Editor's Note
Three Years of NC Catholics
This month marks the third anniversary of NC Catholics. In more than 30 issues, we’ve told the faith stories of Catholics in Eastern North Carolina, and we’ve barely scratched the surface. I wrote in the first issue of this magazine that every one of us has a story, and telling these stories helps us make sense of our lives.
In talking with people of faith, I’ve found, not surprisingly, that God figures prominently in their stories. I remember Angela Flynn (NCC July/August 2006), talking about the dark time after her first marriage had disintegrated: “Why had God brought me to this place alone? But God never leaves us. God is that Friend who doesn’t have to speak to be comfortable.”
And Shannon Mante (NCC April 2007), describing a turning point in his journey to the Catholic Church. He was alone in a hotel room, watching The Passion of the Christ. “Suddenly,” he said, “I knew that Jesus was the Son of God. I got down on my knees and wept.”
Just last month, Fr. David Brockman talked about his father’s initial displeasure with his decision to enter the seminary: “That changed gradually, though, when he realized that I hadn’t been influenced by ‘outside’ forces. At least not by outside human forces, but by the Lord.”
The people I interviewed for this month’s cover story are no exception. Jacqueline Bonk, local director of Project Rachel, for the healing of those who have had or participated in abortions, speaks of God “pursuing those who have distanced themselves from Him, wanting to reconnect.” Sister Adria Connors talks about the challenges of aging, one of which is recovering an identity that is based on more than one’s work: “What am I, beyond what I do? I’m a child of God, a member of the Body of Christ.” And prison minister Ernie Abrahamsen remembers how God first spoke to his life when he became a lector in his parish and began to read the Bible.
In his letter this month, Bishop Burbidge writes of “the promise of Easter: In and through His suffering, death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has destroyed forever the power of the darkness of this world and has raised us up to new life.” It has been such a privilege over these three years to encounter this truth every month in the stories told to me by North Carolina Catholics.
Letters? Stories? You can write me at 715 Nazareth Street, Raleigh, NC 27606 or reece@raldioc.org.