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Glenmary Home Missioners
is a Catholic society of priests and brothers who, along
with coworkers, serve the spiritual and material needs
of the U.S. home missions. Glenmary, dedicated exclusively
to this ministry, currently staffs 64 missions in Appalachia,
the rural South and Southwest. |
Mapping Home Mission Territory
Home mission territory is defined by Glenmary as U.S.
counties where less than one percent of the population
is Catholic, more than 40 percent is unclaimed by any
religious congregation and the poverty rate is twice the
national average. The Glenmary Research Center in Nashville,
Tenn., gathers and analyzes data to help Glenmary target
counties for missionary activity.
Developing a Style of Home Mission Ministry
Since its founding in 1939, Glenmary has forged a unique
approach to missionary activity that deeply respects the
many cultures encountered in the home missions—Appalachian,
African-American, Native American and Latino among others.
This approach is characterized by five elements: building
Catholic communities, fostering ecumenical cooperation,
evangelization, working for justice, and connecting with
the universal Church.
Providing Home Mission Leadership
Keeping the home mission challenge before the U.S. Church—and
calling it to respond—has always been a part of
Glenmary’s mission. Its magazine, Glenmary Challenge,
was begun by founder Father William Howard Bishop to
educate U.S. Catholics—mostly urban and northern
at the time—about the existence and needs of the
home missions—mainly rural and southern. This educational
effort continues today through the quarterly Glenmary
Challenge as well as through the resources of the Glenmary
Research Center. Glenmary also offers a variety of ways
that parishes, small groups and individuals can respond
to the universal Christian call "to be missionary,"
including the option of adopting a mission or a missioner.
Calling and Training Missionaries
Glenmary invites young men between the ages of 18 and
to consider a lifetime commitment to home mission ministry
as a Glenmary priest or brother. Glenmary also invites
lay ministry professionals to join them in serving home
mission needs as pastoral coordinators, pastoral associates,
multicultural workers, etc. And Glenmary welcomes volunteers
in many capacities within its various mission settings.
More information about all of the above can be found
on Glenmary’s Web site at www.glenmary.org. |
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