Saint Sebastian Monthly Newsletter June 2008
Retiring Pastor Reflects on His St. Sebastian Years
It was a beautiful spring Saturday, and Bill Karg, a St. Sebastian seventh grader riding his bicycle at race pace, was rounding a corner on the parish grounds. Bushes obscured his view of an oncoming pedestrian: Monsignor Hilary Zwisler. After the near collision – the monsignor leapt to safety at the last second – he gave the boy a "here, here young man" reprimand, but then followed that up with a chuckle.
It's safe to assume that neither the carefree seventh grader nor the legendary founder of St. Sebastian parish could, at that moment, foresee that one day Bill Karg would become Father William Karg, follow in the monsignor's footsteps and take the reins of his childhood parish. In fact, Monsignor Zwisler recalled the incident at Father Karg's ordination.
Father Karg will retire on June 22, following 13 years as pastor of St. Sebastian. His final Masses are on June 21 and 22. "The parish's beautiful, good families" are what he says he will miss the most.
Father Karg came to St. Sebastian in 1995 after several other parish assignments in the Cleveland Diocese, as well as a three-year "pastor in residence" in Rome, where he led a pastoral training program, taught pastoral theology and advised students.
After graduating from Borromeo Seminary and St. Mary and being ordained, Father Karg was assigned to St. Vincent de Paul Parish on Cleveland's west side, and then Epiphany Church. He did a clergy internship for urban ministries, which helped him minister in a forgotten neighborhood on Cleveland's southeast side. He also developed a special understanding and interest in the problems of those living in the inner-city, including addiction.
"It wasn't boring," he says of those days.
Returning home
In 1995, in his 13th year as pastor of St. Henry Parish, also on Cleveland's southeast side, Father Karg learned of Father John McDonough's retirement at St. Sebastian. St. Sebastian parishioners began urging him to apply.
When he approached the bishop about whether he should pursue the position, as St. Sebastian was his childhood parish, Bishop Anthony Pilla simply replied, "Why not?" "That was that," says Father Karg. "I applied, and here I am." Despite his 30-year absence from the parish, Father Karg still knew many of the families – a great advantage for a new pastor. Although every parish has its challenges and needs, he knew he had a strong foundation of leadership to move the parish forward. That foundation has only strengthened over the years.
"Certainly, one of the defining characteristics of St. Sebastian Parish is leadership – lay leadership and clerical," says Father Karg. "This parish has produced 22 vocations to the priesthood and even more religious women. It tells me that a lot of people took their Faith seriously and encouraged their sons and daughters to do the work of leadership in the Church."
Over the years, a large number of St. Sebastian parishioners have played key roles in leading the city and county, as well.
Father Karg says he recently came across an old photograph – from the 1950s – showing a group of men, including his own father, who volunteered their time to go door-to-door in the neighborhood asking for pledges to build the new (current) church building.
"These men [it was the 1950s so women weren't asked to canvass neighborhoods] were ready to step up to the plate and knock on doors and, like them, there have been hundreds more through the years who have been instrumental in making this parish work," Father Karg says.
Other characteristics which define St. Sebastian are its large numbers of multi-generational families – some fourth-generation – and the symbiotic relationship between the parish and school. "This parish had its school from the start," says Father Karg. "The school anchors the parish and the parish anchors the school. Our school has always had a good reputation and draws families in. Kids grow up here, move away and then come back when they have children because of the school, and the parish as well."
At the time of his retirement, the parish has 1,550 registered families and 440 students enrolled in the parish school and pre-school.
"I would like to be remembered as a faithful priest who did my job the best I could," says Father Karg. "I would like to be remembered as one who regularly encouraged people to grow in prayer, and who promoted faith formation in every kind of way." Father Karg defines faith formation as "knowing and growing in one's faith and being comfortable with sharing it with others."
He takes particular pride in St. Sebastian's Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA) process.
Father Karg would like to see the parish grow and move forward in areas such as Christian outreach, ecumenical efforts and evangelization. Unlike other Christian denominations, he believes Catholics tend to be too insular and private about their Faith.
"We need to be much more active in reaching out to non-Catholics and non-active Catholics," he says. "We need to bring the word of Jesus to those who have not heard it."
Father Karg believes Pope Benedict XVI's call for "gentle invitations" to be a wonderful model for evangelization. When you get to know someone well enough, simply invite them to Mass or a church function or share some other information about church teachings.
"There are many misunderstandings about our Faith," he says. "People don't realize the beauty of these teachings and the richness of our Faith."
Whether it is by using the parish Web site, the Internet or direct mail postcards, Father Karg suggests parishioners put on their "thinking caps" and come up with some clever, up-to-date ideas to promote evangelization.
And yet Father Karg believes if there is one word that could truly change St. Sebastian for the better, that word would be "stewardship." "It's crucial," he says. "We are doing well, but I know we can do better. Stewardship can turn a parish around in a completely different direction for the better."
Father Karg notes that about 400 families returned stewardship Commitment Cards this year. The cards are the way parishioners commit to giving of their time, talents and treasure.
"Even many parishioners who have been very active in our ministries may not associate what they have been doing with the word ‘stewardship,'" he says. "But this is something that, as a parish, we need to understand and embrace." As pastor, Father Karg has faced his share of challenges and tough decisions. One tough decision was changing the policies about the parish school's boundaries. The new policy generated some angry complaints initially, but Father Karg believes the change has ultimately proved good for the parish and school.
Another tough decision was merging the contemporary Mass held in Zwisler Hall with traditional Mass held in the church. Over a period of several decades, two separate congregations had developed within the parish – with many regular parishioners never seeing parishioners who attended the other Mass, and Father Karg knew these groups must be united.
Yet another tough decision was delaying the remodeling of Zwisler Hall for about a year and a half in order to direct financial resources to the faculty of the parish school. Father Karg says, at the time, he noticed increasing turnover in the school, never a good sign, and he began a two-year plan to make the teacher salaries more comparable to those of public school teachers. Today, he is proud to say the salaries are within 75 to 80 percent of the prevailing wages for public school teachers.
St. Sebastian Parish operates with a budget of nearly $3 million. Each and every day, it requires about $7,700 to keep the parish and school operating. Father Karg says the parish may need to tighten expenses and secure more restricted funds for the parish foundation in order to keep tuition stable at the school. Stewardship, as in the model of other successful parishes, ultimately is the key to keeping the parish vibrant and strong.
Moving on
Father Karg, who will be 70 on June 23, plans to live in a condominium community north of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He looks forward to staying fit, swimming and spending many hours cycling on the MetroParks' Bike and Hike Trail. His ministry work will continue as a fill-in priest to St. Basil the Great and St. Barnabas parishes, and he is also interested in working with college students, the poor, and promoting faith formation. He still feels he has much to offer.
As he has aged, Father Karg has come to appreciate all the more spending time with young families and children who are so full of life. On the other end of the spectrum, he says performing the Sacrament of Last Rites has become even more profound.
"This goes way deep," he says. "This is life and death and being part of these moments is an honor and a privilege."
Once into retirement, Father Karg is looking forward to opening a wood box that's been stored in his office since 1996. It's full of hand-written letters sent to him over the years: letters from parents whose babies he has baptized, letters from couples he has married, letters from family members touched by funeral homilies - letters that will, no doubt, bring back memories.
"As I will say in my final homily, this whole thing – all that we've accomplished here at St. Sebastian – is God's work," he says. "I believe this with all of my heart. We recently published a list of 17 parish initiatives of compassion and justice within our local community and beyond. I take great pride in that list, as well as the many other great things we have done here. I may have been the instrument in some cases, but it is work we've all done together."
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