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Seventeenth Sunday of the Year
25 July 2010
Dear Friends in Christ,
Two items for your attention:
1. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (or RCIA) will begin right after Labor Day on Wednesday 8 September 2010. This course, which will meet each Wednesday evening beginning at 6.30 pm in McGrady Hall in the undercroft of the church, is designed for three groups of people: First, non-Catholics who just want to learn more about Catholicism or who desire to be received into full communion with the Church. Second, Catholics who have never been confirmed and want to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation to complete their sacramental initiation into the Church. And third, Catholics who desire a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Catholic Church. Everyone is welcome to attend these classes, and I encourage every parishioner to consider inviting a friend who might be interested in learning more about the Catholic Faith to join us for this weekly exploration of the Paschal Mystery.
Our teacher for RCIA will be Joe Waters, who presently serves as full-time Director of Adult Education at Prince of Peace Church in Taylors. Joe is an alumnus of Furman University and worked as an intern for one year at St. Mary’s after his graduation from Furman and before going to Duke Divinity School for a master’s degree in theology. Joe also studied for a year at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC and is very well versed in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Despite his full-time work at Prince of Peace, Joe found himself idle on Wednesday evenings and agreed to take on the work of teaching RCIA for us. This course will be an outstanding introduction to Catholicism, and all are welcome to join us starting September 8th.
2. With the departure of Father Longenecker for Our Lady of the Rosary, we were in danger of losing our second confessor on Wednesday afternoons, but Father Bart has very graciously agreed to assist with Confessions each Wednesday. Because, however, he has his own evening Confessions and Divine Liturgy at St. Rafka on Wednesday, he must leave St. Mary’s in time to reach Greer for those obligations. Accordingly, Father Bart will hear Confessions from 4.30 to 5.30 pm each Wednesday, and I will begin hearing Confessions immediately after Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament at the start of the Holy Hour at 5 pm. This means that Confessions will be available for 30 minutes before the start of the Holy Hour, but come 5.30 Father Bart will have to depart for his parish. This new arrangement will begin on Wednesday 4 August 2010, so those who are able to come for Confessions before the Holy Hour will be able to do so starting at 4.30 that Wednesday afternoon. These new hours for Confessions will be posted on the door of each confessional.
Father Newman