For three Wednesday evenings this summer, beginning next week, the Catholic saints will come marching into Ocean City for a series of free programs aimed at answering doubts about the faith in a modern world.
Offered by the Lifelong Faith Formation team of Saint Damien Parish, the events will be held on June 16, July 14 and Aug. 18, all starting at 7 p.m., at Saint Frances Cabrini Church, 114 Atlantic Ave, Ocean City.
A combination of dramatic dialogue and PowerPoint presentations, the three nights will feature such saints and doctors of the church as Therese of Lisieux, Albert the Great and Catherine of Siena answering questions and debating doubters with such names as Undecided, Fickle and Puzzled, in an exploration of Christian belief in today’s society.
The three presentations examine the how, what and why of belief.
Program One, June 16, focuses on how Christians believe. Saint Therese of Lisieux and Saint Theresa of Avila react to the character Undecided who needs proof God exists because she doesn’t “see anyone come back from the dead.”
In the second part of the program, Saint Augustine and Saint Ambrose reply to the character Ruled who “follows all the church rules” but feels the church has let her down.
Program Two, July 14, has Saint Albert the Great and Saint Teresa of Kolkata debate the character Fickle who says “God and the church are not relevant in the modern world.” Saint Hildegard answers characters Fossil and Chance who “pit science against faith” and say “the universe and life simply happened by chance.”
Program Three, Aug. 18, sees Saint Catherine of Siena respond to characters Needy and Greedy whose “unanswered prayers cause them to doubt God’s existence.” Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches characters Miffed and Puzzled how to “reconcile a good God with suffering and evil.”
As liturgy dispensations have been lifted throughout the Diocese of Camden, parishes like Saint Damien are devising unique ways to evangelize to their communities, and “get to the work of setting the world on fire,” said Donna Ottaviano-Britt, Director of the Office of Discipleship and Leadership for the Diocese of Camden.
The dramatic evenings are “an entertaining way to engage people in the faith,” she added.
“It’s truly a unique presentation,” says Tony Fulginiti, who created the program two years ago as the first part of a trilogy on faith, hope and love that took place at Saint Finbarr Parish in Naples, Florida. Drawing on his studies in theology, psychology, philosophy and communication, he and his wife, Nancy, wrote the scripts, and he acted as director and intermediary between the audience and the parish actors on stage.
It is the “Faith” section of the Fulginitis’ initiative which will be showcased in Ocean City, with son Samuel, a member of Saint Damien’s Lifelong Faith Formation team, taking the reins as director, with actors accompanying him in evangelization.
Next summer, it is hoped that both the “Hope” and “Love” programs will be brought to the parish. “If it reaches people in New Jersey as it did in Florida, I’ll be pleased and gratified,” Tony says.
Reservations not needed. For more information contact the Saint Damien Parish Office at 609-399-0648.
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