HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark parishioners who attended the Saturday morning Mass Feb. 3 were greeted by a sea of green shirts in the pews, as more than 30 members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and family members attended Mass offered for the deceased members of the order.
This First Saturday Mass was offered by St. Mark’s parochial vicar, Father Noah Carter, and concluded with the blessing of throats to commemorate the feast of St. Blaise.
The AOH is a Catholic-Irish fraternal organization whose goals are to promote friendship, unity and Christian charity; foster and perpetuate Irish history, culture and traditions; and to protect and defend all life. To learn more, go to www.aohmeck2.org.
— Mike FitzGerald | Catholic News Herald
HENDERSONVILLE — It was a fabulous day at the 35th Annual Community Christmas Dinner by Bounty of Bethlehem. Dinner was served to more than 2,400 people.
Volunteers were able to deliver nearly 600 meals to homebound Henderson County residents as well as civil servants who were working on Christmas Day in greater Hendersonville. Approximately 650 meals were picked up from the parish’s take-out trailer parked outside the school.
The remainder of the meals were served from a buffet, where volunteer servers doted over the diners in the festively decorated gymnasium-turned-dining room. A blessing was said over the meal, live music was performed and, of course, Santa greeted the youngest guests. Hundreds of toys, stuffed animals and books were handed out by him to all the children who were present for dinner.
All this was made possible because of hundreds of volunteers who came to share the work for the days leading up and on Christmas Day. One hundred percent of money, food and toys came from the community through the parish’s fundraising and outreach efforts. Generous supporters included individuals and businesses.
Since the early 1980s, Henderson County volunteers and supporters have gathered to create a tradi-tion of providing a free Community Christmas Dinner by Bounty of Bethlehem for anyone and every-one to enjoy – no matter who they are, how they worship, or from where they come.
— Photo provided by Annamarie Jakubielski