Andrew, Sarah Beth and Sophie Johnston, the deacon’s nephew and nieces, hand out prayer cards before the liturgy. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

Deacon Jason Johnston surrounded by brother clergy during his ordination at St. Paul Parish. (Photos by Maureen Smith)

By Maureen Smith
VICKSBURG – On Saturday, May 16, Jason Johnston was ordained to the transitional diaconate by Bishop Joseph Kopacz in his home parish of Vicksburg St. Paul. Deacon Johnston’s mother, two brothers, sister-in-law, two nieces and nephew sat in the front row of the packed church to celebrate the day. His father died three years ago. Bishop Kopacz remembered him at the end of the Mass. Deacon Johnston’s extended family, many of whom are not Catholic, also came out in force to celebrate his ordination.
“It was really great to have the support of the home parish and people I grew up with. In a lot of ways it seemed like it meant so much to a lot of people to see a vocation come from Vicksburg. People I hadn’t seen in years came up to me with tears in their eyes,” said Deacon Johnston.
Even several days after the ordination, the deacon was elated. “Saturday was awesome. I was very excited and at the same time very nervous.  I was reflecting on it the whole day — kind of ‘did this really just happen,’ it was kind of a surreal experience,” he said. “I am feeling a lot of gratitude and thanksgiving — first for the gift of ordination and God’s calling me as well as that the bishop was willing to say ‘yes’ to my ordination and all the support I have had over the years,” he added.
Deacon Johnston said he remembers vocations being promoted in elementary and grade school and he gave seminary passing consideration over the years, but it wasn’t until he had finished college and was working in the state auditor’s office that he decided to pursue his vocation. “After college I started asking questions of my own commitments and what I saw myself doing in 25 years. I wondered, would I look back on my life as an auditor and say ‘you have done well good and faithful servant?’ And for me personally that wasn’t really what I felt called to do. I wanted to do something to be involved directly in people’s lives and be a servant to others,” explained Deacon Johnston.
His nieces and nephews passed out prayer cards before the liturgy. Deacon Johnston explained what he selected. “Something about the diaconate that’s important to me is the idea of service, to conform onself to be like Christ the Servant.  So in the picture, Christ came to serve and not be served, he had just said that. He is washing what appears to be Peter’s feet and Peter is somewhat resistant, but Peter is allowing himself to be served which is taking some humility there as well. The verse on the back comes from the Gospel of John when Christ washed the disciples feet – ‘I give you a new commandment that you love one another.’ I think for me that encapsulates the diaconate.
“One of the questions the bishop asks (during the rite of ordination) is ‘do you promise to conform yourself to Christ whose blood you will be the minister of?’ This question’s answer is ‘I do, with the help of God.’ For all of the other questions the answer is simply ‘I do,’ but this one is the pinnacle of what I am trying to do, which can only be done with the help of God, with God’s grace,” he explained.
Johnston will spend the summer in the Catholic Community of Meridian at St. Patrick and St. Joseph parishes and looks forward to working in whatever parish community he is assigned next.
“I love Mississippi because really there is a variety of parishes. We have the smallest of parishes and the big city parishes so I am open to whatever the bishop thinks is best. There is something about both sides of that which I think is great; and I can see myself doing any of it.” Deacon Johnston will be ordained to the priesthood next May. In October, Joseph Le will be ordained to the transitional diaconate Oct. 10 in Greenville St. Joseph Parish.

By Paul Artman
“Not my child!” That was a comment recently used at a parent information night when the school community gathered to discuss cyber issues. “Yes indeed, my child,” should be the convincing words used in every family to deal with today’s most fashionable and dangerous cyber issues. Whether the issue is online cheating and plagiarism, cyber bullying, social networking, sexting or encountering predators, parents need to understand that they are the front line point of contact on these real life issues, and that family communication regarding such is a must.

“New technologies are not only changing the way we communicate but communication itself,” says Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli. The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications addressed journalists and executives from faith-based and secular news agencies May 22 at the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s 23rd annual World Communications Day. (CNS photo/Sebastiao Moreira, EPA)

“We have responsibility as Catholics to promote internet safety as a church. Education for both adults and children is important to us as good Catholics to be respectable and appropriate users of digital and social media,” explained Vickie Carollo, coordinator of the Office of Child Protection for the Diocese of Jackson. “Technology is constantly evolving. We must stay abreast of these changes due to the dangers that threaten us, our children and young people,” she added.
Please talk with your children about cyber safety, online dangers, your expectations, the ground rules, monitoring, how to respond to a threat, reporting issues and how positive peer pressure can help. Likewise, these tips could help save a child from a life of torment brought on by reckless online behaviors. We must remain realistic; it could very well be your child.
Do something about this today because, believe it or not, your child is tethered to electronic social networks and devices at least eight hours daily! Especially now that summer has arrived and kids will have more free time.
First and foremost, parents should institute internet safety rules for the household, adhere to these, and continually monitor effectiveness. Rules should center on non-disclosure of sensitive information online, the reporting of uncomfortable encounters and the posting of photos. Through the monitoring process, parents need to be cognizant of online lingo used and insist that the family should know online friends just as we would demand knowing and visiting with friends in person. Parents must focus on constant communication with their children regarding cyber issues.
Discuss early and often the expectations, dangers, ground rules, peer pressure and appropriate responses regarding matters of the internet. Make no mistake, online predators do exist and are ready to prey on any vulnerable person. Often posing as someone else, online predators and evil sites may attempt to lure children through their confidences or gifts.  Children must be instructed not to open spam or emails from unknown persons. Pornography and evil electronic providers must be reported immediately to your internet service provider and law enforcement.
There is no doubt that social network sites have broadened relationship opportunities, but not all relationships are psycho-socially healthy. Regarding internet sites, it must be noted that some sites gather profiles; therefore, we must always consider what information we wish to be held by others. Adding online social contacts just for the sake of adding contacts can be dangerous. Caution should become second nature, but often times young people cast caution to the wind, especially when electronic devices are concerned.
Online postings become public information and have a shelf life beyond your own life expectancy. Today, more than eight percent of future employers and higher education intuitions review applicants’ social network postings.
Sexting, the exchange of personal explicit photos online, is a generational exercise that is difficult to understand, but a sad youthful reality. Our children must be reminded to think about the consequences, ultimate destinations, and the longevity of images before they ever hit the send button on any electronic device.  The guiding principle is to never take a photograph that one would not mind everyone else in the world viewing.
The cyber-explosion has also drastically impacted educational institutions with regard to academic applications, bullying, digital cheating and plagiarism. In this era, we often post negative things about others online that we would never say in person. It is time for a new standard of being kind and understanding how comments will be taken negatively online. We must all resist the opportunity to personally bully someone or employ a proxy to engage in bullying. In taking anti-bullying action, tell someone, walk away without incident and reach out for help.
Again, for the greater good achieved by laptops, tablets, and smartphones it must be noted that these devices often promote the opportunity to cheat. Plagiarism is another form of cheating that has only intensified in our cyber rich world.  Plagiarism is the taking of another’s scholarly work as if it were our own. While often misunderstood by students and parents alike, this is considered theft of intellectual property.
Today’s cyber world certainly offers new insights into relationships, learning, and communication, but its detriments can be even more overwhelming. Caution is urged as we face a dangerous new world.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyberbullying Task Force is ready and willing to help you educate your children and youth about the improper use of social networking. A task force representative can be reached at 601/576-4281 or 601/576-4265.
(Paul Artman is the principal of Greenville St. Joseph School. Maureen Smith contributed to this report)

Her picture is a prized possession to Paula Merrill, SCN, who has treated patients in rural Mississippi for nearly 30 years. The picture is of a woman, Willie Mae, and the memory of this gentle southern woman, spurs Sister Merrill on as she reaches out to families with little or no access to health care.
Sister Merrill went to Mississippi as a novice with the SCN Congregation in 1981, and has been there ever since. She grew up in Massachusetts, but says she has found a home in the deep South.
Sister Merrill and Sister Margaret Held, OSF, both nurse practitioners, rotate working, one week at a time, at the Lexington Medical Clinic and the Durant Primary Care Clinic, located in Holmes County, one of the poorest counties in the state.
Sister Merrill’s presence provides access to medical care that otherwise might not be available. The clinics serve all ages, regardless of income or access to health insurance.
When asked about her ministry, Sister Merrill is humble and reticent. Her philosophy is, “We simply do what we can wherever God places us.” It is that down-home manner that endeared her to a client, Willie Mae, who remains an inspiration to Sister Merrill today. Willie Mae is now deceased, but Sister Merrill keeps her photo next to her computer as a constant reminder of what is at the heart of her ministry.
While working in Holly Springs, Miss., Sister Merrill received a referral to visit Willie Mae, who was elderly, living alone, and in need of health services. She lived in a small, poorly built home with no insulation, a leaking roof, no running water and only a small wood stove for heat in the winter. Her failing eyesight made preparing meals almost impossible. Because of her failing memory, she would forget to take her medicine. So, Sister Merrill visited Willie Mae every day to remind her to take her medicine and encourage her to eat.
Sister Merrill explains that she worried about Willie Mae and realized the elderly woman needed more care than could be provided at home so she helped make arrangements for Willie Mae to receive care at a local nursing home. She went to visit Willie Mae at the nursing home one day to see how she was adjusting.
Willie Mae was in the dining room, so Sister Merrill waited in her room. When the nurse pushed Willie Mae in her wheelchair into her room, they saw Sister Merrill. The nurse asked Willie Mae, “Do you know who this is?” Willie Mae looked at Sister Merrill and her eyes lit up. She responded, “Oh, she’s the one who loves me.”
Indeed, Sister Merrill is the one who loves her clients. That’s evident when you meet her and when you hear her describe her ministry. She talks about her clients over the years as the “communion of saints.” Willie Paul, a man in his 50s, worked in cotton fields all his life and was diagnosed with diabetes. Otis is a four-year-old boy whom she treated for a burn on his foot after he fell against a wood stove used to heat his home. She remembers Tasha, a ten-year-old girl who came to the clinic with a fever, shortly after their family’s home was destroyed by a fire.
Sister Merrill enters into people’s lives at critical moments, and brings a loving presence matched with professional care that offers hope and comfort.
She recalls a quote, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Willie Mae knew. So does Willie Paul, Otis, Tasha and the many others who come to Sister Paula for care. Sister Merrill intends to stay in Mississippi for as long as she can, doing what she can where God has placed her.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally appeared in The Journey, a publication of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, in 2010. Sister Merrill continues to serve in Holmes County. It is republished with permission in honor of the Year for Consecrated Life. Other religious are invited to submit reflections to editor@mississippicatholic.com.)

By Maureen Smith
JACKSON – Adoptive and foster parents, as well as teenagers in foster care, have a new resource at their disposal thanks to the work from a team at Catholic Charities. Staff members in adoption services used a grant from the Mississippi Department of Human Services to create a website packed full of resources and educational opportunities. The staff is also taking the resources on the road, offering continuing education workshops to foster parents across the state.
Angela Griffin, the program director for adoption services, said when her agency got the grant to develop an online resource for adoptive and foster parents, she and her co-workers thought it would be a one-page site. “There were not any strict guidelines as to how to develop this, so we started brainstorming,” Griffin explained. Before long, she and her co-workers had lots of ideas, but needed some direction.
Rachel Hodges, a senior from Jackson State University, started an internship with Catholic Charities in December, 2014. The rest of the team members credit her with bringing a new energy and focus to the project. In addition to helping get everything organized and launched, she created some of the online evaluation materials.
“I had the opportunity to create the tests for the CEU (continuing education credit) materials,” said Hodges. She used five different texts creating a quiz for each. “I learned a lot for myself that I can use in future parenting situations,” she added.
Ben Garrott, technology director for the agency said it quickly became apparent the ‘page’ could be its own website. “It just kept growing and growing,” he joked, adding that once the team came up with a template, colors and a structure, building it was easy.
Griffin said her team did not have to create a lot of new materials. “The resources were out there. This was just a matter of putting it together in one place,” Griffin explained. She has 15 years of experience in adoption and foster care. Her co-worker, Stephanie Harris, has 25. That expertise helped them narrow down what offerings were important, relevant and needed. “Knowing what families want and need in terms of resources and knowing how adoptions are handled helps.” Both women said input from families who are caring for foster or adopted children is important to the resource site.
The site has sections for adoptive and foster parents, birth mothers and teens and tweens who are in foster care. It features paper and electronic books people can request, videos, articles and links. Many of the resources are just to help people, especially the children, birth parents and those seeking information about adoption. Others include web-based or in-person learning options for adoptive and foster parents. Foster parents must complete 10 hours of CEU training a year. This allows them to complete some of that training online and there are schedules where they can see what in-person training Catholic Charities offers. These sessions range from how foster parents can better communicate with schools to diagnosis and medication management as well as other childcare topics.
“We wanted it to have a variety of tools,” said Griffin. “One part of the environment that gets left out is birth parents. There is information on how to search for a child that they may not know about,” explained Griffin. She said many people did not talk about birth parents before the modern idea of open adoption. She said she has seen a change in birth mothers who opt to give up their babies in her time in the field. “Most of them want open adoption now. They are not afraid to share their information. Today, most of them are driving the adoption. They are being more proactive, seeking out parents themselves,” she added. She said there are risks in this kind of adoption, but it does put more power in the hands of the birth family.
Harris said she has seen many changes in the adoption and foster care field throughout her career. “This technology age has really brought about a change. Seeing Catholic Charities go through that and add it in has really been a positive thing,” she said. Resources like this online library are an example of how the agency can serve multiple audiences at one time.
The staff plans to maintain the site, adding new materials as need. It can be found online at www.ccjresourcelibrary.org.
Catholic Charities programs such as adoption and foster care are funded through Catholic Service Appeal. Donations help cover overall costs at the agency and put money into particular programs as needed. It’s not too late to pledge or donate to CSA.