‘It touches at the heart of the Gospel, welcoming the stranger.’
‘It touches at the heart of the Gospel, welcoming the stranger.’CHARLOTTE — St. Gabriel parishioners, heeding the plea from Pope Francis for parishes to shelter refugees, have responded to the call to assist a family fleeing ethnic and religious persecution.
Last March parishioners, in partnership with Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte, welcomed a family of four from Myanmar – the first refugees to be served by the new Refugee Resettlement Ministry at the Charlotte parish.
The Khai family – father Gin Sian, 28, mother Cing Pi, 27, son Joshua, 3, and daughter Zo Nu, 2 – belong to the Chin minority ethnic group from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The Chin people have suffered widespread and ongoing ethnic and religious persecution since the overthrow of the democratically elected government in 1962. The family entered the U.S. after spending several years in Malaysia awaiting United Nations refugee status and U.S. entry approval.
St. Gabriel’s Refugee Resettlement Ministry is comprised of 20 volunteers who began planning to welcome the Khai family last January. The Homemakers of Mercy Ministry (a partnership between St. Gabriel and St. Matthew churches) helped by providing household goods for their first apartment – including silverware, lamps, towels and furniture.
Refugee Resettlement Ministry volunteers set up the apartment, stocked the refrigerator and pantry, and welcomed the family at the airport when they arrived. Since then, volunteers have provided English tutoring, taken the family on outings to Discovery Place and parks, and assisted with basic household management (paying bills, helping with doctor appointments, driving, purchasing bus passes for Khai and Cing Pi to attend ESL classes), and provided the family with essential items not covered by government assistance.
Besides group dinners, the Refugee Resettlement Ministry hosted birthday parties for Joshua and Zo Nu, set up a Christmas tree, and organized play dates and basic language lessons. Most importantly, the Refugee Resettlement Ministry provides a support system and friendship network to the Khai family as they adjust to living in their new home.
“In nine months, this young family of four has made tremendous progress in assimilating to their new home,” said Karen Brown, volunteer coordinator at St. Gabriel Church. “The father of this family (now) has full-time employment and recently got his driver’s permit.”
Speaking through a translator provided by Catholic Charities Office of Refugee Resettlement, Khai and Cing Pi expressed their gratitude for everyone’s efforts in welcoming them and shared that they felt that “the furnishing of the apartment was excellent.”
“We are very happy to be here because we have freedom,” Khai said. “We believe we will be successful because we have a lot of opportunities, especially the well-established system of the government, good education, etc.”
Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor, said the Refugee Resettlement Ministry continues the longtime commitment people in the Charlotte diocese have had to welcoming refugees.
“I was introduced to this ministry on my arrival in 1975 when Catholic Charities was working with Vietnamese refugees.
“It touches at the heart of the Gospel – welcoming the stranger. It attracts many hands and hearts who find joy in providing every imaginable need and blesses those who give and receive,” Father O’Rourke said.
For more information about the Refugee Resettlement Ministry at St. Gabriel Church or volunteering with Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Office, go to www.stgabrielchurch.org/RRM, or contact its leaders, Tammy Greyshock at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Marilee DeVillers at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, Senior Reporter; Karen Brown contributed.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Deacon Daren Bitter (at left), of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, was invested into the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre during a special ceremony at Mass Oct. 29 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Deacon Bitter is the first ordained deacon of the Diocese of Charlotte to receive this honor. He was the only person in the diocese to be invested this year.
Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore (above at center) and Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali were among the clergy who concelebrated the investiture Mass.
“For me, it’s about making a difference. Although I am not there physically (in the Holy Land), to be associated with an organization which collectively is doing that, making a difference, calling attention to the plight of Christians there, that is important,” Deacon Bitter said.
The Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre are tasked with providing material and spiritual support to the Latin rite Catholic Church in the Holy Land.
There are currently 33,000 members of the order in 40 nations worldwide. Members are required to travel regularly on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, bringing moral support to the Christians of the region.
They provide aid to the Latin Patriarchate, which consists of 68 parishes, 44 schools and 90,000 faithful in Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus. The global amount of aid annually sent to the Holy Land is more than $10 million.
— Photo Provided by Matt Barrick, Barrick Photography
BELMONT — Deacon John “Zeke” Panzica has been assigned to Queen of the Apostles Church in Belmont by Bishop Peter J. Jugis, effective Nov. 28.
Deacon Panzica and his wife recently located to the Charlotte area from the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York. He was ordained May 18, 2013.
CHARLOTTE — Hundreds of people singing the joyful strains of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" helped ring in Christmas during midnight Mass Dec. 25 at St. Patrick Cathedral.
The cathedral was filled with parishioners of all ages for the midnight liturgy, which was celebrated by Bishop Peter Jugis.
In his homily, Bishop Jugis reminded those gathered that God "wants to draw us into the circle of His salvation and His love," and he encouraged them to draw close to God through the infant Jesus this Christmas.
"Throughout all of salvation history, He has been reaching out to us trying to draw us closer to Himself, and in Bethlehem He accomplished that in a most powerful way," Bishop Jugis said.
God, who created us and knows our weaknesses and our deepest longings of the heart, came to us in the form of an infant so that we would be able to love Him more easily, he said.
"Just think of the genius of this! What do human beings really love?" Bishop Jugis continued. "He knows that we love babies. How can you not love a baby?"
Just then – as if on cue – a baby in the congregation began to laugh and coo, to everyone's delight.
"In order to draw us to Himself, and to draw us more closely to His love, He comes as an infant child. The Son of God comes as a little child – and we are naturally drawn to Him."
"How can you resist loving Him? How can you resist loving a baby, when the baby is God?
"The tenderness, the love and the affection that we have for the infant in the manger is ultimately tenderness, love and affection (we have) for the Son of God, Jesus."
Throughout His public ministry, Jesus continues to encourage us to draw near to God, reminding us of His love for us and calling us to repent of our sins. Jesus gives us His own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, He sends us the Holy Spirit, and He reminds us that He is with us until the end of time.
"How can we run away from that love, first demonstrated to us in the Child at Bethlehem?"
"Christmas is the feast of God's love – God coming to live with us, to save us, God coming towards us. And at Christmas, we are drawn to love God in return," he said.
God's love should transform us and move us to reconcile with others and let go of past grievances, Bishop Jugis said.
"God is calling you close to Himself again this Christmas through the love you have now for the infant Jesus. So spend some time looking into the eyes of that infant Child in the crib, and love Him. Because that is God's design for bringing you to experience His love," he said.
"May God bless all of you and your families this Christmas and keep all of you in His tender loving care," he prayed.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor. Photos by John Cosmas, correspondent.
CHARLOTTE — “It’s a marvelous gift.” That’s how Jeannie Wray describes the past 10 years she’s spent as executive director of MiraVia, a ministry devoted to helping women in crisis pregnancies.
Wray joined MiraVia (then called Room at the Inn) in 2006 at the invitation of former director Cindy Brown. The ministry needed a fundraiser and Wray, who was working at a museum at the time, was intrigued by the opportunity.
“I just happened to run into Cindy at a restaurant in Rock Hill. I happened to mention to Cindy that I was retiring in a year and if she knew of anyone who needed a good fundraiser to let me know. She said, ‘Well, I do! At least, we will in a year.’ So that’s where it started.”
Wray succeeded Brown as executive director in 2007.
In 2007, Wray led a capital campaign to build the first maternity home for college student mothers, a particularly vulnerable population that often feels they have to choose between their college educations or their unborn children.
The Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey agreed to lease MiraVia four acres needed for the ambitious project to help college-aged pregnant women to choose life and build independent, healthy lives for themselves and their children, without having to drop out of college.
“We could not have done that project without that gift,” Wray said.
Opened in 2012, the 10,000-square-foot maternity home next to Belmont Abbey College can house up to 15 young women with an unplanned pregnancy who want to complete their college education and care for their babies. To date, MiraVia has housed 13 mothers and 10 children on the campus of Belmont Abbey College, free of charge. And since its founding in 1994, MiraVia has helped nearly 7,000 women and their children.
Wray recalls some of her greatest challenges with MiraVia came during the fundraising, development and building of the MiraVia home.
“Navigating state requirements and working with architects was a huge undertaking,” she said. “We raised $2.3 million in basically a recession. We reached out to our supporters, who were wonderfully generous. There were a couple of donors who passed away and left us a gift in their wills.”
She is thankful for the community support, especially the Knights of Columbus, who raised $500,000, and the parishes across the diocese who made gifts to MiraVia.
“The Lord provided!” she exclaimed.
One of her fondest memories is of a Mass celebrated on the first Lent they were in the maternity home, in the small chapel at MiraVia. Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, chancellor of Belmont Abbey College, and some of MiraVia’s donors joined Wray, MiraVia staff and the young women and their babies to thank God for His blessing of the new facility.
“It was incredibly moving,” Wray recalled. “That was a wonderful experience. I will never forget that.”
Wray also remembers fondly the milestones the babies have achieved during their time in her care.
“I remember when each of the babies came home, their first steps…and the first time they called me by name,” she said with emotion welling up in her voice.
“I’m really proud of every one of our young women who completed their degrees,” she said. “They work hard to be good mothers. In the face of all of their difficulties, they understood the gift (of MiraVia) and worked hard to achieve their goals.”
She says she is a much stronger Catholic thanks to her work with the pro-life ministry. “I am much more prayerful. There is so much power in prayer! Every turn, every difficulty – our prayers have been answered. I know the Lord has an enormous army of angels watching over MiraVia. I feel so protected by the Divine here.”
Wray said she wants MiraVia’s success to inspire others.
“I hope it is a standard that others hope to achieve. I think it’s a ground-breaking program. I hope MiraVia inspires other places to find the resources to duplicate the program. I would like to see one next to every Catholic college in the country.”
People from more than six states have inquired about the program, she noted, and there has also been international interest.
Her plan is to remain with MiraVia through March, to help guide the next executive director and assist with the state re-licensing review that will take place in early 2017.
After she retires, Wray said, she plans to spend time with her family and do some gardening. “I’m going to sleep and go to daily Mass,” she laughed.
“I know people talk about ‘once in a lifetime experiences,’” Wray said. “I know with every step (in my life) that the Lord was preparing me to work with MiraVia to develop this program. It has been an honor to give back to the community.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter