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

Ordination at Holy Spirit Monastery

I had the good fortune to spend some time at the Holy Spirit Monastery recently. The assignment was to write about the ordination of a monk.

CONYERS - With prayers and ancient rituals, the monks at Holy Spirit Monastery and friends celebrated the ordination of Brother Augustine Myslinski to the priesthood.
Friends and colleagues crowded the abbey church Saturday, April 30, as streaming light from the stained glass windows made the stone glow blue.

A long faith journey for now Father Augustine Myslinksi came to an end when he kneeled in front of Auxiliary Bishop Luis R. Zarama and the bishop in silent prayer laid his hands on the monk’s head. During that moment, the church teaches that a man receives the Holy Spirit to serve as a priest.

“May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment,” said the bishop.

Read the rest of the story and in next week's edition of the Georgia Bulletin. Below is the video of the procession at the end of Mass:

On the road to South Africa

My colleague, Michael Alexander, wrote about his changing interest in the "beautiful game" and the young people, including a standout from Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School, heading to South Africa for a global soccer competition.

In the video below, Katelyn Longino talks about what she hopes to learn from the trip.

Godspeed and safe journey to Katelyn and all the young people from around the world traveling to South Africa for this unique event.

--Andrew

PS: Atlanta Magazine profiled Ricardo Clark, a graduate of St. Pius X Catholic High School who plays for the USA soccer team.



Read this week's Georgia Bulletin to learn the rest of the story.