Conventual Franciscan Parish in Indiana is a Real Community

St. Anthony Church in Clarksville, Indiana

The idea that one’s parish is not simply a place where one attends Mass every Sunday is important. Our parishes should be much more than that. We ought to feel at home in our parishes and help maintain them. At St. Anthony Church in Clarksville, Indiana, the sense of community the parishioners feel for one another and their church comes to light during Parish Pride Day.

Clarksville, Indiana

Essentially a spring cleaning event, St. Anthony’s Parish Pride Day asks parishioners to volunteer whatever time they can on a particular day and help bring the physical church building to good order. Painters’ and landscape artists’ skills are much valued during pride day as the church and its grounds are refreshed. Men and women who know how to use tools help out with various repairs. After the winter, screws might need to be tightened or parts in machines replaced. Helpers during Parish Pride Day also take out garbage and generally ensure that St. Anthony Church – their spiritual home – looks prim and proper.

Conventual Franciscan Friars work in their communities

Conventual Franciscan Friar Regis Schlagheck fulfills the role of pastor at Clarksville’s St. Anthony Church. Besides Friar Regis, four other Conventual Franciscans live and work at the parish. By running the Parish Pride Day, the Franciscans are doing what Francis of Assisi began eight centuries ago – namely making the world around them a better place.   

(Sources of related images on webpage and homepage: www.wikipedia.org, www.stanthonychurch.us, and www2.ofmconv.pcn.net/en.)