iTi"Tr'iT"irir"Tnr'"iTTiTiT"iiT'i om-am ox niH ibjwo
OLIC
iNEWs
& Herald
Volume 7 Number 41
Serving Catholics in Western North Carolina in the Diocese of Charlotte
»
July 24, 1998
Diocesan Teens Learn,
Grow Through Inner-City Service Experience By
MIKE KROKOS Editor
GREENSBORO
— Josh Smeltzer
life in the mountains of western North Carolina. With a roof over his head, food on the table each night, and a family that gives him constant love and encouragement, the rising high school junior, a parishioner at St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Mars Hill, admits his blessings are numerous. During the week of July 13-17, Smeltzer and 15 other teenagers from the Diocese of Charlotte took part in SPLUNGE (Special People Living Uniquely Nourishing Growthful Experiences), an inner-city service experience sponsored by the Diocesan Office of Youth Ministry that showed them
leads a sheltered
firsthand
how
others in society struggle
"This week has taught me about be more open, and helped me in my faith," Smeltzer said. "As participants, we were also encouraged to work more for the people in our community who need help the most the needy and homeless and not to be trust, to
grow
Our Lady of Grace School in Greensboro served as SPLUNGE participants'
home base, the place where they returned
Modeled
after an action
program
University of Notre Dame, SPLUNGE 's goal is to heighten young people's awareness of the needs
developed
at the
of the poor, show that their help is valuable and perhaps most importantly, put a human face on poverty. One of the program's motto's is "live simply so that others may simple live."
each day's activities to reflect on
after
what they had experienced, share The week of intense immersion
By PETER ROSENGREN PERTH, Australia (CNS) The
—
northern Papua New Guinea was slowing down, a church official said. "The first two days we were scrambling to get choppers in we could see they were dying," Franciscan Father Augustine Crapp, diocesan administrator of Aitape, Papua New Guinea, said in
—
on Australian national television July 20.
He had spoken to as he toured devastated villages were happy to see him but also distressed and stunned by their experiences, with some crying on his shoulsaid the survivors he
der.
"They were
of spaced out and traumatized completely," he said. In the days after the wave, people everywhere were picking through the debris of their wrecked villages and looking for relatives, he said. Everywhere there were people who had lost most of or their entire families. Meanwhile, health was a major worry. sort
fea-
tured in-service visits from several area
agencies, including an older adults agency, a battered women's organizaand the Greensboro Pregnancy Care Center. The group assisted at Room at
tion,
home-
Inn, a Catholic ministry to
pregnant women and chilalso toured the Guilford County Courthouse and Jail and met with the district attorney. On Thursday, less, single,
dren.
They
SPLUNGE
participants
cooked and fed
nearly 300 people at Claremont Courts, a government housing subdivision.
See SPLUNGE, page 2
Rescue Efforts Slowing Papua New Guinea rescue effort following three tidal waves
a
simple supper, pray, and sleep.
The
to live.
—
—
afraid."
In
"We're getting worried now.
In the
I walked through yesterday, the stench was incredible. We're worried that malaria and other (diseases) will set
village
he said. Father Crapp said he was on top of mountain overlooking the ocean in the northern coastal town of Aitape when the earthquake that caused the waves hit the evening of July 17. He said he realized it was a big quake and went outside to see what had happened. in,"
a
He said there was nothing but lence for about 10 minutes or so. "Then we heard a tremendous roar si-
wave hit the beach, then the sound of wrenching, then later people screaming," he said. The villages devastated by the waves were predominantly populated by fishermen. The estimated death toll continued to mount as troops and police moved throughout the area buryofing victims where they had died ten on the beach or close inshore.
as the
—
See Rescue
Efforts,
page 2
New Ministry Center Dedicated At
St. Gabriel
Church
Bishop William G. Curlin snips a ceremonial ribbon dedication of St. Gabriel parish
The new 30,000 square
foot,
in
Charlotte's
three story
new
facility
for the
ministry center.
contains space to
serve the 90 service and outreach ministries of the 3,500-member parish.
"It's
not the building that defines the parish,
it
is
the charity
one another, and the The new ministry center was
of Christ in the service of the Lord in
community at
large," said the bishop.
completed at a cost of $4 million. Tim Dixon of the parish council said, "What we honor and recognize today is not a building; we are here to honor and recognize the [parishioners] for sharing their time, their talent
and
their treasure."