At Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, podcasts help priests share personal stories, relate on deeper level with families
FARMINGTON — When listeners tune in to the latest episode of the “Popes, Prayers & Ptak” podcast, they’ll get ideas for spiritual focus during the liturgical season of Lent. They’ll also learn that Chruściki, or “angel wings,” are Fr. Walter Ptak’s favorite Polish treat, and that even though he’s Polish, he’s not a fan of paczki.
The podcast launched last fall and features Fr. Ptak, a priest in solidum who serves Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Farmington, in conversation with Michael Chamberland, director of evangelization for the parish.
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In “Seek What’s Above,” another podcast produced by Our Lady of Sorrows, listeners hear that Fr. Derik Peterman is called “the young lad” by a priest friend who jokes that he has factored Fr. Peterman into his retirement plans. Fr. Peterman was the associate pastor of the parish until January, when he was assigned to Our Lady of Refuge Parish in Orchard Lake.
Details like sweet treats and nicknames might seem frivolous, but they go a long way in helping parishioners feel a personal connection to their priests. At a large parish such as Our Lady of Sorrows, where priests don’t have room in their schedules to say yes to every dinner invitation, a podcast serves as an easy way to share not only Catholic teachings and guidance, but stories to connect with their flock as spiritual fathers.
Getting personal
Getting to know the priests at Our Lady of Sorrows beyond homilies and quick hellos after Mass became an objective of the parish's communications team last fall. The group meets bi-monthly to discuss how to keep parishioners in the loop and find new ways to engage them.
Tori Polhill, director of youth discipleship at Our Lady of Sorrows, co-hosts “Seek What’s Above” with Fr. Peterman. Polhill serves on the communications team and had co-hosted a podcast with a friend in 2020 called “Salt the Earth.”
“As a team, we really see the need and desire to know (our) priests, and podcasting is an easy and relatively low-cost way to do that,” Polhill said. “(Our Lady of) Sorrows has a history of creating videos and livestreams to help minister to parishioners, and this was a natural extension of that.”
When asked to do the podcast last fall, Fr. Ptak was hesitant at first, but quickly set his nerves aside.
“The podcast gives people a chance to get to know me, and me to know them when they come up to me and engage me in conversation after they’ve listened to an episode in their car or at home,” Fr. Ptak said.
In recording sessions, Chamberland — who also co-hosts the "Eyes on Jesus" podcast with Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron — asks Fr. Ptak to share stories about Pope St. John Paul II. Fr. Ptak interacted with the Polish pope many times, including being chosen to proclaim the Gospel in Polish for a Mass with the Holy Father when he visited Detroit in 1987. Having been raised in a Polish American home, Fr. Ptak also shares stories and traditions of his Polish heritage.
“I think people like to learn about and adapt customs other than their own, and I love to hear about other traditions as well,” Fr. Ptak said. “I think it shows the richness of the Church and that it’s a beautiful mosaic of cultures and faith.”
Fr. John Riccardo, a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit and executive director of ACTS XXIX, began using digital media as a means to address topics on people’s hearts and minds in 2002 as a co-host of “Holy Grounds,” a show on Catholic Radio. He believes that parish-centered podcasts can help break down barriers.
“The challenge of parish life is that we just don’t know each other, but we all have a massive desire to know and be known by others,” Fr. Riccardo said. “If you only hear me preach at Mass, you probably have one impression of me, but that’s not who I am all the time. A podcast gives you the opportunity to be more conversational, especially if that’s with a lay person where you can have a discussion. In that way, we can help make the parish feel small.”
Teaching tool
Podcasting is growing as a popular tool in the Catholic media landscape. Besides "Eyes on Jesus," which features monthly conversations with Archbishop Vigneron, the Archdiocese of Detroit produces several other podcasts designed to provide spiritual support, practical aid and inspiration.
These include "Detroit Stories," a biweekly storytelling and informational podcast produced by Detroit Catholic; "Beyond Sunday," a podcast for busy families and parents; "Men of the Hearts," a vocational discernment podcast with Fr. Craig Giera and Fr. Drew Mabee; and the "I AM HERE" podcast, which features inspirational stories of Eucharistic devotion.
Other podcasts at the parish level, such as "Father and Father," produced by Fr. John McKenzie and Jason A. Smith of Christ the King Parish in Detroit, can take on a more personal flavor.
In addition to helping listeners become familiar with the priests on a personal level, both podcasts at Our Lady of Sorrows provide an opportunity to address topics that might not fit in the context of a homily. Parishioner Sarah Emmerling came into the Catholic Church during the Easter vigil in 2016. She became a fan of both podcasts as soon as she learned about them in the parish bulletin.
“I listen to other podcasts, and there’s so much out there, but to have that personal connection with the priests like this is a great opportunity to me,” Emmerling said. “I enjoy hearing their own experiences that they might not share in a homily, and I also use it as a teaching tool for myself. I don’t listen to any other podcasts where I can talk to the (hosts) every week at church to ask a follow-up question.”
In December, Emmerling enjoyed hearing Fr. Peterman’s explanation of the “O Antiphons,” the verses that cite the seven titles of Jesus Christ and are recited before the Liturgy of the Hours during the last week of Advent.
“What a great way to learn something in a small amount of time, and not have to go somewhere,” Emmerling said. “It’s like a mini-RCIA, and it opens the door to those who may not realize the priest is there to shepherd and help them at a level that’s not behind the pulpit.”
Bridging parishes and people
The first “Seek What’s Above” podcast was released on Nov. 14, more than a month before Fr. Peterman received word that he would be going to a new parish. Since his move to Our Lady of Refuge, which is part of the same Family of Parishes as Our Lady of Sorrows, Fr. Peterman and Polhill have recorded two new episodes.
“We decided to continue for a number of reasons,” Fr. Peterman said. “It’s a way that I can form a connection with the people at Our Lady of Refuge as I settle in, and a way to stay in contact with the people I’ve gotten to know at Our Lady of Sorrows. I think it will help the two parishes form a connection to each other.”
The communications team at Our Lady of Sorrows is considering other podcasts to add to its lineup in hopes of connecting not only to their own parishioners, but also to their Family of Parishes and beyond. Podcast data shows people are tuning in from all over Michigan and other states, plus Canada, Italy, India, Ghana and the Philippines.
“My encouragement, especially to pastors and associates, would be to let people get to know you in a different way,” said Fr. Riccardo, who continues to produce his own podcast with ACTS XXIX, "You Were Born for This." “Because then people can say, ‘I know little things about Father now,’ things which might not seem important but are incredibly so because the Church desperately needs to know how to be human again. We can be so functional, so transactional in our relationships that we don’t really love each other, in part because it’s hard to love what you don’t know. This a way you get to be known.”
To listen
The “Popes, Prayers & Ptak” and “Seek What’s Above” podcasts can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, Pocket Cast, Podcast Index, Podchaser, and the Our Lady of Sorrows website. Go to www.olsorrows.com and click on “church.”
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