Friends in the Field - Zoë Rowmanowsky

To Be Willing to March into Hell for a Heavenly Cause
This is their quest: to lay it all on the line for the Kingdom of God.

Dreaming the Possible Dream
Saint Luke Productions

Some days it was like fighting the unbeatable foe. On the verge of personal economic collapse, receiving negative media coverage and being heaped with discouragement from all sides, Leonardo Defilippis and his wife Patti wondered whether Saint Luke Productions would ever make it. But 18 years into it, the couple, with God's help, has bravely made their full-time, Catholic dramatic arts apostolate into more than a possible dream.

With nine live shows, six videos, nine audio tapes, a workshop for lectors, and a staff of six, Saint Luke Productions is renewing and evangelizing the culture through the art of drama. "It's unique, it's the living Word and it makes people listen," says Leonardo Defilippis, director of the Portland, Oregon-based apostolate. "Few people read an entire Gospel right through, but in one evening, they can see and hear it performed."

Defilippis founded the apostolate with his wife Patti. In the late '70s, while pursuing a career in professional theater, Leonardo had a reconversion and came back to the sacraments. He took a break from his Shakespearean roles and experimented for two months with his own performance of St. Luke's Gospel.

The rest is history. "I didn't know what I was doing. I had no mentors or examples of how to do sacred drama," recalls Defilippis. "I met Patti in the midst of this and we made it a team effort."

The thespian duo conceive and write their own scripts with the help of their staff. The apostolate's live repertoire includes: The Gospel of Luke, The Gospel of John, The Song of Songs, St. Francis of Assisi, John of the Cross, Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz and The Confessions of St. Augustine. The dramas, which include sets, props, costumes, music and sometimes dance and song, are performed mainly in the U.S., but have also shown in Canada, Europe, Malta, Ireland and England.

Saint Luke's live dramas, films and tapes are based on the beauty and truth of the Christian Faith. "We want to encourage people to live the Gospels in simplicity and holiness," says Defilippis. "We believe that the renewal of culture and the arts depends on the renewal of family life." The Defilippis' six children, who are home-schooled, participate in the apostolate.

To incorporate more artists into the vision of Catholic drama, Saint Luke Productions hired an actress and a technical assistant in 1997, and produced a new live show, St. Thersese of Lisieux, in honor of the saint's 100th anniversary. And because of their growing popularity, Saint Luke's was recently able to move into a larger studio — "a vast improvement over the family basement."

Saint Luke Productions has presented more than 1,300 performances for more than 350,000 people. Probably the most exciting performance for Defilippis was in 1993 at World Youth Day in Denver, where he opened Maximilian for more than 2,500 people.

Saint Luke's dramas appeal to a wide range of Catholics and have been presented to many Protestant groups, as well. With easy-to-move sets, the actors can perform virtually anywhere. They've been to churches, schools, community centers and prisons. Their self-contained show also makes them affordable. The apostolate receives donations mainly through appeals in their quarterly newsletter, as well as through their videotape sales.

Dreaming big, Defilippis hopes to someday organize both a theater company and a traveling company, expand the apprenticeship program for young artists, continue ongoing road shows, produce more Catholic films and start regional theaters across the country. "There's no limit to what we can do," says Defilippis. "With God, all things are possible."

To arrange a live performance, see a show near you, purchase a video or find out more, contact: Saint Luke Productions, P.O. Box 761, Beaverton, OR 97075; 503-641-1255, toll free: 800-683-2998, fax: 503-626-3186, e-mail: stlukeprod@aol.com, Web site: "The Market" at CatholiCity.

Home of the Free and the Brave
Courage

At a time when society is legitimizing, and even glorifying, the homosexual lifestyle, a group known as Courage sends out a different message. Formed in 1980 in New York City by Father John Harvey, OSFS, Courage organizes spiritual support groups for men and women with homosexual tendencies who want to live the teachings of the Catholic Church. "Our mission is to help individuals with homosexual attractions and temptations to enter into union with Christ through a life of interior prayer and chastity," explains Harvey.

From five members at Manhattan's Mother Seton Shrine, Courage has grown into an international organization with chapters in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Kenya and the Philippines. New Zealand and Australia will soon join the list. In the United States, 28 dioceses currently have chapters. Harvey encourages local people to do the groundwork for a Courage chapter before he gives it the official okay.

A sister group known as Encourage has also sprouted up recently. "As Courage became more widely known, parents and relatives concerned about their son or daughter in the homosexual lifestyle began to ask us for help," says Harvey. Encourage provides spiritual support for parents and relatives of persons with homosexual tendencies. There are now nine chapters of Encourage in the United States.

Courage and Encourage chapters hold local and regional one-day retreats and days of recollection. Meetings are loosely based on the 12-step model made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous. "We use testimonials, have speakers come in and use any means to encourage people to talk about their lives," explains Harvey.

Courage doesn't try to "make people heterosexual" as their critics claim, though they do make options available for people who want to work at healing and change. "Our objective is to help people live chaste lives, and we've seen many people do very well," says Harvey. "Our program works for those who work the program."

Increased publicity since 1997 (thanks to EWTN) and the creation of an international Internet home page has put Courage on the map. It has become an international network promoting the Church's teaching on the morality of homogenital activity and the need for chastity programs. They publish a newsletter and organize a national conference in different North American cities each year.

Over the years, the basic budget for Courage has been provided by the Archdiocese of New York, but private donations are becoming increasingly essential to keep up with the growth. In June 1998, Courage will move its offices to larger quarters to accommodate additional staff and growing activity.

Upcoming projects include a youth ministers conference, production and distribution of pamphlets for youth ministers, preparations for this year's conference from July 31 - August 2 in Worcester, Massachusetts, a youth leaders conference in New York in November, and the establishment of new chapters around the world.

On the whole, Courage has had a good reception throughout the country. Harvey has been swamped with requests since the bishops' recent pastoral letter on homosexuality was issued. Harvey says it's essential to stay focused on the real goal: "What's important is not big numbers, but that the people who do come are given the support they need to live the Gospel."

Harvey depends on the media to spread the word about Courage, and he counts on local leaders to get involved. "There's an underground of hostility toward Courage, as gay rights movements come into dioceses," says Harvey. "The greatest challenge is to communicate our message where it's not being welcomed."

And what of the frequent attacks and hostility that are bound to rattle even a seasoned warrior for Christ? "Life's too short to argue with the opposition," says Harvey. "When you're doing God's work, you learn to let it go and keep going."

Contact Courage at St. Michael's Rectory, 424 West 34th St., New York, NY 10001, 212-421-0425, fax: 212-268-7150, e-mail: NYCourage@aol.com. Web site: http://world.std.com/~courage.

Support for Fellow Space Travelers
The Catholic Men's Fellowship

Men might be from Mars, but many of them are coming back to earth with the help of Christian men's movements across the nation. The Catholic Men's Fellowship in Cincinnati is one such burgeoning effort that's helping men to put Faith and family first.

The Fellowship, run by volunteers, sponsors a yearly conference, Answer the Call, which drew almost 10,000 men at its third rally in March 1997. The rallies promote the Fellowship's vision. "We encourage men to go back home — to their parishes — and form small men's groups that will pray together and support each other," says Kevin Lynch, the Fellowship's president and rally coordinator.

The Fellowship began 10 years ago when Lynch and fellow founders Declan O'Sullivan, Tom Young and Father Ken Sommer met at St. Mary's Church in Cincinnati. They realized that Catholic men were more reticent about getting together in fellowship than their Protestant brothers, so the group sent out invitations — 200 of them. Ten men responded and with that, the Fellowship was off to a humble start.

"Twelve years of doing this have told us that Catholic men are really hungry for close, spiritually like-minded male companionship," says Lynch. The response to the Answer the Call rallies makes that clear. With 500 attendees just three years ago, more than 17,000 men are expected this spring. Lynch, who retired from work early to lead the Catholic Men's Fellowship, says men are searching for something more. "Many of us live the great lie: Don't cry, don't share feelings, work hard and be successful at providing material things, and you'll be happy. Then one day, you wake up and maybe your wife's unhappy, your kids are having problems, the job doesn't look so good, you've got idols and distractions and you ask yourself, 'Am I doing this right?' "

With its call to re-examine priorities and pursue stronger relationships with Jesus Christ, the Fellowship has much in common with the well-known predominantly Protestant men's group, Promise Keepers. Lynch, who has benefited from Promise Keepers himself, says that while they do wonderful things, PK rallies don't meet some important needs of Catholic men.

"Catholic men need to share about those things that make them Catholic. Our rallies encourage participation in the sacraments, recognition of Mary as our spiritual mother, and focus on other aspects that are distinctly Catholic," says Lynch. The Fellowship also considers it a priority to affirm and support priests and bishops.

Lynch has witnessed tremendous results from the Fellowship's efforts and Answer the Call rallies. Men's groups continue to spring up in the greater Cincinnati area, and lives are being changed across the country. "I can't tell you all the stories — there are so many," he says. "I'm particularly moved when I hear that men at our rallies have gone to confession for the first time in 15, 20, 40 years!" More than 100 priests attended the last rally, and more than 1,500 men took advantage of the opportunity for the sacrament of reconciliation.

Men are also scoring big points with their counterparts from Venus who like what the Fellowship is doing for their men. "It's made my husband more aware of me as a person instead of taking me for granted," says one wife.

The Catholic Men's Fellowship and Answer the Call rallies have drawn support from many priests and bishops, including Bishop John Myers of Peoria, Illinois, and Bishop Carl Moeddell, a Cincinnati auxiliary. The Fellowship is linking up with 15 groups nationwide that are doing the same type of thing, and men's conferences are currently being planned in Boston, Baltimore, New Orleans and Oklahoma City.

The Fellowship also puts out Answer the Call, a quarterly newsletter that communicates information about local events and rallies. It includes short articles to help build faith among its more than 5000 readers.

Maybe Elton John was on to something in his song, Rocket Man, since more and more men seem to agree that "Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids."

To contact the Catholic Men's Fellowship (Cincinnati area): 8606 Twilight Tear Lane, Cincinnati, OH, 45249, 513-469-0310, e-mail: KevinL@thecall.org.