Praying the Stations at Bishop Gumbleton’s home

This past week, the Pax Christi USA had the pleasure of experiencing a retreat prepared for us by the staff at Kirkridge Retreat Center in Bangor, PA. Many of you know of Kirkridge and its long history as sacred ground for the faith-based peace and justice movement. While there, one of our unexpected delights was to spend time with some of our elders in the movement, including Bill Wylie-Kellerman, author of the seminal book Seasons of Faith and Conscience. (Bill is pictured at the far left of this group photo.) Bill shared with us the following excerpt from the public Stations of Cross that took place on the streets of Detroit just a few days before Bishop Tom Gumbleton’s passing. The text of the prayer offered up at this station outside of Tom’s home is below.

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Site: Bishop Thomas Gumbleton’s Home (10^th and Bagley)

As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. (Luke 23:26)

“In spite of our rhetoric of wanting to be a church of the poor, the poor are easily forgotten if they aren’t part of your congregation. We’ve seen the archdiocese close churches, saying, ‘Well, our people have left’ – as though there are not people here.” (Bishop Thomas Gumbleton testifying to Detroit City Council)

Tom Gumbleton moved to this place at 10th and Bagley when he was forced out of his urban apostolate with St. Leo’s parish by Benedict in 2007. There he had initiated a soup kitchen that served 300 guests a day, chaired a development corporation in building and rehabbing truly affordable housing, preached sermons that touched a national audience, taught in a city-wide Ministers of Service program (essentially an alternative diaconate) for poor and Black congregants without college degrees, supported the LGBTQ community and those abused by church clergy (the cause of his displacement), and made space for hospitality locally and nationally.

His formation from below in gospel nonviolence committed him to the creation of Pax Christi, and led to his global action in El Salvador, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, and Haiti. Today we remember especially his work against the idolatry and inhuman violence of nuclear weapons. He was instrumental in leading the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and their conflicted process of writing The Challenge of Peace (1983) and thereafter actively supported resisters jailed by cruise missile manufacturer, Williams International. He was among the bishops that led Michigan Faith and Resistance retreats issuing in mass arrests at SAC bases. He was himself arrested some dozen times, his first at the Nevada Test Site in 1987.

We give thanks, Tom, for the way you as our Detroit bishop have been a true disciple of nonviolence, taking up the cross of Christ.

Were you there when they carried Jesus’ cross?