Very Reverend John B.
Bateman, V. F., Pastor
Installed June 21, 2009
Ordained May 18, 1996
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PROFILE IN FAITH: Rev. John B. Bateman
Article from the Record Hearld June 2011
Please share a little bit about your career.
After high school, I tried to join the Air Force several times, but
I was rejected. I applied for a scholarship to Penn State (my
parishioners will love hearing me say that, because I’m an Ohio
State fan), but I didn’t get it. So, I decided to major in
recreational therapy and minor in gerontology at Temple University,
where I graduated from in 1990. Instead of going the ROTC route, I
took a job as director of activities in a nursing home that had 60
skilled nursing care and 40 independent living beds. There was one
lady with Alzheimer’s, Grace (I do not believe her name was a
coincidence), and every day at 3 p.m. she would come sit in my
office, let out a big sigh and say, “Pastor, I’ve been at this
church all day long. Can I go home now?” Her room was just next
door, so I would take her “home.” With her thinking she was in
church, and calling me “pastor,” God kept making sure I was being
reminded not of what I wanted to do with my life, but what He wanted
me to do with it.
I was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest on May 18, 1996, and
installed at St. Andrew on June 21, 2009. I am very blessed to be
here. This is a wonderful parish. I also served for three years as
priest of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Harrisburg. Also
during that time, I was chaplain of Bishop McDevitt High School in
Harrisburg. For four years, I was the priest at St. Joseph Catholic
Church and chaplain of Delone Catholic High School, both in Hanover.
For six years, I served two parishes at the same time, and each was
the only parish in its county: Sacred Heart of Jesus in Mifflin
County and St. Jude Thaddeus in Juniata County.
What do you like most about your work, and what do you
like least?
What I tell people, is: I love being a priest; I hate being a boss.
I enjoy being involved in the community, working with youth, being
there for families. I don’t enjoy some things about administration —
hiring, firing, office work — but I do the best I can because it’s
necessary.
What is something about your work most people may not
know?
Every day begins with about an hour of prayer. Without that, I’m not
rooted for the day. I also mentor young men to help them become
Catholic young gentlemen, in every sense of the word. We talk about
how to eat, how to dress, how to treat young ladies and what
vocation they are interested in. I am very involved in activities in
Waynesboro, as well as the diocesan community (St. Andrew is part of
the Diocese of Harrisburg). At Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, during the
school year, we have six seminarians who come to work in our parish
and school, and I help facilitate that.
I have tried to revitalize the parish through starting a number of
ministries in the two years I’ve been here, including a bereavement
committee to help families, a welcoming committee for people who are
new to the parish or community and a committee that supports
military families.
What two ministry memories stick with you most?
I remember the death of a parishioner’s 14-year-old son, who was
killed in a car accident on the way home from a state wrestling
tournament in Hershey. As soon as I heard about the accident, I went
over to the family’s home and was crying with them. I just said,
“There is nothing that I can say. So I’ll just pray.” And we prayed.
A similar memory is being with the family of Judithann “Judy”
Clement, a St. Andrew’s parishioner who died when her van was hit by
a speeding car March 17 in Waynesboro, and just witnessing the
amazing outpouring of love and support for her family.
At another parish, a group of high school boys were going to help me
burn the palm for Ash Wednesday. For those who don’t know, Catholics
traditionally burn the Palm Sunday palm fronds and use the resulting
ashes on Ash Wednesday. Burning the palm creates nasty, black, gray,
stinky, horrific smoke. Well, they were being boys. The neighbors
saw them running around, and then they saw that awful smoke, and
they called the fire department. The fire chief was a parishioner of
mine, and he came and said, “Father, what are you doing?” I said,
“Just burning the palm.” And he said, “Next time, call me!”
In a recent Pastor’s Pulpit, you wrote that you recently began the
process of joining the Pennsylvania Air National Guard as a chaplain
for the 193rd Special Operations Wing out of Harrisburg
International Airport. How did that come about?
Early in my priesthood, I had friends in the first Iraq war and
wanted to become a chaplain then, but the bishop said no, and in
obedience, I did not pursue it any further. Then in December, the
bishop’s aide sent an e-mail to priests saying there was a need for
a chaplain with the 193rd, and I jumped on it. The bishop said that
because I am a seasoned pastor in a stable parish, I could begin the
process. I applied and have completed all my requirements so far,
and I’m waiting on my commissioning, which I’m told should happen
soon. The physical training is the same as for any airman. Once I am
commissioned, I will head to commissioned officer training next May
in Fort Jackson, S.C. As a chaplain, I am being trained for three
main duties: suicide prevention, building strong marriages and
dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. That training is
helping me, as I can bring those skills back into my parish. I’m
shocked already at the doors this opens, at the points of connection
I can make when I say I am working to be a military chaplain. When I
started this process, I told my parish: “Just like any military
family that sends someone off to war, as a parish family, you will
need to make sacrifices during the time I am gone.” I spend one
weekend a month with the airmen, and there is always a possibility I
could be deployed.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I really love being a priest! This is my 15th year, and every day is
just a joy. It’s a wonderful gift of which I am not worthy. I am so
grateful that God allows me to be His presence, to bring His
presence, to other people. I love it here in Waynesboro — the
small-town atmosphere, how safe it is, how friendly people are.
People sometimes lament that a priest cannot marry or have children.
If, tomorrow, the pope changed that, I still wouldn’t choose to
marry because, with the amount of time I need to be available to my
parish, it would not be fair to a wife or children. I have more
spiritual children than I could ever imagine, both young and old. I
always tell people: Don’t pity me. I have made certain sacrifices,
just like you make for your families every day.