LOCAL NEWS

A school known for its purple and gold now has an extra “gold” distinction.

In a world with more than 33,000 Christian denominations, it’s rare to see leaders of several of them gathered in one place to pray for unity. Yet that’s exactly what happened Jan. 20 at St. Apkar Armenian Apostolic Church in Scottsdale. Leaders of the Arizona Faith Network and members of local congregations gathered for a prayer service during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an international Christian ecumenical event held annually since 1908.

Exactly one month into the calendar year marks the formal closing liturgy at the local level for the Year of Consecrated Life.

While both men and women are created in God’s image as children of God, they are uniquely different and complement each other. These complementary differences are a gift. But because of this, it’s also important that men and women take advantage of opportunities to seek spiritual fellowship within their genders. In the Diocese of Phoenix, there are two opportunities in February: the Catholic Men’s Conference Feb. 6 and the Catholic Women’s Conference Feb. 20. Both will be held at Xavier College Preparatory.

Patty Chesebrough gazes inside the darkened church and stares up at a portrait of the late Fr. John Hanley, the priest who showed her God’s mercy in her darkest hour. It was 1990 and Chesebrough’s husband was pressuring her to have an abortion. She called her parish, St. Theresa at the time, and asked to speak with a priest.

"We treated him with love throughout, even when he wasn’t loving back. That sticks. That is the breach and that is the way it works," Tony Rizzo said.

At a time when the gift of human sexuality is often misunderstood, there’s a place in the Diocese of Phoenix that shines a bright light in the darkness.

The Drama Department at Seton Catholic Preparatory in Chandler is gearing up to perform the School Edition — a family-friendly version — of "Grease," the story of 1950s youth exuberance.

It’s never too early to begin marching for life or understanding that God is the only one who can give life and take it away.

Those who have taught, volunteered or served at a Catholic school will join current students, alumni and parents plus private supporters and those in the state legislature Jan. 31-Feb. 6 for an array of Catholic Schools Week celebrations.