Tuesday, January 22, 2002
St. Augustine Welcomes New Pastor
By ORSON SCOTT
Sun Staff Writer
This weekend, St. Augustine Catholic Church threw a large welcome party for new pastor, Hamal Eloquim. Eloquim takes the place of Fr. Patrick Julian, the former pastor who vanished seemingly without a trace over a month ago. The police have been dilligently investigating the dissappearance, but to no avail. When questioned on the matter, William O' Connell, Archbishop of the Diocese, commented, "The police are looking carefully into the matter, and the church has called in for a team of private investigators to help resolve the matter as quickly and quietly as possible. We are all eager to get beyond the bizzare events of the months past, and move on towards tomorrow."
Eloquim has quite a job ahead of him. After Julian's dissappearance, attendance at the formerly blooming St. Augustine's dropped drastically. In these somber days, only the most committed of parish families still attend the Sunday services.
When questioned on the matter, Eloquim stated that he intended to restore both life and faith to the parish through a dynamic series of youth outreach programs, Church socials, and charity benefits. He seems determined to show his flock that Julian was just one man, and that the parish has a unique life that goes on.
His first project in the seemingly-monumental task is the Kitchen of Mercy Program. The Kitchen of Mercy will be a all-night soup kitchen run by devoted parishoners to help feed the large influx of homeless persons that inevitably comes with the cold weather. Food donations are going to be collected by members of the Parish as well, and supplemented by the local Food Banks.
Though the task of restoring the parish certainly seems bleak, Eloquim seems up to the task. He has a natural magnetism about him, and it is difficult not to like his halting English and easy manner. In these trying times, he stands tall against the sea of adversity, hopefully ushering St. Augustine's into a new era of prosperity.