ATLANTA--The annual Shepherds Night dinner of the archdiocese was held Feb. 8, bringing together priests working in North Georgia with lay men and women who belong to the two local Serra Clubs. The dinner honors the work of archdiocesan and religious order priests who serve the church and is hosted by Serrans, members of the lay organization supporting vocations to priesthood and Religious life.

Archbishop John F. Donoghue, the guest of honor at the dinner at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, expressed his own gratitude "most formally and most sincerely" to the priests working in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

"Our diocesan clergy, along with their brother priests in religious orders, are unsurpassed in their devotion," he said. The priesthood is a work of unstinting service, the archbishop noted, given at all hours and under all circumstances. He also cited a reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans in which the apostle warned those in a great storm at sea to remain with the ship.

"Paul said unless you stay with the ship you cannot be saved," he said. "We all stay afloat because of that great gift that Christ has given us, that gift of the Roman Catholic Church." Through the gift of the Church, both ordained and lay members learn to love and serve God in the most full way, he said.

Former Serra Club president Hal Lamb served as master of ceremonies for the dinner. Soloist Mary Rogers, accompanied by Alan Brown, provided Christian music following the dinner that included the sung tribute, "How Beautiful Is The Body Of Christ."