Teresa Nguyen poses with Father Brown and the newly arrived statue of the Blessed Mother. She and her husband, Kevin, have been generous supporters of the mission in Martin County.
Teresa Nguyen poses with Father Brown and the newly arrived statue of the Blessed Mother. She and her husband, Kevin, have been generous supporters of the mission in Martin County.“I think it is perhaps the most beautiful statue in all of Martin County.” So says Glenmary student Cavine Okello. As a novice, just over a year ago, he was stationed at Glenmary’s Holy Trinity parish, working in the shadow of Father John Brown. At the time, Holy Trinity was a new parish to Glenmary, though it had been open for some years under the guidance of the Diocese of Raleigh. There simply weren’t enough priests to go around, though. The parish had no resident priest.
Some Catholics in the area are of richly Catholic southeast Asian origin. A parishioner couple, Kevin and Teresa Nguyen, had always wanted to have a Marian shrine at the parish. Out of their own resources she had a statue commissioned in Asia and shipped to Martin County. It arrived about a year-and-a-half ago, and soon found a prominent home in front of the church.
It was not long before local citizens noticed, and even stopped by to see what the statue was all about. Religious statues really had never been in Martin County before. “There’s certainly been a positive reaction,” says Father John. He had initially been worried, since some Catholic customs raise suspicion among non-Catholics. Less than two percent of Martin County’s population is Catholic, Father John observes. He worried that people might object, or even see the statue as idolatry. Not so; the only comments he’s received from the community have been kind.
“Everyone wants to come and have a look at it,” student Cavine reports. Then come the questions. “Even if you walk into Walmart and say, ‘I’m serving in the Catholic parish in Williamston,’ they ask you about the statue!” he says. One big question: Do Catholics worship Mary?
Actually, that suspicion of idolatry is a stumbling point for many who don’t have Catholic exposure. “When I would do my manual work outside the church, you could see many people slowing down and looking at the statue. I washed it sometimes, because we wanted it to shine. Someone would come into the lot, walk over and say ‘Hi! I just wanted to stop and look at the statue. Do you have time to tell me, What is it? What do you people do with it? Is it like your small God?’” It was a good opportunity for him, he says. “I tried to explain that we don’t worship Mary. A long conversation could follow, sharing a common faith in Jesus Christ.
For the parishioners, Mary stands as a witness to their Catholic identity. “I wanted to donate this statue so parishioners could pray for Mary’s intercession,” said Kevin Nguyen through an interpreter. That generous spirit has prompted the couple to make other donations, too, including Stations of the Cross and priestly vestments. They’re generously willing to lend financial support to anything that will shore up the local faith.
—John Feister