CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church hit a new milestone this month in its 30-year history, reaching 10,020 registered families. The church in south Charlotte is one of the largest Catholic parishes in the U.S., now comprising 34,497 registered members, according to this month's parish rolls.
Many of these newcomers have been part of a wave of people moving to the South in recent years, swelling the Diocese of Charlotte from just over 34,000 Catholics in 1972 to an estimated 456,000 Catholics last year.
St. Matthew Church has been a leading indicator of this growth since the parish was formed in 1986, when a fledgling congregation of 600 Catholics in the Ballantyne area began meeting at a local movie theater. Ballantyne and the Interstate 485 loop around Charlotte have boomed in the intervening three decades – and so has the parish.
The late Monsignor Joseph Kerin, former chancellor of the diocese and St. Matthew's first pastor, helped build the parish activity center in 1989 and the present church in 1996. Over the years a daily chapel, education building, ministry building and columbarium have been added to the 25-acre campus on Ballantyne Commons Parkway.
A satellite location in Waxhaw, dubbed St. Matthew South, was completed in October 2014. The multi-purpose building, which is dedicated to the Divine Mercy, serves more than 2,000 families in that area for weekend Masses and faith formation classes.
The parish offers eight Masses every weekend on its main campus, plus Maronite and Syro-Malabar Divine Liturgies each month. St. Matthew South offers three additional Masses every weekend. More than 50 trained volunteers assist in various roles at each Mass celebrated in the main church.
Maureen Regele is one of St. Matthew's original parishioners. Regele recalls attending Mass in the theater with her husband Steve and their three daughters.
St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte currently has more than 10,000 registered families, making it the largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte and one of the largest in the country. Pictured in this file photo, parishioners gather for Mass. (Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald)"It was very cozy in the beginning – and surprisingly it's still cozy with so many people," she says. "Just being there, it's like a family."
Regele now serves with the parish's newcomers ministry, which welcomes people to the parish and encourages them to join a parish group or ministry to meet others and get involved.
"We really encourage people to join something so they can get to know people in that large community on a more intimate basis," she says. "So to me, it's always felt like my extended family, because like so many others at the parish we're all from somewhere else. We didn't have our real family around. It has been so great to have everyone so willing to help everyone else. I know if anything ever happened, I could pick up the phone and someone would be right there."
Newcomer Frank Monteleone is one of the newest of St. Matthew's parishioners. Monteleone, his wife and their two young children relocated to Ballantyne at the end of last year from Long Island, N.Y., for his wife to begin a new job at Levine's Children's Hospital in Charlotte.
"After we relocated, we went looking for parishes. We went over to the parish, went to our first Mass and were very pleased," Monteleone says.
Monteleone says he plans to lend his talents to the parish's Catholics in Career Transition ministry.
And he will be in good company. In all, St. Matthew Church counts 7,000 volunteers in its 103 ministries.
"This is something that is great about St. Matthew – the number of ministries you can contribute to and participate in and be part of the parish life is very compelling," he says.
Pat Tomlinson, the parish's faith formation director, reports that there are currently 3,670 students and 613 catechists in the faith formation program. There are also 130 people involved in the SPRED and Bridge ministries, which provide programs for children and adults with special needs.
"I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the last 18 years watching St. Matthew Parish become the beautiful, holy, caring community it is today," says Tomlinson. "Under the loving direction of Monsignor McSweeney, we have always had a vision statement ("Connected in Christ! Moved by the Spirit!") and a mission that we were working towards.
"And with the efforts of a very passionate staff and an amazing group of ministry leaders and volunteers, we have become the welcoming, spirit-filled, sharing parish we are today."
Michael Burck, the parish's adult faith formation director, shares that last year the parish offered 72 adult faith formation programs that attracted more than 3,235 people. Another 2,000 people also participated in Fall and Lenten small group programs, he says.
"My first full year (at the parish) was the 2010-'11 school year," Burck says. "Our total that year was just over 2,000 participants. Since then, we have increased our participation by 160 percent.
Terry DeMao has been a parishioner at St. Matthew since 2001 when she relocated from London, England. She serves the parish as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and as a member of the Word Ministry.
"There are many advantages of being here at this 'mega church'," DeMao explains. "There are hundreds of activities going on here! Everyone can find something to do every day of the week for three months and not repeat the same one. If someone is overwhelmed easily by crowds, it can be unnerving on weekend Masses. However, the key is to join the small groups and get involved. There are so many incredible people here with so many gifts and talents. There is also an amazing spirit of generosity at St. Matthew, a real giving mentality."
DeMao adds, "I brought Catholic Scripture Study International to St. Matthew about seven years ago. We have a year-long CSS Bible study each year. This year we are doing the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and we have 65 registered students. Not bad for a Tuesday morning! My study is only one of many, many Bible studies going on. It's like a mini college."
Mary Pat Arostegui and her husband Vince have been active St. Matthew parishioners for the past 15 years. As a couple they helped to bring Teams of Our Lady to St. Matthew Church shortly after they moved to Charlotte.
Arostegui says the Teams are "a great opportunity for married couples to grow in their love for Our Lord and His Church and to nourish our faith along with four to five other couples and (ideally) a spiritual counselor on a monthly basis."
"One advantage of membership (at St. Matthew) is the variety of ministries that are offered. The only disadvantage might be in not finding one's niche, simply because looking at the whole picture is so overwhelming," she says.
Like many of St. Matthew's parishioners, Arostegui is involved with multiple ministries – including the Welcome Ministry, Nursing Home Visits, Mel's Diner, Catholic Scripture Study, Rosary Prayer Group and Pro-Life Ministry.
"There is, indeed, something for everyone, even in a 'mega-church'!" she says.
St. Matthew is now emphasizing greater outreach and opportunities for spiritual growth among its members, even as the parish family gets super-sized.
The parish's new long-range plan for 2016-'18 has an emphasis on mercy, in keeping with the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy inaugurated by Pope Francis on Dec. 8.
Burck shares that he has worked for over 30 years in ministry in five different parishes and that St. Matthew Church is the first parish he has worked in "that has a truly working parish council that develops a pastoral plan every three years and works to implement it."
"St. Matthew's pastoral plans always seek to increase engagement, meaning they are always working to make sure their parishioners are growing in their relationship with God, deepening their sense of community and actively serving in the ministries of the parish," Burck explains. "I think St. Matthew Church realizes that providing good, meaningful adult faith formation programs is very important in making that a reality."
Mark Schuler, chairman of St. Matthew's pastoral council, explains the successful level of engagement with parishioners: "We have developed a welcoming culture and invite parishioners to get engaged in at least one thing. We believe this leads to a deeper spirituality and overall life satisfaction. When you combine this with over 100 ministries, numerous faith formation activities and the frequency of Mass, you create something for everyone.
"Our size, scale, talent and diversity is a gift and opportunity. Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Mercy is providing the direction for the 2016-2018 pastoral plan. We hope to inspire parishioners to a higher level of engagement and an increase in both corporal and spiritual acts of mercy."
"I'm blessed to be a part of it," says Monsignor John McSweeney, who has served as St. Matthew's pastor since 1999. "The emphasis on my part on the baptismal responsibility of each person and a respect for each person is part of our philosophy. St. Matthew has a responsibility to communicate the message of Jesus to His Church locally, nationally and internationally through our unique efforts. That is done through our prayer ministries and the different outreach ministries.
"The key to St. Matthew, from my viewpoint, is the active involvement of lay leaders – women and men – the role of deacons, the role of women religious and the four priests connected to St. Matthew."
Long Islander Monteleone knows his family may be the one of the newest families at St. Matthew Church, but he's already promoting the benefits of his new parish home.
"You feel like you're walking into a large church, but at the same time you still feel like you're part of the family of that parish. It feels big, but it doesn't feel that big!"
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter