Catholic Chronicle

Findlay woman sews rich vestments for priests and deacons

Laurie Stevens Bertke — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by The Courier newspaper in Findlay Jan. 12, 2010. It is republished here with permission.

FINDLAY—Charlene Spitan’s presence can be felt during every Mass celebrated at Findlay St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church.

Charlene Spitan has made more than 100 vestments that are worn by priests and deacons at Findlay St. Michael. (Photo courtesy of The Courier, Findlay)

That’s because the longtime member has made more than 100 of the vestments that are worn by the priests and deacons of the parish during services. Her work, which hangs according to the colors of the liturgical year, including white, green, red and purple, fills several large cupboards in the sacristy at the church on Bright Road.

“I enjoy it. It gives me something to do,” said Mrs. Spitan, who retired in 2005 after working 28 1/2 years as the fiscal officer for Hancock County Job and Family Services.

“And I’ve always been involved in the church a lot, pretty much all of my life,” she said.

Her sewing skills date back to high school.

“Of course I took home ec, but I only made an apron,” she said.

Mrs. Spitan’s mother also sewed and helped her.

“I don’t sew many other things,” she said. “I used to make some of my clothes, but I don’t sew clothes anymore. Pretty much what I sew are vestments.”

A lifelong Catholic, Mrs. Spitan grew up in Bethlehem, Ohio, in the same parish as Father Michael Hohenbrink, who is the pastor at St. Michael.

“When he was young, before he went to seminary, I used to take care of the altars, and sometimes he’d help me,” she said. “So when he came here, I was really surprised.”

Prior to moving to Findlay, Mrs. Spitan lived in Cloverdale for 10 years. During this time, she began making outfits for the infant of Prague, a statue of the infant Jesus that is displayed in some Catholic churches.

“I thought, well, I can dress priests instead of a statue,” she said.

Mrs. Spitan moved to Findlay in 1978 after marrying Shukri Abu Spitan, a man she had met two years earlier while she was touring the Holy Lands.

“I was from Bethlehem and he was from Jerusalem, and he always said, he was my souvenir, what I brought home from Jerusalem. It changed my life,” she said.

The couple celebrated 28 years together before he died in 2007.

Mrs. Spitan said she began making vestments as gifts for friends who were priests.

“Years ago I had made one for the priest I worked for. And when he died, he was buried in that,” she said.

To date, she’s made about 250 vestments, including the more than 100 garments she has made and donated to St. Michael Parish. She began making vestments for the Findlay parish in 1998.

“It was basically right after the first of the year,” she said. “This is basically a good time to sew after Christmas when everything is dead.”

“I thought, I can do something like this. I didn’t really ask them (the priests), I just started making some, and I was pretty sure they would probably want to have some,” she said.

Mrs. Spitan said she got encouragement from the priests.

“I didn’t really have a pattern. I was looking around trying to find a pattern and finally I just took a vestment that they had and cut a pattern. I’ve been using that ever since,” she said.

Mrs. Spitan made vestments for the dedication of the downtown church when it was refurbished, and also for the dedication of the new church which was completed in 2003.

“I made a lot for that,” she said. “I think there were about 12 alike and four deacons to match.”

Mrs. Spitan has also made several special vestments for the bishop of the diocese to wear when he visits the parish.

“It’s always kind of a neat thing to see them all in the things I’ve made,” she said.

Church officials wear different garments, according to Mrs. Spitan. The outermost garment worn by the priest is called a chasuble, while the deacon wears a dalmatic. The dalmatic has a modified sleeve and is actually more work to make, she said.

Each of the garments also has a stole, which is a long strip of material. The priest wears the stole around his neck, while the deacon’s stole is worn over the shoulder.

“I have made a number of sets for St. Michael’s that have three chasubles and a dalmatic to match since on some special occasions, all three of our priests and a deacon may celebrate the Mass,” she said.

Some of the material is plain and some is very decorative. Mrs. Spitan gets fabric and trim via catalog from places like New York, California, Wisconsin, Canada, Damascus, Syria and Italy.

The material can be costly, said Mrs. Spitan.

“But sometimes the trim is more expensive than the fabric,” she said.

Mrs. Spitan also buys material whenever she visits Israel. She made her most recent trip, her 14th, to the Holy Land in November.

Mrs. Spitan keeps scrapbooks filled with photographs of all of her vestments, some of which are worn worldwide.

This year, she’ll make a set of vestments in the liturgical colors for the new Magdala Center being built in northern Israel along the Sea of Galilee.

“Having vestments scattered all around the world is a heartwarming experience,” Mrs. Spitan said. “It gives me much joy to know that my work will be used in so many places to give praise and glory to God in the sacrifice of the Mass.”

Two seminaries, St. Meinrad in Indiana and the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, have vestments she has made, along with at least 30 priests in the Diocese of Toledo and one in St. Louis.

A former St. Michael priest who is now a priest in California also has 10 vestments made by the Findlay woman.

“It makes me feel good to know people enjoy them,” she said.

Making vestments isn’t the only thing Mrs. Spitan does for St. Michael Parish. She volunteers in the parish office and sings in the Archangel Choir, the funeral choir and various ensembles at church. She also plays organ for the 7 a.m. Mass on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as well as for Mass at Birchaven.

“The church is my life,” she said. “Since I lost my husband, it’s kind of lonely for me. So the church is everything to me.”

Retreat planned for separated, divorced men and women

Angela Kessler — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

CAREY—A weekend retreat for separated and divorced women and men is scheduled Feb. 5-7 at the Retreat House at Carey Our Lady of Consolation.

“Lives Under Construction” is presented by Father Marty Nassr and Debi Fox. They will draw on sacred scripture, songs and spiritual writers to help probe the different seasons of life.

The retreat begins with check-in at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 5 and ends at noon Feb. 7.

The fee is $125 per-person, but arrangements may be made for those who cannot afford the cost. Contact the Retreat House at 419-396-7970 or retreats@olcshrine.com.

For reservations, send a $25 non-refundable deposit to:
OLC Retreat House
321 Clay St.
Carey, OH 43316

Aircraft built by Fostoria high school students takes shape

Laurie Stevens Bertke — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

FOSTORIA—Physics students from Fostoria St. Wendelin High School have started construction on an airplane that will play a key role in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first transcontinental flight.

From left, St. Wendelin students Chelsea Davidson, Katelyn Schiever and Rodney Park work on the airplane that will be used to film a reenactment of the first transcontinental flight. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke)

A $10,000 Toyota Tapestry grant enabled the school’s science department to purchase the Challenger light sport aircraft, and students began assembling it under the guidance of science teacher Ron Bowerman in June.

Two years from now, the ultralight aircraft they are building will serve as a chase plane to film a reenactment of the historic flight taken by the Vin Fiz, the plane Calbraith Perry Rodgers used to cross the United States in 1911.

After that it is to be sent to Kenya, Africa, to be used by the Sisters of Notre Dame in their missionary work.

The proposal for the reenactment comes from the Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company of Dayton, an educational foundation dedicated to sharing the history behind the Wright Brothers and their airplanes. Mr. Bowerman serves as the company’s volunteer director of special projects and as a trustee for the affiliated, nonprofit First-To-Fly Foundation.

In past years, his physics students have built ribs for replicas of other aircraft designed by the Wright Brothers.

The teacher has used aviation to illustrate the principles of physics throughout his teaching career, and he designed a course for students to earn school science credit in conjunction with working on the airplane this summer.

Mr. Bowerman is teaching the course for free and the school is not charging the students to take it for credit.

Since June, about 12 students ranging from freshmen to seniors have been working on the aircraft two days a week in shifts. Some are doing it to earn the credit, while others are simply volunteering.

On a recent afternoon in July, six teenagers brandishing an array of tools stood clustered around the skeleton of the aircraft as they worked together to install a compartment for the fuel tank.

“Talk about engaged — these kids are engaged,” said Mr. Bowerman, watching their progress from nearby.

The teacher offers instruction to the students as they work, but also encourages them to figure out their own solutions to problems they encounter.

His teaching philosophy is summed up by a quote from John Dewey he used on the front page of his course information packet: “Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.”

“That’s me,” said Mr. Bowerman, pointing to the quote. “That’s where I’m coming from. And I have for years.”

Mr. Bowerman, who said he has “loved airplanes since day one,” explained he teaches physics through the lens of aviation because the subject can be used to explain “every Newtonian law.”

Teacher Ron Bowerman looks on as St. Wendelin freshman Rodney Park works on the airplane that will be used to film a reenactment of the first transcontinental flight. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens Bertke)

In addition to constructing the plane, his summer course includes lectures, demonstrations with his radio control plane and other hands-on activities, like assembling a paper model of the ARES airplane NASA designed to explore Mars.

Once the students create their model using the plans available on NASA’s Web site, they must design an experiment to demonstrate their knowledge of lift, thrust, drag or gravity and its effect on flight.

There are no tests this summer, Mr. Bowerman noted. Grades are based on performance and a 2,500-word final paper.

One reason Katelyn Schiever gave for wanting to help build the plane is that it is scheduled to fly the year she graduates.

The experience has been “better than I expected,” added Katelyn, a junior at St. Wendelin who said she loves school, learning and working with her hands.

“It’s incorporated things that I love into science, so I’m learning stuff too,” she said. “So it’s a great experience.”

Drilling, riveting, sanding and making precise measurements are just some of the skills students say they have learned.

“I had to learn everything, pretty much. I never knew how to use power tools,” said Christina Arnold, an incoming freshman.

Mr. Bowerman said work on the airplane is to continue in his classes during the upcoming school year, and his students will also build ribs for the actual Vin Fiz replica.

Construction on the chase plane must be complete by the end of the grant cycle in May 2010.

The $10,000 grant covered the cost of almost all supplies since St. Wendelin was able to purchase the aircraft kit at a 50 percent discount from the Quad City Ultralight Aircraft Corporation. The only thing still needed to finish the plane is a Rotax 503 engine.

Once it is built, the teacher said they are to begin flying it and testing it.

Mike Schroeter, a 1984 St. Wendelin graduate who now serves as chief software engineer for simulation at Microsoft, is writing software for a flight simulator for the plane.

Others helping with the project include Mike Kramb, an engineer who is also a St. Wendelin graduate, and Adam Flick, an aeronautical engineer and former student of Mr. Bowerman who is acting as a consultant.

The plane is being built and stored at A & L Compaction, a company owned by St. Wendelin parishioners Al and Lis Leibengood.

The project is one Mr. Bowerman expects to have a lasting impact at St. Wendelin.

“Even when the airplane is gone, that still doesn’t matter because the knowledge and experiences are still there to be shared,” he said.

Shrine to host Novena Aug. 6-14

Laurie Stevens Bertke — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

CAREY—The Conventual Franciscan Friars and staff of the Basilica & National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, Carey, are anticipating many pilgrims during the novena of Our Lady of Consolation Aug. 6-14.

The celebration of the feast of the Assumption (Aug. 14-15) has taken place for more than 130 years as pilgrims seek consolation and offer prayer.

This year, the novena features Father David Ross, pastor of Lima St. Rose and St. John the Evangelist.

“Fr. Dave is a highly respected, long friend of the shrine,” says Conventual Franciscan Brother Jeffrey Hines, pilgrimage director at the shrine. Fr. Ross was born in Lima and ordained a priest in Toledo July 26, 1975. Among his degrees are Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, Licentiate of Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and Doctorate of Canon Law from the University of Ottawa in Ontario, Canada.

People are invited to take advantage of the various opportunities for prayer and spiritual reflection during the novena. The largest crowd typically gathers on the last day of the novena (Aug. 14) for the 9 p.m. candlelight procession from the basilica to Shrine Park.

The weekday schedule includes Masses at 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. The sacrament of reconciliation is offered each day at 7 p.m., except Sunday. Evening novena services begin at 8 p.m. with prayer, outdoor rosary procession, benediction and individual prayer. Sunday Masses are 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon.

For more information about the shrine and its events, call 419-396-7107 or visit www.olcshrine.com.