Sunday, August 9, 1998

Inspiration by e-mail

By TOM HEINEN / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

PLOVER, Wis. -- It's inspiration by e-mail, salvation by circuit board and virtual baptism by bytes. Sitting at his computer in a village of barely 10,000 souls, the Rev. Pat Umberger reaches across cyberspace each day to spark the lives of people around the globe.

Looking to put a little spring in your spiritual step? Or maybe more zing with your morning coffee? Join the more than 2,360 people who have signed up to get his e-mailed morning prayer, Scripture reading and meditation each day.

We're not just talking about friends and parishioners from St. Bronislava Parish in Plover, where he's better known as a pastor than as a metaphysical Webmaster. The morning messages go throughout the United States, Canada and western Europe, and to people in places such as Poland, Bosnia, Japan, Malaysia, Trinidad, South Africa, the Philippines and Australia.

"Any pastor's dream is to be able to touch 2,300 families every day," said Umberger, 47. "I'm even thinking that is a low estimate because I'm constantly hearing from people who forward it to other people. One guy said, 'I just want to tell you, I send it to 85 people, too.' "

As a bonus, members of his free morning service also get his periodic "Round Up the Usual Suspects" offering -- a mix of sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, sometimes miraculous stories that tug at the heartstrings and pump a little inspiration into everyday lives.

Perhaps you're as big a fan of Mark Twain as Umberger, who grew up in Stoddard, Wis., next to the Mississippi River? One of the more than 100 World Wide Web pages he's crafted features wry quotes from Twain and links to sites devoted to the author.

Or maybe you're a Catholic who hasn't gone to confession in what seems like a zillion years? Try clicking your nervous mouse on his reconciliation page for a stroll through an examination of conscience and a "cheat sheet" that you can carry with you into the confessional so you'll know exactly what to say and do.

Want more information about the Catholic Church? Dealing with deep grief? Want your prayer intentions posted? Need to "talk" anonymously to a man of the cloth about a personal problem?

Are you, like Umberger, coping with cancer and looking for support? His treatments for eye cancer appear to have been successful, but he knows all too well the uncertainties patients face. Or maybe you'd like to tap into Umberger's latest offering, a list of his favorite recipes that includes his heavenly vegetarian chili?

He's got all that for you and more through the St. Bronislava Web site or his "Father Pat's Place" Web site.

USA Today named his church Web site a hot spot last year and included him in feature on cyber-communities this March. Catholic Digest recently gave the site a Heaven's Choice award and named it one of the top sites for its readers to visit.

Umberger converted to the Internet in May 1996 by sending morning prayers to staff members of St. Bronislava. They shared with others, demand grew and Umberger used a Microsoft program to teach himself how to design Web pages to provide parish Mass schedules and other information. It grew, and he added his personal site in March 1997, including vocational information about what led him to the priesthood.

"My goal with the sites was to design them just like I would a church, to make them welcoming and warm," he said. "There's music, there's pictures, there's faces. There's words, too, accurate words. We don't water down words at all. We show people that it can be very helpful and faith can be challenging."

Some people find the sites by using Internet search engines to look for religious sites. Many learn of them when friends share the prayers and stories. And more than 150 other Web sites contain links to Umberger's sites.

He gets 75 to 100 e-mail messages a day and uses the questions and comments to help determine what new pages to add. Part of the more than two hours he spends on electronic ministry daily is devoted to responding personally to messages from people who are seeking help. His readers in turn provide all of the inspirational stories he periodically uses, passing along items that are circulating in their communities.

"A lot (of his users) are people who are searching," he said. "A lot are people who subscribe to everything that has to do with religion. I think the church needs to reach out to young adults, like the college students, and we try creative ways to do that all the time. This is one of the better ways."

He estimates that one-third of the people who receive his morning prayers or visit his sites aren't Catholic. Inactive Catholics can be uncomfortable approaching a priest in person when they are trying to get back into the church, he noted. The Internet offers the security of distance and anonymity. For some, the prayers alone are enough.

"This past week I received an e-mail from somebody who said: 'You don't know what you've done, but my goal was to get closer to the church. I've been reading your prayers, and I just want you to know that I went to Mass last week for the first time in 30 years.' "

Depending upon a person's problems or spiritual quest, Umberger gradually tries to get him or her into personal contact with someone in their area who will be welcoming.

"I get a lot of e-mail from people who are thinking about being a priest or a sister," added Umberger, who knows of at least three seminarians who had their initial vocational contact with him or were influenced by him. "I get them talking to the right people. It's surprising how many people who receive our morning prayer write and say, 'I've never told anybody this before, but I keep feeling I want to do this.' "

Visit at www.frpat.com.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)