By Edward P. Noga

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – In our diocesan parish assignment system, pastors usually move to their new place in the summer. So it has been this year. The Rev. Tom Kraszewski, who has pastored St. Patrick Parish in Youngstown for the past two years, moved a few weeks ago to his new assignment in Struthers.

The other day, he mentioned that he received a welcoming phone call from the mayor. We both commented on the gesture as a very nice outreach in a world where most communication seems to come from a text, voice message or email. I added that, in seminary, our pastoral theology professor often likened our role as pastor to that of mayor in a community. I think part of his use of this analogy came from his teaching at our Cincinnati seminary half the week and spending the other half working in the city of Toledo in the community housing department. Although not a city employee, he had a lot of friends in City Hall.

 Often, the Rev. Jim McWilliams would tell us that when we move from one parish to another we should spend time meeting the community leaders, including police and fire chiefs. He added that it was equally important to meet leaders in the banking, social service and medical professions, including the mental health services. He said in conclusion that we definitely ought to introduce ourselves to local bankers, grocery store managers and others whose acquaintance was just as important as getting to know our assigned parishioners.

Quite frankly, I was always intrigued as to the relationship he spoke of between religious and civic life. He would often speak of the serious responsibility of leading communities and parishes through all aspects of life issues and situations, but he always added, “Remember, gentlemen, in your role, you must remember how important it is to be a ‘cheerleader’ for the various communities you serve.”

 In my almost 50 years as a priest, I have tried to follow his example and wisdom in the communities of Warren, Canton, Austintown and Youngstown where I have served as parish priest.  Actually, during these past five decades, I have often made a mental note of things I have observed from pastors and civic leaders that really impressed me as part of leadership tools.

 I remember once someone asking me, “Would you ever want to be mayor?” Following the initial chuckle, I mused a bit about the question. Two important pieces of reality struck immediately. First, I love being a priest. Second, in our Roman Catholic tradition, it is highly unusual for ordained priests to serve in civic office (the Rev. Robert Drinan, congressional representative from Massachusetts, was one notable outlier in this regard). We priests are encouraged to get involved in civic affairs, get on community boards and be aggressive in promoting the civic responsibility of learning about issues and candidates, but our tradition is not involved in siding with particular candidates or issues.

With the above as a backdrop, especially my opening comment about a local mayor making a “welcome to our city” phone call to the new pastor of the two parishes in Struthers, I asked myself one day on my regular early morning walk what I would do if I were mayor (knowing full well that there must be a tremendous learning curve in civic/political leadership).

A few things popped up:

  • As in pastoring, regular staff meetings would be top priority in making sure the energy of the city was moving in the right direction.
  • Because we currently have seven wards and seven council members, I would schedule, one afternoon/evening a week, a drive-through in one ward that included a stop at a neighborhood block watch to help keep tabs on the needs of the citizens. This would include an hour of five-minute mini-sessions with prescheduled residents. An additional session would be used for the downtown neighborhood/business community.
  • On busy weeknights or weekends, I would find a way to provide a mobile “welcome/information” station downtown to help folks coming into town and also to act as a welcome ambassador, guiding folks to free parking, landmarks, museums and restaurants.
  • I would schedule quarterly breakfast sessions involving city staff and the YSU community to build a collaborative working relationship. 

 All of the above would serve the need to listen in order to manage the city better. After a year of concentrating on the above, I would undertake a review of each initiative’s effectiveness. Of course, the day-to-day demands of public service would be paramount in importance, but time management skills can do much to maximize the hours of each day.

 The morning I did this dreaming while walking near the river that snakes its way through our city, I ended by realizing the gratitude we all should have for public service and the importance of making the system work by getting involved and absolutely lifting up the entire process by voting on all levels.

 Thank you, mayor of Struthers, for making the call that not only welcomed a new pastor into your community but also inspired me to think about the importance of civic commitment in our democracy.