BodnerGREENSBORO — St. Benedict Church is receiving much needed exterior repairs thanks to an estate gift from longtime parishioner Dr. William Raymond Bodner Jr., who passed away at age 81 in 2019.
Bodner and his wife Anne, who passed away in 2017, moved to Greensboro in 1973. A psychiatrist, Bodner had his own medical practice and also worked with veterans at the Veterans Affairs hospitals in both Winston-Salem and New Bern.
In total, he and his wife left $130,000 to St. Benedict Parish: a $65,000 estate gift to be used for general purposes and a $65,000 endowment, which will continue to earn income over time to provide for parish needs.
Kim Garcia, a member of the parish’s finance council, said the parish is using funds from the estate gift to help restore the church’s exterior.
“We began the restoration several years ago, but the pandemic put it on hold and the craftsman we had on the project retired. The church was built in 1899 and the mortar had begun to break down, so we are using funds to replace the mortar. It is a very specialized craft and technique,” Garcia noted.
She says the funds from the Bodners meant the parish did not have to dip into its savings to finish the project.
“Our current plan for the Bodner Endowment Fund is to let it grow, so in the future when there may be a need, that will again be a tribute (to the family),” she explained. “We’re very grateful. It’s so inspiring when people leave something to a charity that they care about.”
Jim Kelley, diocesan development director, noted, “We are so grateful that so many are leaving gifts to the Church in their estate plans. These gifts will go into endowments for parishes and other entities that will help provide financial security for the work of the Church for generations to come.”
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up an endowment or adding to an existing endowment at your parish or Catholic school? Establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will; a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan; a gift of real estate; a gift of life insurance, cash or securities sufficient to set up an endowment; or a life income arrangement, such as a trust or annuity.
For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
Celebrating Natural Family Planning Week
From July 24 to July 30, the Diocese of Charlotte will join dioceses across the United States in celebrating Natural Family Planning Awareness Week.
“Called to the joy of love” is the theme of this year’s campaign. It is organized each year by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to celebrate married love and promote awareness of Natural Family Planning methods. The dates coincide with the anniversary of
“Humanae vitae” (July 25) as well as the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Natural Family Planning methods, which represent a healthy, safe and moral alternative to artificial contraception, are growing in popularity in Catholic and non-Catholic circles alike.
The Church supports NFP methods because they respect God’s design for marriage and procreation while assisting couples to either pursue or avoid pregnancy when there is a just reason to do so. Natural Family Planning methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. No drugs, devices or surgical procedures are necessary to avoid pregnancy.
The practice of NFP protects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life. The method is grounded in an outlook that values openness to life within marriage and recognizes a child as a gift.
By respecting the connection between the love-giving and life-giving aspects of sexual union, NFP also helps to enrich the bond between husband and wife by providing them with the skills to live in harmony with God’s divine plan for marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.
Batrice Adcock, MSN, serves as the diocese’s Natural Family Planning program director. Adcock said the major initiatives of the program currently are to increase the number of bilingual instructors and to increase outreach to young women and girls with their mothers.
Tracking the menstrual cycle, as is done with NFP methods, can be valuable for any cycling woman as a tool for optimizing health and well-being, Adcock said. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage tracking the menstrual cycle as a vital sign, but paradoxically, many women are put on the pill by their doctors to manage negative symptoms.
“Rather than ‘treating’ symptoms such as acne or migraines by suppressing ovulation with the pill, women are looking to restore normal hormone balance and health,” Adcock said. “Even though this approach requires more education and discipline, women are willing, to protect their future fertility and address the root cause of their health issue.”
Adcock said it is crucial that teens get educated on the importance of their cycles for their overall health.
“Ovulation impacts bone growth and brain development, the cardiovascular system, and overall well-being. The answer to menstrual problems is not suppressing ovulation with the pill and its inherent risks of decreased bone density, depression and stroke,” she said.
“Teens and pre-teens are encouraged to track their cycles as well. A young woman can use cycle tracking to assess the impact her lifestyle choices have on her health. She grows immensely in self-awareness – coming to understand, with time, how her hormones impact her energy, emotions and behavior,” she added.
One way the diocese is educating teens focuses on a method of Natural Family Planning called FEMM (Fertility Education and Medical Management), which can be practiced with the aid of a free app. Several instructors around the diocese, English- and Spanish-speaking, offer instruction in FEMM and other NFP methods.
In the Charlotte diocese, several teenFEMM retreats have been offered with success. The NFP Program has plans to launch a similar program for younger girls with their mothers, called CyclePrep.
“Parents and their daughters are learning the basics of the menstrual cycle, in the context of Church teaching on feminine dignity,” Adcock said.
Learn more
Get information from the diocese’s Family Life Office about NFP, in English and Spanish, online at www.charlottediocese.org/office-of-family-life. Included is a registration form for learning NFP in person or online, an instructor directory, related Church teaching, supportive health professionals and more.
For questions, contact Batrice Adcock, MSN, Natural Family Planning program director, at 704-370-3230 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..