Northeast Catholics set celebration By Fabvienen Taylor
AMORY — They may be small in number, but they are big in their Catholic faith, according to one of the organizers of the Saturday, Nov. 10, “Celebration of Catholicism in Northeast Mississippi.”
“Many Catholic people in the small churches in this area wanted to come together to celebrate our strong faith, to celebrate who we are, and to reflect on what we have done and what we need to do,” said Sister Florita Rodman, resident pastoral minister of St. Helen Parish.
Everyone is welcome to the event which begins at 9 a.m. in the Tupelo St. James Parish Family Life Center and will end with Mass at 4:15 p.m. in the church. Lunch will be provided.
Sister Rodman said churches and missions in the Northeast section of the Diocese of Jackson belong to Deanery V, which reaches from Starkville to Oxford and then up to the Tennesee state line and east to the Alabama state line.
After the opening prayer by Sister Bernadette Engelhaupt, pastoral minister at Iuka St. Mary Mission, five panelists will speak about their call to ministry and its effect on them.
The panels consists of lay people, religious and ordained ministers.
The next session and panel response will address the availablity and need for training and education for the laity so they can be certified, accredited and prepared for their ministries, said Sister Rodman.
After lunch, there will be a panel discusison on evangelization from several angles: workplace, social outreach in the community, social justice, ecumenism and personal witness.
The final panel will discuss the future challenges for Catholicism in the Northeast.
Afterwards, people will be asked to break into small groups for discussion and then report on two future challenges they have identified.
Mass will follow with music provided by a combination of the churches and missions represented at the day’s event.
