GREENSBORO — Our Lady of Grace parishioners surprised Father Casey Coleman with gifts, guests and gratitude for the 10-year anniversary of priesthood during their second annual Feast of St. John the Baptist Mid-Summer Festival June 21.
Hundreds gathered in the courtyard for a good pigpickin’ time filled with music, games for the kids and lots of great food. A far cry from John the Baptist’s desert diet of locusts and honey, cooks slowly roasted two 125-pound pigs and 20 whole chickens over an open flame for this feast, while children ran through sprinklers and a mariachi band played. Just as the church is infused with different cultures, so was the meal, with one pig being cooked Filipino style and the other spiced with Latin flavors.
The highlight of the festival was the celebration of Father Coleman’s decade of ministry. He was ordained in 2015 and served as parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Charlotte before becoming pastor of St. Mary, Mother of God Parish in Sylva in 2017. He came to OLG as pastor in 2020.
“He truly helps us to get rooted in the faith,” parishioner Carlos Reyes said of Father Coleman. “We are all spiritually blessed to have him here.”
Father Coleman joined the party after Mass, bringing some special guests; his mother from South Carolina; his aunt and godmother, Joan Buckner, from Ohio; and his brother,
Theo Coleman, who came from Colorado with his sister-in-law and nephew .
“I am very proud of him. He answered God’s call, and I am so happy he did,” said his mother, Caroline Coleman. “I didn’t know he wanted to be a priest. He went to NC State and was studying mechanical engineering for five years. He came home one day and said, ‘Mom, I got the call’, and I said, 'That's it, you have to go.’”
His aunt believes Father Coleman’s grandma had something to do with his journey to the priesthood. She said, “His grandmother came to the Carolinas all the time, and he watched my mother constantly pray.”
After a blessing, dinner and songs by parishioner Frank Fratoni, the parish presented Father Coleman with a custom-made gift—hand-sewn, black-patterned satin and gold-trimmed vestments for funerals. The fabric came from Greece, the golden fringe from Ukraine and the IHS emblem from New York.
Planning for the gift started in early December under the leadership of long-time seamstress and parishioner Rosemarie Specht. She recruited an ensemble of six: Zabrina Crickons, Jenny Harris, Teresa D'Amelio, Esther Honyg and 10-year-old Celicia Zomberg, who worked on the 15 pieces since April.
Specht said it was a labor of love, “I have heard it is kind of like a wedding dress, so you want to make sure the priest likes it, or he will not enjoy wearing it. So, as much as we tried to keep it a secret, he did give a little input, but he had no idea how they would end up looking.”
When he saw the vestments, Father Coleman instructed Seminarian James Johnson IV, whose summer assignment is at OLG, and OLG parishioner and seminarian Jaylen Abney, who is fulfilling his calling in New York, to prepare the Holy Water to bless his new garments.
“They’re gorgeous,” Father Colemen said. “For funerals, oftentimes it is hard to find vestments that give the dignity it deserves.”
“Wearing black is a sign of both our mortality and also the fact that we are sinners who are dependent upon God’s grace,” he said. “So, these black and gold vestments are a different way to bring dignity to the celebration of the funeral Mass."
The uniqueness and intricacy of the vestments reminded Father Coleman’s mother of the chalice he was bequeathed when he first was ordained a priest.
“The chalice came from a priest we were close with who died. When we brought it to the jewelry store to have it cleaned and polished, the jeweler embedded rubies all around the top, free of charge,” she said. “Then when his grandmother died, we took her gold wedding band and added a gold cross to the outside. I also had a large sapphire that I had put on the base.”
As his years as a priest grow, his liturgical gifts are also compiling, and Father Coleman appreciates each one.
He said, “This was a surprise. I mean I knew a little something was up, but I didn’t know what. It’s wonderful that they gifted me these, and beautiful because it is not about me.
It's about glory to God.”
— Lisa M. Geraci. Photos by AJ Lyon and Lisa M. Geraci
