This is a corporate as well as a personal dwelling. We can’t forsake the corporate. In the Old Testament, God saved whole masses of people. To me, I don’t think it’s an either/or. It’s both. We see in Acts that the Church gathered together to pray both in large gatherings and in small prayer groups in homes. They were in the house praying when the others were in jail. The very nature of the New Testament Church was that part of it is prayer and that they were devoted to prayer. In Acts 2, they were devoted to breaking bread together and continued daily prayer in the temple. In Acts 2:42 it says they were addicted to prayer. I believe that was corporate as well.

FAITH: What is the difference between corporate or community prayer and personal prayer?
Pastor Yoder: I believe that when we get together, Jesus is better represented. When you and I get together, we have two faces of Christ. ... Jesus is present in the Christian. However, you have a much greater representation of Christ when together. We are the Church when we gather. A Christian is a temple for God. But, one person is not the Church. There is a different way that I connect with God in corporate prayer.

FAITH: What are some of the specific differences of that corporate prayer?
Pastor Yoder: There is a
difference in revelation and power, specifically in revelation. When you come together, there is a much different power and I think a higher level of revelation.

FAITH: What does that mean?
Pastor Yoder: Of revelation, the unveiling of Christ, of His character or nature. In terms of power, think about a stream versus a river. A river has a lot of streams pouring into it. That is what makes it powerful compared to a stream – the power of the Mississippi versus a stream feeding into it. It takes many streams to make the Mississippi. You can also look at it in terms of the city. If people just get together individually, that is not as powerful as a whole city. You form a powerful source in a city when the Catholics and Protestants, et cetera, get together. I don’t think you need unity of doctrine. I think you need unity of spirit. The other thing is, going back to Colossians 2:9, the more that is in Christ, the more you have of Christ and the more fullness you have of Christ. You have just one tiny little facet. You can’t have the fullness of Christ unless you tap into the whole Church which is everybody who believes and has a personal relationship with Christ.

FAITH: Why do you think that many Christians leave their faith at church? Many bristle at the mention of Jesus at work or in their neighborhood. Many don’t want to be characterized as religious fanatics or Bible thumpers.
Pastor Yoder: I think it’s true for some. I think it’s fear. I think we’ve been taught formulas rather than it coming naturally from whom we are as Christians. I think it’s ignorance. There could also be disinterest. Those Christians are not asking God to lead them. They have a mind set on what should be done and it doesn’t fit with what they think they should be doing. For example, in the Protestant denominations, you go up to somebody and ask them if they die tomorrow, whether or not they know they will go to heaven. Many are uncomfortable with doing that. It doesn’t have be like that. If we are full of Christ, it will just spontaneously overflow from us. I was in a department store the other day and I spoke to this woman. She began to cry and was overcome with the love of God. Then she began confessing all this stuff. So, she was wide open because she experienced through love – not condemnation. With both Protestants and Catholics, there has been a fear relationship. We haven’t appeared to represent the love of God. The way we deal with people is ultimately not in love. It’s a fear – not love – based relationship.

Take a Coffee Break that Really Revives
By Ronald Landfair and Fr. J. Thomas Munley

This Lent, change your coffee routine around a bit by adding a couple of spoonfuls of spirituality. Here are a few ideas for:

A Spiritual Coffee Break

1) Morning: Pray about the day to come and let God enlighten your activities. Ask for guidance for the tasks that lie ahead. Allow the Spirit to touch trouble spots that you see coming in the day. Ask Jesus to remove any anxiety you feel.

2) Mid-day: Pause to see how you have done so far with your morning. Do a short examination of conscience to see how you have treated those around you. If it has been a morning of conflict, use this time to pray about letting go of the tension.

3) Anytime: Read small sections of Scripture. Begin at chapter one of a Gospel and read a couple of paragraphs, then take the rest of the time to reflect on the Word of God and what it means in your life.

4) The Grande: If you really want to add a little spirituality to your coffee breaks this Lent, pick up a copy of The Cup of Our Life, a Guide for Spiritual Growth by Joyce Rupp. The author explores how a cup is a rich symbol of life – empty or full, broken or flawed – filled with many blessings. The guide is broken down into daily reflections for six weeks – a perfect accompaniment with your morning cup of coffee during Lent.

A History of Coffee: A Monk’s Discovery?

Call it what you will. Java, mud, oil, gas for the motor, cup o’ brew, Joe, leaded or unleaded – it’s all about the coffee we’re drinking. And drink it we do – daily, sometimes hourly, easily measured in the millions of gallons in a 24-hour span.

How did we come by this dark elixir, creating not just demand for it, but literally carving out an entire “coffee culture”? Many tales exist about the birth of coffee, none of them substantiated but colorful, nevertheless. One such tale involves a monk who saw a strange effect that consuming the leaves and berries of a certain tree had upon a boy and his goats, captured some of the berry-laden tree and refined its use. He supposedly was able to create a rather stirring brew, one which no doubt contributed to the ability of the monks to participate in all-night religious services.

The first real record of coffee drinking was in the ninth century by the Mufti people of Aden. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks introduce coffee to the city of Constantinople. Under Turkish law, a woman could divorce her husband if he did not provide her with a daily quota of coffee.

By the late 16th century, priests had petitioned Pope Clement VIII to ban the drinking of coffee. The pope rejected their request, and, instead, chose to “baptize” it, making it an acceptable beverage for Christians. During the 17th century, the London Stock Exchange came into existence from a coffee house. Following the Boston Tea Party, coffee was proclaimed our national beverage. The first espresso machine was made in France in 1822. By 1908, a German housewife had invented the first coffee filter and 1909 saw the first marketing of instant coffee, after its creation in 1906.

Once the province of beatniks, students, jazz afficionados, and other avant-garde souls, the presence of the coffee shop has exploded across the country, leaving no strip mall unattended in its wake. So the next time you order a cappuccino to go, just remember the drink was so named because of its resemblance to robes worn by the monks of the Capuchin Order in Italy.

International Cappuccino Coffee Mix

6 tsp. instant coffee
4 T unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 T sugar
Whipped cream

Mix all ingredients.

To make a cup of coffee, use 1 tablespoon of mixture and place in large mug. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over mixture and stir. Top with whipped cream.

To make a smaller cup, just cut mixture down to 1/2 tablespoon and 3/4 cup boiling water.

Mixture will make 10-12 servings.

Café de Olla
(Mexican Spiced Coffee)

3/4 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
6 cloves
6 Julienne slices orange zest
3 cinnamon sticks
6 T coffee (not instant)

In a large saucepan, heat 6 cups water with the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, and cloves over moderately high heat until the mixture is hot, but do not let it boil. Add the coffee, bring the mixture to a boil and, stirring occasionally, let boil for 3 minutes. Strain the coffee through a fine sieve and serve in coffee cups with the orange zest.