By Chris Spear
GULFPORT – When Clare Bush and Mike Addis celebrated their wedding Mass on July 28, they were the latest in a remarkably long line of couples to find each other through the Small Faith Communities program at St. Richard Church.
The program, still going strong at the Jackson parish 26 years after its start, has helped generate at least five marriages and ten children in the last decade – and shows no sign of slowing.
In 1992, St. Richard started its Small Faith Communities (SFCs), small groups that meet regularly during the week to pray, discuss a particular faith topic or question, and generally support each other in spiritual growth. In a minority-Catholic area like Jackson (and much of Mississippi), these group meetings are often the only times outside of Mass that parishioners might have to share their faith with other Catholics.
“They’re designed to help you to connect your faith to your everyday life,” said Nancy McGhee, St. Richard’s retired Director of the SFCs. “Scripture-reading and theology are important aspects of SFCs, but we want to primarily focus on topics that catch the attention of the people and help them be everyday disciples.”
Often held at parishioners’ homes, the small groups can be organized by neighborhood, age, or special shared interests – senior citizens, Catholic authors and literature, young parents, and so on. One of the most popular has been the young unmarried adults’ group.
Two dozen young adults, usually post-collegiate but not yet engaged or married, met up weekly at the parish hall to pray together, share their struggles and successes in living their faith, and play air hockey in a casual, close-knit community.
“I loved meeting new people who shared my faith and who quickly became friends,” said Kristen Kulavic Whelan, a former leader of the young adults’ group. “It also provided great social activities to get to know people in the group outside of the normal Tuesday night study.”
Clare Bush agreed. “Each week brought a varied group, and thus varied ideas and ways of looking at Scripture and Catholic teachings,” she said. “Medical school was the first time in my life to attend a non-Catholic school, and I missed my religious education. I truly feel that my faith was deepened through the group discussions and the friendships.”
Through that combination of wine socials and faith-sharing, some young adults found others walking a similar path towards marriage.
In 2011, Kristen Kulavic and Jacob Whelan were married at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, plus Holly Hickman and Armand Scurfield at St. Thomas the Apostle in Long Beach. Chris Spear and Kate Dennis followed at Our Lady of the Gulf in Bay St. Louis in 2012. Eric Williams and Megan Sheets married also at St. Thomas in 2014, and the newly-married Clare Bush and Mike Addis at Villanova University near Philadelphia.
Bush, in particular, found joy in being both matchmaker and match made at St. Richard. She introduced her friends Kate Dennis and Chris Spear to each other through the group in fall 2009, and met her own future husband Mike through the group a year later. In an unusual twist of divine providence, Addis was only in Jackson for a short time doing pro bono legal work between law school and a full-time position in New York City. Their short stint together in Jackson led to a lifelong commitment.
“I had prayed for my future husband ever since attending a retreat in high school,” said Bush. “Strengthening our friendship and talking about our faith from the start at St. Richard definitely helped Mike and me become closer in those early days of dating.”
Jacob Whelan, Kristen’s husband, agreed. “God knew what’s important in a good marriage and what is needed to have a good foundation,” he said, emphasizing that all those needed elements were there in the St. Richard’s group.
“The young adult group at St. Richard was one of the best things I have ever done,” said Clare Bush. “It was truly a blessed time in my life and I miss it.”

(Chris Spear is now a member of Gulfport St. James Parish.)