Mission Men:

Young priests serving in Appalachia embody Christ’s call to go forth

Bobbi Silver

As one of the youngest priests serving in the Diocese of Lexington at 30 years old, Father Rob Adams is currently the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Pikeville and St. George in Jenkins. He believes serving these Appalachian communities gives him a unique perspective that would usually take years of experience as a priest to learn. The geographic area served by St. Francis and St. George is larger than the size of Rhode Island, with 200 parishioners. Father Rob travels 31 miles between the two locations, putting more than 700 miles on his car over each month. The dwindling Catholic population has reshaped his ministry in Jenkins, but the Diocesan Annual Appeal has helped to ensure a Catholic presence in this community.

Building blocks of ministry

Father Rob’s grandmother grew up in Harlan, Ky., and travelled to the hub that was then Jenkins in the 1960s and ‘70s. Jenkins was one of a few towns in Appalachia at the time that had its own power plant and was the place to buy a car and where you could eat a refrigerated dessert. St. George was built in 1914 to serve the Catholics who had moved from Europe to work in the coal mines. A priest was assigned at the time to a territory that included Pike, Letcher, Knott and Perry counties. The Catholic population in Jenkins has decreased over time, but the Catholic presence has remained strong.

“Approximately 25 people attend church each week and their care for the space is a beautiful expression of Vatican II. They vacuum, mow the lawn, take care of the flowers and help with general upkeep and repairs. They know the church is not just the building but they are the Church, too,” Father Rob said. He admits it requires juggling to serve two parishes, but noted the people of Jenkins are a wonderful support.

“When I went through seminary, I was taught the rules of how to run a church. I like to compare it to learning how to drive a car. You prepare, you learn, you practice and, at the end, hopefully you get your license and your own car,” Father Rob says. “But when you are put in small parishes in Appalachia within a large geographic region, it’s almost as if you are being given the parts to a car and told to build that car. It’s somewhat disorienting at first, but once you adapt and learn to build a community and create Catholic culture, there are many benefits.” Father Rob concentrates his time in creating church communities in both his parishes through the sacraments, Mass and getting involved in the community outside the church walls. He feels a uniqueness in how the local communities and the diocese rally around his parishes so the Catholic presence can continue in Pike and Letcher counties.

“Without the Diocesan Annual Appeal, we would not have funds to pay the bills, fix the buildings or offer some of our programs,” he says. This year, the Diocesan Annual Appeal is providing funding to establish youth programming at St. George. Father Rob is hoping to build upon their successful summer camp that is open to children of all faiths in the area. “It’s been hard this year because we couldn’t have camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of our campers, it is the only time they hear about Jesus, and for some, it is a needed break from the plagues of addiction in their own families,” he says. “We want to build upon that experience and hopefully bring more kids to know Christ by offering Bible study and other programs.”

Mountain call

Father Marc Bentley is another young priest serving in Appalachia, now as the parochial vicar at Holy Family in Ashland and St. Lawrence Mission in Greenup. He is also the coordinator of spiritual programs at the Father Beiting Appalachian Mission Center in Louisa. Father Marc attributes the very reason he is a priest to the donors to the Diocesan Annual Appeal. Father Marc grew up in Pike County but was not Catholic and had no encounter with the Catholic Church for most of his life. He was 16 years old when Pope St. John Paul II died, and he could not help but watch the news stories of the pope’s life work and his example of the dignity of human life in the face of the unimaginable. He was intrigued enough to ask a friend if he could go to Mass at St. George in Jenkins and brought along his parents.

Father Marc attended his first Mass on Pentecost Sunday in 2005, and while the family found it a bit confusing, there was still something there to draw them back to learn more. He asked to start taking RCIA classes and was baptized. Both his parents, a sister and a nephew are all now Catholic. Father Marc shares, “I would not be Catholic without the Diocesan Annual Appeal. My initial formation as a Catholic occurred at St. George, a small church that has historically relied on the funds from the annual appeal to stay open. It’s the place I was led to Christ and started my journey to becoming a priest.” Father Marc attributes his path to becoming a priest to the generosity of Catholic donors he will never meet for providing for seminarian education. “I received a top-notch education at St. Meinrad Seminary for six years. That would not have happened without the sacrificial gifts that people made to the appeal,” he says.

The Diocesan Annual Appeal is more than an annual fundraising effort. It is a critical avenue of support to keep parishes in eastern Kentucky open, to share the Catholic faith and sacraments and to serve as the light of Christ in areas of crucifixion. As Father Marc puts it, “From the head of the holler in eastern Kentucky to the sidewalks of Lexington, we are a diverse diocese. People know they can go to the Catholic Church to get a helping hand, a cup of water and to learn about Christ. That makes our sacrifice worth it.”