MONROE — Our Lady of Lourdes Church has added a new approach to adult education. “You can call it a mini-retreat. You can call it adult ed. You can call it Catechism classes. You can call it whatever you want,” but the Saturday - Days of Reflection are becoming a hit at the growing parish in Monroe.
“The issue often encountered with the ‘usual’ Tuesday night mini-series (available at most churches),” says Father Benjamin Roberts, pastor, “is the first session has a decent turnout. The second, maybe a couple of people do not make it. By the end of the sixth meeting, the crowd dissipates and there is about a third of the people left.
“A six-hour Saturday reflection is a more practical approach for both parishioners and staff. Instead of taking six separate days over the course six weeks, we can get everything done on one Saturday.”
“The idea for the one day reflections occurred to me when we had Virginia Lieto (a public speaker who attends St. James Church) come give her ‘Living a Virtuous Life’ Retreat. We had a great response. The model of the one-day event worked well. I did the first of our days of reflection a few months after,” Father Roberts explains.
Each day of reflection is designed to make the most of people’s time, and each program is carefully planned. To minimize costs, Father Roberts teaches most of the classes, enabling the parish’s secretary Becky Wright to afford to provide participants breakfast, lunch and dessert. This way, the parish does not have to take up a collection to underwrite the programs, Wright notes.
Wright said she enjoys serving bagels and chicken salad croissants to fellow parishioners, but she finds the lessons just as filling. “Father Benjamin gets excited to teach because he wants to challenge us to expand our holiness. Ultimately, Father’s goal is to get us closer to God. These classes push us to take that leap of faith. It is awesome to know that God is right there with us.”
Reflection attendee Christine Aguirre says, “This is the third reflection I have attended. They are fun and very informative. I enjoy learning all about Catholicism because there are so many things I still do not know, even though I have been Catholic all my life. I work full time. When I get off, all I want to do is change into something comfortable and stay home. One Saturday, every quarter, is perfect. I wouldn’t be able to attend otherwise.”
Having a pastor as the teacher has other benefits as well. Explains Aguirre, “I like getting to know Father Benjamin. He gives such clarification on the topics and he is very personable. The last reflection day was about Mass. I had many questions but never had the proper occasion to ask. This is a very intimate setting. I feel comfortable here.”
The most recent class, “Recognizing God’s Presence,” ran from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 26 with a break at 10, and lunch at noon. Father Roberts filled the day in the roles of teacher, storyteller, comedian and philosopher. The crowd giggled when he called Moses “the first basket case.” Interest grew when he revealed Catholic tidbits such as “St. Peter is buried under the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Adorning his burial is an upside-down cross symbolizing his crucifixion. His bones indicate that his feet were cut off.”
The overall message of the day focused on seeking God’s presence in one’s life. Father Roberts demonstrated the five-step process for recognizing God’s presence, describing the personal journey of his maternal grandmother’s death.
At the end of the program, he asked the crowd, “Does this help you? Did you learn anything from this process? Could you use this in your own life?”
Participants nodded with and responded positively. Then a hand quietly rose, and the person said, “This helped me see that God really does love me. All this time, all these hard trials, all along, it was actually part of some plan.”
— Lisa Geraci, correspondent
CHARLOTTE — This summer refugee children received free dental exams and sealants as part of a partnership with the N.C. Oral Health Division of Public Health.
This was the first year that Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Office partnered with the state to provide these free services to refugee children during the refugee youth summer camp held in July, said Kailey Otten, program director for Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte.
More than $7,500 in dental work was performed, including exams for 11 children and 117 sealed teeth, according to Prissy Helms, a public health dental hygienist. All campers also received toothbrushes, floss, toothbrush covers, sunglasses and bookbags.
The summer camp is for children who recently arrived to the United States to help them learn English and classroom etiquette, Otten said. This year’s camp had students ranging in age from 7 to 14.
“It’s a great program,” Otten said. “They explained everything to the kids and had information translated to the different languages for them to bring home for the parents to consent.
“They brought everything to perform the exams. They were wonderful with the children. They made it really easy on them.”
Most of the children had been to a dentist before after arriving in this country, but they may not have a family dentist to see for routine care, Otten said.
This was the first year the refugee office partnered with the state to provide these free exams, Otten said. Participation was open to refugee families as well and they hope if they can continue this program, there will be a higher participation next year.
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter
HAYESVILLE — Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, in partnership with Hayesville First United Methodist Church, will explore the topic of food insecurity in the far western rural counties of North Carolina Saturday, Sept. 23, at the 8th annual Bishop Begley Conference on Appalachia.
Attendees will learn about the scope of this social concern and how food insecurity manifests itself in rural areas. Presenters will address food insecurity through the lenses of rural practitioners. Attendees will also learn how rural areas in general, and certain western North Carolina non-profit organizations in particular, are marshaling resources to address this problem.
There will be a special panel session highlighting how recipients of this year’s Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte Growing Opportunities Grants are fighting food insecurity and providing resources that make a real difference for individuals, families and communities. This is the 16th year that Growing Opportunities Grants have been awarded in the far western region of the diocese.
The conference will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Hayesville First United Methodist Church, which is located at 989 U.S. 64 Bus., Hayesville.
A $15 fee covers lunch and refreshments. Go to www.ccdoc.org/fwnc for a schedule and registration form. Questions? Contact Joe Purello at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 704-370-3225.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter
DEEP GAP — With its sixth season drawn to a close, the campers of Kids with Autism Making Progress in Nature (KAMPN) at Camp Cogger have all headed home.
Located in Deep Gap, near Boone, the free summer camp is owned and run by Dr. Jim Taylor and his wife Sue along with Program Coordinator Kelsey Trevethan. Additional help comes from students at nearby Appalachian State University and other schools in the area.
Like most summer camps it includes fishing, hiking, berry picking, scavenger hunts, nature walks and campfires. But what sets Camp Cogger apart is it includes both children with autism as well as their families.
While the 2017 camp season has ended, fundraising for the planned KAMPN LIFE (Living Innovations for the Exceptional) Village continues.
The idea for a sustainable, residential community for adults with autism had been in Taylor’s mind for a number of years but it wasn’t until he met Candace Lang one summer that the idea became an actual project.
Lang’s daughter Erin was born with cerebral palsy and later diagnosed with autism. As her daughter grew older, Lang and husband, Rich, worried about who would care for her when they no longer could. Options in the area were limited.
“After the age of 21, services offered by the school system end,” Lang said. “All of the support staff that has been with our children since preschool are gone, leaving many families with little to no support.”
Lang crossed paths with Taylor in July 2014 after hearing about the success of Camp Cogger. After sharing her vision of an intentional community with Taylor, they agreed they were of the same mind and started the LIFE initiative.
In June 2016, Lang moved to Boone to work with Taylor on the project. In September she was hired as development director and together with Melissa Shore, a KAMPN Board member and mom of two boys on the autism spectrum, developed a business plan, designed a website, launched social media efforts and started grant writing. There are now three committees: Fundraising, Land Acquisition and Compliance.
“In the next 15 years, 500,000 children on the autism spectrum will be entering adulthood with few housing options,” Lang explains. “Where will these individuals live when their aging parents can no longer care for them?”
“As modern medicine and advances in education have allowed for our exceptional members of society to live longer lives, we must begin to plan for what happens when adults with disabilities enter adulthood,” Taylor adds.
Dr. Taylor is a 4th degree Knights of Columbus at St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country in Boone. Camp Cogger was named after another 4th degree Knight, the late Frank Cogger, He was a very dedicated and widely respected Knight in Conover.
Taylor has worked with children with disabilities and their families since 1964. Over the years the Knights have supported him in numerous programs in which he has been involved, even helping to build a playground on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands where he was on sabbatical leave from East Carolina University.
This coming April, National Autism Month, plans are being developed to have several cycling events, called “Cycling4LIFE,” conducted in several cities in western North Carolina. The Knights have expressed an interest in helping Taylor again and he plans to use future proceeds to help build the first residence at the LIFE Village. He is considering naming it “Knight’s Manor.”
While Camp Cogger is a summer program, LIFE Village will be a permanent residential community for adults who are on the autism spectrum or those with related disabilities who live in the North Carolina High Country. Like Camp Cogger, it will be a nonprofit.
Camp Cogger was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary on May 1, 2011, and was incorporated and received its 501c(3) status the same day. The law firm handling the legal paperwork said they had never seen that happen before as the process of becoming a nonprofit usually takes six months to a year, Taylor noted, adding, “Let’s pray for the same type of miracle for the LIFE Village.”
— Diana Patulak Ross, Correspondent
Get more info
For details about volunteering or donating to either Camp Cogger or LIFE Village, go to www.kampn4autism.appstate.edu/camp-cogger or www.thelifevillage.net, or check them out on Facebook at KAMPN4Autism or KAMPNLIFEVillage. You can also email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
CHARLOTTE — There are 131 priests – 87 diocesan clergy and 44 clergy from nine religious orders – serving the People of God in the Diocese of Charlotte. When it comes time for them to retire, the diocese wants to ensure they are taken care of since we have been blessed by their service through the years.
Bishop Peter Jugis, who shepherds the 92 churches and missions in the diocese, is asking the faithful to respond generously and with grateful hearts to the needs of the priests who faithfully serve us by contributing to the second collection Sept. 16-17 that will be taken up in all parishes.
“With the annual collection to fund the priests’ retirement and benefits plans, we financially sustain these men who give their lives to preach the Gospel and teach the Catholic faith; to lead God’s people in love; and to celebrate the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, in 92 parishes and missions throughout western North Carolina,” Bishop Jugis stated in a message to all parishioners.
He also points out that “even through the years of their retirement, these priests will continue to serve the people of our diocese. They will visit the sick in nursing homes and hospitals. They will go to our prisons, where they will counsel the inmates.
“Retired priests pray daily for the people of the diocese, offer Mass for the intentions of parishioners, and give of their time and talent to help with weekend Masses and confessions in parishes throughout the diocese.”
The diocese’s goal for the 2017 collection for the priests’ retirement and benefits plan is $1,823,000. Each parish is assessed 3.5% of their annual offertory to support the priests’ retirement and benefits plans. This second collection defrays the amount that the parishes pay from their operating budgets.
Contributions from this collection will be added to pension plans for all active priests currently serving in our diocese, as well as the health benefits plan for active diocesan priests when they retire. For every dollar contributed, 55 cents goes to the Diocese of Charlotte Priests Pension Plan; 29 cents goes to the Diocese of Charlotte Retired Clergy Health Plan; 13 cents goes to pension contributions for religious order priests; and 3 cents goes to campaign costs.
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter