No one can overstate the distress that resulted from the pandemic. But there were bright spots, as well, such as people reaching out to each other to overcome loneliness and isolation.
One example is the cooperative spirit that took root between the Old Catholic Church, Parish of Saint Joseph, and Metropolitan Community Church of the Spirit.
The Old Catholic Church began its ministry in 1994, long using the home of the pastor—Rev. Michael J. Scalzi—or a hotel for services. It has also rented space in other churches.
Scalzi said the churches that leased their spaces were “nice,” but his congregation was “treated like tenants.” Then, in September 2019, things turned around. The Old Catholic Church began a rental relationship with MCC, also using its Harrisburg facility for Sunday Masses.
When his church needed to find new space, Scalzi composed an email to “select friends” asking for help. He said he had “barely hit the send key” when Lori Hatch-Rivera, senior pastor of MCC of the Spirit, got in touch and offered her church.
It helped that Scalzi and Hatch-Rivera had been friends for a decade, having met through interfaith work, and both sit on the Mayor’s Interfaith Advisory Council. As a result, Scalzi said, he and members of his church were treated like and “felt like family” at MCC.
The relationship between the two churches grew even closer when the pandemic struck. Beginning in March 2020, they started holding joint services (after the building was closed briefly to congregants when COVID-19 first struck.) The two churches had two weeks to put together a joint service and “experimented,” said Hatch-Rivera.
Other than that brief closure, services took place in person, but were also live-streamed on Facebook. The two churches also co-sponsored other programs, including a Christmas musical.
“An instant bond was formed,” said Rev. Dr. Lawrence F. Keiser II, who is affiliated with both—as deacon of the Parish Community of Saint Joseph and as associate pastor (director of music ministries and administration) of MCC of the Spirit.
And the “ecumenical relationship” born of the pandemic has inspired more than joint services, added Scalzi. It has formed a familial bond across religious lines between an MCC congregation and a Catholic congregation.
What helped seal that bond was the fact that most people at MCC come from different denominations, Hatch-Rivera pointed out.
“The two congregations share an openness and an uplifting of all people,” Scalzi said. “Both are similar religiously and philosophically, despite differences in liturgy, etc.”
MCC’s pastor noted that the church has been a leading voice in central Pennsylvania for LGBTQ+ rights and spirituality. It sponsors monthly “Sharing Our Caring” HIV/AID dinners, hosts TransCentral, an advocacy group for the transgender community, and serves home-cooked meals to the homeless in downtown Harrisburg.
For its part, said Scalzi, the Old Catholic Church is “open and affirming, welcoming and inclusive to our LGBTQ sisters and brothers who are all welcome to attend our Masses.”
Now that the pandemic is easing, the two congregations decided to return to separate services. That took place the week before Palm Sunday, a fact that is causing some sadness and disorientation.
“We got so used to joint services,” Scalzi said. “It was a little emotional. Even though it had to happen, it was odd.”
“It took three weeks to feel we were going back to normal,” agreed Hatch-Rivera, and Keiser called the transition back “bittersweet.” Still, the pastors agreed, the door is “always open” for joint services to be held on special occasions. And the live-streaming will continue “forever.”
Looking back on the relationship of the two churches, which began before but blossomed during the pandemic, Hatch-Rivera said, “We are affirming that we are all people of God.”
For more information on the Old Catholic Church, Parish of St. Joseph, visit www.theparishofstjoseph.org.
For more information on the Metropolitan Community Church of the Spirit, visit www.mccofthespirit.org.
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