TERRE HAUTE —
It would be understandable, for most of us, if we were madder than the opposite of heaven if a beloved, historic, personal part of our lives was to be taken away against our will.
And that’s just the situation clergy and parishioners at St. Ann Catholic Church find themselves in, because next month the church will see its last services, as the larger church body consolidates its members here into other parishes. After being a parish since 1876, St. Ann’s, the church, will close.
In 1906, the church came to house a school, educating thousands in moral character and religious doctrine in addition to math, science, history, English and much more. Later came an orphanage, a food bank, a health clinic; more recently, a dental clinic and psychological services — services for many in our community who cannot afford to pay for care, but who perhaps need it most.
Gladly, even after the church closes, St. Ann’s facilities will continue to be used for the health clinic and offices for Catholic Charities and Bethany House.
Thousands of lessons have been taught within St. Ann’s walls over the church’s 136 years, and its people have borne witness to the larger community — Catholic and non — about faith, caring and service to others.
The congregation is now teaching another hard lesson about dealing with the pain of the church’s closing and taking a broader perspective than the bittersweet situation at first presents. “We are going to be organ donors,” Sister Connie Kramer told the congregation at its homecoming service on April 15, “and offer a transplant to others of the life we have here.”
As our Lisa Trigg told you in her April 16 story about St. Ann’s homecoming service, the church’s sacred items will see new life in new settings. Some are being divided among remaining local parishes, all of which have their own proud histories, traditions and communities. That’s part of the transplant.
But in a way, the more compelling transplant will be that this old, retiring church — St. Ann’s — is going to remain alive within a newer, resurrecting church 318 miles away in Salyersville, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in far eastern Kentucky, not far from the West Virginia border.
The Catholic Church there, St. Luke’s, was leveled in those March 2 tornadoes that also devastated southern Indiana.
Parishioner Helen Pennington was one of eight persons who sought — and found, providentially, if you want to believe that — safety from the storm in St. Luke’s downstairs, while most of the building was blown away.
“I love this church,” Pennington told a West Virginia television reporter. “I love this parish. I love the people. It’s just heartbreaking.”
In a different context, St. Ann’s parishioners might utter the same words. It is understandably heartbreaking for them to have the security and familiarity of their church pass away.
But in very real ways, the heart of St. Ann’s will beat anew some months hence at St. Luke’s, for when that church is rebuilt from the storm, it will feature St. Ann’s altar, baptismal font, pews, vestments and robes — which will be sent there to help that church re-establish itself.
As Sister Kramer said, “They will worship at our table, and we will transplant the faith of this community into this other church.”
In that, the good people of St. Ann’s can take pride — and solace.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: A transplant from St. Ann’s
Parishioners will know that church they love lives on
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EDITORIAL: A timely call-out of NSA critics
As if it couldn’t get worse, politicians in Washington have again tied themselves in knots.
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EDITORIAL: Insisting on ISTEP quality lawmakers’ primary duty
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RONN MOTT: Not hurried a bit by 21st century tech
Unlike so many of you, I do not get up in the morning and run to turn on my computer. In fact, if you need to reach me in a hurry, I would say that 19th century invention of Alexander Bell’s would be the best way. If you do email me or use some other electronic convenience, better give it a couple of days because I am not in that big of a hurry.
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EDITORIAL: Remembering Sister Jeanne
Terre Haute is mourning the loss this week of an accomplished and beloved community activist and leader whose life’s work is an inspiration to all who strive to serve.
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EDITORIAL: Embrace the value of traffic planning
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EDITORIAL: It’s time to assess ISTEP
Later this month, the company behind this spring’s abysmal online administration of ISTEP testing for 27,000 Hoosier schoolchildren is being called to the principal’s office.
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EDITORIAL: Fix fraud, don’t punish needy
Waste and fraud in government programs should be rooted out vigilantly. Legislation should fix a problem with a fitting solution, not punish the needy.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: An anniversary to honor
The anniversary we observe today is one that will forever live in the soul of America.
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EDITORIAL: Highway 40 — where are you?
Area residents have been trying to come to grips with the Indiana Department of Transportation’s decision to change the official route of U.S. 40 through Terre Haute and Vigo County.
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EDITORIAL: Indiana’s workforce problems require broad-based solutions
The issue of Indiana’s “skills gap” arose during a community jobs fair Thursday at Hulman Center, hosted by 8th District Rep. Larry Bucshon.
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EDITORIAL: Happy trails for Hoosiers
Indiana has an abundance of natural treasures that should never be considered hidden treasures.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
While not much has been spoken or written recently about the Indiana 641 corridor through southern Vigo County, rest assured development continues and the approximately six-mile project linking U.S. 41 near Ivy Tech to Indiana 46 and Interstate 70 remains — mostly — on course.
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EDITORIAL: Terre Haute Tomorrow seeks to reignite community momentum
Long-range planning that brings together diverse local interests in an effort to collaborate on community improvements often launches with a flourish but then settles onto a shelf to gather dust. That was remarkably NOT the result when the group known as Terre Haute Tomorrow emerged on the scene about 10 years ago.
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EDITORIAL: Women in uniform must be treated with respect, dignity
As the nation pauses this Memorial Day weekend to remember those who have served their country, it is appropriate to reflect on the contributions of women in military uniform of the U.S. armed services. They are many, and their impact is great.
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The celebration season
Spring has been a bit elusive at times in 2013, which is its nature.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: MVC tourney an event worth having
It’s been a long time since the Missouri Valley Conference chose Indiana State University to host its post-season baseball tournament, but Terre Haute had never been more prepared for an event such as this.
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EDITORIAL: Cleaning up voter rolls
It’s not a lot of money in the big scheme of things, but the $2 million designated in the recent session of the General Assembly will begin the messy but necessary process of cleaning up Indiana’s voter registration rolls.
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EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign
Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.
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EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
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EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
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EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
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Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
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EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
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EDITORIAL: Education remains worth the cost
Within the next few weeks, each of the local colleges will have conducted graduation ceremonies. A few days later, a different Class of 2013 will don caps and gowns for commencement — the seniors at five Vigo County high schools. It is still a smart, worthy aspiration for those high school grads to replicate the achievement of those college students by earning a higher-education degree.
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EDITORIAL: Good news for downtown
For decades, it seems, downtown Terre Haute has been in the throes of change
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EDITORIAL: Overall, state budget step in the right direction
For average Hoosiers uninterested in political point-scoring, the budget crafted by the Indiana Legislature inspires only muted, if any, fanfare.
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EDITORIAL: The lessons of organ donation
The range of emotion surrounding life-saving transplantation of a vital organ is extreme. It is the ultimate “good news-bad news” scenario.
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READERS’ FORUM: April 26, 2013
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