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About The Georgia bulletin (Atlanta) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1988)
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta Vol. 26 No. 42 Thursday, December 1, 1988 $15.00 Per Year Chris Williamson To Be Ordained BY PAULA DAY Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J., will ordain Deacon Chris Williamson a priest lor the archdiocese during a 10 a m. liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the King, December 10. The Dublin, Ireland native will be the first priest or dained for Atlanta by the archbishop. Father Williamson will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving Sun day, December 11, at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Holy Spirit on Northside Drive, Atlanta, where he has been serv ing as a deacon since June. He plans to visit Dublin, his parents, and other family members following his ordina tion. He will return to Atlanta January 11,1989, and take up responsibilities as parochial vicar at All Saints parish in Dunwoody. Deacon Williamson, who will be 45 in January, described his journey toward ordination as “convoluted.” “1 ran away from the Lord too often,” he said. “Life has been a running away and then returning and then running away again.” In the mid-1970s, when he was in his early 30s, Williamson became very interested in the charismatic p renewal in Ireland. “That brought me back to active in- % volvement in the Church,” he explained. i As a youth, Williamson worked in the wholesale garment ^ industry. In his early 20s he went to England and was sue- a cessful as a “bookie” in state-owned parimutuel betting on 5 horse races. During that time he traveled throughout the British Isles. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and worked in telecommunications. In 1980 he entered the Benedictine Glenstal monastery in County Limerick as a postulant. Williamson began preparing for service in the north Georgia Church in 1986 after his decision to study for the diocesan priesthood. He entered St. Patrick’s College in (Continued on page 10) A FAMILY CELEBRATION — Hanford Sewell serves Thanksgiving dinner to Lilie Marshall at St. Anthony’s Church in the West End, Atlanta. The traditional free Thanksgiv ing meal at the church drew 620 people this year. More photos on page 8. ■ Whirlwind Settling Down 6 Months After Archbishop's Installation BY GRETCHEN KEISER Six months after May 5, 1988, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J. and his staff are moving more in the rhythm of archdiocesan matters and less in the blizzard of attention that engulfed his historic installation. Still attending to a large backlog of personal mail and invitations that accrued between his March appointment and his May installation, the archbishop now has a larger personal staff to assist him. In the next week, they will be mapping out his schedule for the first six months of 1989, par ticularly the parish Confirmation schedule. In an interview Nov. 21 discussing his first six months in Atlanta, the archbishop said his 1989 schedule would be built around parish Confirma tions and his desire to answer each request in the affirmative. Where scheduling conflicts cannot be resolved, he said he would favor “the parishes 1 have not been to and ... the smaller places.” He noted that he has been to some metropolitan Atlanta parishes several times in the course of events already. “Even though I would prefer to do all the Confir mations myself, I may have to ask the vicar general or the dean or Monsignor (John) McDonough to do some of the Confirmations,” he said, while discussing the intensity of activity that has characterized his first six months. For parishes that have not yet had a personal visit from the archbishop, it is not because he is touring Atlanta. He has been too busy so far to see traditional newcomers’ sights like Stone Mountain Park, the High Museum or the Fox Theater. His only ride on MARTA has been one trip to the airport, his only (Continued on page 7) Retirement Fund Needs $3 Billion BY RITA McINERNEY There are 158 Religious women listed in the directory of the Atlanta Conference of Sisters for 1988-89. They repre sent 37 congregations. They serve in the archdiocese as teachers, principals, superintendent of schools, librarians. • As hospital pastoral care chaplains, nurses, ad ministrators, counsellors to the terminally ill and people with AIDS. • As cloistered nuns who pray for the people of the world. • As religious educators, pastoral associates, spiritual directors, marriage and family counsellors. • As caregivers to the elderly, ministers to Hispanics and Koreans, graduate students, management consultants, bookkeepers, secretaries. They are the new generation of the American sisterhood, many filling positions undreamed of before Vatican II. In their varied roles they offer people their spirituality and skills with the love and compassion that first drew them to a life of dedicated service in the Lord’s name. They are providers for aging women now confined to the infirmaries in their motherhouses, sharing their salaries so these older sisters can live out dedicated lives comfortably. In most cases, this sharing is not enough to compensate for (Continued on page 6)
