{"id":1366,"date":"2008-12-09T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-09T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2008\/12\/ordering-a-refill-of-faith-at-the-catholic-cafe.html"},"modified":"2008-12-09T07:15:00","modified_gmt":"2008-12-09T07:15:00","slug":"ordering-a-refill-of-faith-at-the-catholic-cafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2008\/12\/ordering-a-refill-of-faith-at-the-catholic-cafe.html","title":{"rendered":"Ordering a refill of faith at “The Catholic Cafe”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was cheered to find this item in a Tennessee paper about another deacon working in broadcasting. Is this a trend, or what? <\/p>\n

From the Memphis Commercial Appeal<\/a>: <\/p>\n

Amid the clatter of plates and the sound of coffee being poured, Deacon Jeff Drzycimski settles in each Sunday morning to what he calls “the luxurious corner booth.”<\/p>\n

Inviting his radio audience to join him for all things Roman Catholic, Drzycimski (pronounced druh-ZIM-ski) alludes to being in a cozy cafe, where he and his co-host order up steaming cups of joe and dive into platters of pancakes.<\/p>\n

In actuality, “The Catholic Cafe”<\/a> radio show is taped inside a cramped room in a former convent, while a soundtrack provides the bustling background noise.<\/p>\n

<\/a>“I’ve had people ask ‘Are you really drinking coffee? Are you really eating doughnuts?'” laughed the 46-year-old Drzycimski from the building behind St. Louis Catholic Church on White Station.<\/p>\n

A big man wearing gray clerics, the deacon recently sat in the closet-sized studio where the only refreshments come from a mini-fridge.<\/p>\n

“The Catholic Cafe,” which has been on the air for less than three months, runs on two stations, one in Memphis and one that reaches across western Tennessee.<\/p>\n

Drzycimski and close friend and sidekick Tom Dorian sit down each week with a guest to delve into topics such as conversions to Catholicism, the relationship between the church and science, and racier issues such as contraception.<\/p>\n

“It’s never preachy. That’s our goal,” Drzycimski said.<\/p>\n

While there is no shortage of Catholic radio programs, “The Catholic Cafe’s” chatty style is earning it recognition.<\/p>\n

Its Web site, which offers downloads of the show, has received more than 97,000 hits. It is also ranked among the top hundred Catholic Podcasts on iTunes.<\/p>\n

Nationally syndicated Catholic networks including Relevant Radio and EWTN have expressed interest in airing the program, Drzycimski said.<\/p>\n

“Preaching doesn’t work well on the radio,” said Father John Geaney, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, who has seen many shows of that type come and go.<\/p>\n

With the blessing of the diocese, “The Catholic Cafe” aims to explain Catholicism and bring those who have strayed back to the church, he said.<\/p>\n

Deacon at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Drzycimski was ordained in April.<\/p>\n

Although he was raised Catholic and married a devout Catholic, with whom he now has nine children, about 15 years ago he discovered he was spiritually running on empty.<\/p>\n

“You can become sort of a robot if you don’t know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” he said.<\/p>\n

A freelance video producer, Drzycimski was creating a Christian music video for Ardent Recording Studios when the message of the video brought him a “born again” experience, something completely foreign to his Catholic upbringing, he said.<\/p>\n

He decided to join a nondenominational church, but his wife made him agree to meet with a priest first.<\/p>\n

Torn over what direction to go in, he knew he wanted to practice whatever type of Christianity was closest to what Christ practiced.<\/p>\n

Reading the earliest writings he could find, he decided, he said, “The Catholic Church was what Jesus intended.”<\/p>\n

Not long after that he felt the tug to be a deacon.<\/p>\n

Referring to himself as a “re-vert,” Drzycimski said radio has been a way for him to express his journey back to the church to those who may be looking for direction.<\/p>\n

“We want to put it out there, let people hear it and let the holy spirit handle the rest,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can visit the Catholic Cafe<\/a> and hear more for yourself. <\/p>\n

Photo: by Jim Weber\/The Commercial Appeal<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was cheered to find this item in a Tennessee paper about another deacon working in broadcasting. Is this a trend, or what? 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