Christmas 1974

It is the season for churches to concentrate fully on their spiritual mission, putting aside secular concerns. Yet for many congregations, the world is too much with them, and even Christmas provides no respite.

In Gary, Indiana, thugs have invaded church services and meetings to rob and in one case, even rape parishioners. Clergymen of several denominations recently organized a committee to fight the barbarism. The New Mount Olive Baptist church took more direct action this month, after bandits shot up the church during a heist. Some New Mount Olive parishioners armed themselves and now stand guard while dressed in their Sunday best.

In Saginaw, Mich., the Chicano community has been riven by bloody feuds for a dozen years. There have been at least 20 deaths and more than 100 injuries as factions have competed to control the local drug traffic. Father William Frigo, associate pastor of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in the barrio, said recently, "Many of our vendetta families have no sons left." In the past fortnight he has organized special Masses dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is revered by Mexicans as their protectress. The prayer services for civil peace have attracted overflow crowds, for the time being, the violence has stopped.

In Lake Ronkonkoma, NY, another Catholic church named for St. Joseph learned that one of its parishioners, lately forced into bankruptcy, was about to lose his house. Remembering a device used during the Depression, Father John Carew, 70, announced formation of a Save-a-Home Fund. When he made his appeal, Carew said last week, churchgoers "tore the place down with their clapping." The collection produced $5,000--enough to stave off the foreclosure and to help others that the recession threatens to turn out of house and home.

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