WINSTON-SALEM — Brothers Christopher and Craig Shores remember their father David Shores as a faithful mentor who quietly practiced his Catholic faith. When Shores passed away last August at 78, he left a $92,000 estate gift, of which $45,000 was used to establish an endowment benefiting the little mission that he loved: Our Lady of Fatima Chapel.
The David Shores Endowment will benefit the downtown chapel, a mission church of Our Lady of Mercy Parish and one of the diocese’s smallest missions, where Shores and his family regularly attended Mass for nearly 50 years.
Our Lady of Fatima Chapel was established in 1954 to serve a large influx of Western Electric employees who relocated from New Jersey. Located on the corner of Third and Cherry streets, it is a small gray brick building originally built in the early 1900s as the city’s first public library. An influx of Hispanic Catholics in the 1990s added to the community’s diversity, and now its parishioners come from more than 10 countries.
Craig Shores said his late mother Donna and his father, a law professor at Wake Forest University, loved the church’s diversity.
“My parents believed in diversity, so going to St. Benedict Church was one of those experiences. We went to Sunday school there, and visited St. Leo the Great Church a bit, too, but our family felt most comfortable at Our Lady of Fatima Chapel,” he said.
“I remember one Christmas, when Mom and Dad invited a gentleman from Our Lady of Fatima over for Christmas Day dinner,” recalled Christopher Shores. “A recent exile from Chile during the Pinochet regime, he spoke very little English, and had virtually no friends or family in town.”
“It was obvious to me, even as a kid, how moved he was to be included in our family’s Christmas. At some point in the evening, he turned to my brother and me and said, ‘Your father is a great man.’ Dad, embarrassed by the grandiosity of the compliment, laughed and brushed it off, but it was good to hear. Dad’s incurable humility would never allow that notion to be even hinted at, let alone expressed, but I knew it was true,” he said.
Longtime friends Pat Roach and Charlie Rose also saw firsthand Shores’ humility and generous spirit.
“He was humble, in the background, but if anyone needed anything he was first in line to help,” Roach said.
“David was a very loyal friend – faithful, with a quiet demeanor. He was the person you could rely on,” Rose added.
Father Carl Zdancewicz, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church and Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, said the endowment gives him peace of mind.
“I am really grateful for it,” he said.
The chapel remains in good shape following its renovation in 2002, he noted, but the Shores endowment will enable future repairs to be funded without having to draw upon parishioner donations.
“With this endowment gift, 15 of our 18 mission churches now have endowment funds,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “Mission churches are typically our smaller churches and it is wonderful that individuals like David Shores think about those special churches in their estate plans.”
Create an endowment
Interested in setting up an endowment at your parish or Catholic school? Establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a gift of real estate, a gift of life insurance, cash or securities sufficient to set up an endowment, or a life income arrangement such as a trust or annuity.
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— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
SWANNANOA — Father Brian Becker, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church, is using an engaging format to share the faith with parents of his faith formation students.
Called “Fireside Chats,” these informal sessions for adults are being conducted in the church during the time when the kids are in their faith formation classes. The six-part series of sessions includes teaching on a particular topic, followed by a time for questions.
So far, Father Becker has offered two “Fireside Chats,” with four more scheduled between April 14 and May 19. In February, he spoke about prayer, and in March he spoke about living the Catholic faith every day of the week.
Father Becker said he borrowed the format from his days as a parochial vicar of St. Mark Church in Huntersville.
“Fireside Chats are drawn from American lore, and it is used to explain things that need a long chat in a relaxed atmosphere, just as gathering around the fire is informal, so people can listen as things are taught and explained,” he said.
It is an effective way to give an in-depth treatment for issues too complex to cover within the limited timeframe of a homily, he said.
Sarah Kramer, who organizes faith formation for the parish, sees these “Fireside Chats” as a helpful tool for evangelization.
“The parents are really excited to have some formation for themselves,” Kramer said. “It is greatly needed as parents because we don’t have the opportunity to have an interactive situation where we get to be catechized, as the children do.”
Antonio Garcia, the local Hispanic vicariate coordinator, has been simultaneously translating the “Fireside Chats” into Spanish.
“The chats are wonderful! The first one Father did on prayer, he did it in English, and there were a few parents who were there who were Hispanic. I asked them if they understood any of it and they said they did understand a little of it,” Garcia said.
Yet they wanted to make the information available to everyone, so thanks to some new equipment Garcia can now translate each talk for people who are more comfortable conversing in Spanish.
“I think it is so important for the community to hear the message in Spanish. The whole point is to help them at home. Every bit of information they can receive from their pastor is important,” Garcia noted.
“This gives the parents themselves a chance to engage in and learn what the children are learning,” Father Becker added. “We wanted to do some things specifically directed to the parents, with topics more suited to them and growing their faith and their ability to support their children’s education in the faith.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter