‘A light to others’
(From left) Charlotte seminarians and St. Joseph Workers Ronan Ostendorf, Gabriel Lugo and Carson Cannon clean up the area surrounding the Marian grotto next to the rectory at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte July 12. (Photo provided by James Sarkis)MOUNT HOLLY — Men from St. Joseph College Seminary have become “St. Joseph Workers” this summer, spending their time out of school to do yardwork, refinish floors, build a fire pit, and more.
While not a formal aspect of their seminary formation, this work for people and parishes around the diocese aims to help build the seminarians spiritually and socially – another aspect of St. Joseph College Seminary’s holistic approach to priestly formation, seminary leaders say.
“We started the St. Joseph Workers back in the summer of 2018 as a means of providing college seminarians with continuity in their formation by allowing them to stay at the seminary, giving them access to the sacraments and communal prayer, as well as continuing to build their fraternity through sharing a common life and work,” explains Father Matthew Buettner, the seminary’s house spiritual director.
One of the workers’ projects has been at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, where they have cleaned out and freshened up the area around the Marian grotto near the rectory.
Father Christopher Roux, pastor and rector, says the workers have been incredibly helpful. “It’s terrific to have the young men here. Not only are we able to get a few extra projects completed, but they are meeting folks who come to the church and office, and this allows them to be known in person.”
Seminarian Peter Townsend, who attends St. Ann Parish in Charlotte, is one of this year’s St. Joseph Workers.
“The St. Joseph Workers program is a great opportunity to continue living the life of a seminarian while on summer vacation,” Townsend says. “It can be difficult, especially after becoming accustomed to seminary life and its daily schedule, to going back to a more relaxed routine.
“However, with the St. Joseph Workers program, I am able to maintain our prayer schedule, remain in community, and live with the Blessed Sacrament, all while traveling to different locations throughout the diocese to serve the people of God.”
Seminarians want to participate in the program, he adds, so they can remain connected to prayer, brotherhood and the Holy Eucharist during the summer break.
“I hope that our witness will allow people to get to know us on a more personal level – we aren’t just faces on a card! – and will let them know that we are willing to serve them,” Townsend says, referring to the seminarian posters and prayer cards found in every parish throughout the diocese.
“I think that a man’s character is revealed in how he treats his work and responsibilities,” he also says. “As a result, the seminarians with the St. Joseph Workers program are hoping that by working well, being a light to others and by putting all of our effort into any project, the people of the diocese will know that we will work just as hard as their pastors and priests.
“There are good and hard-working men with the program this year, and I’m proud to work alongside them wherever we go and whatever we do.”
The St. Joseph Workers program benefits parishes and families who hire them by having contact with the men, getting to know them and contributing to their formation, as well as supporting vocations generally.
“One man who spent time with the seminarians told me, ‘They are amazing young men. They work hard, fast and smart,’” Father Buettner says. “Another man who worked with them reported, ‘The young men you sent did a fabulous job. I was very impressed by the knowledge they already had, how well they quickly grasped the scope of the project, and how well they took direction.’”
He says the program has grown so well in its short history that for the first time this summer, the workers didn’t have to look for work to do. “Requests for the St. Joseph Workers extended beyond what the workers could accomplish in a summer,” he notes.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
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