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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. * *