Born in Brooklyn and raised in Nassau County, it was almost like home when Father Charles Ehrhart came to St. Therese Liseux in Montauk as the parish Priest. Four years earlier Farther Charles retired from the United States Military, serving as a Chaplain in the Army for almost 23 years.  Chaplain (Major) Charles’s service included nine and half years in Korea, six years in Germany and a brief time in Egypt.  After that he was a parish priest in several other locations back in the States before coming to Montauk.

When asked what challenges he expected when coming to this community, his reply was that his main goal was to take care of the parishioners in the congregation. Among his interests that continued even in Montauk, is his dedication to the members of the volunteer fire department and ambulance core.  Since 1960 Father Charles has been a member of different volunteer fire departments for over twenty years, including East Hampton when he lived there.  One parishioner shared that Father Charles even has a scanner in his office to hear calls and if one comes in about a parishioner needs an ambulance; Father Charles is ready to give comfort to the person needing emergency help.    Working in a small community allows a parish Priest to get to know its members and be part of congregational events and meetings.  Asked about his impressions of the Montauk Community, the reply was an easy assessment of what he has learned in his year and a half here.  The members “are a fairly lively group, with very strong opinions and not afraid to voice them”.

The topic of an upcoming fundraiser concert scheduled for this August came up during our interview.  A similar concert, From Broadway to Galway, starring Ciaran Sheehan was held last March at St. Therese and was an overwhelming success. It was talked about for months after the performance.  Father Charles was approached by Carol McMorrow and Sue Lieder about the idea and he thought it was a wonderful venue for the community.  So once again Ciaran Sheehan will be returning with a concert entitled, COMING HOME.
 

Father Charles wanted a “happy medium” to offer the community, a cultural activity that at the same time would be a fund raiser success.  And it was.  Quoting Father Charles, he believes “the church is responsible not only for the congregation’s spiritual, but also educational and social life. It is a way to propagate the parish and community, in a manner contributing to bringing people together.”  Historically, it was the Catholic Church that was responsible for bringing some of the greatest artists of all times forward to create their finest works.  As Father Charles pointed out, “Popes and Priests were patrons of penniless artists, buying their works to fill the cathedrals and churches hundreds of years ago. You cannot separate the Catholic Church from art.”  Think Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel or statues in the Vatican of Adam or the Pieta and this vivid, intertwined relationship is clearly defined.

Father Charles Ehrhart of St. Therese