Like every season, summer evokes a feeling. For many, the pace of living slows. The sun shines more than half of the day. People are outside. We take more walks, have more talks and, sometimes, swap the family pew at church for an oceanside seat for Mass.
Also like every season, summer is short. Really. It could be the fastest 93 days of your life.
People spend the summer months enjoying the season, but it’s also a time to prepare for fall. Just ask your parish’s faith formation director or any family on a traditional school calendar.
NC Catholics took a look at the diocese, all eight deaneries, for snapshots of summer. Even with our shades on, it was easy to see what characterizes the season. From baseball to lemonade stands, people are living their faith and squeezing the most out of summer 2023.
Vacation Bible School
St. Paul Parish in New Bern welcomed 75 students, in grades pre-Kindergarten through fifth, to its Vacation Bible School. To launch the event, they also needed the contributions of 36 volunteers, 22 of whom were in middle school and high school. The theme was “Shine Jesus’ Light,” and the week included Bible adventures, special passports ready for stamps and saints of the day.
“On the last day, there was a page for autographs where they had their friends sign. They also loved getting new stars for the necklace of their Bible buddy. Our parents appreciated their children learning more about their faith in a fun way,” said Heather Santos, VBS director. “We love the fact that every year our number of participants grows … many parents said, ‘This is the best VBS in New Bern,’ which was only possible because we have the best volunteers.”
Fishing
Take one catch-and-release fishing pond, 10 youth participants, eight family members and seven Knights of Columbus and you have not only a fishing tournament, but a fun Saturday. That’s how it went in Elizabeth City when some parishioners of Holy Family gathered for the annual event.
“The weather cooperated, but the fish did not,” said Ron Smith, deputy grand knight of council #7547. “After several hours of fishing, the event turned into a pizza party.”
Volunteers, including Brian Williams, grand knight of the council, helped the children learn how to bait a hook, cast a fishing rod and find the patience needed for the activity.
Lemonade Stand
Noelle Merritt-Sunseri always wanted to open a lemonade stand, but she lives on a road that doesn’t see much traffic. The 10-year-old didn’t sour on the idea, though. Instead, she found a new location and an important purpose.
She hosted the stand outside her church, St. Matthew in Durham, just after Sunday Mass and raised money and awareness for the Durham Community Food Pantry.
“It’s always a good idea to help people in need in whatever way we can,” she said, adding that it wasn’t hard to make the lemonade but the petit fours she tried to add to the menu didn’t work out. “I ended up making lemon pound cake and lemon Jell-O.”
Noelle looked to her mom, dad and brother for help, which was important for challenges such as keeping her sign in place on a windy day.
“I sold around 84 cups. I charged 50 cents a cup,” she said, noting that her first customer gave $18 extra. “I enjoyed … seeing them give generously into the jar without wanting change. With all of the tips that people gave, I thought that there must be $100 in the jar. I had to count it twice to be sure that it was really $200 and then there was only one thing going through my head, ‘This is awesome!’”
World Youth Day
Youth from St. Catherine of Siena in Tarboro; Maria, Reina de las Americas in Mt. Olive; Santa Clara in Magnolia; St. Mary of the Angels in Mt. Olive and Santa Teresa del Niño in Beulaville spent their summer not only making a pilgrimage, but getting ready for it with Eucharistic Adoration, Mass and hiking to prepare them for the walking required.
These 23 pilgrims from the Tar River and Newton Grove deaneries joined about 80 others from the diocese, and more than 28,600 from throughout the United States for World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.
With the help of two chaperones, Father Eric Michael Cruz Imbao, C.I.C.M., led that group of 23 to WYD and also to stops in Italy and Spain in search, he said, of a deeper encounter and friendship with God.
“Pilgrims will visit a Eucharistic miracle site in Portugal so they can truly experience the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. In Italy and Portugal, we will visit the places and basilicas of several saints. Through the lives of the saints, pilgrims will experience Christ in the holy lives of the saints,” he told NC Catholics before leaving for the trip, noting that appreciating local culture is also important. “Our group will experience the diversity, unity and richness of the Catholic Church present in different races, nationality and cultures present at WYD.”
It’s an experience Manny Gonzales, of St. Catherine of Siena in Tarboro, was looking forward to.
“WYD for me is not only learning that the word ‘Catholic’ means universal, but actually living it,” he said.
His fellow pilgrim, America Sanchez, also of St. Catherine, added, “I’m looking forward to growing more in my faith, and have that encounter with Jesus … and feeling his true presence. I really hope our intentions can help our community to have an open heart to receive Christ.”
Mass by the ocean
Located on Topsail Island, Surf City is a beach destination during the summer. It’s also home to a covered pavilion that’s held open-air celebrations of Mass for more than two decades. People, about 700 each week, may hear the sounds of waves and birds alongside hymns and readings. A ministry of All Saints Parish in Hampstead, Mass at the pavilion is celebrated twice on Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
“We gather as Christ’s larger parish family; people come from parishes all over the country and sometimes beyond,” said Monsignor Joseph Ntuwa. “It provides an evangelization opportunity … [and] there is a joy of celebrating Mass surrounded by God’s natural wonders and creation that pulls you into the wonder and awe of God’s great love for us.”
Backpacks
Shirley McHale can’t help but smile when August comes around. It’s because her parish, Sacred Heart in Southport, begins its annual backpack program. Each year hundreds of backpacks are filled with food items to help Matthew’s Ministry fight food insecurity in Brunswick County.
The goal is to serve children and families who need food, especially on weekends when school is out, and they aren’t receiving meals there. Items such as spaghetti, soup and rice can easily travel from school to homes on Fridays and return empty on Mondays to be refilled.
“It truly is a wonderful program, and it is very special to play a role in helping those in need,” she said.
Shirley (pictured inside the circle at left) is in her fifth year leading the effort and spends part of her summer organizing it with friend Susan Doyle (pictured inside circle at right), who heads the parish’s committee on social justice.
Having a ball
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh held its Pitch in for Charity events in Fayetteville and Durham. Baseball fans gathered June 15 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville for a Woodpeckers game and June 23 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham for a Bulls game.
“We had a great opportunity to join forces with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, and we had a fun night of baseball as we raised funds for our community. The donated funds will help us to meet the mission of providing help and creating hope,” said Vicky Jiménez, program director for the Catholic Charities Fayetteville regional office. “Funds raised will go towards our food pantry … this event also gave us the opportunity to be out in the community, bring awareness … and have a great time supporting our local baseball team.”
For soccer fans, Kickin’ for Charity raises funds for a Catholic Charities program, Centro para Familias Hispanas, with a North Carolina Football Club match at Cary’s Wake Med Soccer Park.
Preparing for Faith Formation
For Trina Carías, summer is time to inspire and prepare catechists at her parish, St. Mary in Mt. Olive. As leader of faith formation, she joined 15 fellow catechists in June and July for weekly, online training sessions to prepare to educate children and adults when classes meet again in the fall.
“I gained more knowledge about Jesus, how he loves me and the love he has for everyone,” she said. “I think people enjoyed the time we spent praying at the end of each session, and also the discussions.”
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