‘30 days out: the re-entry simulation’
Pictured are Carmelia Stephens and Colin Patcha, a member of St. Peter Parish and a sophomore at Charlotte Catholic High School. (Photos provided by Jenny Cox)CHARLOTTE — Some 70 members of St. Peter Church and the larger community came together Aug. 27 to put themselves in the shoes of those formerly incarcerated.
They participated in “30 Days Out: The Re-entry Simulation,” a program sponsored by Re-entry Partners of Mecklenburg County that simulates the struggles faced by more than 20,000 people returning home from prison in North Carolina each year.
The project was one way the parish is contributing to the Diocese of Charlotte’s “50 Acts of Charity,” a yearlong initiative by the diocese’s parishes, schools and ministries to give back to the community while celebrating the diocese’s 50th anniversary in 2022. Acts of Charity have included corporal and spiritual works of mercy – everything from food and diaper drives to prayer and taking action in solidarity with the poor and others in need.
“As a Jesuit parish, one of our apostolic preferences is walking with the excluded,” said Joanna Patcha, a member of St. Peter’s Social Justice Ministry who helped organize the event. “The re-entry simulation provided just a glimpse into the struggles suffered by those formerly incarcerated, some of the most stigmatized in our society. We hope people walk away with more understanding, compassion and awareness of the need for change.”
Each participant was given an identity – complete with name, criminal background, family situation and life scenario. Some began with resources and family support. Others did not. All had to navigate one month post-release, broken up into four 15-minute segments. Tasks included getting identification from the DMV, finding a job, securing housing, managing childcare, buying food, going to the bank, meeting with a probation officer, seeking public assistance and other tasks that people just released from prison have to tackle.
Every station required a bus ticket before any service was provided, as many returning from prison do not have transportation. Some participants were given crying babies to carry. Others were provided with peer support specialists to guide them. Vague and confusing directions, limited time to complete tasks, and the warm 
Members of St. Peter Church who organized the event in collaboration with Re-entry Partners of Mecklenburg County are (from left) Carmen San Juan, Joanna Patcha, Kate Dennstaedt, Stephanie Fielder, Mary Stokes and Jenny Cox. temperature of the building (the air conditioning system broke, unplanned) made for a taste of the harsh reality many people experience as they start to rebuild their lives.
“What I felt today was emotional. I was uncomfortable, frustrated and even a little desperate,” said Major David Robinson of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, who joined Charlotte City Council member Reneé Johnson at the simulation. “I haven’t experienced that kind of struggle in my own life because of where I was born. The most important tool I carry every day is not anything on this belt, not my bulletproof vest, not my radio and certainly not my gun. It’s empathy.”
The two-hour event ended with a group debrief and a testimonial by Ebony Thomas, who served 10 years in prison and shared her experience of the struggle to return home.
“There’s way more to it than breaking the law. A felony follows you – 20 years later they still want to know and you have to check that box,” she said.
Thomas, who now owns V.M. Transportation Service and another company that hire those who have been in prison, said she never wants others to experience the rejection and depression she felt returning to society.
“I was denied a job and housing and was in a really depressed state. I never want anyone to experience what I did.”
Participants left with resources to learn more and take action in helping those returning to society.
— Jenny Cox
Ebony Thomas, who spent 10 years in prison, shares her personal story of struggle in returning home. She now owns two businesses that hire ex-felons and gives second chances.
Forest City parish holds 10th annual Cross-a-Thon and Eucharistic procession
FOREST CITY — Members of Immaculate Conception Parish trekked two miles through downtown Forest City Sept. 24 praying, carrying heavy crosses on their shoulders, and following the Blessed Sacrament – an annual devotion they have dubbed a “Cross-a-Thon.”
This year marked the Cross-a-Thon’s 10th anniversary. The event, which included a Eucharistic Procession, was sponsored by the local Knights of Columbus.
Immaculate Conception’s pastor, Father Herbert Burke, led the procession with the Blessed Sacrament.
This year, the event raised funds for St. Joseph College Seminary in Mount Holly, and several seminarians were in attendance to help lead the procession – carrying a massive, heavy lead cross. Father Matthew Buettner, spiritual director of the seminary, joined Father Burke in the procession, carrying the monstrance down Main Street in Forest City.
Meanwhile during the procession, the Lay Carmelites offered parishioners who were unable to walk the distance the opportunity to join in the experience spiritually by praying a Carmelite version of the Stations of the Cross, written by the cloistered Carmelite Nuns in Ravenna, Italy.
The prayers included quotes from Sister Mary of Saint Peter, and from St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face. In revelations to the Carmelite Sister Mary of Saint Peter, Jesus told her: “By offering My Face to My Eternal Father, nothing will be refused, and the conversion of many will be obtained.” Jesus also told her: “I can no longer remain in the midst of a people that will continue to be so heedless and so ungrateful. Look at the torrents of tears that stream from My eyes! Can I find no one to wipe away these tears by making reparation to My Father, and imploring forgiveness for the guilty?”
In honor of its 10th year, the Cross-a-Thon was dedicated for the conversion of souls and in reparation for sin, with a devotion to the Holy Face that included 24-hour adoration and a special Reparations Novena.
— Penny Watkins and Michael Daigle. Photos by Giuliana Polinari Riley
Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul renew vows, observe patronal feast day
Sisters Josna and Vinaya of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul teach preschoolers at De Paul Academy in High Point.HIGH POINT — Fueled by prayer and the sacraments, the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul pour themselves out for those in need in the Triad, cementing the bonds of God and community through their indefatigable charity.
From Mananthavady – a city in the Wayanad District in Kerala State, India – Sisters Christie Kunnel, Josna, Vinaya, Praveena, Agnes Maria and Elsa Tom now live at St. Vincent’s Convent in a rural area near the High Point city limits. They call Christ the King Church their home parish while serving other nearby Catholic churches and the wider community in multitudinous ways.
“We are so happy to be here,” says Sister Christie. “Serving Our Lord in this way brings us great joy.”
FILLING SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL NEEDS
The sisters prepare for and participate in liturgical services for the church by arranging flowers in the sanctuary, washing and ironing church linens, and singing in the choir. They also take Communion to those in the hospital and the homebound and teach religious education at three parishes.
One of their community outreach ministries is De Paul Academy, which prepares immigrant children for beginning school at the right age. Sisters Josna, Elsa Tom, Vinaya and Praveena are all licensed teachers at the five-star preschool.
Habtamu Workneh and his family came from Ethiopia. Each of his three children has thrived at De Paul Academy.
“When my daughter went there last January, she did not speak English. I was so afraid she would get confused. Later, when I took her for her entrance test for kindergarten, she did perfectly. She got a 100. I was so happy and surprised.”
Workneh’s twin sons now attend the school and love learning and playing games there. He says Sister Josna does a wonderful job of keeping him informed.
Workneh adds, “I asked my daughter what the difference was between her school in Ethiopia and the one here, and she said the sisters talk to her and treat her as a mother would. This has been a big relief for me.”
A BEAUTIFUL VOCATION
The current convent, which opened in 2011, is the mother house for the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in the U.S. and has the capacity to house 14 religious sisters. The sisters grow a variety of fruits on the 16-acre property, including apples, persimmons, muscadine grapes, plums and blueberries.
With only six sisters – in 2015 there were 13 – there is a shortage of hands to get all the work done. Since then, six sisters transferred to convents in Charlotte and Lake Wylie, S.C. Even so, they go about their days cheerfully.
“My charity began at home,” says Sister Christie, who grew up in a large Catholic family in India. It was there where her mother and siblings noted how nicely and neatly she completed her chores, and where her parents first encouraged her to help anytime she saw someone in need.
Sister Christie is the seventh of 10 children, including three siblings who likewise have religious vocations – two of her brothers are priests, and one of her sisters is also a religious sister. The children attended a Catholic school and were educated by nuns.
In India, Sister Christie, RN, BSN, studied for six years to become a nurse while also starting formation for her religious vocation. Today, she and Sister Agnes Maria, RN, BSN, use their education to care for the sick at High Point’s Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Sister Christie splits her time between the medical center and Pennybyrn retirement community, where she often stays after her hours to spend more time with her patients.
“I have 21 residents during my shift,” she says. “I stay longer because they need more. They need someone to listen to them.”
TIME TO CELEBRATE
Last month, the sisters were able to fully observe their patronal feast – the Sept. 27 feast of St. Vincent de Paul, known for his compassion for the poor – for the first time since 2019.
The sisters renewed their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience on Sept. 25 at Christ the King and celebrated two days later with friends and family at the convent, waking early for prayer and Mass offered by Father Philip Kollithanath, the pastor of St. Joseph Church in Asheboro.
As pastor of Christ the King from 1994 to 2011, Father Kollithanath petitioned then-Bishop William Curlin to invite the sisters from his native state of Kerala, India, to the U.S. In 1999, the bishop extended the invitation to the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul at Mananthavady, and the first group arrived in 2000.
“Children love to be with the sisters,” says Father Kollithanath. “We know how important it is for children to have nuns in their lives. When these nuns came in their habits, it was a hit in the community. The children want to touch them and talk with them. People are very welcoming, including the non-Catholics. Their presence in habits has made a big, big impact on the diocese. Now our children are more aware of the need for vocations to the religious life.”
Twenty-three years after Bishop Curlin’s invitation, the sisters continue their work with a deep sense of joy that only serving the Lord could bring. “I want to help people. If anyone is need and I can help, I will do it,” Sister Christie says. “That’s what St. Vincent de Paul was all about, helping the poor.”
— Annie Ferguson. Photos by Paul Campbell, Annie Ferguson and provided by Sister Christie Kunnel
The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in High Point recently renewed their vows, celebrated their patronal feast, and shared details about their ministries and community outreach.
CHARLOTTE — Lee F. McGuiness could command a room. A graduate of Charlotte Catholic High School and Belmont Abbey College, he became a successful businessman, known as a consummate salesman whose very presence made a statement.
When he died in 2020, McGuiness, 85, made a different kind of statement: He left behind instructions and a gift to establish an endowment through the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation to further the work of Charlotte Catholic’s Alumni Association, demonstrating his love for his alma mater.
“He always remembered his high school,” said Janie McGuiness, his wife of 25 years. “The endowment was all set up in his will. He was a highly organized person.”
McGuiness graduated from Charlotte Catholic in 1953 and played saxophone and tuba in the high school band.
A native New Yorker, he moved with his family to Charlotte as a young boy. He got his start in sales as a teen delivering newspapers and selling subscriptions. Over the course of his career, he sold paper and plastics and eventually formed a packaging consulting company which he ran until his passing.
“He was a true salesperson,” Janie said. “He was bigger than life. He always made a statement when he walked into a room.”
McGuiness was also a devoted family man. His first wife, Nancy, whom he married his senior year at Belmont Abbey College, died from cancer after 37 years of marriage. They had four children together.
“His family was his priority,” Janie said. “He loved spending time with his children, my three children, our 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Our kids and grandkids always sought his advice as they got older.”
Jim Kelley, development director for the diocese, said Charlotte Catholic set McGuiness on a path to success – so it was important for him to give back, so that others might benefit from a similar experience.
“Charlotte Catholic really impacted him, and he remembered that almost 70 years later,” Kelley said. “It set him on course to appreciate and live his Catholic faith. It was a grounding point from which so many things became possible.”
The Lee McGuiness Endowment Fund was created in June 2021 with a $22,872 annuity. The money will remain invested so it can grow over time and will also generate income annually for the Charlotte Catholic High School Alumni Association.
The association encourages alumni involvement in the school to support its educational mission and provide alumni with social activities and opportunities for spiritual enrichment.
“There are so many different ways for people who are putting together estate plans to create something that will become part of their legacy – and help the Church for years to come,” Kelley said. “Setting aside an annuity is a great option because it will provide retirement income while you’re alive and then become a gift that will continue to grow for the benefit of parishioners who follow.”
— SueAnn Howell
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities.
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..