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a resilient faith community embraces renewal
St.
William Parish, Keystone Heights
For years, St. William Parish was barely known outside of Clay County’s quiet lakeside resort town of Keystone Heights. That all changed in August 2003, when their former pastor made headlines. He was charged and later convicted of theft of parish funds. “What happened three years ago shook the earth around here,” says parish Office Manager Tina Lazzaro. We’re still in a healing process. But people who left are gradually coming back. As Father Michael Williams (the current pastor) continues to help restore confidence and stability, I’m optimistic there will be more.” Parishioner Charlie Sharpe also credits Father Williams’ leadership. “If it hadn’t been for Father Mike gathering everyone together and explaining that we’re all mortal and we make mistakes and have to have forgiveness and the church is doing its best, we wouldn’t be as far along the road to recovery as we are,” he says. For his part, Father Williams, who also pastored the Keystone Heights parish from 1973 to 1985, credits the community for what he calls their “spirit of resilience.” He is enthusiastic about the progress St. William has made and excited about the next step the parish will take together. “Starting this fall,” he explains, “we begin RENEW – a program that has helped parishes around the world grow individually in their faith and collectively as Christian communities.” Charlie Sharpe, chair of RENEW at St. William, describes the initiative as a way for Catholics to connect on a personal level. “We are organizing the program around small groups in individual homes,” he says. Groups will meet weekly for faith sharing and religious education. As we get to know each other, we can help each other in many ways. RENEW acts against the tendency to let people get lost in the shuffle,” he says. “It’s a response to an appeal by Pope John Paul II that the 21st century be a period of evangelization.” RENEW will help parish members to strengthen community bonds – and equip them to explain their beliefs to others and encourage non-practicing Catholics to come back to church. “We’re in an area that revolves around church life,” notes Charlie. “In fact, Keystone Heights is on record as having more churches within a 10-mile radius of its city limits than any other town in America.” Small by comparison to other area church communities, St. William serves Catholics who live as far as 10 to 15 miles outside of Keystone. Many of them are seniors. “We’re in the rocking chair, so to speak, in a retirement community,” says Charlie. “We’re going to try to contact and take care of our home base. The goal is to take care of people who need guidance and rejuvenation of their faith.” At least one St. William parishioner is getting a jump on RENEW by studying her faith in depth as a participant of the Ministry Formation Program (MFP) for the Diocese of Saint Augustine. “I became a Catholic in 2003, and joined St. William at that time,” says Virginia Boone. “Some of the people in adult education at St. William twisted my arm to enter MFP. It’s a three-year, college-level program with three courses a year, usually on Saturday. This year, we studied the Old Testament, New Testament, church history and traditions. For me, it’s personal to want to learn more. I was raised Baptist and one of the things that helped push me toward the Catholic Church was church history and the history of Christianity. I’m planning to continue with Ministry Formation and begin RENEW this fall.” Virginia praises the virtues of a small, welcoming parish like she found at St. William – describing it as having a “family atmosphere, with a small-church feel that’s really nice.” The parish has a small but growing youth program and a larger number of retired members. Some of the latter trace their history in the area back to World War II. “A number of men who trained at Camp Blanding got sand in their shoes and returned to live in this area,” says Father Williams. Among them was parishioner Peggy Prevost’s father, who moved his family from Connecticut to Keystone when the war ended. “There were very few Catholic families back then,” she notes, remembering the struggles her parents’ generation endured to build the parish. “It was a big deal when we built the church we have now,” she recalls. “My mother said, ‘Oh, we’ll never be able to pay for it.” But we did. It was faith and working together that made it happen.” Built on faith, sustained by close ties and poised to begin an intensive renewal process, St. William looks forward to a bright future. Father Williams comments on their potential: “In the next five years, we will become a community of Catholics well-grounded in our faith, centered in the Eucharist and building a parish family known for their love and concern for each other, yet ever reaching beyond to others to pass on their Christian spirit and way of life. A sense of service will be key,” he says. Email questions and comments to: sac@dosafl.com
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