Latin Mass resumes at St. Mary's Church

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

The Latin Mass is returning to St. Mary's Catholic Church after an absence of more than 40 years.
'It took some work to make it happen, but now that it's here, we're all excited,' said Keb Burns, director of adult Catholic education at St. Mary's.
It's not just a one-time deal. The Latin Mass will become a regular fixture of worship at the Temple church. Father Gregory Hanks of Rockdale will offer it the first Sunday of every month at 5 p.m., starting Nov. 2.
'Nothing's going to change about the regular Mass (the one said in English),' Ms. Burns said. 'It'll still be there. The Latin Mass is an opportunity for those who want it to have it.'
Officially called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and sometimes referred to as the Gregorian Rite and Tridentine Mass, the Latin Mass was a regular practice at all Catholic churches until the Second Vatican Council dismissed it in 1962.

Carrying on in the name of Love

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

He died in 2002, but people are still talking about him.
'Robert Love was that kind of guy - he was cool,' said longtime friend Bruce Matous of Temple. 'He meant lots of things to lots of people.'
And it'll be a long time before his memory fades.
His name is a permanent fixture to the newly formed Robert S. Love Foundation.
'It's a local organization committed to raising money for cancer research,' said Charles Lucko, foundation founder. 'Everything we do will benefit the Scott & White Cancer Research Institute.'
How this came to be is a story of loss, but it's also a story of friendship.

Polka starts Bartlett church's party

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Hey, hey, the gang will be there for Sunday's polka service at St. John's Lutheran Church in Bartlett.
With laughs and upbeat music, Oma and the Ooompahs plan to launch the church's 125th anniversary celebration with a German flair.
'And that's fitting,' said Charles Gersbach, president of the church council. 'We're a church of Czech and German roots, family and tradition.'
A bite of the congregation's homemade sausage will prove the man's not kidding.
'We're all so excited about the anniversary,' said Shirley Fischer, a woman who was baptized, confirmed and married at the Bartlett church. 'Our families go back four and five generations. That's identity.'

Fisher House lands Santa

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

NORTH POLE - Santa's paying special attention to military families this year.
Now through Jan. 1, signs reading 'Official Santa Landing Zone' will decorate the lawns of the U.S. Fisher House lodges for families of military members undergoing medical treatment.
The beneficiary of this year's Operation Santa Sign, the Fisher House Foundation will also receive $2 from every Santa sign sale that takes place throughout the naouttion.
Costing $12.99, the signs will be available at www.OperationSantaSign.com through Dec. 31. The signs measure 24 inches wide by 18 inches high, and the purchase includes a stake for display purposes.
Operation Santa Sign is an annual charity project of YourNameUniversity.com, an online store for personalized academic apparel.

Standing on the promises: Grove church celebrates 125 years

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

St. Paul Lutheran Church at The Grove has been partying since January.
“This year is very important to us,” said Pastor John Heckmann. “We’re celebrating our 125th anniversary.”
To commemorate the occasion, the church has heard special programs from former pastors.
“They’ve given a special service every other month,” Heckmann said. “The point was to highlight church life.”
Topics were fellowship, nurture, stewardship, worship and service.
“Everything we’ve been doing has been leading up to Oct. 26,” Heckmann said.
Oct. 26 is the date set for the official 125th anniversary celebration. There will be two special worship services, festival activities and a barbecue meal at noon served with Westphalia noodles.

More than a little blue turning 50

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

Most of us learned about the little blue people on TV.
The Smurfs, turning 50 this month, had their own show 1981-1990. Papa Smurf was the boss, Smurfette was the girl and Gargamel was the bad guy.
But the Hanna & Barbera cartoon studio wasn't where the cheery mushroom dwellers were born.
The Smurfs surfaced Oct. 23, 1958, as supporting characters in a cartoon strip called 'Johan and Peewit' by a Belgian artist named Pierre Culliford.
Always having 'gnome-like adventures,' the Smurfs - or the Schtroumpfs as Culliford called them - quickly became an entity of their own. Under the penname Peyo, Culliford authored several Smurf books.
As the stories circulated, the Smurfs captured an international audience.
The world's languages developed their own words for Smurf. In Spanish, a Smurf is a Pitufo; in Germany, they are Schlumpfs; the Nam Ching Ling are Smurfs in China; and a Smurf is called a Dardassim in Hebrew.
This was in the '60s and '70s when it seemed here a Smurf, there a Smurf, everywhere a Smurf Smurf. The cartoon was still a decade into the future; and the movie 'The Smurfs and the Magic Flute' didn't hit the silver screen until 1982.
These days, as they celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Smurfs aren't as popular as all things Harry Potter, but they're by no means an endangered species.

Love of Smurfs runs in family

By TOMIE LUNSFORD
Telegram Staff Writer

There's a Smurf drawer in her house.
That's where Patsy Daniel of Temple keeps her Smurfs - all 88 of them.
But on Monday they weren't in the drawer. A sea of blue faces littered her kitchen table.
There was Farmer Smurf, Chainsaw Smurf, Halloween Smurf, Mermaid Smurf and Smurfs with every accessory imaginable.
'They're for the kids,' Ms. Daniel said. 'They love to play with them.'