Home Church,
Literally
There are many types of people who
serve in the full time ministry. I guess if you really
think about it, if you’re a believer, you are
also a full-time minister. You may not work full-time
in a church, but no matter where you are, there are
opportunities to share the Gospel with someone. When
I started writing for MyTurlock.com’s section
“The Light”, I thought I was going to be
interviewing only a certain number of Pastors, or ministries
that only fit one type of criteria. So why am I on my
way to a house on N. Berkeley Avenue, on the East side
of Turlock? Frankly, a lot of questions were going through
my mind. Once I parked my truck in front of this house,
I made my way to the front door. The house is your typical
single family home in a nice, middle-class neighborhood.
I noticed a small Virgin Mary statue on the front lawn.
This wasn’t the normal church setting that I have
become accustomed to. This was The Church of The Resurrection
led by Father Patrick Flood. So why was this Priest
holding mass in a single family home every Sunday? Why
wasn’t he leading mass at The Sacred Heart Church
in town? I needed some answers. Boy did I ever get them
(and then some)!
I Will Eat Grass,
Before I Leave Turlock
I was greeted by Father Flood himself
at the front door. He wasn’t wearing the black
suit with the white square collar that I was expecting.
I mean, come on, he’s a priest! He was in shorts
and a golf shirt. I told him that he looked like he
just got off the golf course. Sure enough, he had just
finished a round with one of his parishioners. As I
walked into this house, I noticed a large family room
that was converted into a small chapel. This room was
set up with pews and a small alter where Father Flood
led Sunday Mass. Before I could even ask how his church
started, he got down to the nitty gritty. Father Flood
served as a priest at Sacred Heart Church in Turlock.
During his tenure there, some accusations, made by a
former bishop, came up about him. He was accused of
having a drinking problem as well as embezzling money
from the church. Not only was he asked to leave the
diocese, his name was defamed. They didn’t get
rid of him right away, though. He was asked to go serve
in another parish out of Turlock. He found out about
the accusations when he visited Sacred Heart Church
one Sunday. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing
when parishioners were coming up to him asking him why
he had embezzled from the church. That was when he decided
to take legal action against the church for defamation
and slander. He was determined to clear his name. Through
a long and lengthy court process, a jury voted unanimously
for Father Flood. He settled out of court with the diocese
and was asked to not minister in Turlock. Father Flood
had already decided that he would eat grass before he
would leave Turlock. So he started The Church of the
Resurrection, which started meeting at the Full Gospel
Tabernacle on North Avenue in Turlock. Then Father Flood
decided to move the church to its current location and
has been there ever since.
At First, I Didn’t
Want To Become a Priest
I have always wanted to ask someone
why they wanted to become a priest. Father Flood thought
it was a great question because he was amazed himself
that he chose to join the priesthood. The first time
he spoke this over his life was when he was in primary
school in his native land of Ireland. A priest by the
name of Father Patrick Peyton, who was the rosary priest,
visited his class room and told all the kids his testimony
about how he decided to dedicate his life to serving
God. I had to stop Father Flood for a brief moment because
I wanted to know what a rosary priest was. Was this
guy the rosary priest because he prayed to Mary and
not Jesus? All of a sudden, I’m seeing red flags.
The answer was yes and no. When Father Peyton had a
fatal disease, he prayed to Mary, whom he called Blessed
Mother of Jesus, and told her that if the Lord healed
him, he would dedicate his life to the priesthood in
her honor. I gave Father Flood that look. He must have
seen this look before because he knew that I’m
not Catholic and the whole praying to Mary thing didn’t
jive with me. He informed me they’re not praying
to Mary instead of Jesus. They simply honor her because
she was chosen to be the earthly mother of our Lord
Jesus Christ. So we got back to the time he first spoke
the priesthood over his life. After Father Peyton gave
his testimony and the kids were heading home, the teacher
asked Flood what he wanted to be when he grew up. He
replied that maybe he’d become a priest. Years
later when he was in his early twenties, those words
came back to haunt him. He thought it was such a weird
idea that seemed so stupid. He couldn’t imagine
himself as a priest.
So one night God woke him up and told him he wanted
him to become a priest. He started to laugh because
the idea was still so out there and unbelievable. He
decided to meet with the priest of his sister’s
church. He told him what God had told him and the priest
referred him to the Bishop. The Bishop wanted him to
write down why he wanted to become a Priest. Through
prayer and intercession, the Bishop told Father Flood
that he agreed that God called into the priesthood.
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They
Would Love To Silence Me
The Church of the Resurrection is an
independent Catholic Church. After the lawsuit Father
Flood tried to reconcile with the local diocese. He wanted
to put what he called a dark chapter of his life behind
him. Since then, a new Bishop had taken over because the
previous one had retired. “It was real convenient
for him to retire because of the law suit with me and
the O’Grady mess.” said Father Flood. He wrote
to the new Bishop seeking reconciliation and invited him
to visit his congregation. After three letters the Bishop
finally wrote him back. The letter told Father Flood to
stop writing and that reconciliation wasn’t an option.
According to Father Flood, they don’t like the fact
that he started his own church. They have been trying
all these years to silence him.
Civil
Rights Activist
Since he began serving God in the priest
hood, he has always spoken up when he felt that someone’s
civil rights have been violated. This was a guy that was
on fire for God and studied the Bible constantly. “During
my days in the seminary, when class was over, I craved
more of the word.” says Father Flood. “The
more I read, the more I started to realize that what was
written in the Bible, didn’t jive with what the
Catholic doctrine says. So I spoke up. They didn’t
like that at all.”
I realized that was a sore spot with Father Flood because
in his church’s welcome letter, it states, “We
say No to the abuse of the people of God, through institutional
violence, oppression, intimidation, manipulation, domination,
control, hypocrisy and fear tactics. He also told me that
Benedict, who he referred to as Pope John Paul’s
rottweiller, wrote horrible things about the gay and lesbian
community. As soon as he said that, I knew this interview
was going to get a little bit more interesting. “We
are all made in the image of our Lord,” says Father
Flood, “so why would they spew hatred towards God’s
children? It’s not their fault that they were born
that way.”
What
Did He Just Say?
“You don’t seem convinced.”
says Father Flood, after I give him that look again. I
told him that I would listen while he tried to explain
his last statement. Let’s be honest, that is not
the most popular statement that a clergyman can make nowadays.
He begins to explain to me that there is so much hate
for the gay and lesbian people, especially from the Catholic
Church. “I don’t understand that because over
half of the priests and bishops are gay themselves.”
Father Flood laughs. I asked Father Flood if he thought
that lifestyle was a choice. He said,” Why would
anyone choose to live that lifestyle, knowing that if
they come out of the closet, they would be shunned for
the rest of their lives? That’s why I am convinced
that they were born that way.” Father Flood asks
me if you think they are born that way. Talk about having
the roles reversed. I mean, who’s being interviewed
here? So I looked straight at him and said,” Yes,
I believe it is a choice.” I mean you said it yourself.
You think everybody is made in the image and likeness
of God. Whenever homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible,
it refers to it as sexual immorality. I know that it is
hard for a lot of people to grasp, but it is a fact. So
I have a hard time believing that a homosexual can be
made in the image and likeness of God. That doesn’t
mean I hate them. I have family members who choose that
lifestyle and I love them with all of my heart. Father
Flood looks at me and says, “I can see that we will
not see eye to eye on this matter.”
A
Kind Man with a Gentle Heart
At the bottom of their welcome letter,
there is a quote from John Paul II. It says that today,
more than ever, the Church is aware that her social message
will gain credibility from the witness of actions.
Even though we didn’t see eye to eye on a couple
of issues, Father Flood is a kind man with a gentle heart.
He preaches God’s love. After all, it is called
the Good News.
Julio@myturlock.com
Staff Writer
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