Notable
By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer | Published March 17, 2011
Students at St. Thomas More School, Decatur, celebrated Black History Month in February by visiting with prominent African-Americans who are leaders in the arts.
On Thursday, Feb. 10, fourth- and seventh-grade students saw a performance of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company at the Fox Theater.
On Friday, Feb. 18, Judge Glenda Hatchett visited the school. Hatchett became Georgia’s first African-American chief presiding judge of a state court and the department leader of one of the largest juvenile court systems in the country, Fulton County. She subsequently anchored the Emmy-nominated syndicated show “Judge Hatchett,” which ran for nine seasons, and she is also the author of the national bestseller “Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say.”
Recording artist and Broadway star Jennifer Holliday, the winner of two Grammy Awards and a Tony Award, also visited STM students where she spoke about her musical career. Born and raised in Houston, today Holliday resides in Atlanta.
The 2011 Journey of Hope Conference brought divorced and separated Catholics together for a weekend of faith and fellowship during their annual gathering at the Marriott Atlanta Northwest Hotel, March 4-6.
Lisa Duffy and Vince Frese, authors of “Divorced. Catholic. Now What?,” hosted the conference. Duffy and Frese are also founders of DivorcedCatholic.org, a website they founded in 2007 “with the desire of reaching the millions of men and women suffering through divorce and offering them answers to their questions, hope for true healing and a joyful future.”
The conference drew nearly 100 people from some 20 different states and Canada. Father Anthony Palazzolo, pastoral consultant, Diocese of St. Augustine, Fla., and Legionaries of Christ Father Thomas Williams, CBS/NBC Vatican analyst and theologian, gave keynote addresses. Johnnette Benkovic, host of EWTN’s “Women of Grace,” and Yvonne Marchese, executive director of Catholics Come Home, were among the many presenters at the conference.
Father Patrick J. Kingery has a new hero.
His nephew.
Matthew McConnell, nephew to the real-life brothers who are priests, Father Patrick and Father Michael Kingery, saved a choking customer while working at the restaurant Verde Taqueria.
McConnell, on Wednesday, March 2, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a customer to clear a piece of quesadilla from a customer’s throat.
You can see a video about the event at http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/27082527/detail.html.
“Way to go Matt,” wrote Father Patrick in an e-mail.