Fort Worth News

Fort Worth News

Posted on Tue, Jul. 29, 2003

FAITH, HOPE and CHARITY

ST. AUGUSTINE CATHOLIC CHURCH FORT WORTH -

By Brett Hoffman

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

St. Augustine Catholic Church has a congregation of about 300, including Celina Chavez, It occupies a corner of Bishop John Parnell's back yard in Fort Worth. Parishioners who can't contribute are encouraged to clean the churchyard instead. Jesus Cedillo at Sunday Mass at St. Augustine. The Rev. Walter Gerth, an independent Catholic priest, said that at St. Augustine, "amazing things happen, like confirming 40 people in one day."

The faithful of St. Augustine Catholic Church gather in a small, white, wooden building in a corner of its priest's back yard, where chickens live and parishioners often pick peaches after Sunday Mass. In the yard's other back corner, students of many ages converge on another small wooden building two nights a week to work toward a high school diploma. Rather than building an expensive cathedral, Bishop John Parnell, 38, and his wife, Carolyn, the parish's spiritual leaders and schoolmasters, are helping lower-income parishioners and students.

Under Parnell's leadership, the Fort Worth congregation of about 300 is exposed to a mix of Roman Catholic, conservative evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic theology and practices. The church also strongly emphasizes putting faith into practice and helps parishioners find their niches in society.

"Jesus came to serve the poor, and that's the foundation of our church," Parnell said. "We're going to get help for a lot of folks, and they are going to see Jesus through us."

St. Augustine is affiliated with the Mexican National Catholic Church, which is not part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth. A number of similar "independent" Catholic churches exist worldwide that maintain spiritual ties with Roman Catholicism but are not part of the worldwide communion. Parnell, for example, does not acknowledge the authority of the pope and does not consider himself bound by the laws of the Roman Catholic church. Parnell is quick to point out, though, that the bishop who ordained him was never formally excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church, although he cut any ties he had with the church nearly four decades ago as a result of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

A caring church

Interdenominational disputes seem irrelevant on Sundays, as Parnell celebrates three Masses in the L-shaped sanctuary of the church, which is in the 200 block of Byron Street, north of White Settlement Road in Fort Worth on the eastern edge of River Oaks. The Mexican flag and a cross hang on the wall, along with a series of hand-drawn prints depicting Jesus carrying the cross to the site of his execution.

During Mass, Parnell preaches and distributes communion, and small children take up offerings in wicker baskets. Parnell encourages parishioners who can't contribute to help clean the churchyard instead.

The services attract people like Geno Folsom, a handyman whose wife died of brain cancer two years ago. Folsom, who was raised Roman Catholic, said Parnell nurtured him through hard times.

"If you ask [Parnell] for anything, if you want to talk or spend the night here, you're welcome," Folsom said. "These may not be the best of facilities here, but you know that you can make a pallet and they will share what food is available. "Of course, you can't indulge in tequila here, but you can sure get a taco."

Another member, Darlene Cedillo, said she appreciates the informal atmosphere. "They're not judging you on how you dress, how you look or your income," she said. "And when hurting people come around, Father John will help them get a job or feed them or find a charity organization that can help them."

Parnell's evangelistic fervor has attracted help from other independent Catholic priests, such as the Rev. Walter Gerth, pastor of St. Charles the Martyr in Grand Prairie. Gerth, who ordained Parnell a priest a decade ago, recalls helping Parnell administer the sacrament of confirmation to about 40 people during an Easter service. He and Gerth laid hands on each of them and prayed that the Holy Spirit would come upon them. On that day, families packed a sanctuary that seats maybe 100. Those who were confirmed left by a side door to prevent overcrowding. "If you walk into St. Augustine, you get the bare essentials," Gerth said. "But amazing things happen, like confirming 40 people in one day. This is what the church is all about. The church should not be in the cathedrals that cost millions. It should be into helping people."

The Rev. Don Bogan, a military chaplain who regularly assists Parnell with Masses and ministry, said the church continually helps Hispanics from Latin America struggling to survive in the United States.

"These are future Americans," Bogan said. "Their children will be our future leaders, so let's teach them Christian love and offer them the tools to become better citizens."

School nights

Each Tuesday and Thursday night, students arrive at the school building and hand in their homework to Carolyn Parnell, a former substitute teacher at Castleberry High School. About 120 students are enrolled in the St. Augustine Old Catholic High School, she said. The students range in age from 15 to 50-plus.

Many of the teens are high school dropouts, and many of the adults are completing their high school education so they can get a job. "Most of them have the skills and the knowledge, but they lack the certificate," Carolyn Parnell said. "It's very meaningful to help them get their certificate and improve their lives, and many come back and tell us how grateful they are." One appreciative graduate is Wade Smiley, 22, who helps his parents operate Giovanni's Italian Restaurant in west Fort Worth. Several years ago, Smiley and his sister, Angelia Marbut, had developed a disdain for school. Then they met the Parnells. Since he finished high school, in 1999, Smiley has done a two-year stint with the Marines and said that this fall, under the Parnells' supervision, he will begin college by correspondence. Marbut, who also finished high school in 1999, as the class valedictorian, is employed by a local dentist. Their mother, Karen Zeqiri, said: "If it were not for Father John and his wife, my two children would now be low-statistic children. They were on the road to destruction. But after we took them to the Parnells, we had peace in our home. It was a gift from heaven. The Parnells are educated and just know how to deal with teen-agers."

'A bridge denomination'

John Parnell's college diplomas are mounted on the wall in the school office. In the past decade, Parnell has received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in theology from the Minnesota Graduate School of Theology, the Wolsey Hall School of Theology in Ontario and the International Theological University in California.

When he began his collegiate studies, Parnell aspired to become an Episcopal priest but found the Episcopal Church U.S.A. too liberal for his liking. Parnell was raised a Roman Catholic but said he won't align himself with the denomination, partly because of its high-profile sex scandals. He said he lost faith in the Roman Catholic Church when a priest sexually molested a relative when Parnell was a boy. He also says that Roman Catholic priests should be allowed to marry, as they can in the Mexican National Catholic Church, and that Roman Catholic leaders should teach more of the Bible and become more evangelistic. "When I was growing up Catholic, Billy Graham was my idol," said Parnell, referring to the renowned Southern Baptist evangelist. "So if there's such a thing as a fundamentalist Catholic, that's me. I'd say our denomination is a bridge denomination between evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics."

Parnell said he retains spiritual ties to the Roman Catholic Church at large through his bishop, 98-year-old Eduarto Rodriquez, who lives in Mexico. Although Rodriquez separated from the Roman Catholic Church during Vatican II, regarded by many as the most significant ecumenical council in the church's history, Rodriquez was never formally excommunicated, Parnell said. Parnell added that because he did not consider Rodriquez's actions schismatic, the Mexican National Catholic Church maintains its apostolic succession. The Rev. Joseph Schumacher, vicar general of the Fort Worth Catholic Diocese, said he has never met Parnell but has spoken with him by phone. He said there is no hostility between the diocese and Parnell's denomination, although there are substantial theological differences. "We have no right to say we're the only Catholics in the world," Schumacher said. "A good number of churches in the world" call themselves Catholic but are not in union with the Roman Catholic Church, he said. Schumacher said the main difference is that "they do not see their church under the leadership of Pope John Paul II." Regarding Parnell's congregation, though, "there have been no tensions between us. I think they are serving their people well."

In the Mexican National Catholic Church, Parnell is bishop of 29 parishes in Houston, Beaumont, San Antonio, Los Angeles and Mexico. "I could have been a pharmacist or a lawyer, but all of that will pass away," Parnell said. "But when I baptize someone into the church, I lead them into eternity."

Brett Hoffman, (817) 390-7707 hoffman@star-telegram.com

Return to main index page

This site was last updated 05/06/08