The following story first appeared in the Spring 2005 Glenmary Challenge.
For a free copy of the next issue

Pilot, Counselor, Signer and More
For Father Mike Kerin, no two days in his Alabama missions are the same—and he loves it!
By Jean Bach

In Marion, Fayette and Lamar counties in northwestern Alabama, the Catholic Church is known for outreach to those in need. But, adds Father Mike Kerin, “We are less known as a prayer-based, Bible-based church.” He works on a daily basis to dispel these misconceptions.

Father Mike has pastored Glenmary’s Winfield and Fayette missions (Holy Spirit and Holy Family, respectively), and reached out to neighboring Lamar County, since 2001. After being involved in novitiate and post-novitiate ministry for five years, he says he was glad to get back in the missions full-time.

The three counties he serves have very small Catholic populations (0.7 percent or less) and Catholicism is still a bit of a mystery for many there. He tells of a phone call from a local teacher asking him to make a presentation to her advanced placement students on Catholicism. “She said she understood Catholics to be a ‘branch of the Christians,’” Father Mike says. He invited the two classes—and their teacher—to the church, gave them a tour and talked about who Catholics are and what Catholics believe. “It was very successful and I think the presentation cleared up some misunderstandings,” he says.

The reason so many associate the local Catholic church with outreach is due to four Centers of Concern spread throughout the counties. “These centers provide help with utility bills, clothing, furniture and food,” Father Mike says. They are supported by the Diocese of Birmingham, the local Catholic parishes and other area churches. “A Winfield parishioner coordinates the centers, and they are a real asset to the community,” he says.

His membership on local commissions and committees increases the visibility of the Catholic church in the local community. And having time to get involved outside the parishes has been a little easier since the arrival of pastoral associate Sister Peggy Chambers. “We have established a team approach to ministry and it’s working well for everyone,” Father Mike says.

One of the ecumenical projects in the works is beginning Kairos Prison Ministry at the nearby Alabama prison facility. Kairos addresses the spiritual needs of the incarcerated, their families and those who work in the prison environment. He and the other members of the organizing committee hope to have the ministry in place by spring of next year.

Ordained in 1988, Father Mike knew he wanted to become a priest and that he wanted to serve in a community where there was real need. He found he could do both in Glenmary. “It seemed a good fit,” he says. “My ministry offers an outlet to be creative with the gifts and talents I’ve been given.”

And those gifts and talents are many and diverse: airplane pilot, Spanish-speaker, interpreter for the deaf, counselor, spiritual director.

“Flying is purely recreational,” he says. “Sometimes its good to get away and spend a day flying.” There’s also an ecumenical twist to his hobby. His instructor is a deacon with the Church of Christ, a denomination that doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with the Catholic Church. “We have some really wonderful conversations,” Father Mike says, “and we have become very good friends!”

He doesn’t get to use his sign language or Spanish skills very often in his current assignment, although his signing ability was called into action unexpectedly last October during Glenmary’s mission symposium. One attendee was deaf, and Father Mike filled in for his interpreter in one of the sessions. “That was really fun,” he recalls. “The gentleman was easy to interpret for and I was able to refresh my skills a little.”

Father Mike has a master’s in pastoral counseling and training as a spiritual director, two specialties needed in his mission areas. “There’s only one counseling agency in the five-county area,” he says, and only about 15 spiritual directors from any denomination in the entire state of Alabama.

He loves that no two days are the same—outside of Masses. “I get to work with so many different people and do so many different things,” he says. “I’m very lucky.”

For current assignment