A Beginning Experience weekend for separated, divorced, or widowed Catholics is scheduled for Oct. 4-6 at the Christ Prince of Peace Retreat Center in Benton. The weekend is intended for individuals who wish to find peace and renewed hope with the support of the Catholic Church. The cost is $175. For more information, contact Lisa Moore at 423-892-2310 or tn_eastern_tennessee@beginningexperience.org.
The all-school in-service for the faculty and staff of diocesan schools is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. For more information, contact Marie Garvey at 865-584-3307 or mgarvey@dioknox.org.
A catechetical in-service, course 3, for Catholic school faculty and staff in the Knoxville and Tri-Cities area has been scheduled at St. John Neumann School in Farragut from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. For more information, contact Marie Garvey at 865-584-3307 or mgarvey@dioknox.org.
A catechetical in-service, course 3, for Catholic school faculty and staff in the Chattanooga area is scheduled at St. Jude School from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15. For more information, contact Marie Garvey at 865-584-3307 or mgarvey@dioknox.org.
The rite of candidacy for Holy Orders for deacon aspirants will take place at the 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, Oct. 12, at All Saints Church in Knoxville. Contact Deacon Tim Elliott for more information at 865-584-3307 or telliott@dioknox.org.
A Seekers of Silence Contemplative Saturday Morning will be held Oct. 12 at Blessed John XXIII Catholic Center in Knoxville. A video featuring David Frenette, a disciple of Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO, will be on the topic “The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God.” Coffee and tea will be served at 8:30 a.m.; the workshop will run from 9 a.m. to noon. Bring a bag lunch. RSVP to the John XXIII parish office at 865-523-7931.
Immaculate Conception Church has been designated the first of 11 pilgrimage stops in the Smoky Mountain Deanery in observance of the 25th anniversary of the diocese. Bishop Richard F. Stika will preside at the 11:30 a.m. Mass at IC on Sunday, Oct. 6. The faithful attending the Masses will receive a plenary indulgence. Pilgrims are encouraged to bring donations for the parish FISH pantry. Following the Mass, there will be a historical program and poetry reading by Dr. Thomas Haddox, an English professor from the University of Tennessee, titled “Father Abram Ryan: Priest/Poet of the U.S. South.” Father Ryan was pastor at Immaculate Conception Church from 1865-1867. The pilgrimage Masses will be held on the first Sunday of each month during the diocesan anniversary celebration. For more information, call the parish office at 865-522-1508.
The 2013 Celebrate Life Banquet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Knoxville Convention Center. Shari Rigby, the actress who played the birth mother who reconsidered her decision to abort her child in the pro-life film October Baby, will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are $50 per person. Corporate sponsorships also are available. To learn more or purchase tickets, call the Tennessee Right to Life office at 865-689-1339.
Monsignor Al Humbrecht and Father Michael Nolan will be the spiritual directors of a pilgrimage to Spain and Portugal from Oct. 29 through Nov. 9. Pilgrims will visit important shrines and holy sites in Madrid, Segovia, Avila, León, Santiago, Fatima, and Lisbon. The cost per person is $3,599 from Atlanta. To obtain a brochure or register, contact Sister Albertine Paulus, RSM, at 865-207-4742, 545-8270 or smaevang@yahoo.com.
The next Engaged Encounter weekend will take place Oct. 11-13 at the Holiday Inn Express in Lenoir City. To register, contact Jason and Carmen Jeansonne at 865-377-3077 or ceeknoxville@yahoo.com. For other information, contact Jerry or Mary Dougherty at 865-458-4117 or ceeknoxville@gmail.com. For information on other weekends, visit www.engagedencounter.org.
The diocesan Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment will present three Surviving the Holidays workshops during November for those who are separated, divorced, or widowed. Separate classes are available at each workshop to address the specific needs of each group. The first workshop will meet at St. Mary School in Johnson City from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2; the second is scheduled from 8:15-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the St. Jude Church parish life center in Chattanooga; and the third will meet in Seton Hall at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut from 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. The cost for materials is $10. Light refreshments will be served, and baby-sitting is available for an additional cost. To register, contact Marian Christiana at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana@dioknox.org.
There will be an open house for families of eighth-grade students who plan on attending Knoxville Catholic High School in 2014 at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, in the KCHS gymnasium. Placement tests will be given from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday, Dec. 7, at the school. To set up a tour or to obtain further information, contact Nichole Pfohl, dean of admissions, at 865-560-0502 or npfohl@knoxvillecatholic.com.
The next Picture of Love engaged-couples retreat will take place Nov. 15 and 16 at the Holy Spirit Church parish life center in Soddy-Daisy. The retreat will meet from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and continue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. The program is designed to help couples gain a better understanding of the joys and challenges of being married in their day-to-day lives. The cost is $135 per couple, which includes a certificate good for a $60 discount on a marriage license. Couples must attend the entire retreat to receive the certificate. For more information, contact Marian Christiana, director of the Office of Marriage Preparation and Enrichment, at 423-892-2310 or mchristiana@dioknox.org.
A Crash Course in Catholic Bioethics presented by the National Catholic Bioethics Center and hosted by the Diocese of Knoxville Office of Health Services and the St. Luke Guild of East Tennessee will be held at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City from 8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. Speakers include Dr. Marie Hilliard, the director of Bioethics and Public Policy at the NCBC and Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass., and director of education at the NCBC. Bishop Richard F. Stika will celebrate a White Mass with conference attendees. Registration is $65 for physicians, $45 for other health professionals, and $20 for the general public. CMEs will be offered as part of the cost for the doctors and health professionals. Register online by Nov. 9 at catholic_bioethics.eventbrite.com/. For more information, contact Emily Jacobssen at 865-584-3307 or ejacobssen@dioknox.org.
Father Charlie Burton and Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano will be the spiritual directors of a pilgrimage to Italy from March 16-28, 2014. The group will visit Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento, Sicily, and many other places during the trip. The all-inclusive cost is $4,199. For more details, call Proximo Travel at 855-842-8001 or visit www.proximotravel.com.
Father John Dowling will be the spiritual director for a 10-day pilgrimage to France June 30–July 9, 2014. The group will visit several shrines and holy sites around France, including the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and Sainte-Chapelle, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens, the tomb of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the American Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach, Chartres Cathedral, the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial, and the basilica in Ars that houses the incorrupt body of St. John Vianney. The final day will feature a drive through the French Alps. Mass will be celebrated daily. The price for the pilgrimage including airfare from either Nashville or Knoxville is $3,945, which includes U.S. government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges up to $665; economy-class round-trip airfare, three- and four-star hotel accommodations (based on double occupancy), eight breakfasts and dinners, a professional tour manager, local English-speaking guides, all scheduled sightseeing and entrance fees, a modern motor coach, and group tips. Interested pilgrims can also arrange their own airfare and pay $2,849 (if 30 pilgrims register). Register early and make a deposit by Aug. 25, 2013, and receive a $50 discount. For more information, contact Father Dowling at 931-484-3628 or frjohndowling@gmail.com.
Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) is celebrated at 1:30 p.m. each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville; at 3 p.m. on first and third Sundays at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church in Cleveland; at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Madisonville; at 11 a.m. on most Sundays at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Townsend; and at 3 p.m. on second and fourth Sundays at St. Mary Church in Johnson City. Visit www.knoxlatinmass.net for updated information.
The St. Thomas the Apostle Ukrainian Catholic Mission celebrates Divine Liturgy at 9:30 a.m. Sundays in the lower level of Holy Cross Anglican Church, 515 Herron Road, Knoxville, TN 37934. Note the time change. All services are in English. Call Father Richard Armstrong at 865-584-3307 or visit www.saintthomas-knoxville.org for details.
Holy Resurrection Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Mission has Divine Liturgy celebrations at 9:30 a.m. Sundays at the old Holy Ghost Church, 1031 N. Central St. in Knoxville. For times of holy-day services or for more information, visit www.knoxbyz.org or call Father Thomas O’Connell at 865-256-4880.
