The “Practicing Catholic” radio show debuting Jan. 19 takes a different tack: The show is devoted to one topic, set up in segments as parishioners of St. Rita in Cottage Grove and the pastor, Father Mark Joppa, describe publishing a book of faith moments experienced by people at the parish.
There are 142 stories written by parishioners and edited by a team of parishioners, with the project inspired and overseen by Father Joppa.
The book is titled “Cairn: God Moment Stories.” A cairn is a small pile of stones often seen on hiking trails pointing the way forward.
“We’re kind of using that as symbolism for one parish, our one cairn,” said Arianna Villanueva-Montoya, 24, who with her brother, Santiago, helped their mother, Stephanie, with the book’s layout. Each story is one stone on the cairn, Arianna said.
Stephanie, faith formation assistant at the parish, said Father Joppa asked people to “take a risk, go on an adventure, and write a story about a time that God was the star of your story and present in your life in a real, meaningful way. I wrote the story, and then I get a phone call, and he’s asking me to come in and would I be an editor. They loved my story, so that’s how it started.”
More parishioners chimed in, and several who also helped edit the book share their stories with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for the program that debuts at 9 p.m. Jan. 19. The show repeats at 1 p.m. Jan. 20 and 2 p.m. Jan. 21.
In addition, The Catholic Spirit published an article about this effort in its Dec. 21 edition.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show and other “Practicing Catholic” segments are available at PracticingCatholicShow.com or you can choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
