HIGH POINT — Oncologist Dr. Bernard Chinnasami is a man on a mission. For more than 20 years he has been treating cancer patients, witnessing their struggles as they try to comprehend their diagnosis and treatment plan. He has made it his life's work to accompany people with cancer on their journey, helping them to become equipped with the knowledge they need to navigate their days ahead, but also to put things into a faith perspective.
To that end, Chinnasami, a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, created Cancer Guide Posts of Strength, an interactive website that gives "directions for the journey" for newly diagnosed cancer patients, their friends and family. Information from trusted experts, cancer guides and volunteer mentors, as well as "Intersections," a regular educational program, can all be found in one location on the Cancer GPS website, www.cancergps.org.
In addition to all of the free practical information, an integral part of the Cancer GPS mission is to address the importance that spirituality plays in a cancer patient's journey.
"I've been doing this for over 20 years now, and what has always surprised me is how much people are not in touch with their faith and God Himself, and the questions they ask," Chinnasami says. "I think doctors, especially, and other healthcare professionals are not well-trained to answer the questions. Once there is a diagnosis of cancer, somebody questions their mortality. I think this comes to the forefront very quickly for almost everybody."
Chinnasami sees this moment as special. "When these questions suddenly come up, it became evident to me that this is an opportunity to explore our faith and to realize how amazing our faith is, in terms of helping us get through tough times.
"There's nothing like a diagnosis of cancer to bring someone close to God quickly."
Oblate Father Vince Smith, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, is featured in a video for Cancer GPS, answering some of people's typical questions about God and their faith when they are confronted with a cancer diagnosis.
"We've had many discussions and we've actually worked with many patients together," Chinnasami says of his work with Father Smith, helping patients to navigate what is often a complicated physical and spiritual journey.
People have asked Chinnasami how he keeps such a good attitude while caring for the sick and sometimes dying.
"I've always realized that it is my faith that has gotten me through," he replies. "We always say we need to do our part and place our trust in God. That is from a perspective of knowing that we are all human and this is what we can do. Also, we must have the humility to place our trust in Him. That gets us through the difficult questions when patients ask, 'Why me' or 'Why my child'?"
Beyond the necessarily personal interactions between patient and doctor, or between parishioner and priest, Chinnasami sees the Cancer GPS website as filling a need.
"Sometimes these questions come up at 2 a.m., when you don't have someone to go and talk to. So that is why we thought we would do the video, too, and place it online so it can be a friendly reminder as to how rich our faith is and how forgiving our God is," he says.
And, he adds, "I think this also opens the door for them to realize that they can go back. I think it gives the people who get through this a much better understanding and value of their faith, rather than taking it for granted. I look at cancer as an opportunity to reintroduce people to their faith. During such a difficult time, that is what gets most of us through.
"That is how I envision it. Not to tell them what to do, but to reintroduce them to their God."
Spiritual health is just as important in a person's overall well-being, Chinnasami says.
"Almost everybody feels good about talking to somebody who feels it's not just medicine alone. I look at it as part of the overall care. Cancer care is so multidisciplinary – it takes so many physicians, dieticians, psychologists. But the very prime person is also your spiritual counselor.
"We want them to know we are not trying to split their bodies and spirits into two different components completely, but to treat them as a whole."
Another goal of Cancer GPS is to help churches connect with these resources for parishioners who are facing a cancer diagnosis. Many parishes already have cancer support groups or prayer groups dedicated to praying for those effected by the disease.
"Part of the goal is to try to dial up the churches who already have outreach, and we can come help set up and link in to the parishes. Cancer GPS speaks beautifully about our faith. It ties in everything else. This is a great way for us to reintroduce people, to show this is very much part of our faith in terms of how we take care of ourselves."
Chinnasami says he has witnessed firsthand that patients who embrace their faith see a huge difference in how they approach their overall lives.
"First, it makes them realize who really is in charge. More importantly, the peace they find with the end, whether they survive or whether they don't survive, to realize it is all a part of the amazing journey for us to be able to give everything we can. I think it brings them a great sense of peace."
Chinnasami hopes to help as many people and parishes as possible to connect with Cancer GPS resources so that he can help them put all the components of cancer care under one umbrella on the local level.
"I'd love for them to contact us directly. We can be a super resource for them. I think people will feel safer to have professionals helping them, but at the same time being able to provide it in a kind, great way at a local place.
"They don't have to do things alone. There is plenty of expertise for all of us to share and help each other," he says.
Chinnasami hopes the Cancer GPS outreach will also help people of all ages grow in their faith and see just how powerful prayer is.
"I think this is a way we can help share experiences to bridge the gap between the healthy and the sick, the young and old, the rich and poor. Cancer knows no boundaries, unfortunately. I think that this is a great way to help bring people together under adversity to explore all of these things together."
His own faith journey has been impacted through his work treating cancer patients, Chinnasami notes.
"I have always grown up like this. I have always felt that I will do my part and do everything to the best of my ability and put all my trust in Him. Things have an amazing way of working out. Not always the way I want it to work out. But I can see how He meant it to work out as things unfolded. We always want everyone to be cured, obviously, but unfortunately this is not a disease where we have reached that stage yet. I can see the beauty of families coming together. I can see the transformation in people – how amazing that is!"
"What I have learned very nicely is that humility is learning that in healing, God has His own plans for each one of us. We have to have the humility to be able to accept it."
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — St. Matthew Church hit a new milestone this month in its 30-year history, reaching 10,020 registered families. The church in south Charlotte is one of the largest Catholic parishes in the U.S., now comprising 34,497 registered members, according to this month's parish rolls.
Many of these newcomers have been part of a wave of people moving to the South in recent years, swelling the Diocese of Charlotte from just over 34,000 Catholics in 1972 to an estimated 456,000 Catholics last year.
St. Matthew Church has been a leading indicator of this growth since the parish was formed in 1986, when a fledgling congregation of 600 Catholics in the Ballantyne area began meeting at a local movie theater. Ballantyne and the Interstate 485 loop around Charlotte have boomed in the intervening three decades – and so has the parish.
The late Monsignor Joseph Kerin, former chancellor of the diocese and St. Matthew's first pastor, helped build the parish activity center in 1989 and the present church in 1996. Over the years a daily chapel, education building, ministry building and columbarium have been added to the 25-acre campus on Ballantyne Commons Parkway.
A satellite location in Waxhaw, dubbed St. Matthew South, was completed in October 2014. The multi-purpose building, which is dedicated to the Divine Mercy, serves more than 2,000 families in that area for weekend Masses and faith formation classes.
The parish offers eight Masses every weekend on its main campus, plus Maronite and Syro-Malabar Divine Liturgies each month. St. Matthew South offers three additional Masses every weekend. More than 50 trained volunteers assist in various roles at each Mass celebrated in the main church.
Maureen Regele is one of St. Matthew's original parishioners. Regele recalls attending Mass in the theater with her husband Steve and their three daughters.
St. Matthew Church in south Charlotte currently has more than 10,000 registered families, making it the largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte and one of the largest in the country. Pictured in this file photo, parishioners gather for Mass. (Doreen Sugierski | Catholic News Herald)"It was very cozy in the beginning – and surprisingly it's still cozy with so many people," she says. "Just being there, it's like a family."
Regele now serves with the parish's newcomers ministry, which welcomes people to the parish and encourages them to join a parish group or ministry to meet others and get involved.
"We really encourage people to join something so they can get to know people in that large community on a more intimate basis," she says. "So to me, it's always felt like my extended family, because like so many others at the parish we're all from somewhere else. We didn't have our real family around. It has been so great to have everyone so willing to help everyone else. I know if anything ever happened, I could pick up the phone and someone would be right there."
Newcomer Frank Monteleone is one of the newest of St. Matthew's parishioners. Monteleone, his wife and their two young children relocated to Ballantyne at the end of last year from Long Island, N.Y., for his wife to begin a new job at Levine's Children's Hospital in Charlotte.
"After we relocated, we went looking for parishes. We went over to the parish, went to our first Mass and were very pleased," Monteleone says.
Monteleone says he plans to lend his talents to the parish's Catholics in Career Transition ministry.
And he will be in good company. In all, St. Matthew Church counts 7,000 volunteers in its 103 ministries.
"This is something that is great about St. Matthew – the number of ministries you can contribute to and participate in and be part of the parish life is very compelling," he says.
Pat Tomlinson, the parish's faith formation director, reports that there are currently 3,670 students and 613 catechists in the faith formation program. There are also 130 people involved in the SPRED and Bridge ministries, which provide programs for children and adults with special needs.
"I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to spend the last 18 years watching St. Matthew Parish become the beautiful, holy, caring community it is today," says Tomlinson. "Under the loving direction of Monsignor McSweeney, we have always had a vision statement ("Connected in Christ! Moved by the Spirit!") and a mission that we were working towards.
"And with the efforts of a very passionate staff and an amazing group of ministry leaders and volunteers, we have become the welcoming, spirit-filled, sharing parish we are today."
Michael Burck, the parish's adult faith formation director, shares that last year the parish offered 72 adult faith formation programs that attracted more than 3,235 people. Another 2,000 people also participated in Fall and Lenten small group programs, he says.
"My first full year (at the parish) was the 2010-'11 school year," Burck says. "Our total that year was just over 2,000 participants. Since then, we have increased our participation by 160 percent.
Terry DeMao has been a parishioner at St. Matthew since 2001 when she relocated from London, England. She serves the parish as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and as a member of the Word Ministry.
"There are many advantages of being here at this 'mega church'," DeMao explains. "There are hundreds of activities going on here! Everyone can find something to do every day of the week for three months and not repeat the same one. If someone is overwhelmed easily by crowds, it can be unnerving on weekend Masses. However, the key is to join the small groups and get involved. There are so many incredible people here with so many gifts and talents. There is also an amazing spirit of generosity at St. Matthew, a real giving mentality."
DeMao adds, "I brought Catholic Scripture Study International to St. Matthew about seven years ago. We have a year-long CSS Bible study each year. This year we are doing the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and we have 65 registered students. Not bad for a Tuesday morning! My study is only one of many, many Bible studies going on. It's like a mini college."
Mary Pat Arostegui and her husband Vince have been active St. Matthew parishioners for the past 15 years. As a couple they helped to bring Teams of Our Lady to St. Matthew Church shortly after they moved to Charlotte.
Arostegui says the Teams are "a great opportunity for married couples to grow in their love for Our Lord and His Church and to nourish our faith along with four to five other couples and (ideally) a spiritual counselor on a monthly basis."
"One advantage of membership (at St. Matthew) is the variety of ministries that are offered. The only disadvantage might be in not finding one's niche, simply because looking at the whole picture is so overwhelming," she says.
Like many of St. Matthew's parishioners, Arostegui is involved with multiple ministries – including the Welcome Ministry, Nursing Home Visits, Mel's Diner, Catholic Scripture Study, Rosary Prayer Group and Pro-Life Ministry.
"There is, indeed, something for everyone, even in a 'mega-church'!" she says.
St. Matthew is now emphasizing greater outreach and opportunities for spiritual growth among its members, even as the parish family gets super-sized.
The parish's new long-range plan for 2016-'18 has an emphasis on mercy, in keeping with the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy inaugurated by Pope Francis on Dec. 8.
Burck shares that he has worked for over 30 years in ministry in five different parishes and that St. Matthew Church is the first parish he has worked in "that has a truly working parish council that develops a pastoral plan every three years and works to implement it."
"St. Matthew's pastoral plans always seek to increase engagement, meaning they are always working to make sure their parishioners are growing in their relationship with God, deepening their sense of community and actively serving in the ministries of the parish," Burck explains. "I think St. Matthew Church realizes that providing good, meaningful adult faith formation programs is very important in making that a reality."
Mark Schuler, chairman of St. Matthew's pastoral council, explains the successful level of engagement with parishioners: "We have developed a welcoming culture and invite parishioners to get engaged in at least one thing. We believe this leads to a deeper spirituality and overall life satisfaction. When you combine this with over 100 ministries, numerous faith formation activities and the frequency of Mass, you create something for everyone.
"Our size, scale, talent and diversity is a gift and opportunity. Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Mercy is providing the direction for the 2016-2018 pastoral plan. We hope to inspire parishioners to a higher level of engagement and an increase in both corporal and spiritual acts of mercy."
"I'm blessed to be a part of it," says Monsignor John McSweeney, who has served as St. Matthew's pastor since 1999. "The emphasis on my part on the baptismal responsibility of each person and a respect for each person is part of our philosophy. St. Matthew has a responsibility to communicate the message of Jesus to His Church locally, nationally and internationally through our unique efforts. That is done through our prayer ministries and the different outreach ministries.
"The key to St. Matthew, from my viewpoint, is the active involvement of lay leaders – women and men – the role of deacons, the role of women religious and the four priests connected to St. Matthew."
Long Islander Monteleone knows his family may be the one of the newest families at St. Matthew Church, but he's already promoting the benefits of his new parish home.
"You feel like you're walking into a large church, but at the same time you still feel like you're part of the family of that parish. It feels big, but it doesn't feel that big!"
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter