FRONT ROYAL — Nestled in the Shenandoah Valley off the quiet old Main Street in Front Royal is a parish reminiscent of an earlier period. St. John’s first church, a small brick-exterior chapel with simple wooden pews, was built in 1883 as a memorial to a 27-year-old Maryland soldier who died fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The soldier’s family paid for the construction of the church, and donated an altar, bell, pews, sanctuary lamp, vestments and sacred vessels to the new parish. On the east wall of the church a tablet in memory of the soldier reads: "pray for the soul of John Carrell Jenkins — Died Oct.11, 1861 — Out of whose means principally, this Church has been erected."

In the annual Corpus Christi procession, St. John the Baptist Parish follows the traditional practice in the Church of processing in honor of a saint on his or her feast day. On the feast of Corpus Christi, parishioners follow the priest and altar servers as the Blessed Sacrament is carried to a gazebo in the center of town. They pray the rosary before returning to the church, where Benediction concludes the procession.

While a new, larger church was completed in 1998 and Masses are now celebrated in the new church almost exclusively, the parish still maintains a close community. The daily morning Mass at the parish is attended largely by families; when it ends young children spill forth from the doors into the "gathering area" and play together as their mothers talk, encourage each other and exchange ideas for a few minutes before the inevitable return to their daily, typically home school, routine. The large numbers of children and home schooling families makes St. John the Baptist Parish especially unique, says Father William F. Ruehl, pastor for over 18 years. There are nearly 700 families registered at the parish.

The CCD program, Father Ruehl said, is "bulging at the seams." Classes take place at the Main Street Parish Center, in the church basement and in the old church. There are more than 300 CCD students in the parish, although 90 receive CCD instruction at home, according to DRE Dr. Eleanor Kelly. The 11 CCD teachers are trained at workshop meetings by Kelly, who holds a doctorate in education development and teacher education. "The families here are very devoted. … Without exception, the parents work so diligently and effectively with their children that it is a pleasure to be guiding them," said Kelly.

The parish home school group, S.H.E.L.L. (Supporting Home Education and Love of Learning), consists of 54 home schooling families, with a total of 253 children, who have monthly meetings and numerous activities throughout the year. The group, according to home schooling mother of eight Catherine Jerge, is "for mutual support for both mothers and children," and activities include field trips, spelling bees, picnics, pool parties, an annual science fair, creative writing fair, Christmas caroling and an All Saints’ Day party.

Five Legion of Mary Praesidiums are active at the parish, including two Senior Praesidiums, an Intermediate Praesidium for teens 14-18 and two Junior Praesidiums (one boys, one girls) for ages nine to 13. Over the last year, Legion of Mary members visited nursing homes, went door-to-door proselytizing and sent cards to the newly baptized in the parish. Most recently, Legion of Mary members made rosaries for U.S. military personnel stationed overseas, large print holy cards for nursing home residents and cloths with the Legion emblem for missions, said Mary Ellen Smith, acting president of a Senior Praesidium. The Legion at the parish is an opportunity "for lay people, so that we can fulfill our apostolate, because we’re supposed to be evangelizing too," said Smith.

The music ministry is carried out with enthusiasm by musicians and choir members alike. Carol Bergmann, a parish volunteer who assists with organization of music and liturgy and is on the parish advisory board, said that St. John the Baptist is a "very talented parish musically." Parishioners are eager to share their talents, she said, noting that organists Dolly Forbes and Jacinta Whittaker play for one and two Masses every weekend, respectively. Whittaker, although a freshman in college, is experienced and quite gifted musically, said Bergmann.

A unique aspect of the Front Royal parish is its close proximity to Christendom College, Seton Home Study School, Human Life International and Population Research Institute, all Catholic institutions. Drawing from that pool of Catholics, the parish is assured a fervently Catholic congregation, said Father Ruehl. Yet there are still challenges resulting form the very demographics that make Front Royal desirable to many parishioners. Its distance from large cities and low number of good jobs locally takes its toll on the parish, said Father Ruehl.

"We do as much business as Catholic Charities" at times, he said. Local residents and parishioners often come to the church for help in times of need, and the parish supplies the needy with rent assistance, food, clothing, fuel vouchers or other necessities.

In the churchyard there stands a memorial to the unborn, a silent recognition of the babies who have been killed by abortion, and of the unborn in danger of abortion. The parish Teen Pro-Life Group initiated and paid for the memorial, as well as for the pro-life signs on the outskirts of town, said Father Ruehl.

St. John’s Teen Group is run by volunteers Tom Brock, director, and Phylis Seely. The youth group meets at least twice a month, for a movie or other activities. They are hoping to have a small group attend World Youth Day this summer. While many teens are active in the parish, they aren’t necessarily all involved in the teen group, according to Brock.

"Our parish has a huge home schooling presence. In fact, they have their own social/athletic events," which can account for the often small group of teens that attend the meetings and activities. "I’ve had several mothers tell me their teens couldn’t come to teen group events because they were already doing things three to five nights a week with the home schoolers’ events alone," Brock said. The good thing about the large number of activities and groups in the parish is that there is a niche for everyone, he said.

Eucharistic Adoration is important at the parish, with 24-hour adoration every Wednesday and Thursday. Parishioners hope to eventually have perpetual adoration, possibly in the old church, but greater numbers will be needed for that to be feasible, said Father Ruehl.

The mountains and wide open spaces that surround Front Royal make St. John the Baptist Parish a sort of retreat from the hectic or stressful aspects of large cities, according to Father Ruehl. "I’ve found home," he said.