Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 23, 2018 17 D iocesan H appenings Our Mother of Mercy Parish, Pass Christian In the March 9 Gulf Pine Catholic, Gwen Lawyer, who led the singing during the cel- ebration of Black/ African American History by Our Mother of Mercy in Pass Christian, was incor- rectly identified as Evelyn Lawyer. We apologize for this error. St. Bernadette parish children in Waynesboro worked very hard to build a beautiful grotto/ Rosary Garden on the church grounds. Father Michael Thornton blessed the garden and a nice reception followed. The children were gifted Finger Rosary Necklaces. The flowers beside the Blessed Mother will be changed out seasonally. St. Bernadette Parish, Waynesboro Left, families, friends, and students needing community service time turned out at St. Clare’s in Waveland on Saturday, March 10, to help plant 25 Bradford pear trees to line the drive into the church grounds. The trees were offered to the parishioners to have the trees planted in memory of a loved one. The tree planting is just a part of the efforts of St. Clare’s to beautify the grounds. In addition to the trees, lighting has been restored to the outside of the Church as well as to the grotto that faces the beach, all thanks to parishioners whose gifts and talents were brought to bear on these projects, and to generous donors who supplied the lighting and planting supplies. St. Clare’s next project will be new signage for the church, to include the original bell first cast in 1882 and used in the early churches. Right, Knights from KC Council 16433 also assisted in planting the trees, but took on the added task of repainting the handicap logos and stripes in front of the Church, creating a space for van accessibility. St. Clare Parish, Waveland On March 3 at the St. Patrick ’ s Festival and Parade in Town Green, Long Beach, a few Vietnamese families from Holy Family and families from St. Thomas in Long Beach andAmerican Heritage Girls came together to volunteer to cook and sell the egg- rolls, fried rice, and chicken on the stick combos to raise money for the poor students in Vietnam. These volunteers raised money for 30 bicycles for 30 more students/families in Ben Tre this July. There are no public school buses in Vietnam. Many children living in remote villages still walk long distance to go to school. Having these bikes will enable them to cut down the walking time so they can have more time to focus on their studies. For the past 10 years since 2008, Sr. Cecilia and her community have distributed more than 1,000 bicycles to poor students/families throughout Vietnam. Each bicycle is $50. If your family, school, or organization would like to raise money to help Sr. Cecilia and her community share 123 more bicycles this July, please contact Sr. Cecilia: ceciliantt@yahoo.com . Holy Family Parish, Pass Christian, and St. Thomas, Long Beach