Parish staff members from across the diocese gathered at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh for a Centennial Celebration with Bishop Luis Zarama. Hosted by Cardinal Gibbons students and staff, the day was a great reminder of the blessings of the past 100 years and the promise of future years in the Diocese of Raleigh.
Bishop Luis commented that the spirit of the day was evident from the start.
“The students made everyone feel so welcome. They greeted everyone with smiles. They had enthusiasm and joy,” he said. “And that is so needed. That is our future.”
“It was wonderful to celebrate the centennial of the diocese here at Cardinal Gibbons,” said head of school, Jeff Bell. “We were pleased to share the day with fantastic colleagues from across the state, and we were so proud of our students, who served as hosts to the bishop, the clergy, and the diocesan staff. It was a blessed day!”
The event started with remarks from Bishop Luis and a reflection from CGHS director of campus ministry, Kathleen Kozak. Bishop Luis reminded the broad range of parish staff that they are loved and that they should let the people of their parish see Jesus’ love in their faces when they interact with them.
Kozak shared with the group her experiences from the recent Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. She also reminded the group that Father Thomas Price and those that founded Cardinal Gibbons High School may not have been able to imagine the long-term impact of their work. In a similar way, Kozak said, as we celebrate the past 100 years, we should also embrace that same missionary spirit to lay a foundation for the next 100 years in our diocese.
“I was happy to attend with my staff the first centennial event scheduled by the diocese,” said Father Ryszard Kolodziej, pastor of St. Egbert Catholic Church in Morehead City. “It was wonderful for us to come together to enrich each other with our faith. We build on the foundation laid by the previous generations, thanking the Lord for everything that has been achieved, and we are looking forward with hope to what we can still accomplish through God's grace.”
The joy of being together as a Catholic community of eastern North Carolina included a food truck lunch and a rousing game of “ZARAMA” – a modified BINGO game designed by the CGHS students to help attendees get to know one another by answering questions about each other’s backgrounds, family and work history. The party atmosphere provided a great way to help both longtime and brand new parish employees be a part of the diocese’s celebration of its history.
“From the moment I got there, being newly hired, with the sea of strangers, only knowing my coworkers, I felt God’s love the entire day,” said Rinny Stephens, bookkeeper at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fayetteville.
Human resources coordinator for the Diocese of Raleigh, Julie Teeter, summed up the celebration, “Bishop Luis said it best, ‘We are the Best Diocese in the World!’”
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