December MHT Newsletter 2010
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CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Inside this Issue A Note from Our 1 Volume I, Issue XII December 2010 Pastor Bicentennial Event 2 A Note from Our Pastor –Advent Lessons & 200 Years . And Counting Carols As Catholics we rely on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition as the two fonts or Faith Formation sources of divinely revealed Truth. The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on Divine Revela- 2 tion, Dei Verbum¸ describes this dynamic relationship by saying, “…both of them, flowing out of the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards Serra Club 3 the same goal.” (no 9) We are who we are as a Church because we strive constantly to be faith- ful to what God has revealed to us in the Bible and to what is revealed to us under the guidance History of the 4 Dogma of the of the Holy Spirit through our Tradition as taught by the Bishops of the Church. Immaculate This parish is roughly one-tenth as old as the Church and has been a place where the Conception Sacred Scripture has been proclaimed and the Sacred Tradition has been lived. Whether we re- call the preaching of past bishops, pastors, or priests, or whether we think about the ministry of Potluck Dinner & 4 evangelization and education that has been accomplished through Immaculate Conception Catho- St. Nickolas Party lic School, we have striven to embody – to make incarnate – the Truth that has come to us over the centuries. Although this community was formed almost 1800 years after Jesus and the Apos- School News 5 tles walked the face of the earth, we recall that we are part of something much larger than our- selves. We are a parish in the Diocese of Savannah, headed by our bishop. We are part of the A Great Christmas 5 universal Church which has “branch offices” in every country amidst the staggering diversity of Gift human cultures. We are also part of the communion of saints, praying for those in Purgatory Parish Picnic 6 who await their place at the heavenly banquet table, and anticipating the day when, by God’s mercy and grace, we can share in that eternal banquet with the Church Triumphant in heaven. Welcome to the 6 “To Remember Is To Understand” has been the theme of our bicentennial year and Parish many, many people have worked hard to make this a memorable celebration. When we re- member the words of Scripture and the teaching of the bishops, saints, and theologians of the December 2010 7 Church’s history, we can then begin to understand what it is that God is asking of each one of Events us. When we remember those who sacrificed to form us as Christians and to build this parish, we can understand the task that we are called to accomplish today. When we look at the cross and remember that God has been merciful and forgiving, we understand that our goal is to be merciful and forgiving in the hope that, having become more like Jesus Christ, we will be found worthy to see God face to face when our life on earth ends. As much as it was a celebration of our past, our Bicentennial year should have given us an opportunity to envision our future. In a small way we have begun that by initiating the Bicen- tennial Foundation which can help us maintain our parish campus in the years to come. We have completed renovation projects and built a lovely Rosary Garden to beautify the church grounds which can be appreciated by future generations. What we will ultimately be judged on, however, when we stand before God’s throne is how much love we have shown to those who are poor, to those who are suffering, those who are threatened with violence or death. This 200th anniversary should be remembered as much for what we have begun in the life of our parish as it is for what has been remembered from years gone by. May God bring to completion the good work He has begun in us. 720 Telfair Street PO Box 2446 Pastor Augusta, Georgia 30903 Page 2 Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity Bicentennial Event Advent Lessons and Carols On Sunday, December 5th at 4:00 p.m. Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church Choirs will sing a Festival of Lessons and Carols as the final concert and event of the Bicentennial Year of Celebration. Our 10:30 am Mass Choir, 12:30 p.m. Mass Choir of Women's Chamber Sing- ers and Schola Trinitas will sing this service of Lessons and Carols. The Festival of Lessons and Carols is a service of Scripture and song that dates to the late 19th century. In this service, we listen to nine Scripture lessons which recount the Fall, the promise of a Messiah, the Incarnation, and the Great Commission to preach the Good News. Each lesson is followed by a carol or other hymn that reflects on the lesson’s message and a brief prayer. This performance is free and open to the public, but a love offering would be appreciated to aid in the choirs' future need in presentations to the CSRA community. We invite you to pray and reflect to prepare your hearts and minds for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Faith Formation by Rebecca Quinn Shelt A visit to Camp Gravatt’s for the Most Holy Trinity Confirmation class has become a tradition each year. On October 16, I had the privilege of taking these young teens and Confirmation students to this day camp. Yes, I was nervous. This camp was established in 1949 as an Episcopal summer camp. It is nestled in beautiful Aiken in over 260 pine- covered acres with two man-made lakes. Nowadays, this camp serves all denominations or professional corpora- tions who come for Team Building exercises in the relaxing environment. Our Confirmation students are encountering their last Sacrament of Initiation. During this journey and after Confirmation, they will make choices regarding what talents and how much time they desire to give back to the parish that has given them so much. Stewardship - A word they are hearing a lot about lately! In order for each student to get the most out of this Sacramental year, they must learn to respect and care for each other and feel like a team. This is similar to our parish family. We each have certain gifts to offer our parish which should be accepted with respect and care as we ready, as a team, for God’s coming reign! The students practiced communication skills, team building, trust, leadership and goal setting by giving situations requiring problem solving, designed to create frustration and the need to fulfill all the skills previously listed. For example, the students had to get on and then off a balance that would tip with weight. If it hit the floor, they had to start over. Potentially frustrating, after the first try failed, they discussed and decided what went wrong and inventoried everyone’s ideas on how to better the effort. Communication was so good, it only took two tries. There were immediate leaders who stood out and began respectfully and calmly giving ideas and directions, such as Olivia Hall and Joshua Lubeck. While Clare Fox and Dylan Davis were extremely creative in their problem solving. Each confirmand discovered an obvious, or more abstract, God-given talent, such as leadership, creativ- ity, or as David Thomas simply, yet excitedly discovered, “I can row a canoe fast!” And about those canoes, while I was in mine with Jamie Kling, I was officially initiated into the group as Youth Coordinator. She flung water on me “accidentally” with her paddle. Then she discovered slimy algae that stuck to her paddle so she made sure it somehow found its way on my legs. But, it was all in good fun! Spenser King said he learned not to lean too far over in the canoe because it will tip. And it did. He and Phillip Layman capsized, but for us it was exciting to witness their rescue! Spenser went on to remark about how “we began to appreciate each other and openly discuss ideas and solve problems without being negative toward each other at all.” Clare Fox said the car ride to the camp was a bit quiet and awkward and Liam Wolff and Matthew Eyrich agreed. But then they said; now they’d have no problem coming up with conversation! Olivia Hall pointed to another student and said, “I think we’ve been in the same Faith Formation class for 3 years and said about 3 words to each other, and now I feel like, we’re like, friends!” I actually had Anna Marie Walker, a teenager; ask me, “Did you have a good time?” I couldn’t believe she thought to ask me. And I told her I had a blast! Volume I, Issue XII Page 3 Maura Jabaley, Parish Council President Serra Club Friendship and a shared Catholic faith have grown an interna- tional organization devoted to supporting those who accept the call to the priesthood and a religious life. Fellow Catholics and new friends from the Augusta Deanery of the Diocese of Savan- nah are now a part of that, with official formation of the Serra Club of Augusta in November 2009. Through prayer and direct contact with seminarians, priests and religious, Serrans offer spiritual support and encourage indi- viduals to discern a vocation as a priest or sister.