EAST CANTON, OH – The Office of Rural Life and Ministry supports farmers and rural families throughout the six counties of the Diocese of Youngstown. The office works with county farm bureaus and fair boards to help identify and serve basic spiritual and social justice needs in our rural communities. Our Dennis Biviano recently had a chance to visit a farm in East Canton and speak with some of the Catholic leadership in our rural communities and has this story.
“We have little out-croppings of urban, but it’s mostly rural and agricultural. And I think most of us that live in the towns, think just the opposite,” says Father Kevin Peters.
For the past two years, Father Kevin Peters has been the Diocesan Director of the Office of Rural Life and Ministry. He’s also pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, Holy Family Parish and Saint James Parish all in Stark County. As part of his mission, he travels across the county, meeting people and making connections. On this day, he visited the Pero (Piero) family farm in East Canton, a provider of milk for Smith Dairy, now in operation for 75 years and 4 generations.
“The rural dimension of the diocese has really been an eye-opener for me. And the goal for this office is really to take the urban Diocese of Youngstown and introduce it to the rural Diocese of Youngstown–just to see how we interact, how we depend on each other,” says Father Peters.
Kristy, her husband Randall and six kids raise their own beef, supply restaurants and use robotics to milk 175 cows. Being a rural farmer often involves a deep connection to the land and nature. It’s something that Kristy believes fosters a deep sense of spirituality.
“We do a lot of praying here, for not only our family, and our crops, because we can work as hard as we want, but if we don’t have the cooperation from mother nature, then you’re not going to get the product that you’re hoping for. We work really hard to do the best we can for our livestock and take good care of the ground that we use,” says Pero.
Retired Diocesean Priest Father James Lang has been part of rural ministry for decades. He and Father Peters believe there is an interconnectedness between urban and rural communities.
“We see this crossover and this overlap between farm and city and small towns and whatever is in between. I’m seeing that people from different sides of the picture find out that they have more in common than different. And lo and behold, we find that we’re all struggling, we are all blessed, and we all are a part of God’s family,” says Father Lang.
“It’s important to keep doing what we’re doing, trying to bring that connection together. You know, urban communities can enjoy what we’re enjoying out here. We get to wake up every day and breathe in this fresh air and enjoy the land and just so everyone can have an appreciation for it. And enjoy God’s beauty that he’s put out there for us,” says Pero.
In recent years, Bishop David Bonnar has stressed the importance of rural and farming communities in our diocese. And Masses have taken place in late summer and early fall in five of the diocese’s six counties. Although the fair Masses have taken place for decades, Columbiana County had its first ever last year.
“It was received incredibly by the people there. 120 people gathered in that little space to celebrate Mass for the very first time. The other thing that was nice about that was that there were people in the community from the different parishes that brought all the parishes together to provide the ministries,” says Father Peters.
“My husband and I don’t come back a lot, but our kids don’t leave the fair all week. They stay out there, so for families to be able to attend Mass, while they’re at the fair is just fantastic. So to receive the Eucharist on Sunday, it’s very important,” says Pero.
Father Peters will continue his ministry and says the most rewarding part for him has been the new connections made with farming families and the promise of younger generations to carry on these traditions.
“You don’t have to go to Wyoming to do that. 15 minutes down the street. People that have been basically in your backyard that you’ve never met. We don’t have to make something new for the young adults, they have a legitimate role to play and we just have to nurture that, acknowledge that. The kind of mindset that brings them back to nature, I think, connects well with their life of faith,” says Father Peters.
