Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

V I* £ 0 0^ Diocese of Savannah hern (truss Vol. 80, No. 44 Thursday, December 14, 2000 Diocese of Savannah $.50 PER ISSUE Robert Herrmann performs a Cherokee rite of welcome at the Multicultural Mass. A five-day celebration of 150 years Photos by Jonas N. Jordan By Father Douglas K. Clark Savannah T hey gathered by the thousands. Catholics from Albany, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Statesboro, Valdosta, Brunswick and points in between streamed to Savannah to celebrate the Sesquicenten- nial of the Diocese of Savannah. The dedi cation of the restored Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist on Wednesday, November 29 (see The Southern Cross, December 7) marked not the end but rather the beginning of five days of celebration—one day for every 30 years of the diocese’s existence. On Thursday, November 30, they came . together with other Christians to celebrate the unity, however imperfect, already exist ing among believers in Christ. They came by the hundreds to the Cathedral at night to sing and to hear the Scriptures speak of the Exodus journey and the Lord’s washing of his disciples’ feet. They came to symbolize their unity with a rite of mingling waters, representing the various Christian tradi tions, and to hear Bishop J. Kevin Boland ask the challenging question, “What keeps us from moving when God calls?” On Friday, December 1, over a thousand young Catholics, from sixth grade through senior year in high school, came in buses and vans to Savannah. They came to visit the city’s historic churches, to enjoy a play put on for their benefit, to eat lunch togeth er and to participate in a lively Mass cele brated by Bishop Boland. They heard Father Timothy C. Donahue, parochial vicar of Saint Anne Parish, Columbus, (Continued on page I I) “Five Day” Left: Augusta Deanery Youth present a mini play, “Wings for the Cathedral Bishops" on Youth Day. Right: Members of Resurrection of Our Lord Youth Choir sing “This Little Light of Mine.”