GREENSBORO — Eight hundred supporters gathered Oct. 13 at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro to celebrate Room at the Inn of the Triad’s 17th annual banquet, raising a record-breaking $150,000 in sponsorships and donations to support the charity for women in need in the Triad area.
Room at the Inn of the Triad provides mercy and refuge for homeless pregnant women with food, shelter, clothing, life skills education, health care and spiritual care. The maternity home provides transportation and helps women find work and get back into school. Over the past year, nine babies were born to women being served by the charity.
“Thank you for making Jesus’ mercy and presence real to our mothers and thank you for making Room at the Inn,” said Albert Hodges, president of Room at the Inn of the Triad. Sisters of the Mother of God of Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charlotte, Room at the Inn of the Triad staff and clergy, and the Knights of Columbus were all honored for their support over the past year.
“If the Knights of Columbus had been in Bethlehem years ago, Jesus would not have been born in a manger,” Hodges said in deep gratitude for the Knights of Columbus’ support.
But the greatest thanks of all was due to the mothers of Room at the Inn, he said. “They are my heroes.”
Volunteer awards were presented to special supporters. The Kirk Church was the recipient of the James and Elizabeth Hedgecock Volunteer Award. The Father Conrad Kimbrough Pro-Life Leadership Award was given to three people: Jim Hoyng, Paul Klosterman and Diane Rzewnicki. St. Leo the Great Church in Winston-Salem and St. Pius X Church in Greensboro were among the top sponsors for this year’s banquet.
“I am so happy for this organization,” said Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza, who gave the keynote address. “Thank you for what you do and thank you for the support you are giving to this organization. It is so needed.”
“In my country,” she said, a mother garners the highest level of respect. And when a child is born, everyone brings a gift to “pay homage for the new person, the new member of the village.”
During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Ilibagiza hid in a tiny bathroom for 91 days in a pastor’s home with seven other women, while most of her family and neighbors were murdered. Despite losing everything and everyone she loved, prayer saved her life, she said. Ilibagiza recalled how she endured the fear and trauma by praying the rosary, sometimes 27 times a day.
Prayer sustained her, filling her with hope and faith, she said. God’s mercy, poured out on her through the kindness of others, propelled her forward and compelled her to live.
“I think of you guys as the pastor who took me in, as the woman who gave me a home to live in after the genocide,” she said.
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent
Pictured: Rwandan genocide survivor Immaculée Ilibagiza gave the keynote address at Room at the Inn of the Triad’s 17th annual banquet, which a record-breaking $150,000 in donations and sponsorships, for the charity which assists homeless pregnant women in the Triad. (Georgianna Penn | Catholic News Herald)
ARDEN — Father Adrian Porras knew since he was in the 11th grade that God was calling him to the priesthood.
Born in El Paso, Texas, he moved to Greensboro with his family at the age of 8 when his father transferred jobs.
After graduating from Page High School, he attended Brevard College and then Belmont Abbey College in Belmont during which time he was confirmed by the third bishop of Charlotte, William G. Curlin. During his time in Belmont, he majored in theology.
Father Porras then attended seminary in Washington, D.C., Bishop Curlin’s former home, receiving his Master of Divinity from the Dominican House of Studies, which is directly across the street from the Catholic University of America. He desired to serve in a religious community at that time.
“I started out as a brother for the Marians of the Immaculate Conception,” Father Porras says. “I was with the order for six years, then decided that I was being called to the diocesan priesthood.”
He served as a transitional deacon at St. Mark Church in Huntersville before his ordination to the priesthood for the Diocese of Charlotte by Bishop Curlin in December 2001 at St. Patrick Cathedral
Over the past 15 years Father Porras has served as parochial vicar of Holy Family Church in Clemmons, and pastor of St. Andrew Church in Mars Hill and Sacred Heart Mission in Burnsville. He is now pastor of St. Barnabas Church in Arden, where he has served since 2008.
“What I enjoy most about my priestly ministry is the privilege of offering the Holy Mass,” Father Porras says.
“That is the essential role of the priest. The many wonderful people that I have gotten to know for the past 15 years has also been a blessing. Ministering to them and being a part of their lives has really enhanced my ministry as a priest in many ways.”
Father Porras explains that being a pastor obviously means being a leader. “This is a role not to be taken lightly. What I take to heart is what we hear in 1 Peter 5:1-4:
‘So I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and one who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, (overseeing) not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you, but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.’”
He says he appreciates having had the opportunity to serve in different parish settings. “I grew up in a big suburban parish, Our Lady of Grace Church (in Greensboro), so I am used to that size of parish. I also served for four years in Mars Hill, which is in Madison County, a mainly rural setting.”
Father Porras advises young men discerning a call to the priesthood to maintain a strong personal prayer life. He offers some words of wisdom for them and for those newly ordained:
“In parish ministry, love the Mass and celebrate it with reverence, be available to the people you serve and practice what you preach. A devotion to our Blessed Mother always helps, and some wise words from a cardinal have always brought me some needed perspective: ‘Take God seriously, take your vocation seriously, but do not take yourself too seriously.’”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — St. Patrick Cathedral and St. Peter Church are each planning Advent retreats geared for young adults in December.
At St. Patrick Cathedral, young adults are invited to an evening of prayer, praise and fellowship entitled “Build Bethlehem: Preparing room in the ‘Inn of our hearts’,” on Thursday, Dec. 1. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a mission talk by Father Richard Sutter, parochial vicar. St. Patrick Cathedral is located at 1621 Dilworth Road East.
St. Peter Church will offer an Ignatian Spirituality Advent Retreat for young adults (aged 20-30) entitled “Awakened ... Surrendered, Hope in Troubled Times” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Biss Hall (below the church, located at 507 S. Tryon St.)
The program will include a scriptural reflection, contemplative prayer, private meditation and fellowship. The retreat will also be held for adults of all ages from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 3. Go online to www.stpeterscatholic.org for details and registration information.
— Catholic News Herald
St. Vincent de Paul Church celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12.
Parishioners participated in an outdoor procession followed by Mass, celebrated by Father Mark Lawlor, pastor, and Father Casey Coleman, parochial vicar, and assisted by Deacon Ruben Tamayo.
— Photos by John Cosmas, Catholic News Herald
Hundreds of faithful participated in Our Lady of Guadalupe festivities at St. Mark Church in Huntersville Dec. 12.
— Photos and video provided by Amy Burger
An Our Lady of Guadalupe reenactment was held at St. Joseph Church in Newton.
— Photos provided by Kara Thorpe
Youth at Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
— Photos provided by Jose Alfredo Blanco
Parishioners of Divine Redeemer Church in Boonville participated in the “Guadalupan Race,” an early morning, 26-mile trek from Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy to Boonville. The race took four hours, and ended at midnight. A celebration for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe followed Dec. 12, including Mass, a drama about the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego, and a "Festival Mariano" with traditional Mexican dances, music and food.
— Photos by Sergio Lopez, Catholic News Herald
St. Philip the Apostle Church in Statesville celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
— Photos provided by Connie Ries
More than 900 people attended the celebration for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Therese Church Dec. 12.
— Photos provided by Jesuit Father Vince Curtin and Lisa Cash
Our Lady Guadalupe celebrations at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Winston-Salem
— Photos provided by Lynn Cabrera
CHARLOTTE — Bishop Emeritus William G. Curlin, the third bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, was honored by Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte with the Fruit of the Vine Award Nov. 18 at the 14th Annual Vineyard of Hope fund-raising banquet.
Bishop Curlin’s work serving the poor stretches back decades to when he was assigned as a pastor to an impoverished parish in Washington, D.C. He also collaborated with his friend, St. Teresa of Calcutta, over the course of 30 years before her death in 1997.
The Fruit of the Vine Award was presented to Bishop Curlin by Diane Yarborough, Catholic Charities’ advisory board chairwoman, in acknowledgement of his unswerving commitment to the poor. In particular, he was recognized for his efforts in establishing a burial assistance program for the poor in the city of Charlotte. Working with city officials, he created a first-of-its-kind program in Mecklenburg County.
Last year, 113 families were assisted in burying their loved ones thanks to the burial assistance program.
“Imagine that, someone dying who is poor, and there is no one there to bury them. To me, that was tragic,” Bishop Curlin said in a video interview created especially for the Vineyard of Hope event.
The presentation video featured the Transition Out of Poverty program, established this year in the Charlotte office. Influenced by Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year of Mercy message, the program was established to transform lives through case management assistance, offering support in the areas of education, finance management, health care and employment. More than 40 clients are currently being served by the Transition Out of Poverty program.
The video also featured several Transition Out of Poverty client situations where a serious health issue caused complete disarray, leaving a person without hope or direction. Catholic Charities works to be an agency where people can turn for hope, guidance and a chance a rebuild their lives.
“Our hopes are to lower poverty in the community and transform the lives of those impacted by generational poverty,” Yarborough said. “Of the 100 largest cities in the country, Charlotte ranks one of the lowest in terms of people successfully breaking the cycle of poverty.”
The 14th Annual Vineyard of Hope hosted more than 200 attendees to help raise $150,000 for Catholic Charities programs in Charlotte.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter. Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte contributed.