Trip to Dalton

Shrine on the campus of St. Joseph Church, Dalton

I drove to Dalton to meet with Father Paul Williams on Friday, July 15. He is the pastor of St. Joseph Church, a parish that is about 90 percent Hispanic. The story focused on the STATE immigration law, HB 87. That evening hundreds of Hispanics gathered in a lively prayer service and I figured I could speak with a few folks about the law. I wrote about it in the July 21 issue of the Georgia Bulletin.

I shot this video and then used the scene as my lede for the story:

I also took this photo of leaders of the prayer group crowded into this small room. I heard this intense sound coming from the room before I could peer in and see the scene. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but it was obviously heart felt.

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Also, Father Williams and his community are expected to be profiled in Time Magazine. A writer and a crew of photographers visited Dalton and the parish to take a look it from a national perspective. I'm curious to see what they saw and wrote. --Andrew

Vacation reflections

St. Vitla Church in Czesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

The wooden kneeler bit into my knees.

Here I was worshiping during a recent vacation to the Czech Republic. My Czech started and ended with ‘dobry den’ (good day) and ‘prosim’ (a catchall phrase for thank you and please.) So at Mass, I knew only when to say amen and to give the sign of peace.

The experience left me with unanswered questions mixed with an admiration for these people of faith.

Outside the Church of Our Lady Victorious in Malá Strana, Prague, home to the famous Infant Jesus of Prague, the 18-year-old tour guide standing on his Segway said the church is a draw for Spanish and Mexican tourists but rarely visited by locals. He said 80 percent of Czechs identify as atheists, a leftover of the 40 plus years of authoritarian rule. (Wikipedia puts the number between 30 percent and 60 percent, but still one of the highest in Europe.)

Earlier on my visit, I shared a lunch with three Czechs, two men, one woman, whose ages ranged from 20-something to nearing retirement. They talked a little about life under the Communist regime and life since the 1989 Velvet Revolution: police screenings before job opportunities; how parents wrestled with whether to join the Communist Party because that ensured a coveted university seat for their children; and how this 20-something uses Facebook as part of her job.

Fast forward a few days. I pulled on a wrinkled Oxford shirt for the 9:30 a.m. Mass at St. Vitla Church in Czesky Krumlov, a medieval town recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I walked into the 15th century Gothic church as ladies sitting around the pews prayed the rosary. I didn’t know the words but I recognized the rhythm of the prayer as they fingered their beads.

Seats filled as Mass time approached to my surprise. I had expected a small crowd, keeping in mind what the tour guide had said. But slowly the space filled with a few tourists, families, the occasional teen and children resting in strollers cooed over by adults.

The lunch conversation came back to me as I looked around. What was it like back in the 1970 and 1980s? How did people claim their faith during those times? Did they put their livelihoods at risk by entering a church?

I left Mass with these unanswered questions and sorry I couldn't speak with the priest. Something tells me the church and the faith of the Catholic community, which was targeted for repression by government agents, was held together by grandmothers like these during those dreary decades. They held on to a fragment of faith, despite the oppression.

--Andrew, Staff Reporter

The photo was not taken by me. It is copied from the photo-sharing site, Flickr.
Photo credit: Magro_kr, http://bit.ly/9tiAvp

A happy assault on the senses

I checked out the celebration of the "KKI" on Sunday, June 6. That'd be the Indonesian Catholic Community that is based at Our Lady of Assumption Church, Atlanta.

The great smells from the grills, the unfamiliar language, seeing traditional arts and crafts really made the day-long event a nice place to spend a few hours.

The community marked 10 years since its founding. But instead of celebrating just themselves, the group invited the whole Indonesian community from Atlanta, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, to the celebration.
And its purpose wasn't to pat themselves on the pat with an 'attaboy. Proceeds from the day were to aid an orphanage back in the home country. --Andrew

A few photos:

Sofjan Handgjo, the coordinator of the Indonesian community.

Exhibits highlighted native arts, including this puppet which is one of 'the three clowns,' known for their mischief and deep wisdom.

Deacon Antonius Anugerah climbs out of the dunk tank.