St. Pius X High School sophomore John-Jordan “Shockley” Nunnery participated in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Service at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta on the King national holiday, Monday, Jan. 18.

Ten high school students, including Nunnery, served as readers of the Litany of Commemoration at the annual service. The litany is a prayer spoken by nine people in one voice that traces King’s role in the civil rights movement.

Michael Scirocco, the English department chairman, nominated Nunnery for his public speaking ability and ease before large audiences. Nunnery had to audition to serve as one of the readers.

Nunnery said, “I am really thankful that Mr. Scirocco recommended me to speak at the services. It is a huge honor to get to share in the celebration.”

St. Vincent de Paul Atlanta is again partnering with the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign during the tax season.

The charity is helping the working poor avoid fees by assisting them if they owe Uncle Sam or are eligible for benefits. It is the third year of the joint effort between the lay Catholic organization and the Atlanta Prosperity Campaign, according to Jim Verrecchia, director of support programs.

The Atlanta Prosperity Campaign is an outreach of the Atlanta Community Food Bank to connect working families and individuals to money-saving programs for a brighter financial future.

The free tax preparation is targeted toward people earning less than $48,000. The goal is also to link people who are eligible with programs that give them a better financial foundation, from education credits to first-time homebuyer credits.

In addition to the SVdP site, there are scores more around the metro area.

For more information, go to www.atlantaprosperity.org or call (404) 614-1000.

CNN turned its spotlight on St. Joseph Church, Marietta, and its ministry to help the unemployed find a steady paycheck.

The ministry is called St. Joseph Career Community Network. Among those featured in the online story are Art Eyzaguirre, a parishioner and a founder, along with Patrick Brennan, another founding member.

The story talks about how with unemployment in double digits, churches are getting involved to help people find jobs. Parishioners are contributing their skills in career management and networking to aid the ministries.

The Georgia Bulletin has showcased several parishes and leaders that are adopting this type of ministry to aid people. The CNN story can be found at http://bit.ly/88yiIt.

Two seminarians from Atlanta were among a group of men studying to become priests who were installed in the ministry of acolyte in November.

Bishop George V. Murry, SJ, of Youngstown, Ohio, led the ceremony in the St. Vincent Archabbey Basilica in Latrobe, Pa.

The Atlanta men are two natives of Vietnam, but adopted sons of Georgia.

Cong Tan Nguyen is the son of Nghia Thi Tran of Norcross and the late Xuan Tan Nguyen. He graduated from high school in 1990 in Vietnam. He received a bachelor of arts in teaching methodology from the University of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 1996.

Tri John-Bosco Nguyen is the son of Thao and Trong Nguyen of Rex. He is a 1993 graduate of Hoang Hoa Tham High School in Saigon. He graduated in 2001 from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., with a bachelor of science degree in secondary education and Catholic theology. In 2006, he received a master of arts degree in applied linguistics and in teaching English as a second language from Georgia State University.

Some 64 people at Pax Christi St. Jude took an oath of nonviolence at a ceremony on Jan. 1, celebrating the Solemnity of the Mother of God and World Peace Day.

The participants pledged “to carry out in my life the love and example of Jesus by striving for peace within myself and seeking to be a peacemaker in my daily life; by accepting suffering rather than inflicting it; by refusing to retaliate in the face of provocation and violence; by persevering in nonviolence of tongue and heart; by living conscientiously and simply so that I do not deprive others of the means to live; by actively resisting evil and working nonviolently to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the face of the earth.”

Pax Christi is an international Catholic peace movement.

Also at the celebration, people honored Sister Sally White, a member of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart.

She is a co-founder of the St. Jude Pax Christi group and is returning to her order’s motherhouse in Yardley, Pa. She provided ministry at St. Jude the Apostle Church and at Saint Joseph Hospital, where she worked as a chaplain in pastoral ministry, said Mary Jean Goode, a member of Pax Christi.

As a tribute to Sister Sally, three students of St. Jude the Apostle School presented “a peace pole” that will stand outside the school’s memorial garden. The prayer “May Peace Prevail on Earth” is written on its four sides in eight languages. In a lesson of how things come full circle, the pole will be placed outside the school where Sister Sally was the first principal.

Pax Christi and the chaplains of Saint Joseph Hospital teamed up to purchase the pole.

Concelebrating the Mass on New Year’s Day were St. Jude pastor Msgr. James Fennessy, Father Steve Yander, Saint Joseph Hospital chaplain, and Father Richard Kieran, founder of the Cursillo movement in Atlanta and longtime supporter of Pax Christi.