Honored: Three alumni of St. Gregory the Great School, Virginia Beach, who are Boy Scouts from Troop 12, earned the rank of Eagle Scout earlier this year after each completed a project benefiting a specific community. Adam Hakim built a fire pit at the St. Gregory the Great Youth House. Christian Goodman did garden and pond renovation at St. Gregory the Great Church. William Greene created a Virginia native plant pollinator garden at Catholic High School. Goodman and Greene are seniors at Catholic High School; Hakim is a senior at Prince Anne High School.
Standing up for life: Forty Days for Life has been taking place in locations throughout the diocese during Lent. Among the groups participating are parishioners from St. Pius X, Norfolk, and the Knights of Columbus, Norfolk Council 367. They silently protest in front of Planned Parenthood in Virginia Beach every Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon. Their witness includes recitation of the rosary. Speaking of life, the Virginia March for Life is Wednesday, April 27. Details at https://marchforlife.org/virginia-march-for-life.
Good people doing good things: When the Council of Catholic Women (CCW) of Bristol met March 10, they heard about the Appalachian Literacy Initiative (ALI) from St. Anne parishioner Kathy Carnell. True to its mission to support service and community outreach, the CCW members contributed to the ALI, which distributed 12,000 new books to 30 schools in five states where access to libraries and other resources is limited. Further information is available at readappalachian.org.
Outreach grows: Indicative of how the outreach of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has grown in the diocese was seen March 19 in Glen Allen when 85 Vincentians from conferences in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke met for a day-long meeting. Five years ago, there were three SVDP conferences in the diocese; today there are 10. The meeting focused on mental health, trauma and homelessness — concerns Vincentians encounter when they carry out their ministry.