Leigha Rios and Mary Lu Callahan talk to Auxilia Njuma and Tina Frerich during a stewardship fair at St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville Sept. 20.
By Dan Russo
Editor
Father Chuck Adam reached into a silver container toward the end of St. Thomas More Parish’s Stewardship Fair and pulled out the name of the winner of the Our Lady of Grace statue, which The Catholic Messenger gave away Sept. 20 as the final part of its Connecting Catholic Community contest.
When Marcella Alvarez-Clavijo heard her name over the PA system in the new parish hall, she was surprised and so was I.
“I never win anything,” she exclaimed.
Marcella had been one of the last few people to write her name on a paper slip and put it into the container, with about 50 other slips. I had mixed up the entries pretty well before Father Adam did the drawing. I thought the prize would go to someone who had left, since most of the crowd who had attended the fair had gone home. Marcella came up to the Messenger table with her son and grandson initially to talk to me, but then moved on to chat with others. After hearing Father Adam’s final call for submitting drawing entries, she filled out one at the last minute.
“My first thought was that I wanted (the statue) for my grandson,” said the winner.
I found out after the drawing that Marcella had been an atheist and was supposed to begin the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) just this week. She said she became interested in learning about the Church after the birth of her grandson, now nine months old.
Father Chuck Adam
Marcella Alvarez-Clavijo won a statue of Our Lady of Grace from The Catholic Messenger subscription drive promotion earlier this year. The statue was given at St. Thomas More Parish in Coralville on Sept. 20.
She won a small statue of Our Lady of Grace, a likeness of the Virgin Mary which is based on the Church-approved Marian apparition to St. Catherine Laboure that led to the creation of the Miraculous Medal. I had purchased the statue at a religious goods store in Davenport about nine months ago to have something to give away as part of the contest, which kicked off in January. Aside from the statue give-away, the parish with the largest percentage of new Messenger subscribers at the end of the drive was also originally supposed to win a party hosted by yours truly. Plans changed, however, and instead, after we found out St. Thomas More won, we decided to sponsor the donuts at this year’s STM Stewardship Fair, which is an annual tradition where parish organizations are featured.
Some of those who witnessed Marcella win the statue commented that this may be a sign that she is on the right path as she begins her OCIA journey. I can’t say for sure if the Blessed Mother had anything to do with the drawing outcome, but I can tell you that Marcella seemed genuinely happy to get the prize and for me, at least, the situation was evidence of God’s grace.
Father Adam spoke about grace as part of his homily that day, which had the overall theme of stewardship.
“We don’t earn God’s grace,” said Father Adam. “It’s a gift … and we open our hearts to it. God is way more generous than we could ever be.”
Just as God is generous to us, we’re called to use our “time, talent and treasure” for others, according to the priest. That’s the point of St. Thomas More’s Stewardship Fair, I found out. Representatives of ministries in the parish talk to others who stop by their tables, hoping to find recruits.
“We need more involvement,” said Judy Fritz of the STM Church and Family Life Commission, who said that the growing parish has new families joining all the time.
It was fun to get to know some of STM’s stewards during the fair — people like E.Z. Nwonye, a young chiropractor who sang in the choir that day, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and serves on the parish’s Racial Equity Committee
“I just want to be a part of things and help,” he said.
Bill Masser serves at the donut social regularly. He gave me a keen insight: “The adults go for the glazed, but the sprinkles are the most popular (because of the kids).”
He said the simple practice of providing donuts after Mass, like many parishes do, helps connects the community in ways that go beyond a sugar rush.
“I think it helps with building the parish identity,” said Masser.
Thank you to all the people around the Davenport Diocese and beyond that support The Catholic Messenger, and thanks especially to St. Thomas More for hosting us this past weekend.
