After a year of uncertainty surrounding the future of a church service in Langdon, the hamlet’s Catholic population can rest easy thanks to the announcement the monthly mass services would continue indefinitely.
“The biggest fear, I would say, was that they were going to stay experimental for forever,” said Fr. James Hagel, pastor of St. Gabriel the Parish Chestermere, which serves residents in the southeast corner of Rocky View County. “That permanence makes it feel good. It’s analogous to when you’re working in your probation for the first three months…and all of a sudden, you’re past that probationary period.”
Catholic mass has been occurring in Langdon for slightly more than a year. According to Hagel, local Catholic parishioners petitioned the Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary, William McGrattan, to provide mass services in the community. Following McGrattan’s permission, Hagel’s predecessor, Fr. Mariusz Stuk, agreed to pilot a monthly mass on an experimental basis, occurring on the last Sunday of each month.
For the first time in nearly 90 years, Hagel said, Catholic mass was held once again in Langdon May 7, 2018. A mission church existed in Langdon beginning in 1909, but Hagel said it was sold in 1929 and, in the intervening years, local Catholics who wanted to attend a service had to travel to Chestermere, Calgary or Strathmore.
Hagel, who took over the parish last September, said the mass has seen an average attendance of 65 people.
“The bishop said, ‘That’s enough people that we can make this permanent for a while, so let’s do it once a month for now and see where it goes from there,’” he said.
McGrattan announced the change during a visit to St. Gabriel’s May 12. Hagel said he was pleased permission was granted to make the mass permanent, and his parishioners also welcomed the announcement.
Without a regular and permanent service where one resides, Hagel said, it can be difficult for parishioners to feel connected to a religious community – although it’s not impossible.
“A parish is a portion of the people of God; a parish isn’t a building,” he said. “As long as we gather as people, we have a parish. Yes, the building is nice and it’s nice to be able to have a place where you can worship and that kind of stuff, but we create community where we are no matter what as Catholics.”
Still, Hagel said, a permanent mass will help Catholics parishioners in Langdon find a rooted and stable sense of community in the place they live. It will also allow the service to grow as it guarantees mass won’t suddenly cease beimg offered in the hamlet.
The permanent mass will now take place at 4 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month at the Odd Fellows’ Hall.
“The nice thing about a small town is, besides weddings and dance recitals, nothing usually happens on a Sunday night,” Hagel said. “We have a parishioner on the board there, so it’s nice to have that connection.”
He said the mass time has been shifted forward by an hour now that it is a permanent fixture, in order to better accommodate parishioners. He added a potluck, which was incorporated into the monthly gatherings during the past year, will continue.
“It’s a great way to build community,” Hagel said. “As long as people want to bring food, we’re going to keep doing it.”
