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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2005
CONTACT: Diana Sims Snider
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Simple Message, Hard Lessons
Catholic Convert, EPS Graduate Uses Training, Life Lessons in Prison Ministry
All Saints parishioner Hope Shaw, a Catholic convert and 2005 EPS Virginia graduate, got the nudge to minister to jailed women at the Manassas / Prince William County Adult Detention Center before she enrolled in Education+Parish+Service, a Scripture, theology, spiritual formation and ministry training program.
But the knowledge Shaw gained working toward the EPS certificate gave her the firm foundation to address the persistent questions and spiritual wrestling of incarcerated women, Shaw says. As she shares her knowledge about what the Church teaches, Shaw also is able to offer a simple message: these women are loved by God.
Shaw, mother of three and grandmother of six, was one of 24 students who received their EPS certificate at the May 10 graduation and commissioning Mass celebrated by the diocese’s Vicar General, the Reverend Msgr. R. Roy Cosby.
Among the priests concelebrating the commissioning Mass were: the Rev. Thomas P. Ferguson, pastor, St. Thomas à Becket; the Rev. Martin Day, OFM Conv, an EPS instructor; the Rev. Donald Greenhalgh, pastor, St. Mary of Sorrows, Fairfax Station; and the Rev. Marsal Armando, Falls Church.
Shaw joined All Saints’ on-going prisoner outreach soon after she became a Catholic in 1999. Fellow parishioners and pastors had encouraged her to do so. These days she visits the detention center twice a week, with fellow All Saints’ parishioner Margaretta Smith for a Thursday Catholic Bible study, and for an ecumenical applied scripture course she runs herself on Fridays. In addition, Shaw offers one-on-one spiritual support at the center, and frequently visits women incarcerated at the Fluvana Correctional Center for Women in Troy as part of the Kairos Prison Ministry, an ecumenical form of Cursillo for Prisons.
Shaw said she uses her EPS education each week, sharing with her groups what she has learned about Scripture, the catechism, and the Church’s moral teachings. At different times, they pray the Lectio Divina, the Stations of the Cross, practice visual prayer and work their way through Ignatian exercises. Although the setting is ecumenical, the classes offer an introduction to Catholic traditions in prayer and teachings, Shaw said.
“There are women who have been drawn to the Catholic Church and then come into the Church, and, often, others who have fallen away may find their way back,” she said.
Shaw offers them the Church’s firm foundation – the love of Christ – on which these women, whose crimes range from misdemeanors to murder, can begin to rebuild their lives. For Shaw, it is a joyful process.
“We ask, “what is it you desire?’ They come to find out they desire God,” said Shaw, who finds herself privileged to minister to the women. “They’re broken. We’re most receptive to God when we’re broken – and I get to see that,” she says.
The graduation and commissioning Mass was celebrated at St. Thomas à Becket, where EPS Virginia daytime classes are held. Twenty-three people from the Diocese of Arlington received their EPS certificates that night as did one person from the Archdiocese of Washington.
The next week, another Arlington Diocese resident graduated from the Washington/Virginia evening program, joining 35 people from the Archdiocese of Washington who completed the EPS program at Trinity University in Washington, DC where day and evening classes are held.
Registration for the daytime EPS Virginia Program, the Washington Day and the Washington/Virginia evening program is on-going. Classes begin in September.
EPS students learn about Scripture, theology, Church history, documents of the Second Vatican Council and Catholic social teaching. They also practice theological reflection, receive practical ministry training and participate in liturgy and prayer.
In addition to receiving her EPS certificate, Shaw was one of 15 EPS students to receive advanced catechetical certificates from the Diocese of Arlington.
EPS offers certificate programs in the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Bridgeport, as well as in Arlington and Washington. The program was established in 1978 at the urging of Washington area pastors who wanted their parishioners to learn more about their faith so they could take a more active role in sharing the Gospel in their homes, parishes, workplaces and communities.
For more information about EPS, contact Jane Vichi, Washington / Virginia EPS Recruiter at 202-884-9026, e-mail EPSWAVARecruiter@trinitydc.edu.
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The 2005 EPS Virginia graduates and their parishes were: Dawn M. Fletcher, Ann Marie Foltz, Hope H. Shaw, Kristine M. Vahey, all of All Saints Parish; Mary Ann Pierce and Joanne Donahue, Blessed Sacrament Parish; Carla J. Smith, Christ the Redeemer Parish; Eugene M. Dwyer, Holy Spirit Parish; Veronika Blakely, Marie A. Clark, Deborah M. Doyle, and Lise Annette Harvey, all of Nativity; Oi Yee Wong Our Lady of China Parish, DC; Peggy Gott, Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish; Katherine D. Frick, St. Benedict Monastery; Katy Carlson, St. Bernadette Parish; Joveliano S. Trinidad, Jr., St. John Neumann Parish; Vivien J. Hazelrigg and Andrea C. Ray, St. Luke Parish; Dennis A. Cherry and Pequitte Schwerin, St. Mary of Sorrows Parish; John M. Durkin, St. Stephen the Martyr Parish; Catherine L. Branly, St. Theresa Parish; Marie L. Meulemans, St. Thomas a Becket Parish.
Graduating from the Washington/Virginia Evening Program was Carlton L. Swaney, Good Shepherd, Alexandria.
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