GREENSBORO — The Greensboro Area Council of Catholic Women recently held its annual Lenten Day of Reflection at St. Pius X Church. Karen Dyer, Ph.D., a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Church, led the retreat. Dyer has worked in faith formation for many years, was the group director of education and the profit sector for the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro and is a member of the diocesan school board.
Dyer’s presentation, “Discerning Your Gifts or Charisms,” took each participant through a series of questions requiring the women to reflect on their life experiences until now. The questions were designed to winnow away much of the baggage that can surround a person’s perceived gifts to reveal the actual, lived gifts that each person has been given, she noted.
Once this inventory was completed, the answers were scored to reveal charisms. The women were encouraged to refer to Scripture and along with the results of the inventory, asked to reflect on what they learned to help them in identifying and using their gifts for the Church.
Shirley Kinlaw, president of the Greensboro Area Council of Catholic Women, found Dyer’s assessment method extremely valuable. “Some of mine (in terms of charisms) were administration, leadership, giving, faith and mercy,” she said.
The program gave everyone a lot to think about, Kinlaw added, and a lot of areas for reflection during the remaining days of Lent – all with the aim of better understanding how people can most effectively use the gifts God has given them.
After the event, the feedback Kinlaw and Dyer received from the council members was extremely positive. Members appreciated not just the personal insights themselves but also the future merit the member parishes will enjoy from their ability to use their gifts more effectively for the good of the Church.
The Greensboro Area Council of Catholic Women was founded in 1971 by Agnes Hughes, who is still an active member.
At a time when Catholic women often felt isolated from each other, Hughes wanted to bring Catholic women together for fellowship and find ways to serve their community. Some 40 years later, the council’s mission remains the same.
The members hold raffles and events throughout the year that enable them to donate to various organizations. The council also hosts a memorial Mass in November, a potluck lunch with a speaker, a Lenten retreat with a speaker, and other events throughout the year. Membership is open to any practicing Catholic woman, and annual dues are $15.
Their next event, a May 23 spring luncheon, will feature local Catholic author and speaker Virginia Lieto. For details, email Shirley Kinlaw at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Annette K. Tenny, correspondent
FOREST CITY — Parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church, led by Father Herbert Burke, pastor, and Deacon Andy Cilone, pray the Stations of the Cross on a recent Friday in Lent.
The Stations of the Cross are found in Catholic churches as a series of 14 small icons or images, either inside or outside. The stations are most commonly prayed during Lent on Wednesdays and Fridays, and especially on Good Friday, the day when the events of Jesus’ Passion took place.
Everyone is encouraged to pray the Stations of the Cross as part of their Lenten observance:
At www.charlottediocese.org: Find a parish near you, including links to their websites to view their complete schedules for Lent
At www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php: Pray the Stations of the Cross online using a guided multimedia presentation featuring scenes from Jerusalem
— Giuliana Polinari Riley | Catholic News Herald
CHARLOTTE — To welcome the Lunar New Year, the Têt Festival at St. Joseph Vietnamese Church Feb. 16-18 featured the presence of guest artists from the West Coast, the presentation of a spectacular lion dance by the parish’s Hidden Dragon Lion Dance team, live music, games and activities for the whole family, as well as more than 90 delicious traditional Vietnamese dishes prepared by parishioners.
Father Tri Vinh Truong, pastor, noted, “For us, the New Year is a fresh start with blessings that await us. That is why they celebrate it with many elements, but above all with food – lots of food – which is a sign of the blessings for the coming year.”
On the lunar zodiac calendar, 2018 is the Year of the Dog.
—Photos by John Cosmas, correspondent
BELMONT — A pledge drive to help Carolina Catholic Radio Network launch two Triad-area radio stations kicked off on Ash Wednesday.
The two new stations, part of five total new stations planned to cover 90 percent of the Catholics in the diocese, would provide Catholic radio programming to Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and extend from Mocksville to Burlington, Eden to Asheboro and Pilot Mountain to Lexington, said David Papandrea, who serves as a “media missionary” for EWTN in the area. The estimated population in the listening area is over 1 million.
The CCRN has an agreement in principle to lease two Piedmont Triad-area radio stations from 2018 to 2019 with a cost of $72,000 annually. It would cost an additional $48,000 for local programming and operations.
For the “highway to heaven” to start broadcasting EWTN and local Catholic programing, the CCRN needs financial support. Papandrea said they would need about pledge support of $10,000 monthly to launch and operate the Triad area stations. He hopes to raise this money through customized ad campaigns from businesses, Knights of Columbus councils and individual donations.
The fundraising campaign kicked off on Ash Wednesday, with hope to raise annual pledges of $300,000 total to green-light all five stations. Those include two additional stations planned in Charlotte, one alone I-85/485 and another along I-77 and I-40, and a third in Asheville.
The CCRN was created last year and the network has one station on the air: Belmont Abbey College’s WBAC-LPFM 101.5. The test station in Salisbury was on the air for nearly six months. It went dark in the fall.
Donations can be made online at www.CarolinaCatholicRadio.org or by mail to Carolina Catholic Radio Network, P.O. Box 1148, Clemmons, NC 27012-1148.
For details, contact David Papandrea at 704-880-0260 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter
CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Catholic Chorale, a performing group known for singing at Latin Masses, has released its first CD: “Masses of Caldara, Mozart and more.”
Carolina Catholic Chorale was founded five years ago by Thomas Savoy, director of sacred music and liturgical events at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte. There’s about 25 singers in the Chorale on the recording.
The recording features two full Masses – the “Mass in A” of Antonio Caldara and the “Piccolomini Mass” (K. 258) of W.A. Mozart – as well as three other shorter works by Mozart and Johann Michael Haydn.
“It’s a work of unsurpassed beauty,” said Savoy, who is also the artistic director of the Chorale. “This is a landmark presentation in that it includes what we believe is the world premiere recording of the ‘Mass in A’ of Antonio Caldara; a work not heard for over 250 years. The Chorale, soloists and orchestra have never sounded better.”
The CD, released last fall, is now also available to download on iTunes and stream on Spotify. It includes 15 total tracks.
“The people in the group are great singers, they’re wonderful people and they’re tremendously excited about this and its success. It’s been received very well,” Savoy said.
The CD was recorded at St. Ann Church in Charlotte.
“It’s a beautiful place, not only to look at but also to make music in. It’s really superb acoustically,” Savoy noted.
The CD is compilation of songs the Chorale would ordinarily sing in the context of traditional Latin Masses, Savoy said. The group is often asked for recordings of its music and until now had nothing to offer, Savoy said. That’s one of the reasons the Chorale wanted to record a CD.
“Part of the mission of the group is to acquaint people with the tradition of their faith,” Savoy said. “It’s not just a musical performance. When you put it inside the liturgy, it’s faith and art joined together. It’s very, very powerful. We find that our work evangelizes people. Music is sort of the ‘gateway drug’ to things that are much more profound than even the music.”
Savoy produced a CD for a similar group he had founded in New York some years ago. He took his experience there and applied it to the Charlotte group’s efforts.
“You learn a lot by doing it. A lot of the mistakes you make, you try not to make them a second time,” Savoy said. “You more or less learn how to pull resources and use time most efficiently, when to let go, and when to take a second take. It was a world of difference this time around.”
Now that the first CD is under its belt, Savoy said, the Chorale is already looking at what the next recording project could be. He said there are a lot of gems from Catholic composers that would be great to share with the world.
“We’re not necessarily a recording group, nor do we necessarily do concerts,” Savoy said, but, he added, “I think it’s important to bring to light things people haven’t heard before.”
The Chorale welcomes interested musicians to audition. The group runs on donations, and any proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit the Chorale.
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter
More online
At www.carolinacatholicchorale.com: Order the CD “Masses of Caldara, Mozart and more” for $15, including shipping, and learn more about the Chorale
Purchase all 15 tracks on iTunes for $9.99 and stream it on Spotify.