For the first time, 11 churches that form the Great Falls Ecumenical Council joined together for a prayer breakfast on March 9.
It was the first formal event to be held in the new Bishop Anton Justs parish hall, named for St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church’s first pastor, who now serves a church in Latvia.
Deeda Calderazzo of St. Catherine’s, who organized the event, said she first thought of it as an event for the parish.
But later, when she discussed it with associate parish priest Richard Guest, Calderazzo said, the two began to think of it as a community-wide event.
“We are hoping this will become an annual event for the council,” said Calderazzo.
More than 140 people attended the first breakfast, held on Saturday morning as mass was being said in the church sanctuary.
Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of Arlington, was the keynote speaker.
Music was presented by the women’s ensemble from Christ the King Lutheran Church, and Ecumenical Council President Richard Keller of Great Falls United Methodist Church played piano to accompany his daughter, Elizabeth, as she sang.
A basket at the front of the hall was used to collect handwritten prayer requests.
Later, Paul Gysan of Christ the King Lutheran Church read some of the requests. The remainder were distributed among the churches, to be placed in their sanctuaries for prayer.
“I think it was a beautiful experience for all of us. It was a coming together in a way we had not experienced before,” said Calderazzo.