GREENSBORO — Hundreds gathered for a Night to Shine Feb. 9 at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. A Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is a prom night experience for guests with special needs celebrated in more than 500 churches around the world the weekend before Valentine’s Day each year.
Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church, kicked off the evening in prayer. Guests were served dinner and each assigned a personal buddy. Hair and make-up stations, Bingo, photo booths, lots of love and lots of joy filled the air at this year’s Night to Shine.
“Night to Shine is the first event we have held where our youth and parish leaders planned and worked together to provide a joyous experience for our guests,” said Carolyn Painley, St. Pius X staff member and pastoral associate. “This experience gave our youth the chance to see and understand that Christ’s love is cherished and celebrated as it shines through all people.”
“We had about 100 guests, 100 buddies and 100 volunteers,” said Lindsay Kohl, director of formational ministries at the parish.
Our youth stewards greatly impressed me with their willingness to jump right in and minister to our guests in every way possible,” Kohl said. “From helping with food service or photography – to being a buddy for the night and dancing with our guests – the young men and women of our parish and the community were an integral part in making this such a successful night.”
Pictured: Shay Walters and her son Ben Walters celebrate during the Night to Shine at St. Pius X Church in Greensboro. (Right) Night to Shine buddies and guests celebrate the crowning of kings and queens at the end of the night. (Photos by Georgianna Penn, Catholic News Herald)
“It was a blessing to host the Night to Shine because it helped reinforce our belief that every person, every life, is a gift from God and should be celebrated,” she said. “The Night to Shine was a beautiful celebration of life, visible in the joy that radiated from our guests and our volunteers the entire evening.”
The growing Greensboro parish has a long history of helping those with special needs, said Krisan Walker, community life chair and Sunshine Club coordinator.
“Sunshine Club is a social club that allows individuals with special needs to get together socially while giving caregivers a break,” she said. “Sunshine Club has been meeting monthly for over 20 years at St. Pius X and this is one of the ways we embrace the culture of respecting life here at St. Pius X.”
Besides the Sunshine Club, the parish also has an arm of faith formation that pairs teens with students with disabilities so they can participate fully in the faith formation class with their peers.
“I can’t imagine a more perfect match for Night to Shine,” said Chana Ball, Sunshine Club volunteer and St. Pius X parishioner. “Since Sunshine Club is a monthly, year-round event, we at St. Pius X have lots of experience working with folks with special needs, which is extremely helpful. This population is so appreciative of everything, large and small, that is done for them. It is so heartwarming!”
“The happiness, joy, and excitement is palpable every month as the ‘Sunshiners’ gather for dinner and a few hours of fun,” she said. “I would love to see Night to Shine become an annual event for our friends.”
Ball and her son John have been helping for almost a decade. “As a parent, you always hope you’ve done enough to show your children that it’s a big world out there, people are different, circumstances are different, and it is so very important to share your talents with people who might need your help or support,” she said.
“It is in giving of ourselves that we learn and grow and figure out our place in the world. By reaching past what is familiar to us, we see that helping spread love and kindness is essentially why we are here. So, volunteering a few hours on a Friday night seems like a wonderful way to show that we each can make a difference. And when our hearts are open to give love, well, we get love in return,” she said.
— Georgianna Penn, Correspondent
Christ was shining at ‘Night to Shine’
You really had to be there to experience it – my words certainly won’t do the night justice. Hopefully, I can get across just a bit of the wonder of the evening.
On Feb. 9, the church my family and I attend – St. Pius X Church in Greensboro – was one of more than 540 churches from across the world to host A Night to Shine. The Tim Tebow Foundation sponsors this amazing event, which is a prom night experience for people with special needs. My family was privileged to volunteer for the event. My wife helped the women do their makeup, my oldest son served and mingled with caretakers and parents of the guests, while my youngest son and I had the privilege of being a “buddy” to one of the guests attending the event.
From the second the guests were welcomed by our volunteers to the end of the night, keeping emotions in check was difficult, to say the least. The absolute, unequivocal pure joy of the guests was indescribable. And it was contagious. Not in a flu-season contagious type of way, but in a “I wish I could bottle this feeling and pass it on” type of way.
The dancing from the guests was also contagious. Now, I’d like to think that I have some pretty slick dance moves coming from a mother who taught dancing for years. My wife may disagree with me. That said, you couldn’t help but get your groove on because the dance floor was hot! “Dancing with the Stars” could have filmed an entire season in just two hours that night. And every single one of the guests were Stars.
Tim Tebow and his foundation got it right when they named the event Night to Shine. Each of the guests, volunteers and churches had the chance to shine that night and shine they did. However, those weren’t the only things that were shining that night. Faith, hope and love were shining. In short, Christ was shining that night.
I met a lot of shining stars that evening, but there was one person in particular who touched my heart.
Night to Shine is where I met Nathan.
Together, Nathan and I ate, danced, smiled and laughed. He had a way of reminding me to see the joy in all things both big and small. I saw Christ in the faces of each guest that night. There is no other way to describe it but pure joy and love.
I not only saw Christ in the face of Nathan, I had the honor and privilege of experiencing it firsthand.
I started the night as Nathan’s “buddy.”
By the end of the night and now each day moving forward, I am blessed to be Nathan’s friend.
— Ryan Murray. Photos provided by Ryan Murray.
CHARLOTTE — Students at Charlotte Catholic High School began their day in prayer Feb. 15, the day after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killed 17 and injured others.
In an all-school assembly during, school chaplain Father Jason Barone led students inp praying a decade of the rosary for the Douglas students, their families and teachers, according to a letter sent home from Principal Kurt Telford.
Telford and Assistant Principal Steve Carpenter spoke to the students to remind them of the school's safety plan that is in place. Coincidentally, before the school year began, faculty had decided to review the CCHS Safety Plan during the month of February.
Homeroom teachers have been discussing the Safety Plan in segments with their students this month and have emphasized the need for every student to take it seriously, including those who will graduate this year, Telford told parents.
“Unfortunately, this is the world in which we live. We are all in this together, and we are all responsible for ourselves and for each other,” Telford wrote.
Telford said they further emphasized to the students that everyone must be diligent about and mindful of any situation that does not appear right.
“Whether we think a student may harm himself, or suspect that someone may wish to harm others, we all have a responsibility to speak up. This can be done anonymously, of course. As Mr. Carpenter said, we are a family, and this is what we do for each other,” he said.
“We are grateful for the ability to be able to come together in times like these to pray for and with each other. This was a difficult way to start the day, but we are grateful that we can assemble in this place as a Catholic family.”
"The beauty of a Catholic school is that prayer is a most natural response for us." Dr. Janice Ritter, superintendent of Diocese of Charlotte Schools
In separate letters that went out to parents, students and teachers on Feb. 15, the Diocese of Charlotte's superintendent of schools, Dr. Janice Ritter, wrote, "As a nation, we grieve the tragic loss of life; as a Catholic community, we join together in prayer for the victims, their families and the entire Parkland community."
Ritter also emphasized to parents, "I want to assure you, that as a diocese, the safety of our students is a top priority."
Besides annual safety inspections and periodic reviews of security procedures coordinated through the diocese's Properties Office, she noted, all 19 of the diocese's principals receive training for "active shooter" incidents, all schools remain locked and visitors' entrances are controlled, and school safety drills are conducted regularly.
"You might not be aware of the things that take place behind the scenes, but I think it is important for you, as parents, to know that our schools have this type of diocesan support," she wrote.
She added, "As we look at the events taking place throughout our country and our world, I think we all realize, that even with advanced security measures and careful implementation, not every tragedy can be anticipated or prevented. However, we will continue to be conscientious and diligent in our safety and security measures. I hope it is reassuring for you to know that the school leadership, teachers and staff consider the safety of your children as a top priority."
"While we all struggle to make sense of this tragedy, our faith can be a source of comfort and strength for us and for our students. The beauty of a Catholic school is that prayer is a most natural response for us. In our schools, the entire school community can join together in prayer for our neighbors in Parkland," she said.
She also reassured students, "Your principals and teachers take your safety very seriously and work diligently to provide a safe school environment. You can assist them by speaking up when you see or hear something that might be of concern. Sharing this information with a teacher or administrator can be very helpful."
"I want you to know that as I offer my personal prayers for the Parkland community, each of you will also be in my thoughts and prayers," she said.
In a letter specifically addressed to teachers, Ritter thanked them for their vocation as Catholic educators and commented, "The senseless death of these young people is difficult to comprehend. We also think of our colleagues in that school community and empathize with them."
"I know you all place student safety as a top priority and I appreciate all you do to maintain a safe environment for your students," Ritter said.
An upcoming diocesan educator's conference in Greensboro already has two sessions devoted to student safety, one dealing with suicide prevention and another regarding social media and internet safety, she also noted.
— Catholic News Herald. Photo provided by Carolyn Tillman.
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