One year later: Father Buttner settles into priesthood with gratitude and purpose

EDITOR”S NOTE: this is the full version of the intervew featured in the July 4, 2024 edition of The Catholic Sun. Enjoy…

Above: Fr. Chris Ballard and Fr. James Buttner take turns leading students in the rosary to celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

By Eileen Jevis, Staff writer

After the commitment to serve the Church is made, the years of study are over, and the assignments are given, newly ordained priests are sent out to lead, evangelize and serve their congregations. It’s been one year since Father James Buttner’s ordination to the priesthood, and his assignment to Spirit of Hope Parishes in Madison County. It’s a good time to check in and ask  how things are going.

I reached out first to Father Christopher Ballard, pastor of Spirit of Hope Parish, to see how his Parochial Vicar was managing the situation (six parish/worship sites and numerous ministries).

Fr. Ballard said that the Spirit of Hope Parish, made up of six different churches bridging Oneida and Madison Counties, is incredibly honored and humbled to have been entrusted with Fr. James’ first assignment. “It is a great honor and also a great responsibility,” he said. “Every priest remembers their first assignment. Fr. James is a wonderful man of faith, extremely intelligent and analytical and the faith community is blessed to see him putting those gifts to work for the Lord and our churches.”

Fr. Chris said that he and Fr. James as well as the deacons and lay ministers are pulled in many different directions, but that Fr. James jumped in ‘headfirst’ to his duties and responsibilities. “I have enjoyed watching how he relates to different people. He does it so well. He is also a natural with liturgical rites. I often forget that he is only one year ordained,” said Fr. Chris. One of his biggest surprises was watching Fr. James on the ultimate frisbee field with the youth group: “He wowed us all.”

Next, on June 21, I sat down with Fr. James for a conversation on his first year of priestly service. Here are Fr. James’ reflections on serving the Diocese of Syracuse.

CS:     Can you give me an example of what your days and weeks are like?

FRB.   As you might guess, no two days or weeks are quite the same. Fr. Chris and I rotate who celebrates Daily Mass each day, while the other might have a funeral or school Mass at St. Patrick’s or Holy Cross Academy. Funerals are a big part of ministry – our parish has had over 90 since I arrived last July 1st. Each day we have appointments at the office such as pastoral counseling and administrative meetings. The office is located at a different church than the rectory, so I have a short commute each day. We visit our parishioners in the hospital, at nursing homes, or make home visits to anoint the sick and perform last rites. I’ve made many trips to anoint patients in the ICU at Oneida Hospital, which can be intense but also very beautiful. Fr. Chris and I take turns on most calls – it depends on who is available, but we try to keep it balanced. Evenings often have something going on, too. For example, on Sunday and Monday evenings we have Faith Formation classes and/or the youth group. And then usually we try to cook dinner on Mondays. We usually take turns – Fr. Chris is a much better cook though! We try to spend some time relaxing and talking and catching up at the end of the day. And then I end the day with some reading or prayer or watching some TV.

On the weekends we have six Masses at six different churches, so Fr. Chris and I each cover three. We take turns every other weekend: St. Mary’s, Holy Family, and St. Helena’s one weekend, then St. Joseph’s, St. Agatha’s, and St. Patrick’s the next. There are a lot of weekend baptisms as well – we had over 50 this year!

CS:  You gave great examples of how no two weeks are alike and that they are both a challenge and a joy. What has been both joyful and challenging?

FRB.   Having six different churches that are active is both a challenge and a joy. It was a challenge on my first weekend when I was supposed be in Vernon. I got lost and drove past the church! I also went to the wrong church one time for a wedding, so those are the kind of growing pains of being new.

On Christmas Eve, I was celebrating 4PM Mass at Holy Family in Vernon and then 6PM at St. Mary of the Lake in Verona Beach. It’s normally a 20-minute drive, but the roads were also getting bad with snow! I got to St. Mary’s a couple of minutes late. Thankfully, they didn’t start without me!

One of the great joys is getting to know the different church communities. Each one has its own history and its own culture. I really like the variety of getting to know these different areas and also seeing how they have come together. We are seeing more and more that communities are integrating. We see people at multiple churches and so it’s a great joy to have both those unique identities and to see a collective identity as well.

CS:  What have you experienced that you hadn’t expected?

FRB.   I think one thing that I didn’t expect was just that it’s a growing process for me. Seminary did a lot to form and prepare me, but I’m still learning a lot about myself, too. I’m learning which routines work well for me and my different strengths and weaknesses in parish life. I guess I wasn’t expecting how much there would be to learn. But that’s a good thing. I think another thing I didn’t expect was how supportive and welcoming the parish would be. I run into people now and because I’ve been there a little while, I start to see familiar faces: my barber knows who I am, I ran into a parishioner on the street who recognized me this morning, etc. So, there’s a real sense of belonging and community that’s been a really pleasant surprise. I feel very appreciated by the parish and that means a lot.

CS:  What brings you the most joy?

FRB.   One is following up with people after a major Sacramental celebration. I was leaving the grocery store the other day and a car drove by and stopped. It was a couple that I had married a few months ago and they were so excited to see me. They were just beaming with joy and saying that married life was great, and they were really grateful for the wedding. So, that was a really joyful moment for me – both to see the fruits of ministry and to feel like I’m a part of the community. Another is interacting with our grade school students: Saint Patrick’s school is right next door, so Fr. Chris and I go over there to help teach the 5th and 6th grade religion. We’re over there pretty often. In fact, I was playing kickball with them earlier today! So, spending time at the school is a great source of joy because of the students and teachers.

CS. Do you end your day feeling a sense of accomplishment?  And do you sometimes feel bothered that you didn’t get everything done that’s waiting for you?

FRB.   Sometimes, I definitely feel bothered that I didn’t get to as much as I wanted to and that can be frustrating. But at the same time, I think over this year I’ve been learning how to do better and especially to set more reasonable expectations for how much can be done in a day. I think that’s brought a much healthier attitude. So, I would say I often end my day feeling fulfilled and grateful for where I am and for what I get to do. Sometimes it’s easier to be preoccupied with worries or anxieties or concerns about things that didn’t go well. But if I’m able to kind of sift through that, underneath it is always an abiding gratitude for where I am.

CS. Who do you go to for support?

FRB.   My family is an important part of my support team. I’m close with my parents and talk with them at least a couple times a week. My siblings and I have had a group chat for years where we text each other about the highs and lows of our days and check in. I usually also go home once a week to visit my parents. I also have a spiritual director: a priest I meet with once a month for confession and for spiritual guidance. My fellow priests are also a big part of my support network. Getting to spend time with them and to share my experiences or ask for advice – especially with some of the more challenging parts of ministry – is very beneficial and something I’m very grateful for. The parish staff is a really important part of my network, too. And I have some close friends who were classmates from seminary that I keep in touch with.

CS. What do you do on your time off?

FRB.   I really enjoy reading, especially fiction. I love riding my bicycle and sometimes my motorcycle. The area around Oneida is really beautiful and great for cycling: there’s all this flat land up north around the lake or I can go south into the hills if I want a steep climb. I also like to meet up with my fellow priests. A couple of the other younger priests and I get together pretty regularly to spend time with each other or grab a meal. That’s a huge blessing.

We are told to take a day off for our own well-being and to have a day to rest since Sunday is kind of a busy day at the parish. The Bishop even checked in to make sure I was taking my day off, reminding me it’s important to be running at a sustainable pace. So, Fr. Chris and I stagger our days off to try and ensure that there’s always someone available and on call if an emergency arises, such as a hospital call.

CS. Overall, what is the Spirit of Hope Parish like? I’d like to give our readers a sense of that area of the diocese because geographically, we all know our own faith community but don’t necessarily know a lot about other areas.

FRB.   The analogy I have for Spirit of Hope Parish is that it is like a blended family. You have each of these communities that has its own history and identity and character, which is unique, especially since five of the six churches are in different towns. Many of the churches have their own traditions or events that they’ve brought to the table: Casino Night in Canastota, the Fish Fry in Vernon, Blessing of the Boats at Sylvan Beach, to name only a few. But there’s also this sense of a common community as well. We have a parish picnic each summer and we’re seeing it grow more and more as people come together. I see that people really enjoy meeting neighbors who live one town over – those who may not have met otherwise. I’m seeing parishioners going to different churches and they’re making new friends. The network of parishioners is kind of spreading across the six churches in a really beautiful way.

With six different churches there are some unique challenges. Even just getting the bulletins to the church is a logistical process because of the different locations. And then there’s the variety of liturgical goods needed, the maintenance of all the different buildings and sites, and keeping track of all the finances. So, there’s a lot of extra overhead that comes from having multiple sites like that. Our parish staff is amazing to be able to manage it all and keep things running.

CS. What do you want our readers to know about your vocation one year later?

FRB.   It’s been an adventure and it’s been a great joy. A common fear of discerners and their families is that as priests, we’ll be lonely. I’m happy to report that I am not lonely! There’s so much community and I have been welcomed into so many peoples’ lives. I want our readers to know that I feel very connected to my parish, the Diocese, and indeed the wider Church.

Another thing is this: “Spirit of Hope” is not just a random parish name, but really a description of what it means to be a Catholic and a disciple of Jesus today! I’ve discovered that ‘hope’ is a recurring theme in my homilies this past year. There’s no shortage of possible discouragements in our world and even our own communities today, and there’s a strong temptation to become dejected, discouraged, and even despair. Yet our faith calls us to choose to trust instead. And that’s what hope consists in: choosing to trust in God, despite our own perspective which is so often inclined to fear and worry.

When I was ordained, I quoted Galatians 8:38-39 on my ‘prayer card’ that I handed out to everyone, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover how closely connected it is to the ‘Spirit of Hope.’ It reminds us that ‘nothing can separate us from the love of God’ and that’s an important reminder in the midst of challenges and changes that might otherwise unsettle us. I’m excited to see how the Lord continues to cultivate this important virtue in my own vocation and in all of us as I enter my second year.

CS. What do you want to say to Rev. Benjamin Schrantz and Rev. Pawel Zmija who were just ordained a few weeks ago?

FRB.   Well, for one thing, they should fill out a W4 right away, because taxes are quite different as a priest than as a seminarian…!

More importantly, though, is that I’ve been discovering that priesthood is a vocation that takes a lifetime to fully unpack and grow into. I was back at my seminary in D.C. last weekend to be with some of my classmates who were ordained for the Archdiocese of Washington. Sixteen priests were ordained! It was really special. In his homily, Cardinal Gregory spoke about the call to priesthood as a gradual process of understanding the call and responding. His point was that priesthood takes a lifetime to live out and it’s only at the very end that the fullness of it is there. So even though I technically became a priest a year ago, that process of ‘becoming’ continues today and into the future as I continue to learn more about the priesthood, our faith, and our God.