today, this time to Boscobel, Wisconsin for a funeral. They say it might rain but for now the skies look clear and in less than an hour I should be away.
The person I'm doing the service for was not in my parish but is Orthodox and the service will be at the grave. The skies above will determine its length, sun means longer, rain means shorter, and I hope I can provide some comfort and do right by a group of folks who've slogged through a long period of illness.
One of the things I encounter out here in southwestern Wisconsin is the reality of scattered Orthodox. People come to Wisconsin for many reasons, not the least being the scenery, and if they're Orthodox there's a dilemma. With not too many more then a dozen parishes in the state the coverage can get thin. St. Elias draws people from nearly an hour away, the geographical size of the parish extends across two states and many counties. The tightly clustered rules for urban Orthodox communities don't apply here and so you have to find a church where you can and services as they come. If the weather gets bad all bets are off, especially in the hill country around LaCrosse.
This family in need came from small town Wisconsin and then moved to the larger venue of Eau Claire, a city of over 60 thousand but still without a local Parish or a resident Priest. I was closest to the small town they came from, they didn't know I commuted from St. Paul, Minnesota, and so I was called. I don't mind helping, but part of me is sad.
Why isn't there a parish in Eau Claire? Over a hundred thousand people live within its borders or an easy drive and still no church. Orthodox, who, for whatever reason, move to towns like Eau Claire often have no place to go. Why should we be surprised, then, when they drift away or scan through the Yellow Pages hoping to find someone, anyone, available when a crisis occurs.
The hardest part of this is that I feel so limited. As the range of St. Elias circle of influence increases my ability to care for all the good people scattered through the area decreases. Surely these people are at least entitled to have someone come and bury their dead.
Regardless in less then a half hour I'll be on the road again and since I've never been to Boscobel before it will be a chance to see some new country. We'll gather at 2 this afternoon and lay this man to rest, it's a good and right thing to do, but I wonder what will become of this family once I turn my car around and head back north.
Monday, July 27, 2009
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Father, bless,
ReplyDeleteI think that is something that is very difficult to deal with in many states - I know that when my priest came to our state, there were only a handful of parishes - it has since expanded, but through the hard work of people who found themselves in this situation.
Prayers.