Whether it’s members of the Catholic Ladies Relief Society linked with an interdenominational ministry feeding the poor, Catholic school students partnered with a public school class for the developmentally disabled, or the healing presence of a bereavement support group, cooperative and ecumenical efforts are flourishing at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oroville.

Nestled in the small Butte County city of Oroville, the parish community—which worships in a brown brick church topped by twin crosses—is home to more than 750 families, about the largest congregation in the city.

Many of its parishioners make their living from the land, working in the railroad industry or employed as government workers by Butte County. A majority of parishioners are retired, but there are enough young families to make St. Thomas the Apostle a vibrant place.

Father Troy Powers, who has served as pastor since 1994, likes what he’s seeing among parishioners living their faith.

“Worship on Sunday is vital, but it is the starting point of the week,” he said. “There is much more we have to do as people of God.”

A key to understanding the spirit at St. Thomas the Apostle is the emergence of 40 small faith communities. With the endorsement of the parish’s pastoral council, Father Powers has worked with parish ministries in translating faith sharing into community activism.

“Small faith communities are where we find building community really happens,” he said. “It builds the kind of community we want to be.”

Altar servers Travis and Sarah Stroup lead the entrance procession at a recent 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. Nancy Westlund/Herald photo

One parishioner particularly active building bridges in the community is musician Bernie Sullivan. Sullivan splits time between teaching guitar, fiddle, mandolin and banjo lessons, working at a local Veterans Service office, and playing in “Flash Flood,” a Chico-based Blue Grass band. He is also music minister at the 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass where his joy is playing music “to touch people and help them connect to God.”

After 20 years of church ministry, Sullivan is leaving to live in Nashville. A standing-room-only turnout at a parish reception in his honor was ample evidence of his connection with people.

But if you ask Sullivan, who is also a member of the pastoral council and a school volunteer, about the ministry that has had the greatest impact on his own faith life, he’ll tell you about Opening Doors.

This group, which meets weekly for music, reflections and fellowship, encourages disabled parishioners to become active in the life of the church.

“They are literally the most loving group you would ever encounter,” Sullivan noted.

And the word about Opening Doors ministry has spread into the larger community as seventh and eighth graders at St. Thomas the Apostle School volunteer in Central Middle School’s class for the developmentally disabled.

Principal Paul Weber says that the school’s character curriculum, which includes the Opening Doors component, is receiving attention from the Oroville community.

“It’s the good news of Catholic education, teaching kids to live the Gospel message,” he said.

One of the parish community’s biggest success stories is the growth of its school from just over 100 students six years ago to 155 today. Weber says connecting students with small faith communities in service projects is teaching invaluable lessons to youth.

“We try to get students to understand they’re the future leaders of the church,” he said. “The more they know about ministries, the more capable they’ll be.”

Ruth Crosthwaithe, president of the Catholic Ladies Relief Society #12, a parish ministry that is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, called it a hands-on ministry that is making a difference for the community’s poor.

The organization works hand in hand with groups like the Oroville Rescue Mission, an interdenominational ministry that feeds the hungry, and helps support “Caring for Women,” an organization assisting battered women and unwed mothers.

“Working with charities like these greatly extends our ability to reach out,” Crosthwaithe said. “We’re part of a collaborative ministry here.”

Collaboration is a key as well to health ministry outreach, a bereavement support group that involves eight-week sessions held three times each year. Julie Powers, a team facilitator with health ministry outreach, also wears the hats of co-director of religious education and coordinator of the fellowship and welcoming ministry.

Whether encouraging religious education families to come together for a “Fat Tuesday” Mardi Gras celebration or giving gifts of bread at baptismal fellowship coffees, Powers said the church can’t invite enough. “We see a lot of faiths blooming,” she said. “It’s beautiful to see the healing going on.”

Mary Seegert, co-director of religious education with Powers and a member of the parish for 25 years, says it’s “always been a place where I see people responding to Jesus’ love.”

Seegert, who has raised six children of her own, sees as a sacred trust in teaching children about God. A youth ministry close to her heart is for young adolescents, which includes 20 sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

While the youth program includes liturgical and educational components, bringing young people together in a social setting, Seegert said, is important too. A parish family camp trip to Bucks Lake near Quincy was just one recent example.

“You can’t sit around the camp fire and sing songs and feel that kind of community any place else,” she said.

The parish’s religious education program also works with the Cooperative Christian Churches of Oroville to sponsor a vacation Bible school each summer.

The Bible school is just one of several ecumenical efforts among the city’s Christian churches. The churches come together once a year during Christian Unity Week for a pulpit exchange. And on Good Friday, Father Powers once again took part in an ecumenical event as he has for the past five years—leading a service in the nearby Congregational church.

But it may be the presence of a homeless man who has been coming to the 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass for years and is a guest at parish breakfasts, who best expresses the spirit of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish.

“We’re God’s people,” said Father Powers of the man. “He is one more reminder we’re here to minister to everyone.”

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