A Shining Light

According to the Billings Catholic Schools System website, “Billings Catholic Schools offer an exceptional Catholic Education founded on the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church.” Lumen Christi is a group of students at Billings Central that has been helping to realize this mission for more than a decade. Their primary role is to set up for school Masses and fulfill various ministries during those Masses. This year, the group saw a change in leadership.

Last year, Lumen Christi was organized by former religion teacher Michaela Neiter. However, when Neiter stopped teaching at Central, her position leading Lumen Christi was left vacant. The same year, longtime religion teacher and Neiter’s father Michael Martinson switched from teaching religion full-time at Central to teaching part-time at Central. This turn of events left multiple vacancies in Central’s religion department. Nolan Trafton, who had previously been a 4th-grade teacher at Saint Francis, transitioned to Central to help fill the position. Recently ordained Father John Pankratz also stepped in to teach a few classes. Because Neiter was no longer available to run Lumen Christi, Trafton and Pankratz offered to organize the group.

Both Trafton and Fr. Pankratz were in Lumen Christi when they went to school at Central. However, the group had a different name back then. It was called “CORE”, an acronym that stood for “Central’s Organization for Religious Endeavors”. In contrast, “Lumen Christ” is a Latin phrase that translates to “The Light of Christ”. According to Pankratz, the group functioned very similarly when he was in high school, but there was one key difference. While Lumen Christi is only responsible for setting up and serving during Mass, CORE hosted activities like prayer groups and Bible studies. Fr. Pankratz said that he would like to bring back some of these activities, although he acknowledged that it is important to move, “one step at a time.” Trafton also expressed interest in expanding the scope of Lumen Christi. He said that he wants to offer more service opportunities to Lumen Christi members. “We don’t have to just focus on the Mass. We don’t have to just focus on what’s happening inside the walls of Billings Central. We could maybe even reach out outside of that as well,” said Trafton.

For the moment, however, Trafton has a different focus. “Helping students become more aware of what it [Lumen Christi] is is really my goal right now,” said Trafton. Trafton blames the coronavirus pandemic for some of the issues the group faces. “COVID ruined a lot of things,” he said, “and part of that was that we didn’t have a group setting up for Mass…I hope to bring consistency, energy, and growth…I want everybody to be aware of it and know what it is and what we stand for.” Lumen Christi is open to all Central students, but, right now, it only has about 35 members. The vast majority of these students are either seniors or sophomores. These low numbers are mildly concerning for Lumen Christi, as each grade requires enough members to run a Mass by itself.

Fr. Pankratz said that Lumen Christi is valuable because it helps, “to keep our faith front and center…Our school is a Catholic school, and the faith comes first, so we want to put our faith first, and then everything falls into place.” “We’re all called to serve,” said Trafton, “and I think starting small is the best way. If we can get students willing and comfortable serving for their classmates and for their teachers and for the community of Billings Central, then hopefully they feel comfortable to go and serve elsewhere as well.”