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“Godspell” Casts Good Spell
On St. Thomas Aquinas Cast
BY GEORGE CLEMENTS
Take some adults with theatrical
experience. Mix in a large dose of
teenage enthusiasm. Sprinkle love
and a spiritual mission. Add a lot of
hard work. And what do you get?
In the words of St. Thomas
Aquinas’ youth minister, Dottie
Garvey, “it’s the best thing that’s
ever happened to our teens in the
parish.”
“It” is a musical production of
“Godspell” which the young people
of the fast-growing
Roswell/Alpharetta parish will
perform for three evenings, March
13-15. Parishioners are so excited
about the production that all seats
for the Friday and Saturday
performances were sold out in early
February, and a third performance
had to be scheduled for Thursday,
March 13, to handle the overflow.
“Godspell” is a musical based on
the Gospel according to St. Matthew
and was first produced on the New
York stage about 15 years ago. It has
been called a “religious experience to
be felt joyously ... a release of one’s
spirit into the larger heart of
mankind.”
More than 40 St. Thomas Aquinas
teenagers are heavily involved in the
production. Rehearsals started in
November, according to Mary Smith,
the stage director, “and the result
will be much better than the typical
high school effort. However, the real
benefit is the drawing together of a
loving community by these beautiful
kids. Each of them has grown
tremendously during this period. The
experience of working together on a
project like this has affected all of us
very much.”
An enthusiastic cadre of older
parishioners has helped put the
production together, aiding in the
construction of a special stage in the
church’s all-purpose, flat-floor
sanctuary, as well as helping with
costumes and lighting and a myriad
of other details associated with a
theatrical production. (The stage was
so well built that the pastor, Father
Dan O’Connor, plans to keep most of
it permanently to give parishioners a
better view of the altar at Mass.)
The idea for doing the musical
started last spring when Mrs. Garvey
invited Mrs. Smith to help with the
parish’s various teenage programs.
“We wanted to find something,”
Mrs. Garvey explained, “that would
involve both the teens and adults, as
well as offer the whole parish a
meaningful spiritual message in a
theatrical setting.”
“Godspell” was selected, and Mrs.
Smith soon found some other
parishioners with similar drama or jj
dance or musical experience, >
including Carla Crowell who is the 5
musical director, and Janet Borum °
and Fran Keeling, who are
choreographing the musical.
“And all of us have been working
every Saturday and Sunday since
November to make it all happen,”
(Continued from page 6)
LAST MINUTE DIRECTION - Mary Smith,
(far left), gives some quick advice to two smiling
cast members in Saint Thomas Aquinas’
production of “Godspell.” Peggy Derum and Rick
Keeling have the lead roles in the production
which begins March 13.
The Shamrock Man
He sat there and brashly told us,
he never ate grits.
He has been to the top of the
mountain. He was picked to play in
goal for the US team. A bronze
medal was certain. But his brilliant
tending of the hockey net turned the
dream into gold. And best was to
come. He would beat the
unbeatables, the Russian red devils
on skates.
Now chosen by the Flames and
sitting amid the
delerium of the
greatest ever
Omni welcome,
this handsome
black Irish
rogue from
Boston answer-
o rl f h o o 1 1
important
question in the
negative. No,
Jim Craig had
never eaten
grits.
But he did wear shamrocks on his
hockey hat. I first spied our newest
waltzing ice giant out at Ice-Land in
Marietta, in his first professional
practice. The dancing shamrocks
were more noticeable than the
French accents of his teammates. I
knew I had to ask about those
shamrocks.
Jim Craig would answer my
question but he had a bounty of
beautiful things to say first. Where
was his medal? “It’s with my Dad,”
he said. Why? Simple. “My Dad is
my hero.” The gold would stay with
him, up there 30 miles from Boston
in a place called North Easton.
That’s where the Craig family
grew up. Don Craig and Margaret
Downey settled in that little town
and raised their eight children, four
girls and four boys. At the local
parish, Immaculate Conception,
Father Jim Buckley remembers them
all well. “They were close, united,
happy and sports mad. Jim lived to
play hockey.”
The family was deleriously happy
when Boston University awarded a
scholarship to ice-man Jim. But the
happy moment was short lived.
Cancer pointed an ugly finger at
Margaret and the proud mother
began her battle royal with the “big
C. She lost out two years ago.
“Don needed this marvelous
event,” said Father Buckley “He
never got over his loss of Margaret.”
No doubt, Jim Craig knew what to
do with that gold medal. It would go
to his hero, still broken-hearted, still
lost and empty.
The reporters rattled their
questions. What kind of a pro would
he make? Who did he fear most?
Would he be number one goalie for
the Flames? The only answer I
wanted was about shamrocks on his
helmet. Finally it was my turn. How
about it. “Well, I didn’t go to
Catholic High because I wanted to
play Hockey. I went to Oliver Ames
Public. I put the shamrocks on, and
we won 26 games straight. Then I
took them off and we lost. So I put
them back on to stay. We went on
winning, even the Olympics.”
What a story, I was thinking.
“You mean the shamrocks helped
you win the Olympics, and will go on
helping you win?”
“Sure,” said the big black-headed
Irish giant, with a grin, “as long as I
can stop the puck.”
Vol 18, No. 10
Thursday, March 6,1980
$6.00 Per Year
ART INSTRUCTOR - Father Edward
Randall, OMI, pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in
Washington, Georgia conducts his art class for
children in Thompson, Georgia. The story of the
Washington parish and its historic missions
appears on the back page this week.
Lenten Living
BY MSGR. JERRY HARDY
Choosing To Take A Chance
There’s nothing we like better than a neat deal - signed, sealed,
delivered, all under control. What gets to us is the
un coo p erative/unexpected/disruptive/ non-productive
circumstance/person. Today’s gospel should therefore hit home
with us, because it talks about handling that person or
circumstances by taking a chance, another chance, even if you have
already taken one before.
The gardner chooses to risk his energy and labor on a tree that is
just not producing. “Don’t give up on it,” he says, “Let me have
another shot at it.”
So many times Jesus has had to say the same thing to our Father
about us. And he keeps giving us another year to produce, to grow,
to outgrow. His patience is aimed at our producing.
Like every gift, this one of “another chance” is to be given away.
If he has said about us “Don’t give up on them,” then he expects
us, in turn, not to give up either. It’s as if he were saying to us,
“Don’t give up on yourself, the kids, the establishment, the
marriage, the Church, the relationship . . . give me a chance to do
something more with it, through you, with you, in you” . . .
Moslems React
To Red Invasion
ROME (NC) - Popular uprisings
in Afghanistan are a protest against
Soviet invasion and “a reaction of
the Afghanistan religious populace
against an atheistic Marxist
government,” according to Fides,
news agency of the Vatican’s
Congregation for the Evangelization
of Peoples.
About 99 percent of
Afghanistan’s 20.3 million people are
Moslems, mostly of the Sunni sect.
Fides cited condemnation of the
Soviet invasion by the Conference of
Foreign Ministers of Islamic
Countries as a sign of international
solidarity with the Afghans.
Here is a summary of the Fides
article.
The Islamic religion is a key factor
in understanding Afghanistan.
The greater part of the people live
in poverty, but with a sense of
dignity caused by profound Islamic
traditions.
Implications For Us
1. The willingness to take a chance on a person is also called
simply “trust.” The way anyone of us becomes trustworthy is by
having people trust us and find us, in the process, worthy of that
trust. It’s an empowering risk. It is also a responsibility we have
toward each other: to help each other grow by believing each other
can, by choosing to support that “can” with a chance. Very
important with children, especially when we’ve just had to correct
them.
2. Taking chances on people involves taking chances on
relationships and institutions. Take a look at some of these that
you’ve given up on and see if another chance isn’t called for.
Islam is the state religion and the
constitution imposes restrictions on
other religions. In the past, the
Afghan government has shown
respect for the discreet practice of
religion by foreign Christians, but
evangelization is forbidden.
The Christian presence in
Afghanistan is limited to groups of
foreign diplomats, businessmen and
technicians who come to the country
for three or four years. In 1978, it
was estimated that there were 2,000
Catholics among the foreign
residents.
CIA Director Admits
Possible Violations
WASHINGTON (NC) - At the
same time that Congress was
debating a proposed new charter for
II S. intelligence activities which
would ban the use of missionaries
and journalists as spies, the director
of the Central Intelligence Agency
admitted that the CIA at times has
violated its own prohibitions on such
activities.
Adm. Stansfield Turner, CIA
director, has said several times in
recent weeks that “on rare
occasions” he has made exceptions
to the CIA’s 1977 “general
prohibitions” against the use of
missionaries, journalists and
professors.
He made the remark most
recently to the House Select
Intelligence Committee Feb. 21
during consideration of a new
National Intelligence Act. The
proposed charter would prohibit CIA
agents from posing as missionaries or
journalists in foreign countries,
except in times of national
emergency.
A CIA spokesman declined to say
whether the exceptions made by
Turner specifically involved
missionaries, journalists, professors
or a combination of those groups.
Turner said he opposes a blanket
prohibition against the use of
journalistic or missionary cover for
the CIA, claiming there may be
circumstances when the use of such a
cover may be justified.
Missionary and journalistic
organizations, on the other hand,
want the ban so their members can
work in foreign countries without
fear of being accused of spying for
the U.S. government.
The proposed charter would allow
CIA contacts with returning
missionaries and journalists, a
provision also opposed by mission
groups.
WHAT’S SO FUNNY? Sister Valentina Sheridan, Superintendent
of Schools, shares a smile during what some might have called a
rather trying time. To find out what Sister’s smiling about, turn to
page 3.
Charities Drive Is
Victim Of Ice Storm
For the first time in its twelve year history the Archdiocesan
Charities Drive fell on the same day as North Georgia’s annual late
winter snow storm. The snow won. The goal was set at $550,000 and
$265,096 was reported in by 9 p.m. Sunday night.
Commenting on the situation, Monsignor Jerry E. Hardy,
Chancellor, noted “Attendance at Sunday Masses was down all over
the Archdiocese due to the icy roads and that obviously hurt the
collection process. But the 38 parishes and missions that reported had
collected what amounted to 66% of their goals. That’s great
considering the weather. We’ll just run it again next week and I’m
confident that the generosity of our people will carry us over the top
when they are able to get to Church next Sunday.”
The annual cash Drive is one of the chief funding sources for
Archdiocese’s programs in education, mission development, social
services, and seminary preparation for future priests.
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