Ministering To Those Who Can’t Get To Church

Get To Church

Noontime mass happens everyday at the Church Of The Most Holy Trinity.

It’s where many people who work downtown spend their lunch hour. But for some getting there isn’t always easy.

That’s where Sr. Bernadette Quinlan comes in.

“That the family who has a need will notify us and tell us, my mother or my grandmother can’t come out — so that we can go to them. The church can come to them,” Quinlan said.

Sr. Bernadette makes those kinds of visits. And it fills a big need in the lives of Edith and Albert Martin.

Their 13-year-old grandson Joey is bedridden. Has been since he was born. He needs care around the clock. So trying to get to church is sometimes next to impossible.

“It’s hard when you’re home. It’s nice to know that people know you miss the Holy Eucharist on Sunday. They make sure we get it and they don’t just rush in and do it. They come and there’s a conversation with it,” Edith Martin said.

For the first 8 years of Joey’s life, the Martin’s had no help taking care of him. One of them always had to be there because of brain damage before birth.

They have some help these days. Still, Albert says people like Sr. Bernadette help them keep in touch with their religious needs and wants just by visiting.

“It’s almost like a life support. Back when there were times when we were going our troubles in the hospital, I would look up and it would be either Sr. Bernadette, Father Doris or it would be somebody from the church,” Albert Martin said.

The Church of the Most Holy Trinity visits dozens of families in the Augusta area. People who want to go to church, but can’t.

SC Lays Down the Law on Domestic Abuse Offenders

Domestic Violence

In 2003, Aiken County led the state with the most domestic violence deaths in one year. For at least the last four years South Carolina has been in the top 10 for the most domestic violence cases per year.

Statistics like these have caused South Carolina legislators to take action. As of January 1, penalties for domestic violence offenders got tougher.

“I really think that once offenders see it not going to be a slap on the wrist and then a turn back out the door, they’re going to understand that it’s fairly serious at this point,” said Riley Bost, a Domestic Violence Investigator with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Department.

Under the old law the maximum fine for a first time offender was $500 or 30 days in jail. That’s now jumped to minimum fine of $2,100.

The maximum penalty for second time offenders was $1,000 or 30 days in jail. It’s now $5,000 and a year in prison.

Third time offenders had a mandatory sentence of 90 days in jail. Now a third domestic abuse offense is considered a felony and punishable by one to five years in prison.

Kay Mixon is the director of the Cumbee Center, a refuge for battered women and men. She says the changes are a step in the right direction.

“The best way to reach a batterer is in his pocket,” said Mixon. “They should have to pay.”

Gay Marriage Ban Divider For Churches

Gay Marriage Ban

On the 96.3 Kiss FM morning show with Fattz and Cher, the topic was gay marriage and there was no shortage of opinion.

“To each his own, but I think congress needs to sit down and worry about other issues, i.e. the war,” one caller said.

“This particular topic generated hot phones all morning long, long after the show was over,” says Cher Best of ‘Fatt and Cher’.

The show’s discussion centered on the court’s right to make decisions on personal relationships. The hosts say they were surprised at the diversity of the callers.

Doctor Andy Reese, author and Ministry Associate with the Unitarian Universalist Church says the issue is causing uproar in several faith groups. His church accepts gay couples and ordains them in ministry. But he says the political and religious battle is far from over for other groups.

“People like to talk about sex, we are all interested in sex but that is not the message of the old and new testament. The message is about people, about love,” says Reese.

Nationally, The issue of sexually based topics and the church was the subject of a recent article by Reverend Al Sharpton. Sharpton says many churches are focusing on gay marriage instead of topics like poverty and voting. Saying the discussions quote “drive a wedge through our people.”

“It (gay marriage) is not right. God made woman for man and man for woman,” one caller remarked.