Teens: Where are you going in life?
Young Men (ages 15-19): Jesus has a great plan for you! At Quo Vadis Days, spend an unforgettable week exploring what that plan may be, talk one-on-one with priests and seminarians of the diocese, get equipped with tools to strengthen your faith, plus have fun with other young men like you from around the Diocese of Charlette.
· Monday-Friday, June 16-20, 2025
· Belmont Abbey College, Belmont
· Cost $150
· Deadline to apply: June 2, 2025
· Learn more and pre-register: www.charlottediocese.org/vocations/quo-vadis-days
Young Women (ages 16-19): Spend a week diving into your faith, following the example of Our Lady, at Duc in Altum, a summer vocations camp uniquely designed for young women to discover how the Lord is calling you as His beloved daughter, learning how to enhance your prayer life and having fun with others.
· Monday –Friday, June 23-27, 2025
· Belmont Abbey College, Belmont
· Cost $150
· Deadline to register June 9, 2025
· Get details and register: www.harlottediocese.org/vocations/woman-religious/duc-in-altum
Young Women (ages 12-15): Talitha Koum is like a “mini” Duc in Altum exclusively for you! At this one-day retreat/camp, experience your faith, open your heart and grow in confidence, and have lots of fun.
· 8:00 am—4:00 PM Monday, June 23, 2025
· Belmont Abbey College, Belmont
· Cost $25
· Deadline to register: June 9, 2025
· Get details and register: www.charlottediocese.org/vocations/woman-religious/duc-in-altum
The next Parish Council meeting will be on Monday, May 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM. If you missed the February meeting you may come at 6:15 pm on April 14 to meet with Gerry Hopkins he will review our Strategic Plan.
La próxima reunión del Consejo Parroquial será el lunes 12 de mayo de 2025 a las 19:00 h. Si no pudo asistir a la reunión de febrero, puede venir a las 18:15 h del 14 de abril para reunirse con Gerry Hopkins, quien revisará nuestro Plan Estratégico.
The Parish Council announces the appointment of their full representation for the St. Benedict the Moor congregation through June 2025: //
El Consejo Parroquial anuncia el nombramiento de su representación completa para la congregación de San Benito el Moro hasta junio de 2025:
Harold Holmes, Chair Angelica Leonides, Vice Chair
Bernardo Carrillo Miguel Diaz
Gerry Hopkins Rose Hinson
Lorraine Mortis Greg Turner
Denise Eaton Denise Warner
Gustavo Moviglia Janet Olivares
37th ANNUAL DIOCESAN ELDER MINISTRY SPRING FLING
Tuesday, May 6, 2025 / Martes, 6 de mayo de 2025
St. Matthew Catholic Church / Iglesia Católica de San Mateo
Charlotte, NC / Charlotte, Carolina del Norte
Cost: $17 per person (includes lunch) / Costo: $17 por persona (incluye almuerzo)
Registration deadline: March 2, 2025 / Fecha límite de inscripción: 2 de marzo de 2025
Contact: Rose Hinson / Contacto: Rose Hinson
Cell/Text: 743-224-0063 / Celular/Texto: 743-224-0063
SPACE IS LIMITED, FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED / EL ESPACIO ES LIMITADO, POR ORDEN DE LLEGADA
Separate driving option with their own resources available for those not able to be accommodated by the Church van. / Opción de conducción separada con sus propios recursos disponibles para aquellos que no pueden ser acomodados por la camioneta de la Iglesia.
Daily Lectors/Lectores diarios
Monday: Harold Holmes
Thursday: Glenn Lanham
Friday: Gabriella Holland
Sunday Mass - 9:00 AM
April 6 Gabrielle Mortis
April 13 Denise Warner
April 20 Rose Hinson
April 27 Bernardo Carrillo
"Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed." Jesus says in today's Gospel. For those who have not seen but believe, however, we must be good stewards of our faith, living it joyfully and sharing it generously. Then in our time too, "men and women in great numbers" will be "added to the Lord."
«Bienaventurados los que no vieron y creyeron», dice Jesús en el Evangelio de hoy. Sin embargo, para quienes no vieron pero creen, debemos ser buenos administradores de nuestra fe, viviéndola con alegría y compartiéndola generosamente. Entonces, también en nuestro tiempo, «hombres y mujeres en gran número» serán «añadidos al Señor».
The Knights of Columbus will meet on Monday, May 19 in the Fellowship Hall at 7:00 PM. The meetings will continue on the third Monday of each month in the Fellowship Hall at 7:00 PM
Los Caballeros de Colón se reunirán el lunes 19 de mayo en el Salón de la Fraternidad a las 7:00 p.m. Las reuniones continuarán el tercer lunes de cada mes en el Salón de Compañerismo a las 7:00 p.m
WINSTON-SALEM — Nearly every Sunday morning for the past 69 years, Willie King has taken part in the same ritual of faith and service at his home parish of St. Benedict the Moor.
He arrives before 9 a.m. at the church, an inviting red brick building perched at the crest of a rolling green lawn on East 12th Street.
He goes inside, laughing and chatting with others preparing for Mass. His demeanor changes as he dons a black cassock and white alb, then with a quiet reverence lights the candles on the altar. As Mass begins, King walks down the red-carpeted aisle, a path walked weekly since childhood, ready to perform the rubrics that are second nature to him.
Now 84, Willie King has been an altar server and coordinator of altar servers at St. Benedict the Moor for nearly 70 years, a milestone few people reach in any kind of ministry, or job for that matter. What makes it even more remarkable is that those years of service unfolded in a parish where his grandparents were among the founding families.
St. Benedict the Moor was established in 1940 to serve the Black Catholic population in Winston-Salem at a time when Jim Crow-era segregation was in effect, including at churches. Black Catholics were relegated to sitting in separate sections or at the back of churches.
“My grandparents would walk over 10 miles to St. Leo the Great, the only other church in the city at the time, every Sunday for Mass, but when they got there they could only sit in the last two rows,” King recalls.
Black Catholics in Winston-Salem appealed to the Diocese of Raleigh, which encompassed all of North Carolina at the time, and in 1940 Bishop Eugene McGuinness created St. Benedict the Moor Parish to serve the population. Before construction of the church was completed, the congregation met for Mass in private homes and at nearby Howard Robinson Funeral Home.
When St. Benedict the Moor opened in 1941, named for an African-Italian saint, King’s grandparents had only four miles to walk to Mass. And in 1943, Willie King became the first baby baptized at the new parish. Even though his mother and father weren’t Catholic, they allowed him to be raised in the faith.
“They were OK with me coming up in the Catholic Church because back then my grandparents sort of ruled the nest,” King explains with a smile.
Every Sunday almost without fail, he walked with his grandparents to Mass. “I don’t care how cold or how hot it was, we were going to church!”
He trained to be an altar server and soon found himself serving both the 7 and 9 a.m. Masses on Sundays.
His skills were also in demand during summers in 1956 and 1957 when he attended the Diocese of Charlotte’s former Our Lady of the Hills Catholic summer camp near Hendersonville, the first racially integrated camp in the region.
King spent 12 years in Catholic schools, attending elementary school at St. Benedict Academy and high school at St. Anne Academy, now both closed. He later graduated from Tennessee State University and worked for an electrical supply company in Winston-Salem.
He met his wife Gloria, and they married in 1964 and attended St. Benedict the Moor all through their marriage. He loves to tell the story of how they met at a soap-box derby race in Winston-Salem where both were spectators. That race made national news, he remembers, “because someone got real wise and put a magnet in one car and cheated.”
The couple raised their daughters, Tonjua and Tawanna, in the Catholic faith, and both went on to higher education at Catholic universities.
And all through those years, King was a constant presence on the altar, serving at daily and Sunday Masses and training the parish youth how to do the same.
“I literally never remember him sitting beside our family during Mass when I was a child because he was always on the altar,” says daughter Tawanna “TK” King. “It means a lot that my dad is such an integral part of this parish. I remember seeing the kids look up to my dad, and him training them how to be altar servers.”
Like her father, TK was baptized at St. Benedict the Moor, and he trained her to become the parish’s first female altar server.
Over the years, King has played many other roles at the parish: usher, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and member of the parish council and the buildings and grounds committee.
But serving at Mass is closest to his heart.
“It just comes naturally to me,” he says. “And it’s still a very important role for me because we don’t have many young people at the church these days.”
King’s dedication is noted by everyone who regularly attends St. Benedict the Moor, and his status at the parish is that of elder statesman. His nickname among friends and fellow parishioners? “King Willie.”
After a recent 9 a.m. Mass, King stood outside the church. Elegant in a blue shirt, slacks and straw hat, he shook hands, talking and laughing with people, his conversations peppered with his quick, easy sense of humor.
Father Melchesideck Yumo, St. Benedict the Moor’s pastor, says King’s ease with everyone he meets and his strong faith have made him a beloved figure among parishioners.
“He has been a great example of fidelity and commitment to service to the altar of God,” Father Yumo says.
Fellow parishioner Harold Holmes says it is “impossible” to describe the many contributions King has made to his home church.
“He has served in more roles than we can recall,” says Holmes, chair of the parish council. “His service is just a singular outstanding contribution to the life of the parish.”
The parish honored King in May during a special celebration marking his 69th anniversary. It was a “very emotional” event for him, King describes, a chance to see how much his service to the parish has meant to others. Although the day was dedicated to him, he still asked that the ceremony be dedicated to his late wife Gloria.
And, even with 69 years behind him, King says he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.
“Serving on the altar has brought me closer to my faith through the Mass,” he adds. “I’ll keep on being an altar server until they roll me out.”
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy Hull
See pictures below!
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