For many Maryhill parishioners decision was accepted early on
Find welcoming spirit in other parishes

By RENEE WEBB, Globe editor
May 3, 2007

MARYHILL - It's been nine months since Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Maryhill was leveled in a storm and while the pain from the loss continues, many have found a welcoming spirit in new parishes.

"In that time period, our people have experienced all the human emotions that come  with the passing of someone or something dear to us," said Father Armand Bertrand, pastor of Visitation Parish. "We experienced sadness, hurt, anger, frustration, confusion and division. As we are all very aware, healing takes time. Sadly, for some who have difficulty moving beyond what was, it continues to this day."

Father Bertrand, who is also the pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish in Cherokee and St. John the Baptist Church in Quimby, said that an era and beautiful long heritage has passed into history.

"Those whose faith is strong continue to follow the Shepherd where he leads; for God never abandons his people," he said. "The community that once was the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church is now called to become faith-filled members of new faith communities."

He acknowledged that it will be different and will not be easy for some, but with the passing of time, many of the parishioners have come to realize that genuine faith is not the building they worship God in.

"Buildings come and go with the passing of time or in our case, a great wind," said Father Bertrand.

While some parishioners continued to hold onto hope that the church would be rebuilt, many commented that they knew immediately that it wouldn't be an option.

Opal Rupp, a parishioner at the parish for the last 25 years, said in looking at the reality of the situation with a declining number of families in the parish and a shortage of priests, they accepted the fact that it wouldn't be rebuilt. She and her husband, who was a lifelong member of Visitation, opted to go to Immaculate Conception Church in Cherokee.

"Father Armand has been very open and everyone seems to accept us," she said.

Opal has already gotten involved in ministry at Immaculate Conception, volunteering as a cantor, Eucharistic minister and lector.

"It's different because it's not the same community family, but you have to move on. I think that's why I accepted it - I knew I had to, so I just did," she said.

Barb Steward, a lifelong parishioner at Visitation, mentioned that she lived just one mile from the church so they were first on the scene of destruction.

"We were devastated to find the church lying there," she said.

She noted that she has been very active in the parish all her life, from teaching catechism to helping with the youth group and when her stepson moved back to the parish to become caretaker of the church, she cleaned the church for him.

Since Visitation was leveled, Barb and her husband Danny have been attending Mass at Immaculate Conception in Cherokee and have found the people to be very welcoming. At the same time, she acknowledged it is a change. Even the holidays don't quite seem the same in a new church.

"I recently joined the liturgy committee to try to make it seem more like home," said Barb.

She has found the division in Visitation Parish to be heartbreaking and noted that "we were taught to respect the priests and the bishop and go by what they say."

Given the fact that they were a small parish, she said they knew that if something like this happened, it would be the end of the parish.

Barb's husband, Danny, said, "We knew we were getting to the point that we couldn't be there much longer with the shortage of the priests and we wondered ahead of time - when we went to the cluster - how long we were going to be there, how it was going to close and when. To me, it was a prayer that was answered. God answered it right there for us by taking it from us. I have to accept what God delivered us."

With the church getting smaller all of the time, Danny knew that rebuilding wasn't an option. He served as caretaker of the parish for about 15 years, so the church meant a great deal to him.

He mentioned that Father Bertrand has been wonderful through this situation and found Immaculate Conception to be inviting.

"I think people have to accept what was dealt to us and go on," said Danny.

So many things in life cannot be replaced, he noted, and even if they rebuilt the church it wouldn't be the same. Had they decided to rebuild, he said he probably would not have attended Maryhill because it would be different and there is so much turmoil in the Visitation family.

"You definitely need your faith, if you don't have that, I don't think you could make it through," said Barb.

Herta Rupp, who attended Visitation since immigrating to the country more than 50 years ago, pointed out that she and her husband, a lifelong parishioner, came to acceptance of the situation early on.

"I was very sad that our church went down. It was all I knew since I came to this country," she said. "After the church went down, I accepted it fully. We had a wonderful church - but the storm took it away. I accepted the change because I knew there was no other way."

The bishop had spoken, she stressed, and they accepted it because they were well aware of the shortage of priests.

"I definitely have wonderful memories and I have a beloved daughter buried up at the cemetery," said Herta, who added that she has felt very accepted and supported at Immaculate Conception in Cherokee.

She pointed out that she recently had discussed the closure of the parish with a friend. That friend had taken a longer path to acceptance.

"It took her longer, but just this morning she knew that we had to move on," said Herta. "Those Maryhill people are very solid in their religion and they are very good people but it just takes a little longer for some people than for others."

Joyce Bechtel, who is a 35-year member of the parish, pointed out that when the church was blown down, it was a complete loss, similar to that of losing a family member.

"I think the thing that hurt the most was that I knew that we would not be able to rebuild," said Bechtel. "Mike and I were in on the original cluster long-range planning discussions. We knew things were not as we would have wanted them to be. We were losing parishioners and priests were retiring. There weren't young people coming to the parish and no young men were becoming priests from our parish."

Closure, at some point in the future, was most likely inevitable.

With the destruction of the church building, she noted that they lost more than just a place of worship but also a place where the community could gather.

"But having been raised Catholic, I understand obedience to the priests and the bishop. What was their decision is what we have to go with," she said. "As a Catholic, I was a member of the Visitation Parish but I was also a member of the Diocese of Sioux City, the church in the United States and the worldwide church."

They have been attending Immaculate Conception.

"I think the whole Cherokee congregation has been helpful to us," said Bechtel.

Father Bertrand acknowledged that this situation has been a real challenge for all of the good people of the parish.

"Bishop Nickless, as the shepherd of this local church, had to make some very difficult and painful decisions these past months," said the priest. "We all know that in the future, he will be faced with many more as he shepherds this rural diocesan church. For us, of the Visitation community, we move on in faith for this is what God calls us to do."