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Parish’s arms are open wide
archived from: 2013-03-15
by: John Franko

Most Holy Name of Jesus hosts special disabilities program

Saturday mornings are a special time at Most Holy Name of Jesus in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood. A dedicated family comes together to perform a labor of love.

Each week, some 30-35 people work to provide spiritual education and preparation for sacraments for mentally and physically disabled people.

“They’re alive,” said Cathy Baysek, who has directed the religious special-education program at the parish for almost 40 years. “This is the Church Alive — right here.” Some three dozen students are presently enrolled in the program, ranging in age from 7 to the mid-70s. Some are blind, others deaf, and there are those with various types of cognitive disabilities. Others are at various levels of the autism scale.

“They’ve never turned one person away from the program,” said Father John Dinello, pastor. “They come from miles around. And that’s the most beautiful thing about the program.”

The program meets from October to May as both a parish and diocesan program. The staff includes volunteer teachers and aides for each classroom.

The students are usually transported by parents and caregivers. Adult religious support sessions are offered while the students receive their instruction. There are also many activities such as picnics, field trips and parties.

Khrissy Bartolowits of Most Holy Name works with the program and volunteers at outings. Her son, Jacob, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy almost a decade ago and has gone through the program. He made his first Communion last year.

She pointed out that the students receive so much more than spiritual instruction, noting that, for some of them, it is their only social outlet.

“It’s phenomenal,” she said of the program. “There’s nothing else like it and I couldn’t be any prouder to be a part of it.”

Deacon Gregory Jelinek grew up in the parish and has worked with the program from the outset. He described the dedication of the volunteers as “peerless” and noted that many have been with the program for 20 to 30 years. He noted the men and women who grew up with him and are still part of it.

“Their Saturday mornings wouldn’t be the same without it,” he said.

Deacon Jelinek said the program is inclusive in the sense that the walls between students and those who help them are blurred. Everyone benefits in a spirit of love.

“Your love will be accepted and you will be given more than you bring,” he said.

Mike Kaib has been with the program for some 30 years. Like many of the others, he grew up and left the parish, but he still returns to work with the students.

“I consider this my family,” he said.

Kaib said the classes are impacting students on more than just Saturdays. He noted a recent incident in which a high school girl gave up her seat to an elderly passenger on a Port Authority of Allegheny County bus. The act started a trend among the other students.

“They’re living it,” he said. “They’re not just coming to class and they’re done. They’re going out and making a difference.”

Father Dinello said the work of the program brings a whole new dimension to the faith. We are in the same boat in one way or another, all disabled in some way, he noted.

“They don’t see themselves as weak or disabled,” he said of the students. “They see themselves as weak like everybody else in the church.”

Both Father Dinello and Baysek noted strong support from the entire Most Holy Name family for the program.

“The parish has opened its arms,” Baysek said.

At a recent Disabilities Awareness Mass, the students were involved in various ways with the liturgy. They read petitions, were involved in the offertory procession and greeted parishioners.

They joyously clapped to the music of the contemporary choir from St. Mary of the Assumption in Glenshaw.

There were distractions that could have affected other liturgies, but the congregation took them in stride. They were genuinely comfortable with the atmosphere.

“It’s a testament to the people in this parish,” Father Dinello said.

In noting that only a handful of parishes in the diocese sponsor a Disabilities Awareness Mass, Deacon Tim Killmeyer, deacon assistant to people with disabilities in the Office for Cultural Diversity and Persons With Disabilities, said parishioners are impacted by the joy that people with different abilities — and disabilities — bring to the church.

“It’s a great example of what we are always stressing (at his office) — that we not only need to identify the gifts and talents of all the baptized, but to allow them to share those gifts and talents with the rest of us. Not just at this special Mass, but all the time,” he said.

Following the Mass, the parish held a brunch for the students and their families. They also heard music from a band composed of young people with autism.

“Hearing that band, those kids playing. All of this is so worthwhile,” said Donna Kaib, sister-in-law of Mike, who has catered many of the program’s functions.

Baysek said one of the goals of the program is to expand it to other parishes. She envisions Most Holy Name as a teaching center in which other parishes interested in starting a program could send people for instruction.

“This is definitely in the future — we hope,” she said.

She also noted that her program is always looking for people who are interested in working with disabled people.

The program seeks geniuses in reference to the “genius” described by Thomas Alva Edison, who said, “Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.”

“It’s helpers and teachers being the hands of God,” she said.

More information on the program is available by calling the parish at 412-231-2994, ext. 4.

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