NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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St. Faustina faithful welcome their bishop Chattanooga’s Vietnamese community packs its worship space for Bishop Beckman’s first visit By Dan McWilliams
DAN MCWILLIAMS
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he Vietnamese community in Chattanooga turned out in full Dec. 8 as Bishop Mark Beckman made his first visit to the St. Faustina Public Association of the Faithful at its meeting place in an industrial park. Some 350 packed the worship space, making it standing-room only as there were only 285 chairs available, as the diocese’s shepherd celebrated Mass there on the second Sunday of Advent. St. Faustina pastor Father Nick Tran concelebrated, with Deacon Wade Eckler of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga serving as deacon of the Word and Deacon Hicks Armor as master of ceremonies. Bishop Beckman called the evening “incredible, fantastic” after Mass. “It’s a beautiful, vibrant community—deep faith,” he said. “They were packed in like sardines, as we say. It was really a very beautiful, beautiful turnout.” The bishop’s homily and other remarks were translated into Vietnamese, but the different languages showed the “oneness” of the Church, the bishop said. “It was so beautiful because they chanted a lot of the parts, and the chants were so lovely,” he said. “They began to chant the Our Father, and I was saying it in English with them, and phrase for phrase—when I finished my last word—they finished chanting. It was a beautiful experience of oneness, even though we shared multiple languages.” At the end of Mass, the bishop received a bouquet of flowers from the St. Faustina faithful. Father Tran also expressed to Bishop Beckman the growing community’s fondest desire. “We would like to have a church, Bishop,” Father Tran said, drawing a round of applause. Bishop Beckman replied: “The Church of God,
St. Faustina and the bishop This sign greeted the 350 or so who came to Bishop Mark Beckman’s Mass for the St. Faustina Public Association of the Faithful on Dec. 8 in Chattanooga. which you are, needs a church.” Deacon Armor, the diocesan director of stewardship and strategic planning, who also serves at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga, is trying to make the St. Faustina commu-
nity’s dream come true. “They’re asking for a church, and I know that Deacon Hicks has been working very hard to help them find a location, which I’m grateful St. Faustina continued on page B2
‘Put Christ’s teachings into practice’ St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge provides outreach to the community with three programs
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ith the new year come new resolutions such as volunteering, giving back to the community, decluttering the house, and living a simpler lifestyle. Many Catholics turn to their faith for such resolutions, and parishes often have a plethora of opportunities and needs for people to assist with. One such parish is St. Mary in Oak Ridge, which boasts three community-outreach programs that parishioners and community members alike are invited to partake in. “As part of our Catholic tradition, we know that our actions demonstrate the strength and commitment we have to our faith,” said pastor Father Ray Powell. “At St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, we have three special parish ministries that work together in a unique and vibrant way to put Jesus’ command of ‘love of God and love of neighbor’ into action by providing assistance to those in need. Those ministries are our White Elephant thrift store, St. Joseph Food Pantry, and St. Mary Vegetable Garden. These ministries both lead our efforts and coordinate with other parish ministries to help provide assistance for those in need in our Oak Ridge community and beyond.” Father Powell said that each ministry shares its gifts and talents to meet parish needs by combining faith, hope, and action into a gift offered to both those receiving assistance and those helping to provide it. “They are an inspiration to me as pastor, to our parish, and to so
many from our wider Oak Ridge community who are aware of how these ministries put Christ’s teachings into practice each and every day,” he said. All three ministries are on the St. Mary Parish campus.
The White Elephant
With a history of more than 60 years, The White Elephant began when parishioners turned a rummage sale into a nonprofit thrift shop to raise money for the parish. “The proceeds from the White Elephant thrift store help support our parish and school youth ministries and educational projects, as well as help our other parish ministries to provide assistance for those in need in our community,” remarked Father Powell. The shop offers both new and used affordable clothes for all ages and sizes, home goods, books, artwork, jewelry, religious items, and more. Its operating hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The current manager, Sarah Stitz, has run the store for more than three years after volunteering under Michelle Scott seven years ago. Ms. Stitz believes that when people enter the thrift store, they feel the love of Jesus. “I don’t think I’ve ever charged anyone full price, and our prices are so cheap,” she said. “And it doesn’t matter what faith you are, we’re here for people. If someone comes up and is having a hard time…not just me, but other volunteers, we’ll just stop and say a
GABRIELLE NOLAN
By Gabrielle Nolan
Christmas cheer Father Ray Powell, pastor of St. Mary, stands with Sister Mary John Slonkosky, OP, principal of St. Mary School, Sarah Stitz, manager of The White Elephant, and two St. Mary students on Dec. 13 inside The White Elephant thrift store, where students shopped for their families. prayer right then and there with them. It’s really beautiful.” According to Ms. Stitz, in 2024, the shop gave away close to $30,000 worth of items. “We give away free stuff on Wednesdays when our food pantry is open. We’re always looking to do and give. There’s a couple of places here in town that give away free coats, and we help supply them,” she shared. “If people come in and they really want something, and it looks like they can’t afford it or they say they can’t afford it, we’ll just slip it in their bag because that’s what Jesus would do, right? We’re here for the community; we’re here for the passion of it; we’re here to spread love. If we can do that through giving
away some stuff that came in for free…I don’t know how many times I’ve had people cry on us, give us hugs because they couldn’t afford something as nice as what we gave them,” Ms. Stitz continued. Since becoming manager, Ms. Stitz has emphasized outreach to other organizations and community involvement. “We went up to Rocky Top last Christmas with a couple other organizations, and we were able to donate toys and coats and stuff like that to 55 families with kids. So, that was huge,” she said. “And we do a Santa’s workshop. The little kids (at St. Mary) have big buddies that they go to Mass with, so they come over and shop with them. Outreach continued on page B3