Summer Service Evaluation at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in South Philadelphia (Denny Wahyudi, SX)

SUMMER SERVICE EVALUATION
AT SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS PARISH
IN SOUTH PHILADELPHIA
BY DENNY WAHYUDI

1. The situation and the tasks which were entrusted to me during this summer assignment:
Saint Thomas Aquinas Church is located in South Philadelphia, on 1719 Morris Street, phone: 215-334-2312. The pastor of the church has been serving this parish for 17 years. The pastor named Arthur Taraborelli is originally from this parish. There are two other priests for the Vietnamese community and Indonesian community, namely Father Joseph (Vietnamese) and Father Astanto Adi, CM (Indonesian). The building of the church was built in 1885. The parish consists of mostly Italian descents, was almost closed then the pastor welcomed many Catholics form various ethnicities such as Vietnamese, Cambodian, Indonesian, Latin American, Black American, so that the parish is still alive with the various ethnicities. There are three English Mass that I should attend: Saturday at 4 p.m., Sunday at 8 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. The Vietnamese Mass is held at 9.30 a.m., the Indonesian Mass at 3.30 p.m. and Spanish Mass at 5.30 p.m. The daily Mass is at the chapel of Saint Thomas Aquinas school at 8.30 a.m. At the same area there is Saint Thomas Aquinas School, which is mostly attended by Black American children, some Vietnamese, Latin American and Indonesian. The principal of the school is Armand Taraborelli, the twin brother of the pastor. Still at the same area, there is a day care building.
My tasks: attending the daily Mass and Sunday Mass in English in which I serve as an altar server and lector. The first and second week I was entrusted by the pastor to do the committal till 5 times that I never did in this country. With Mildred (a Black and Native-Cherokee American, ages 75 year-old), I visited some Catholic patients at Saint Agnes hospital and gave communion. Also, we visited some old and sick parishioners, gave communion at their houses. Once the pastor asked me to send a letter to a pastor of a parish in Pandaan-Malang, Indonesia regarding and Indonesian young couple who just married at this church. Beside this routine activity, with my own initiative, I joined Sister Donna in a 1-2-3 grades of summer school, giving some games and playing sport with them. I attended a new catechumenal way group, studying bible every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the school, mostly attended by Philipino ladies. Once I attended a Spanish rosary in a family since a Mexican young man, named Antonio invited me to go. With Father Juan, CP (Spaniard) I went to a young family and prayed rosary for the lost of their baby who just died at the hospital. With the Indonesian Catholics, I attended their rosary prayer every Saturday evening at one’s family and once I gave a reflection about the bible and my vocation to be a seminarian. Once I gave a reflection to Indonesian Charismatic Group on Sunday evening after the Indonesian Mass. A couple of times I helped the administration of the school such as folding letters, lifting boxes of books to the classes at the second and the third floor of the school. I had a good opportunity to attend a workshop, Asian Pacific Institute for Mission and Ministry in Los Angeles-California. It is a wonderful grant that I received both from an Indonesian lady, Densy and the pastor, Father Taraborelli, who allowed and guaranteed my traveling to this workshop. Other things are: visit some families, especially Indonesian family who shared their story and problem of their lives. I appreciate of their generosity and their friendship to me as though I lived in my own country, Indonesia. Of course, I liked to meet them and ate the Indonesian food they offered but I also tried to have multicultural experience as much as possible with the other ethnic groups. Practically, I ate supper everyday at the rectory together with the priests and cooked by Ruthy with the American-Italian food that I loved to eat as well. I have chance also to visit Vincentian seminary and nursing home, even met their new elected superior general, Gregory Gay because Father Astanto, CM invited me to go there. With Midlred, I went to Saint Joseph Sister at Germantown in which Father Bruno Orru, SX in Indonesia introduced me to a sister/nun, her friend named Sister Miriam Allorto. To meet people whose different background with me, draws me to see myself as a unique person doing mission journey and place myself to be humble and to do my vocation faithfully. Most of the people whom I met, prayed for my vocation journey toward priesthood. I’m glad that more and more people pray for my vocation so that I am strengthened by their prayer and encouragement because this kind of vocation I am enduring needs a lot of patience and support from people who pray and myself as a person could not make it only with my own strength. I believe that prayer and support of the others empower my vocation, so I am very grateful to all of people I have met during my immersion at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish.

2. Particular gifts, skills and talents I am aware of, used and confirmed in me through this ministry:
The important gift that I have is I can adjust quite easily the rhythm of the parish life and various people who involved in it. Despite my quite attitude, I could accept every persons I met at this parish as they are with their strength and weaknesses without complaining and speaking ill about them to others (it’s a reality wherever I am that I have to exercise). I did as much as cooperative and be a good listener and observer. I helped Father Juan, CP, who studies English to read and pronounce the Mass and reading of the Gospel in English. My talent and skill on reading and pronouncing of the Bible were very helpful to read the reading of the daily and Sunday Mass and also leading the funeral/committal. I could work together with a person who is considered as a difficult person by some people of this parish. I consider this person has a very good heart to share and help me with many kinds of her experience, wisdom, and gifts. I was enriched by her in my experience and didn’t see her weakness as a stumbling block to relate and communicate with her as well with others. The disponibility and humility to do little things even hard things given by the pastor and other employees both at the church and the school, become my custom. Singing ‘Alleluia’ in the weekday Mass is one of my talent that I could use according to Mildred despite I only memorized the tone of this song because I don’t have talent to read the tone of the songs.

3. In retrospect, the areas I need to still develop upon or learn more about which would help me in similar situations is the future:

v Intermingling with other ethnic groups such as Vietnamese, maybe accompanying Father Joseph to visit some parishioners.
v Practicing my confidentiality to give homily at the Mass both the English and Indonesian Mass.
v Giving and sharing to bible study group about lectio divina.
v More involved with other ethnic groups in their activities.
v Meeting with the pastor for evaluation.
v There are no fixed tasks I could do everyday, so I had to wait or with my own initiative I could to something helpfully.

4. Yes, I would recommend this summer ministry site to others in the years to come, because this parish has a marvelous diversity and plurality as well as social-economical problem especially the gap between the rich and the poor, between the ethnic groups, among the immigrants both legal and illegal ones in which we could learn how to live as a missionaries in the special situation in the USA. Since there is no deacon in this parish, so the presence of a seminarian here is very helpful especially if there is a funeral and committal. The pastor and the people of the parish were very delightful having a seminarian, especially a young one in this parish even though only for a while.

5. Any other comment.
I am grateful firstly to God who always gives me the best that I never imagined and thought before so that I could stay for six weeks at the rectory of Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish and to meet a lot of people whom I never met and some people whom I had never seen for years. Then I thank to my rector, Father Rocco, who has entrusted and arranged my stay in the parish and paid attention to my suggestion to do this ministry. All people whom I met during my stay at the parish, I really believe marked my formation toward missionary-religious-priesthood. In my prayer and faith, I believe that God has arranged everything so that I could experience this wonderful and worthy experience, which I never had before. Following my study and ministry in Chicago, I predict my reflection on my studies will be influenced by this immersion ministry and I hope for next time I will experience other ministries in my formation especially in my deaconate year in a parish setting. All in all, I present all of this experience before God who strengthens me to do so.