Category Archives: Parish News

Nine admitted to candidacy for permanent diaconate

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PEARL – Bishop Joseph Kopacz admitted nine men to candidacy for the permanent diaconate on Saturday, Sept. 8, during a Mass for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Jude Parish. The men and their families have spent a year in what is called aspirancy, spending time together in study, prayer and discernment. Candidacy is the next step in their five-year journey. They will continue with study and formation in hopes of being ordained for the diocese. Permanent deacons dedicate themselves to service to the church. The candidates are (l-r, not all faces visible) Mark Bowden, Dien Hoang, Kayed Jwainat, Wesley Lindsay, John Pham, David Rouch, Anthony Schmidt, and Edwin Wilson. (Photo by Rhonda Bowden)

Parish calendar

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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT
BROOKSVILLE The Dwelling Place, Life Lines: Finding the Pearl of Great Price, October 12-13. Life Lines is a writing experience in which the narrative technique of storytelling is used to focus on different life experiences, painful or joy-filled, that are uniquely yours. Facilitator: Raymond Komar, Ph.D. has 35+ years of helping develop and hone writing skills. Begins with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Donations: $100 Details: (662) 738-5348 or email dwellpl@gmail.com.
GREENWOOD Locus Benedictus Retreat Center, Retreat hosted by Knights of Columbus #5267, Saturday, October 13 from 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Presenter: Father Ted Dorcey, C.Ss.R. All Knights are welcome to participate. Cost is $25. Includes continental breakfast and lunch. Details: Father Ted at teddorcey@yahoo.com.
JACKSON 40 Days for Life Kick-Off, Sunday, September 23 at 2:30 p.m. on the sidewalks at 2903 North State Street and the vigil will commence on Wednesday, September 26. 40 Days for Life is a peaceful, intensive campaign that focuses on prayer and fasting for the unborn in our state. Keynote speaker is Natalie Farber Brumfield, chapter leader for Birmingham Bound4Life. Details: Barbara Beavers at (601) 956-8636 or plm@prolifemississippi.org.
SOUTHAVEN Christ the King, National Prayer Event – Let’s Life Chain America, Sunday, October 7, 2-3 p.m. Life Chain is a peaceful, prayerful public witness of pro-life Americans standing for one hour of prayer for our nation and an end to abortion. Details: Barbara Dean (901) 486-6470 or Mary Ann (662) 429-7851 or (662) 429-0501.

PARISH, SCHOOL AND FAMILY EVENTS
CLARKSDALE Catholic Community of St. Elizabeth, “Who Am I to Judge: Responding to Relativism with Logic and Love,” a new Bible study begins Wednesday, October 3. Join scholar Edward Sri in discussing cultural questions about morality for all people. Details: church office (662) 624-4301.
CLEVELAND First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 101 North Bolivar Avenue, Women’s Resource Center Annual Banquet, Tuesday, October 2, 6 p.m. Supports those who have unplanned and difficult pregnancy situations. Free but seating is limited. Details: Our Lady of Victories church office (662) 846-6273.
COLUMBUS Annunciation, Spaghetti lunch in appreciation of support of the ministry of St. Vincent de Paul, Sunday, September 30, following 10:30 a.m. Mass. Details: church office (662) 328-2927.
GLUCKSTADT St. Joseph, 32nd annual GermanFest is Sunday, September 30, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. The family-oriented festival is best known for its delicious German food and authentic German Folk music provided by the band, Polkameisters from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cost: Advance meal tickets are $6 and are available from parishioners. Meals the day of the festival will be $7. Details: church office (601) 856-2054.
HERNANDO Holy Spirit, Men’s Association Fall fish fry, Friday, October 5, 4-8 p.m. Cost: Adults $10; children $5. Proceeds go to support Interfaith Food Bank, Catholic Social Services and the Cindy Pretti Scholarship Fund. Details: Sal Galtelli (662) 429-5071 or Lee Smith (662) 233-4833.
JACKSON Holy Ghost All School Reunion, Save the Date, October 12-14. Details: Mary Udoh at (601) 750-3622.
St. Peter Cathedral, Fall Gala, Saturday, November 10, 6:30-10 p.m. at the Railroad District, 824 South State Street Details: church office (601) 969-3125.
St. Richard, John Maxwell’s “Blind Man Looking” one-act play, Thursday, September 20, 6:30 p.m. at Foley Hall. Maxwell had a curiosity about a story in the Bible, John: 9. Details: church office (601) 366-2335.
St. Richard Special Kids Day Golf tournament, Deerfield Golf Club, Thursday, October 4. The unique gifts of the children in the Special Kids program are recognized and applauded while the community participates in a day full of fun excitement and fundraising. Raffle tickets on sale for a Mother’s Day Beach Weekend May 9-12 at Ocean Breeze West in Pensacola. Details: Rusty Haydel, (601) 953-9711 rusdale@aol.com or Shannon Garner, (601) 366-2335 garner@saintrichard.com.
LELAND St. James, Tuesday, September 25, Annual Parish Fair. Volunteers are needed. Details: church office (662) 686-7352.
MADISON St. Francis of Assisi, “A Taste of St. Francis” annual multicultural event, Sunday, September 30, in the Family Life Center following 10:30 Mass. Details: church office (601) 856-5556 or Amy Hornback (601) 953-4182 for more information about how you can volunteer and cook/bring a dish.
NATCHEZ St. Mary Basilica, Saturday, September 22, “Lay Holiness in Ministry and Mission” presented by Dr. Thomas Neal in celebration of the 6th anniversary of the O’Connor Family Life Center dedication. Dr. Neal is a recognized authority in the field of lay ministry and currently is Professor of Pastoral and Spiritual Theology at Notre Dame Seminary. Late registration from 9 – 9:30 a.m. and program is from 9:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. Early registration is encouraged so that an accurate lunch count can be made. Details: church office (601) 445-5616.
PEARL St. Jude, Tom Logue Memorial Chili Cook-off, Sunday, November 11, 5:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. All proceeds go to a needy family. Details: Nat Zummo (601) 573-3184 or zummonat@bellsouth.net.

Greenwood community celebrates 70 years of Franciscans

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By Maureen Smith
GREENWOOD – St. Francis of Assisi Parish and School is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Franciscan Friars this year. The community hosted two celebratory Masses, one at Immaculate Heart of Mary, which the Franciscans are placing back in the care of a diocesan priest, and a second at St. Francis of Assisi.
“Throughout our lives, there are many anniversaries. Today, we celebrate the anniversary of the arrival of the first friars coming to Greenwood. Each time we come to an anniversary, we are called to remember, to celebrate and give thanks,” said Brother Patrick McCormack, OFM, in his homily at the Mass at St. Francis on Sunday, August 5.
He went on to set the stage- commenting that the Civil Rights Movement was years from making its way to the Mississippi Delta when Fathers Bonaventure and Crysostom pulled into town in their 1947 station wagon. “In 1954 the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education would find educational segregation to be unconstitutional. The term separate but equal was a way of life – though equality was nonexistent,” he said.
The lack of quality education was the first issue the Franciscans tackled. “The friars came here to establish a mission and out of that came the school first and then the parish. Whereas a lot of Catholic churches the church comes first and then the school to take care of the children of the parish- that’s not what happened here- just the opposite because the reality here was different,” Fraciscan Father Jachim explained. Many students became Catholic after their exposure to the friars and the Sisters of St. Joseph who first taught there.

GREENWOOD – Father. Camillus Janas, OFM, Parochial Vicar, Mrs. Sara Frances Swindoll and Rylie Grace Collette. (Photos by Tereza Ma)

Fater Camillus Janas, OFM

Brother Patrick McCormack, OFM, who works in development and teaches art at the school, delivered the homily.

Dora Mae Hollie and Sister Judy Norwick, OSF, enjoying feast after Mass.

In fact, the school has educated generations of students in Greenwood. Dora Mae Hollie remembers coming into the church on Dec. 24, 1964. “I had five children go through this school and then four grandchildren go through this school and now I have three great grand-children going through this school — so this school has been a part of our life for a long time,” said the 83-year-old still-active member of the community.
The friars were very active in the Civil Rights Movement in Greenwood. They went on to partner with local lay people to help found Pax Christi, a group of lay people who worked in education and outreach.
Diane Jones, a graduate of the school, said she and fellow students admired all the hard work the Franciscan community put into education. “They were gifts to the Delta and to Greenwood. I left and went off to college and a lot of the morals and values the nuns instilled into us stuck with me and when I came home, I instill them into my children, who attended here also,” said Jones.
Franciscan Sister of Charity Annette Kurey is in her ninth year of teaching at St. Francis. She said her community of two other sisters and the friars continue to love their work. “It’s very important to be here with the friars. Their Franciscan spirit- and our Franciscan spirit- there is a commonality and a beautiful blossoming, and we seem to enjoy and understand the same things. To me, working with the Franciscans is a blessing,” she said.
For Sister Kurey and her colleagues and Fr. Studwell and his partners, the core of the mission remains the same – to go into the margins and serve. “There are a lot of people her in this area who have no church affiliation, so we are trying to do outreach. Most of the children who come to school here are not Catholic – and that’s not a problem. We don’t proselytize, we don’t try to make you Catholic, we invite people.”
(Tereza Ma contributed to this story)

West Point student earns national honor

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By Maureen Smith
WEST POINT – Corgan Elliot made history on her summer break. The Fifth Street Junior High seventh-grader competed at National History Day Competition in Washington, DC. Elliot, a member of Immaculate Conception Parish, where she is an altar server, won the state essay competition last year, making her eligible for the national finals. When she wrote the essay she was attending Central elementary School.
National History Day is non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that operates an annual project-based contest for students in grades 6-12. Last year, the theme was conflict and compromise. Students could write an essay or complete another project to explore the theme.
Elliot wrote an essay about Lucy Maude Montgomery, author of the famed Anne of Green Gables books. She examined how Montgomery had to face conflicts and come up with compromises in her life as a orphan and a woman who wanted to be a professional.
“Montgomery was special because she had different labors and problems, and she had the courage to be a female author and take on those additional struggles. She also had the courage to be known as a female author. Some female authors of her time wrote books under a male name, hiding their identity of being a female author in order for their pieces to have a better chance of being published,” wrote Elliot in her essay.
Her mother, Penny, said while Corgan did not bring home a trophy, the trip to the national competition was well worth the effort. “The competition was great. Corgan met a lot of students from around the world. She competed against over 100 students from around the US and world from grades 5-8. She did not place, but it was a wonderful learning experience. She enjoyed meeting other students with her interest in history. She is already planning for this year’s competition,” wrote Penny Elliot in an email to Mississippi Catholic.
The theme for 2018-2019 is triumph and tragedy in history.

St. Mother Teresa inspires Vicksburg youth to start ongoing service projects

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By Joan Thornton
VICKSBURG – During the summer, Vicksburg Catholic School, in partnership with Families First for Mississippi, developed a program entitled ‘Mother Teresa Tuesday.’ Each week student and adult volunteers worked at various locations such as Vicksburg

VICKSBURG – Taylor Chewning and Natalie Burke participate in Mother Theresa Tuesday service for Vicksburg Catholic School students during the summer. (Photos by Joan Thornton)

Community Garden, Good Shepherd Community Center and Warren County Humane Society. Groups even traveled to Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson and Our Daily Bread Mississippi located in Canton. There were weeks when 40 volunteers went out on projects.
At the hospital, volunteers participated in the Adopt-A-Floor Program, which provides snacks free of charge for the family members of patients. Groups collected approximately $3,000 worth of snacks which they delivered July 11.
The goal at Our Daily Bread “Bring awareness of healthy eating and to aid in hunger relief in our local communities through God, good works, and deeds.” Student and adult volunteers prepared and served about 90 hot meals for the needy in the community of Canton as well as unloading delivery trucks and organizing their pantry.
Students plan to continue Mother Teresa Tuesdays throughout the school year and encourage all members of the community to join them as together they build up the Kingdom of God through service.

(Joan Thornton is the head of the theology program for Vicksburg Catholic Schools)

Cathedral alumna to lead elementary school

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By Sabrina Simms
NATCHEZ – Cathedral School’s new elementary principal and assistant administrator in Kimberly Burkley has a familiar face. As a 1998 graduate of Cathedral, Burkely said working at the school is like coming home.

Kimberly Burkley (Photo courtesy Natchez Democrat)

“It’s exciting to be a part of Cathedral again,” Burkley said. “They’ve added a middle school wing … but most of it is the same.” Burkley said she grew up in Natchez and later pursued her undergraduate degree at the University of Mississippi and graduate degree at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Before coming to Cathedral, Burkley worked in Concordia Parish Schools, both as a speech and language pathologist from 2005 until last year and as an administrative intern at Concordia Parish Academy for two years.
Burkley said she worked in education for nearly 13 years and enjoys helping students succeed.”The thing I like most is the opportunity to make a difference in children and students’ lives,” Burkley said.
Even though she has worked across the river, Burkley said she never left Natchez. She commuted from Natchez each day and let her children go to her alma mater at Cathedral. Burkley said most of her students and colleagues knew her already as a friend or neighbor. As a professional, Burkley said she has great expectations for the more than 400 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade at Cathedral who will be in her care this school year.
“I’m professional, focused on the academics of students and supportive of faculty and staff,” Burkley said. “Cathedral is an amazing school. As an elementary principal, I will maintain the positive culture and high expectations. I will be visible and available to parents, students and teachers, and I’m looking forward to being a part of the Cathedral family.”

(Reprinted with permission from The Natchez Democrat.)

Annunciation expansion on track for groundbreaking this fall

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COLUMBUS – Annunciation School has raised $2 million of the $3 million dollars needed to expand its school facility. The school announced the expansion plan last year after several years of enrollment increases.
“Our architectural committee has met and new building designs have been drawn. Demolition and new construction bids are going out and we hope to break ground sometime in the coming months,” said Katie Fenstermacher, marketing and admissions director for the school.

A rendering of the new Annunciation School. (Courtesy of Katie Fenstermacher)

During the summer the current school building and cafeteria building got a new roof. Work crews added walls and doors where partitions use to be in the existing classrooms. The library and offices have been moved temporarily in preparation for construction to begin.
The students’ routine has not been impacted much. They eat lunch in the classrooms and dismissal is a little different this year.
“We’re excited to provide the best environment we can for continued excellence at our school,” said Father Jeffrey Waldrep, canonical administrator for the school.
“Overall, you can feel the excitement among our school family,” added principal Joni House. Administrators hope to be in the new building by next fall. Meanwhile, the capital campaign continues. To donate, go to www.annunciationcatholicschool.org.

Vicksburg Catholic promotes principal, director

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By John Surratt
Vicksburg – Catholic Schools have announced the promotion of Karla McHan to principal of St. Aloysius beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, and Lori Tzotzolas to director of the Vicksburg Catholic Schools Early Learning Center, which opens in 2019.
McHan and Tzotzolas are Vicksburg natives with experience teaching in the Vicksburg Warren School District and at Vicksburg Catholic Schools.

Karla McHan

McHan has a bachelor’s degree in education from Mississippi College and master’s in educational leadership from William Carey University.
She taught in the social studies for 22 years in the Vicksburg Warren School District. She taught 11th grade American History at Warren Central High School, and served as a department chairman and then as lead teacher.
She taught social studies and theology at St. Aloysius. She will still teach theology in her role as assistant principal.
McHan will serve as assistant principal to Dr. Virgil Strickland, the current principal, this school year.
“Administratively, I will be working in collaboration with him on the day-to-day operations, student discipline, professional development curriculum; just a little bit of everything,” she said.
“I’m very excited and humbled,” she said of the promotion, “But very excited.
“It’s a big change, but it’s (St. Aloysius) a good place to be. I kind of felt like I came home when I got to St. Aloysius; it was a good fit for me. I am a Catholic and I really love my faith and my church, and I have a great passion for education, so this was a really good way to combine those two.
“I’m excited about what the future holds for the school and the students and for myself as well.”
She is married to David McHan and they have three children. They attend St. Michael Parish.

Lori Tzotzolas (Photo courtesy of Kristi Smith)

Tzotzolas has a bachelor’s degree in education from Mississippi State University and a master’s of education in administration and supervision with an endorsement in Catholic school leadership from Marymount University.
She is married to Lester Tzotzolas and they have two children. They attend St. George Orthodox Church.
When she learned of her promotion, she said, “ I was surprised and honored and a little bit nervous, because it is a new position and a new building we are building from the ground up. We’re very, very blessed.”
Tzotzolas was a classroom teacher for seven years in the Vicksburg Warren School District, teaching fifth and third grades at Beechwood Elementary. She also taught at Warrenton Elementary and Dana Road Elementary.
She has spent the past 17 years as a classroom teacher and lead teacher at St. Francis Xavier, teaching fifth grade, and has taught kindergarten for the past 11 years. She will teach sixth grade this school year while also spending time working on preparations for the Early Learning Center, which will accept children from ages 6 weeks old to 3.
Tzotzolas will work with the Vicksburg Catholic School Development Office to continue raising funds for the early learning center. She will also work with the project architect and Mississippi Department of Health to ensure the center meets all the requirements to open in 2019.
“We work with the diocese in everything we do,” she said. “We are under their umbrella. They have to approve all of the necessary things here at our school.”
She said the school administration has given her time during the school day to work on the center.
“I certainly will not be taken away from my students,” she said. “I will be in the classroom when I need to be in the classroom, but I will have certain time during planning time or times when other teachers are teaching other subject areas where I can come out of the classroom and attend to the administrative duties I need to attend to.”
She said the design for the new building is ready, with groundbreaking expected early in the fall.
“I’m very excited, just to know I can build something from the ground up, and I absolutely have a team of skilled people who will be working alongside of me,” she said. “I will be supervising, so we will be making sure we have the best teachers to teach those students and understand their needs in the classroom.”

(Reprinted with permission from the Vicksburg Post.)

Toma note

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Desde ya – Está abierta la matrícula para la Escuela de Ministerio. Las clases comenzarán el 20 de octubre en San Judas en Pearl con el tema” La familia hispana en Estados Unidos, quienes somos y hacia dónde vamos”. Se necesita un mínimo de 35 estudiantes. La Escuela de Ministerio abarca una serie de cuatro temas que incluyen, además:” El ser humano en crecimiento”, “Retos y oportunidades de educación y formación en los Estados Unidos” y “Administración y finanzas”.
Miercoles, 5 de septiembre – Día de Santa Teresa de Calcuta.
Viernes, 7 de septiembre – El actor Jim Cavizel, quien interpreta a Jesús en la película “La pasión de Cristo”, de Mel Gibson, estará en el Thalía Mara Hall de Mississippi a las siete y treinta de la noche.
Sábado 8 de septiembre – La Natividad de la Santísima Virgen María – Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, Cuba.
Martes, 11 de septiembre – Dia de Virgen de Coromoto, Venezuela.
Viernes, 15 de septiembre – Dia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.
– Celebración Día de la Hispanidad. Iglesia St. James, Tupelo. La fiesta incluye selección de la Reina Hispana. Para más información, llamen a Raquel Thompson (662) 402–9599.
Sábado, 22 de septiembre – St. James en Tupelo. Curso” Evangelio de Juan y Cartas.

Celebración del Día de Santa Ana

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Por La Hermana Maria Elena Mendez. MGSPS
CARTHAGE – La comunidad hispana en Cartago celebra cada año a su patrona: Santa Ana, el día 26 de Julio. Antes de la misa, tienen una procesión alrededor de la propiedad de la Iglesia seguida de una misa bilingüe. Después de la misa, celebran todos juntos, como una comunidad de fe, con comida y bebidas tradicionales. En este año, la misa fue oficiada por el Padre Odel Medina ST. Niños, jóvenes y adultos de diferentes culturas disfrutaron de la celebración hispana compartiendo a su “Abuela” como algunos llaman a Santa Ana con respeto. Santa Ana es la madre de la Santísima Virgen María. Santa Ana es patrona de las mujeres en trabajo de parto; está representada sosteniendo a la Santísima Virgen María en su regazo, quien a su vez lleva en sus brazos al niño Jesús. Santa Ana también es patrona de los mineros, Cristo es comparado con el oro, María con la plata.

CARTHAGE – Fieles llevan a Santa Ana en procesión en Cartago, Misisipi. (Foto por hermana María Elena Méndez, MGSPS)