How do two small churches in a small Georgia town provide activities for their youth?

In Cedartown, St. Bernadette’s Roman Catholic Church and St. James Episcopal Church combined the two organizations and named it Christian Youth Affiliated.

“The idea really came from the youth themselves. They began talking so Father Daniel McCormick and myself talked about it,” said Father William O. Boyd, pastor of St. James Episcopal.

“We had less children and more facilities. They had more children and less facilities so we joined the two groups,” Father Boyd said. The group meets twice a month.

On two recent Sundays, the CYA group attended Mass at St. Bernadette’s and then attended Mass at St. James. This past Sunday night the two priests answered questions about the differences in the two Mass rites.

Why don’t Catholics receive wine in their Holy Communion? Father McCormick replied, “They do on occasions and in the Eastern rite, Communion is always given under both species. "He said the host was used in many parishes because of the size of the congregation receiving the sacrament.

Why are saints listed in the Canon of the Mass? “If you will study the lives of the saints mentioned you will get a clear picture. The lives of these persons who we called our attention and the Church wants us to be aware of their attributes.”

Why couldn’t the two groups receive Communion at the other churches? “This is a big problem,” Father McCormick said. “The churches are not in such close agreement that inter-communion is possible at this time. However, there is a continuing discussion on inter-communion.”

Father Boyd discussed the baptism of a child before the Episcopal Mass. He said the sacrament traditionally is held before the Mass so the community can witness it.

Both priests told their audience that the frequency of Communion has increased in both traditions. “In the Episcopal Church, the tradition used to be once a month,” Father Boyd said.

David Layman, a member of St. Bernadette’s, said the group was organized last May because neither church had a large enough group of youths to properly function. He and Mrs. Dot Cambron of St. James serve as sponsors.

“But the group was also organized because of the ecumenical spirit of Archbishop Hallinan,” Layman said. He added that Father Hallinan instructed and baptized him 18 years ago.

The group has jointly sponsored a street dance and has social functions after each home football game.

Father Boyd said the real organizer, in a sense, was Pope John XXIII “who opened the gate.” He said he and Father McCormick see each other frequently and “discuss everything under the sun.” Both priests belong to the local ministerial association.

The new offices of the organization are Demetrius Owens, president, St. Bernadette’s; Ellen Tumlin, vice president, St. James; Sheryl Owens, secretary and David Johnson, treasurer, both of St. Bernadette’s.