Once again we wish to thank you for your spiritual, moral and material support towards the growth of the Church in Ghana, especially in the Diocese of Sunyani. Through your help we have been able to complete some chapels to provide suitable places of worship. This year we are proposing the construction of a small chapel at a Village called Kantro.

RCIA is a program designed to prepare candidates to receive the sacraments of Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, and Confirmation. Any adults who are considering becoming a member of the Roman Catholic Church, or those who were baptized as infants, but did not receive the other sacraments should contact Mary Ellen Tiernan at the Parish House at 279-2021. RCIT for high school students who have not received the sacraments is also available. Instruction for both programs will begin in the fall.

The Catholic Daughters #185, will sponsor a collection to help the Community Action Program in Brewster, help children prepare for school this weekend, August 16/17. For clothing and shoes, C.A.P. suggested gift cards from local stores like Kohl’s and Kmart. Other items requested are: calculators, Trapper Keepers, 3 ring binders any size, backpacks, filler paper, lunch boxes, etc. There will be a box in the rear of the Church for donations. God Bless you for whatever help you can give.

Before “graduating” from our Religious Education Program, our 8^th Graders passed on some “words of wisdom” to our younger students. They shared some wonderful lessons and advice for students (and adults) about their faith. Here are some of their thoughts:

Religious Education Catechists Needed
No experience Necessary

The Religious Education Program is in need of Catechists (teachers) for the coming school year. Would you be willing to teach a class and share the gift of faith with the children of our parish? If you are hesitant to teach by yourself, you could try co-teaching. We are flexible and encourage all dedicated, caring parishioners to ponder and embrace this opportunity to serve the Church. Teachers will be given a manual and a lesson outline to follow. We will also hold a Catechist Workshop before classes start in September.

The Pauline year which began on June 29 (the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul) commemorates the 2000^th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth in the Roman city of Tarsus, in what is now the country of Turkey. The city had become Roman in 64 BC and was the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. A small river (the Cydnos) flowed through the center of the city in those days (it is now a mere stream), and it was there that Cleopatra landed from Egypt to meet Marc Antony.

The arrogant fanatic, on the road to search out and arrest more followers of Jesus, is humbled and amazingly changed by a meeting with Jesus Himself. We can best listen to the convert’s own words: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in Jerusalem. I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any others. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the high priest and council can testify.

The claim that a rabbi from Galilee was the long-awaited Messiah was one that Saul heard some time around the year 35 AD. His rejection of such a blasphemous claim came to a head and boiled over when the young Greek-speaking deacon Stephen made his daring defense of that claim before the Sanhedrin, the same council of high priest and Jewish elders who had handed Jesus over to the Romans for capital punishment.

On June 29 Pope Benedict inaugurated the Pauline Year, dedicated to the study of the life and work of St. Paul. What follows is a summary of his life from the web site of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the great church in Rome dedicated to him.