Georgia Bulletin

Georgia

• Volunteers Help Inmates Create Catholic Community

  By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer
  Published July 22, 2004

  It was after Joseph Barnes committed his life to Jesus while living six and a half years on death row and studying his childhood Bible that doors started opening. He had his death sentence commuted and received life in prison—and hope in Christ and his Hays State Prison Roman Catholic Community. Barnes, who has five […] Full Story

• 21 Brownies Receive Family Of God Medals

  Published July 15, 2004

  Twenty-one students from Holy Spirit Preparatory School Brownie Scout Troop 21359 have been awarded Family of God Medals. Msgr. Edward J. Dillon, pastor of Holy Spirit Church, presented the medals in a ceremony at the school. The girls completed work on the Family of God Medals during four months of activities. Participating in the activities […]

• St. George Village Retirement Complex Breaks Ground

  By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
  Published July 15, 2004

  Charter members of St. George Village were the guests of honor June 9 as the ground was broken for the retirement community where they’re eager to begin living. To be built alongside St. Peter Chanel Church, on a campus that includes Queen of Angels Elementary School and Blessed Trinity High School, it is the first […] Full Story

• Covenant House Head Sees Atlanta Branch At Work

  By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer
  Published July 15, 2004

  As part of her inaugural tour of the 21 branches of Covenant House, its new national president Sister Patricia A. Cruise recently visited the Atlanta site, which is raising funds to build a 40-bed crisis shelter. Since opening in August 2000, Covenant House Georgia has served about 3,000 youth and is the youngest branch of […]

• GED Class Can Be Her Doorway To A Better Life

  By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer
  Published July 15, 2004

  Three days before her high school graduation Jessica Walden learned that she had failed the graduation test for the third time and wouldn’t be getting her diploma. “I had retaken the test two times. I didn’t give up. I just didn’t want to take the test again,” said Walden. Now 20 years old, and after […]

• Teaching Nun, Sister Rita Led Many To God

  By ERIKA ANDERSON, Staff Writer
  Published July 15, 2004

  As a teacher and an administrator at St. Pius X High School, Sister Rita Marie Raffaele had a reputation for being strict. But for those who knew her, her toughness was balanced, if not overpowered, by her fairness, good humor and, most especially, her great faith in God. Though small in stature, the late Grey […]

• Military Chaplain Honored At Retirement

  Published July 15, 2004

  Father Paul J. Bolton, who will be 68 in October and has been a priest for 42 years, has been serving in the military chaplaincy for 39 years. A priest of the Diocese of Providence, R.I., he began by serving as a chaplain to the Rhode Island National Guard in July 1965. In addition to […]

• Couples Speak To Couples In NFP Classes

  By LYNN CRUTCHFIELD, Special Contributor
  Published July 15, 2004

  Natural Family Planning has been referred to as “the church’s best kept secret,” but in the Archdiocese of Atlanta the secret is out and couples are signing up for classes in record numbers. I believe the reason for the increase can be summed up in the support of Archbishop John F. Donoghue and the amazing […] Full Story

• CTK School Raises Funds For Children In Haiti

  Published July 15, 2004

  Christ the King School students who heard a Haitian priest speak about the poor conditions in his country have been empowered to try to make a difference. When Christ the King School’s second- through fifth-grade student council held their first meeting in September, the representatives wanted to make sure to do a service project to […] Full Story

• Dom Francis Michael Receives Abbatial Blessing

  By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
  Published July 15, 2004

  Dom Francis Michael Stiteler, OCSO, received the abbatial blessing as the seventh abbot of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery on the feast of St. Benedict July 11 with 600 to 700 people witnessing the celebration. The Mass of blessing came 30 years after the abbot, a native of Philadelphia, entered the Conyers monastery […] Full Story

• Magnificat Speaker To Talk On Joy In Christian Life

  Published July 1, 2004

  Carol Razza, Ed. D., who will speak at the Magnificat breakfast in August, brings together over 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist with her work as a spiritual leader in retreats, parish missions and conferences. An adjunct professor at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla., she is a licensed psychotherapist in […]

• Moment Of Conversion Started Colombian On Path: Father Fabio Alvarez Posada

  By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer
  Published July 1, 2004

  Father Fabio Alvarez Posada recalls going out to play his beloved sport of soccer at the age of 17 one day when he, having not yet embraced his faith, felt this strange desire to go to Mass. There he heard the priest express God’s invitation to “ven a mi” (come to me). That kicked off […]

• Filipino Family Planted God’s Service In His Heart: Father Diosmar Amalay Natad

  By ERIKA ANDERSON, Staff Writer
  Published July 1, 2004

  While growing up in the Philippines, Diosmar Natad and his cousins would often go to the family chapel and reenact the Mass. His great-grandparents built the chapel, which later became a parish church, as more and more people flocked to it. A priest would come and celebrate Mass each Sunday for the family, who were […] Full Story

• Mother’s Baptism Begins Son’s Vocational Journey

  By ERIKA ANDERSON, Staff Writer
  Published July 1, 2004

  As a young boy growing up in Seoul, South Korea, Cyril Soo-Gil Chae had a typical childhood. As one of five children, he lived in a home full of mutual love and respect. “My father was diligent, honest and a good man, and my mother was prayerful and pious,” he said. “I was inspired by […]

• Church Teams Help Some Leave Prison For Good

  By PRISCILLA GREEAR, Staff Writer
  Published July 1, 2004

  With the restlessness of repressed grief over her mother’s death, Cynthia Sturm stole $26,000 that she didn’t even need from a restaurateur for whom she handled bookkeeping. She said it was a “cry for help.” Sturm had been on the run from that grief when she moved to Atlanta from Chicago in her early 20s, […]

• Christ Redeemer, Dawsonville, Starts New Building

  Published July 1, 2004

  The growing Catholic community in Dawsonville broke ground May 30 for its first building at the site where its future church will be constructed. Christ Redeemer Mission, formed in March 1982 as a mission of St. Luke Church in Dahlonega, has established its church home at 991 Kilough Church Road, just off Georgia 400. The […] Full Story

• Outstanding Senior Was Mission’s ‘Only Child’

  By GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer
  Published July 1, 2004

  When Mary Katherine Alldred graduated at the top of her class at North Forsyth High School this year, she had a mission—Christ Redeemer Mission—behind her. The 18-year-old, who will be attending Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., is “our Mary” to people like Jim and Rita Lowe, founding members of the mission. Baptized at […] Full Story

• Young Adult Answers ‘FAQs’ About Becoming Catholic

  By ANN BLASICK, Special Contributor
  Published July 1, 2004

  This article is the first in a series of interviews with young adults in the archdiocese who have recently joined the church. This month, David Mobley of Atlanta shares his answers to some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how he decided to become Catholic as a young adult. David Mobley, a parishioner at the Cathedral […]

• Parish Art Auction Supports Scholarship Fund

  Published July 1, 2004

  St. Benedict Church opened its doors to parishioners and friends on Saturday, May 1, with the parish’s first Art Auction and Wine Tasting, an event the church plans to offer yearly. Attendees strolled around the Parish Life Center, bidding on silent auction items donated by parishioners, including original framed and matted photographs taken by Msgr. […] Full Story

• Parish Groups Provide New Hope For Job Seekers

  Published July 1, 2004

  Job seekers, recruiters, volunteers and employers gathered at St. Brigid Church in Alpharetta on Tuesday, May 11, for a night of greeting and job networking with one another. This “Network Extravaganza” was organized as a collaborative event by Jon Coriell of St. Brendan Church in Cumming and Cecil Clontz of St. Brigid’s, who sent over […]