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ROSWELL—Even before there was a material building, adoration
was an important part of the spiritual growth of St. Peter Chanel’s
parishioners.
Since its humble beginnings at North Roswell Elementary School, to
Queen of Angels School, and now its own worship space, adoration has been an
important part of the parish’s life. Prior to its new home in the chapel,
adoration was held at the rectory.
Joan Liles and Peggy DeGance spearheaded the effort for perpetual
adoration. Liles said that it has been exciting to see the ministry grow.
“It’s brought the parish very close together,” she
said. “There is a deep, deep love for the Blessed Sacrament in this
parish.”
Once a quarter, an insert is placed into the church bulletin with
testimonials of how adoration has changed people’s lives.
“It’s incredible the responses that we’ve gotten
back,” she said. “Sometimes it’s not easy to make that
commitment (to serve as a guardian for an hour of adoration) but people’s
lives have changed because of it.”
Pastor Father Frank McNamee is thrilled at the number of
parishioners who participate in adoration.
“Here you have a ministry with close to 500 people involved
and they’re all praying at the same time,” he said. “We started
it from day one and we’ve slowly increased it, and the people have been
faithful to it. Because of it, the involvement of the community in the parish
life has increased and it’s helped people on their spiritual
journeys.”
He said that having adoration helps the parish to concentrate on
its purpose.
“We are not here to serve our own egos or to serve
ourselves,” he said. “We are here to serve the Lord and to focus on
what’s important. With perpetual adoration you realize that’s what
this is all about—serving the Lord and the community.” |
