On Thursday, March 25th, at 7 p.m., we will have our Parish (Deanery) Penance Service. There will be five priests, including the new chaplain from Fort Benning. Priests will be in Mercy Chapel, Visitation Hall and the Training Room in the main church. Please make the effort to go to confession during Lent - you won’t regret it!

A few weeks ago there was no one more excited than me that we were being given the opportunity to be a vaccine distribution center. As is always the case when I put out the word, St. Anne parishioners came through. Fifteen medical professionals and others volunteered to staff the project and do the cumbersome training and paperwork. Then the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was announced. In the case of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, I’m told that the cell lines from aborted children were used in the research to develop the vaccine. Because we are pro-life this was concerning. The Church announced that Catholics should be able in good conscience to receive these vaccines because of its impact on the common good and the remote nature of the research. However when the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came out it was revealed that some tissue from aborted babies was used in both the research and production of the vaccine. When this became known several Church leaders expressed greater concern about this new development. In other words the Johnson & Johnson vaccine seems to be more morally tainted than the previous two. The Church once again deferring to the common good has told Catholics that they may even receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine if that is their only choice. However, I believe that there is a difference between receiving a morally questionable vaccine because we have no choice and distributing it. I don’t believe it would be proper for us to distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and Bishop Parkes feels the same way. In a conversation with our contacts at the Georgia Health Department we have been told that they will respect our moral concerns and not ask us to distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. They put in writing that they will provide us with either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine to distribute. I am grateful for this consideration. We can only hope that in the future companies like Johnson & Johnson will not use the tissue of aborted children in either their research or production methods. If you volunteered for our vaccine clinic rest assured you will be getting more details as soon as we know them.

We are excited to once again announce that because we expect larger crowds on Easter, the 10:30 a.m. Mass will be outside on the new football field. The only concern the FieldTurf company requested was that no one wear high heels on the field. Families are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and respect social distancing as they participate. We will build a platform for the sanctuary and will need help setting everything up and decorating. We hope to accomplish this on Holy Saturday at 10 a.m. In the event of rain the school gym will be used as an auxiliary Mass location. We will also use the church, Mercy Chapel and Visitation Hall. Please email or call Kimberly Kaup in the Parish Office (706-561-8678) if you or your family can help us. We will also be decorating the church for Easter on Friday evening and may need help then. Many hands make light work. Thanks in advance for your willingness to help!

I’m so happy to see so many familiar faces returning to church. Some of you I haven’t seen for almost a year. Now that a number of our senior citizens are being vaccinated they feel much more comfortable coming back. Please continue to wear masks, practice social distancing, and help sanitize the church. There is indeed light at the end of the tunnel, but we have to stay the course to avoid a variant resurgence of the virus. Thanks in advance for practicing good hygiene.

The Ledger-Enquirer did a wonderful article and short video on our student involvement with St. Anne Community Outreach. It is so well done and shows the caliber of kids we have at St. Anne-Pacelli Catholic School. The students who help our Outreach program assist the working poor who may have jobs during the day but still need food assistance. Watch the video and share it! All Glory to God indeed.

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