By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
Photographer: JIM DAVIS The St. Thomas Aquinas High School Choir/Chorale sings at the ThanksForGiving Mass, on Nov. 16 at St. Clement Church, in Broward. Conducting was the school's theology instructor, Michael McCormack, with choral director Wanda Drozdovitch on piano.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS Archbishop Wenski poses with Katie Blanco Crocquet, president of the Archdiocese of Miami Development Corporation, before the ThanksForGiving Mass.
"Today I want to
thank you for your courage, for your faith," he said to 400 listeners at
the third annual ThanksForGiving Mass, celebrated for those who have donated to
the annual Archbishop’s Charities and Development Campaign (ABCD). "At a
time when many would want to write off the Church as irrelevant ... you still
invest your time, talent and treasure in supporting her mission in the
world."
Photographer: JIM DAVIS Archbishop Thomas Wenski serves Holy Communion at the ThanksForGiving Mass at St. Clement Church, in Broward.
"God calls us to
give, but also to be grateful," said Katie Blanco-Crocquet, president of
the Archdiocese of Miami Development Corporation. "At the archdiocesan
level, we can all accomplish so much. And it's important for us to show the impact."
St. Clement's was chosen
for its capacity for a large gathering, as well as its demographic diversity,
the archbishop said in an interview. During the Mass, he added a more personal
angle: He frequently visited as a priest during 1980-81, to minister to Haitians
there.
"To me, this is
almost like a homecoming," Archbishop Wenski said.
For Father Robes
Charles, St. Clement's pastor and concelebrant at the ThanksForGiving Mass,
said it was an "honor for us as children of the archdiocese. And it's an
honor not only for this parish, but for all the churches in Broward."
Besides the two clergy,
the Mass featured music by 80 members of the St.
Thomas Aquinas High School Choir/Chorale, Fort Lauderdale. Conducting
was the school's theology instructor, Michael McCormack, with choral director
Wanda Drozdovitch on piano.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS Emmanuel Okwor of St. Helen Church assisted at the third annual ThanksForGiving Mass, celebrated on Nov. 16, at St. Clement Church, in Broward.
At that date, the
honorees of the three main awards for the Mass -- One in Faith, One in Hope and
One in Charity -- will be named.
Some at the Mass talked
almost as if they'd already gotten awards.
"As Catholics,
we're used to being asked for money," Sheila Jackson, a lector at St. Bonaventure Church, said with a smile.
"But it's almost unexpected to hear 'Thank you.' It feels good."
Gerry Depken of St.
John the Baptist Church, a regular giver to the ABCD, agreed.
"It was a nice Mass. Everyone likes to be thanked."
In his homily,
Archbishop Wenski related the Gospel reading -- of the Rich Man and the Talents
-- with need to be "risk takers" for doing good and making the Church
"come alive in our world."
"Christianity
without courage is Christianity without blood and spirit," he said.
"It doesn't take courage to hide in our fear. It takes courage to risk
something new.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS Esther Castillo Price from of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church was among the more than 400 attendees at the third annual ThanksForGiving Mass, celebrated on Nov. 16, at St. Clement Church, in Broward.
Later, over punch and
cookies at the parish hall, attendees talked out their feelings about the Mass.
"Having the
archbishop come up to Broward and thank the people, it felt like we were
recognized," said Theodore Veskosky, who coordinates the Eucharistic
Ministry at St. Gregory Church along with his wife,
Donna. "We didn't have to go to Miami. He came here to thank us."
Emmanuel Okwor of St. Helen Church, where he
collects food from markets to donate to the food ministry, echoed the
sentiments. "I'm grateful that the bishop came to his subjects, that he is
appreciative of us giving back to the Church. We're helping him help those who
are less privileged."
Esther Castillo Price of Our Lady
Queen of Heaven Church even predicted that the archbishop's
thank-you would have a positive feedback on the ABCD.
"For him to say
'Thank you' is a beautiful thing, and all the people appreciated it very
much," Price said. "And they're going to be even bigger donors
now."