CHARLOTTE — In a humble brick building 60 years ago, 175 families gathered to celebrate the first Mass at St. Gabriel Church. The property had been purchased for just $100 and was a mile outside of Charlotte’s 1957 city limits. Consecrated to the service of God and named after the Archangel Gabriel, the parish has seen remarkable growth and changes in its six decades.
Within just 20 years, the parish population swelled to 1,400 families and was the largest in North Carolina. A church expansion, and later a significantly bigger church and other campus buildings, accommodated the growth. Today, more than 3,330 families call St. Gabriel home, with seven Sunday Masses, more than 80 ministries, and 1,050 children in its faith formation program.
On a beautiful evening last month, the parish celebrated its 60th anniversary with a special Mass and food truck picnic. The Sept. 23 liturgy featured all five of St. Gabriel’s choirs, including its adult and youth choirs, New Spirit Ensemble, Alegria Hispanic choir and handbell choir. Joyous hymns in English and Spanish reflected the diversity of the parish and underscored that St. Gabriel Parish belongs to all.
Homilist Deacon Michael Goad noted, “How far we have come and yet as a church how much there is for us yet to do in our Father’s vineyard. To whom much is given, much is required. Whether you’ve just joined St. Gabriel or whether you’re a founding member, this is your church, this house of God is your home. May the Holy Spirit continue to lead and guide us. May we be worthy of our calling as a people of God and of God’s continued blessings upon us. And may Almighty God complete the work He has begun in each one of us and in those we seek to serve.”
After Mass, parishioners young and old enjoyed a food truck picnic in the church’s courtyard with many staying well past sunset. Father Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar, parochial vicar, and Alegria choir leader Manuel Esquivel entertained with accordion and guitar, and “selfies with the Archangel Gabriel” were popular for all ages.
“A truly glorious celebration” and “We should do this again!” were sentiments echoed by many.
In reflecting on the parish’s 60th anniversary, Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor, shared, “How blessed we are to join as a community of faith in celebrating our parish’s 60th anniversary. Under the patronage of the Archangel Gabriel, we – and those who came before us – are invited to be messengers of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
“With gratitude, we reflect on our humble beginnings in a small brick building, where a cafeteria table served as the altar for the 175 families who gathered for Mass. Today, we are a vibrant parish of 3,335 families with numerous ministries that connect us and help us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
“What a legacy we share! I know you join me in giving thanks to the Lord for the generosity of Spirit evident in all who worship, serve and seek to grow in faith in our parish of St. Gabriel. Truly, the Holy Spirit continues to gather the faithful here!
“May we keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts as we answer the call to ‘go out to all the world to tell the Good News’ (Mark 16:15). We count ourselves blessed in the legacy that is ours. May we, too, ‘proclaim the greatness of the Lord’ (Luke 1:46) in this, our time.”
— Darby McClatchy, special to the Catholic News Herald. Darby McClatchy is the communications coordinator at St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.
HAYESVILLE — On Sept. 27, Pope Francis helped to launched a two-year worldwide campaign of Caritas Internationalis in support of migrants and refugees. ln the U.S. the campaign is being implemented by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.
Campaign organizers hope to raise awareness among Catholics about migrants and refugees and have targeted the week of Oct. 7-13 for prayer and action to raise awareness of this campaign of Caritas Internationalis.
In the Diocese of Charlotte, Catholic Charities promoted the upcoming campaign at the Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia Sept. 23 in Hayesville. Pictured are (from) Dixie Shaw of Catholic Charities Maine, Nicholas Haskell of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, Netta McFaddin of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, Jane Stenson of Catholic Charities USA, and Joseph Purello of Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
There are numerous ways to participate in this campaign, especially remembering migrants and refugees in prayer in a special, more focused way Oct. 7-13.
Go to www.sharejourney.org to learn more, including ideas on how to implement the campaign in your personal and family life and in your parish, and find prayer resources and statements by campaign organizers.
Resources are available in English and Spanish.
— Photo provided by Joe Purello
Share the Journey campaign urges Catholics to connect with migrants
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A prayer here, a share on social media there, a voice of support in a letter to the editor, even a get-to-know-others potluck.
Supporting refugees and migrants can take many forms, and Pope Francis is hoping Catholics around the world will act over the next two years to encounter people on the move.
In the U.S., the church's leading organizations have developed a series of activities, including prayers, that families, parishes, schools and individuals can undertake during the Share the Journey campaign the pope is set to open Sept. 27 at the Vatican.
Share the Journey is an initiative of Caritas Internationalis, the global network of Catholic chari-table agencies. It is meant to urge Catholics to understand and get to know refugees and mi-grants who have fled poverty, hunger, violence, persecution and the effects of climate change in their homeland.
In addition to Pope Francis' formal announcement at his weekly general audience, key church representatives, including Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila, Philippines, president of Cari-tas Internationalis, were to conduct a media conference the same day.
U.S. partners in the effort are the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Migration and Refugee Services, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.
The effort will give Catholics the opportunity to learn and explore Catholic social teaching on refugees and migrants, said Joan Rosenhauer, executive vice president of U.S. operations for CRS.
"Catholic social teaching has clear messages of caring for strangers, the importance of hearing their stories and understanding their needs," she said.
Much of the effort will be focused on sharing stories about migrants and refugees, the struggles they face and why they chose to seek a better life elsewhere, said Kristin Witte, coordinator of domestic Catholic educational engagement at CRS, which is the U.S. bishops' overseas relief and development agency.
"The hope is that through the stories that are presented, the images presented, that people will be moved from their place of comfort to a place of encounter. That's what the church is calling us to. That's what the pope is calling us to," she said.
The campaign began across the U.S. with special Masses, prayer vigils and events involving local migrants and refugees. The Diocese of Venice, Florida, introduced a photo exhibition and slideshow highlighting the issue. A video about the adult child of migrant workers who now serves as program director for Catholic Charities Guadalupe Social Services in Immokalee, Flori-da, also debuted.
The coalition of Catholic organizations has developed a toolkit in English and Spanish that in-cludes prayers, suggestions for activities for families, prayer groups, classrooms and clergy, and utilizing social media with references to #sharejourney.
"We're giving people clear direct ideas, not just in their neighborhood but to mobilize communi-ties. To create an environment or an opportunity for action is critical especially at this time," Wit-te said.
Mark Priceman, communications for the bishops' Migration and Refugee Services, said the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that about 22 million people are on the move around the world, making the Christian community's awareness and response to their situation critical.
The number of refugees to be admitted to the U.S. was capped at 50,000 by President Donald Trump for fiscal year 2017, which was to end Sept. 30. It is less than half of the ceiling of 110,000 set by President Barack Obama. A presidential determination on the number of refugees to be accepted for fiscal year 2018 was due by Sept. 30.
Since 1996, the number of refugees admitted has fluctuated between 70,000 and 90,000 annual-ly. The number of refugees to be accepted each year is determined by the president under the Refugee Act, which was signed into law in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. The act amended earlier law, created a permanent and systematic procedure to admit refugees, and established a process for reviewing and adjusting the refugee ceiling to meet emergencies.
Share the Journey looks to mobilize people quickly. Soon after the opening, the campaign is call-ing for a week of prayer and action for migrants and refugees Oct. 7-13.
Special prayers at Masses, prayer vigils, simulation exercises, school announcements, lesson plans and speaking events are among the activities suggested as ways to learn about people on the move.
Similar activities will be taking place worldwide throughout the campaign, Rosenhauer said.
"It is a reflection of the Holy Father's leadership, but it's also a reflection of the commitment of leaders around the church around the world," she explained.
Nearly three dozen cardinals, archbishops and bishops as of Sept. 25 have pledged to participate in the campaign, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami addressed the concepts of the Share the Journey cam-paign in an op-ed column Aug. 28 in the Sun Sentinel in Broward County, Florida.
"'Share the Journey' invites us to see through the eyes of others rather than turning a blind eye," he wrote. "As Pope Francis says, 'Not just to see but to look. Not just to hear but to listen. Not just to meet and pass by but to stop. And don't just say, 'What a shame, poor people,' but to al-low ourselves to be moved by pity.'"
The campaign will take advantage of specially designated days throughout the year to raise awareness, including the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12; Lent; the church's observance of National Migration Week in January; World Refugee Day June 20 and the September 2018 United Nations meeting to consider two global compacts on refugees and migration.
There also is an advocacy component to Share the Journey, Rosenhauer said, giving U.S. Catho-lics the opportunity to take what they learn about migrants and refugees and approach federal policymakers to better allocate international assistance to address the factors that cause people to flee.
Together with Catholics worldwide, the U.S. organizers said they hope the campaign will begin to ease the burdens under which migrants and refugees live.
"We're mobilizing the worldwide Catholic Church to serve," Witte said. "There are so many net-works that the Catholic Church already has that we can infuse an opportunity allow them to live their baptismal call and to stand up for the most vulnerable."
— Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service