The North Star Catholic / EDITOR'S PICKS Archives - Page 156 of 170

Outreach gives engaged Alaskans a dose of reality

It’s no secret that stable, lifelong marriages are under intense pressure across much of the modern world. Viewed by many as a growing global crisis, the problem has long been on the Catholic Church’s radar and was a central concern during the recent Vatican Synod on the Family held late last year in Rome. But it is also seen as a pressing challenge in Alaska where volunteers for the local affiliate of the international Catholic Engaged Encounter ministry have labored for decades to ensure that couples go into marriage with eyes wide open.

Searching for Alaska’s longest married couple

Each year since 2010 the largest faith-based marriage enrichment program in the world has spearheaded a national campaign to find the longest married couples throughout the United States. Requests for nominations are broadcast over television, radio, newspapers and the internet. In Alaska, David and Aleen Fison of Anchorage took top honors for 2014, after 70 years of marriage. The national winners were Harold and Edna Owings of Burbank, Calif., married 82 years.

News & Upcoming Events across the Anchorage Archdiocese

Here is a listing of recent news briefs as well as upcoming events and public liturgies scheduled across the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

Anchorage Archbishop’s January Calendar

Here is a list of events and liturgies that Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz is scheduled to attend in January.

Jan. Community Calendar for Anchorage Archdiocese

Here is a run down of upcoming events across the Anchorage Archdiocese in January.

Students celebrate Advent with ‘Lessons & Carols’

Students at Holy Rosary Academy in Anchorage put on the school’s annual Festival of Lessons and Carols last month during a service at Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral. The program recalled the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah, and the birth of Jesus in nine short Scripture readings from Genesis, the prophetic books and the Gospels. The readings were interspersed with Christmas carols and hymns.

Anchorage children encounter Bishop Nicholas

On Saturday, Dec. 6, dozens of children gathered at St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church to meet with the beloved Saint Nicholas, the third century bishop of Myra and the inspiration behind much of the Christmas gift-giving tradition. Families gathered in St. Nicholas parish which celebrated its namesake with a Divine Liturgy followed by singing, dancing, gift exchanges and a potluck feast.

Metropolitan cross a sign of archbishop’s presence

Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz presided over the Dec. 8 Immaculate Conception Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Anchorage. During the morning liturgy he formally blessed the new metropolitan cross which is now used at all Masses that the archbishop celebrates at the newly elevated co-cathedral church.

LETTERS: Readers weigh in on vandalism of Anchorage cathedral

Readers weigh in on vandalism at Anchorage’s Holy Family Cathedral, the bi-partisan fight for unborn rights and the recent visit to Alaska by Pope Francis’ top ranking ambassador to the United States.

EDITORIAL: Attack on Anchorage cathedral poses age-old challenge

What has occurred at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage over the past several months is deeply disturbing for both believers and unbelievers alike. It gives one pause that vandals would attempt to burn down an outdoor shrine to the Blessed Virgin, smash the windows of the Dominican priests’ vehicle, barge into the sanctuary and throw down statues of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, while stripping the holy altar and overturning the archbishop’s chair and other furnishings. Add to this that at least one Dominican friar has also been punched in the face and attempts have been made to break into the priests’ residence. Regardless of one’s beliefs attacks on a sacred house of worship and the oldest church in Anchorage leaves one feeling less secure about our community and what we can expect from it.