Print Issue: November 28, 2002

A Thanksgiving Album

What Is It In Our Lives That We Thank God For This Season?

A Photo Essay By Michael Alexander

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction . . . For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.
-- 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

A family is reunited after a long separation. A son is brought back from the brink of death. A husband is given a new lease on life by doctors, after a first prognosis looked grim. And a family rejoices as they are able to share the Eucharist together for the first time.

Through these stories and a special photo essay, we spotlight families and individuals throughout the archdiocese who share why they are especially thankful not just this season but all year round. And like the apostle Paul, writing to the people of Corinth, they continued to praise God through good times and bad.

Vita D'Ambrosio, left, adjusts Sal's Knights of Columbus regalia in their Woodstock home. Sal is a district master of the fourth degree with the Knights of Columbus. He is also past state deputy for the Knights, serving from 1999 to 2001. Vita and Sal are also members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The D'Ambrosios belong to St. Michael the Archangel Church, Woodstock. (Photos by Michael Alexander)

A New Lease On Life

During 42 years of marriage Sal and Vita D'Ambrosio have shared some difficult moments together; yet they have stood on their faith every step of the way. A 1966 automobile accident resulted in the loss of their oldest child, Mary, at the age of nine. Vita, herself, was thrown from the vehicle and hospitalized where she lay in a coma for a week. In June 2001 Sal was diagnosed with cancer and given two months to live. After a visit to the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., for a second opinion, additional surgery led to the removal of his spleen, 3/4 of his pancreas, his gall bladder, six lymph nodes and six pieces off his liver, and a revised extension on his life of 10 or more years.

I Thank God I'm An American

Marjorie Diaz, a native of Venezuela, became a U.S. citizen this year on Nov. 13, just days before her birthday. The St. Catherine of Siena, Kennesaw, parishioner said, "Now I'll be able to request my mom (residence and eventual citizenship). And for that I'm more than thankful."

Thankful For A Catholic Conversion

Doris, left, and John Green have been married for over 42 years. Her mother prayed every day of her life that John, an Episcopalian, would join the Catholic Church. Months prior to her June 2001 wedding, their youngest daughter of four children, Joyce Green Savoy, right, asked her father why he had never become Catholic. She thought that if he entered the church before her wedding, it would be a perfect opportunity for the entire family to receive Eucharist together. Little did the family know John was already taking instructions from their Corpus Christi Church pastor, Father Gregory Kenny, CMF. John, an aviator for some 35 years who flies as a contract pilot for the U.S. Forest Service, became Catholic in the spring of 2001 to the delight of his wife and his children.

Thanks Be To God For A New Child

Thankful for the birth of their child, Pam and Michael Norz of St. Oliver Plunkett Church, Snellville, hold their first child, Mary, who was born on July 28. Mary was named after the mother of God and Pam's late great-grandmother back in Nebraska.

Thankful for Reuniting with Family

Evelyn Williams, top step, right, and her 4-year-old daughter Mclyn, bottom step, center, came to the United States from Liberia in August 2000. Evelyn's husband Michael, top step, left, joined them in March 2001. Their four sons were unable to come over despite a petition for asylum made by Evelyn to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State Department. St. Oliver Plunkett parishioners Val and Pat Herman made friends with the Williams over coffee and doughnuts after Mass one Sunday. They shared the Williams' story with their pastor Father James Henault, MS, who in turn shared their story with the congregation. Once the family received asylum approval, the church raised the necessary funds in order to fly the three youngest sons, (clockwise, from right) George, 16, Michael Alex, 13, and Teddy, 11, to Georgia this summer, after nearly two years of separation from the family. Said Michael, "Day and night our main prayer was to reunite the family and that's all we asked for. So many other families are separated for five, ten years, or more. God made it possible for us in a short period of time. God blessed us." Recalling the day the boys arrived at the airport, Evelyn says, "It was like a dream. It was a day the Lord had made. God gave me my heart's desire to have the kids back. I always heard God's voice telling me 'I'm able.' I'm thankful to God and the people of St. Oliver." (The Williams are also joined in the photograph by their niece Queen, 15, second row, left. The Williams' oldest son, Robert, is still awaiting a visa to come to the United States.)

Thankful For The Opportunity To Serve

Thayes Sturgis, second from left, of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta, participates in a prayer of thanksgiving led by George Carzell, second from right, as they do every Tuesday and Thursday just before the street people and the hungry enter the parish hall for a complete meal with beverage. Serving hot meals for 10 years, today the parish feeds on average 200 people. The volunteers who cook and serve do it for a variety of reasons ranging from "it's uplifting" to "I'm giving back to the community." One thing they all agree on, however, is their gratitude for the late Ruby Palmer, one of the program founders, who was an inspiration for all of them to continue her work. (Photos by Michael Alexander)