The Faithful at Work
After a two-day break for the Provincial Meeting in Atlanta, Bishop Fabre returned to the Beaufort Deanery for a day that moved through four very different rooms. He found the same thing in each — people who have given their lives to something greater than themselves, but who are not done yet!
Starting Where Few Go
The morning began at the Ridgeland Correctional Facility, where Bishop Fabre celebrated Mass, ate with and visited with the men there. He was accompanied by Deacon John Leininger, diocesan coordinator for prison ministry. The bishop uses these visits to remind those incarcerated that they have human dignity, and that Christ is always there to forgive them, no matter why they are imprisoned.
The bishop shared a story from his ministry as chaplain at a federal prison in Florida. A man said he’d had friends before he was incarcerated. “Now, I don’t have any.” This is why, as a Church, we are called to accompany men and women both while in prison as they serve their time and when they are received back into society afterward.
NOTE: Due to strict permissions, we were not allowed to accompany the bishop to the correctional facility for photography.
A Building that Created a Family
Bishop Fabre then toured the Lowcountry Outreach Center in Beaufort, which was born from a capital campaign of St. Peter Church and the vision of its pastor, Father Andrew Trapp. The center now houses 21 active service partners, five of which have permanent, rent-free offices. These partners serve the community with free legal assistance, medical transportation, addiction recovery, fatherhood formation, youth drug education and family counseling.
Staff and volunteers shared many stories: from an “angel driver” who helps with ridesharing learning the history of the Sea Islands one ride at a time, to a 27-year-old doctor from Nicaragua who found housing, returned to school and sent her driver a Mother’s Day card. Then there was a young mother named Amber who, with the help of Lowcountry Legal Volunteers and a preschool scholarship for her daughter, responded to her custody settlement by saying: “I’m going to go get my GED now.” A support group for parents estranged from their adult children — with 80 participants in a single month — is now spreading to other parishes.
Bishop Fabre listened, then offered a challenge and a gift. He asked what word, beyond love, connects all the work under that roof. The answer? Family. They are not simply clients or cases, but family. At the very end, he announced a $10,000 gift from a special bishop’s fund to the outreach center, then led the room in prayer and offered a blessing.
One-Third, One-Third, One-Third
The most unexpected stop of the day was for conversation and snacks at the home of Dorothy “Dot” Gnann. She is the 21st child of William Eugene Pinkney, a man known for extending work, food and shelter to anyone who asked.
Dot has continued what she saw in her youth with tireless joy and effort. At age 98, Dot is a former Beaufort County Council member, a defender of the county’s rivers and marshes, and the one who named the streets of Sun City in Bluffton. Her home is open every day at 4 p.m. to whoever shows up.
Around her yesterday afternoon were her sons, grandsons and extended family, plus neighbors, friends and community leaders who represent decades of service to Beaufort County.
When asked for her message to the people of the diocese, Dot did not hesitate. She said we have to give one-third to family, one-third to community, one-third to the Church. One can’t be at the expense of the others, but all three, working together, sustained over a lifetime.
And to young people she said, “Our only anchor is the faith.”
Bread of Life on the Water
The day closed at historic St. Peter’s Chapel in Beaufort for a holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, led by Father Trapp and Father Jean Philippe Alexis. Bishop Fabre described the line from the manna in the desert to the body of Christ received at every Mass — knowing that what we carry is not a symbol but a person.
The bishop closed with a vision. Just as we see the names of the towns on the large water towers across South Carolina, he wants the Eucharist held up so high that everyone who enters a town knows that Christ is present among them. There, in a Lowcountry chapel that’s stood for centuries, was a fitting place to end a day.
Reflection
Every life has purpose and meaning. We saw what is possible for a faith community when everyone steps up and shares the talents they have been given by our Father in heaven. Each person Bishop Fabre spoke with has contributed to the Church’s mission to save souls in a unique and personal way. Let us remember that we must look to others to glean the heart of Christ’s commission to evangelize, catechize, do good works and accomplish the will of God the Father.
Looking Ahead
Day 6 keeps Bishop Fabre in Beaufort, where Father Trapp will host a morning meeting and lunch with all the deacons of the deanery at the Lowcountry Outreach Center, followed by a tour of Beaufort and Habersham. The evening brings Mass at St. Peter Church and a Spanish-language listening session. This visit is building toward something, and the deacons of the deanery will be at the center of what comes next.
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Please credit: Doug Deas/The Miscellany