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HOMER GLEN, Ill. — The annual Prairie Fest at Annunciation Parish, Aug. 10-12, offered many “Simeon Moments.”
These are moments when one is moved to pronounce the words of the Just Elder Simeon, as he encountered the Christ child in the temple: “Now you may dismiss your servant, O Lord, according to your word, in peace” (Lk 2:29).
It is when a neighbor expresses thanks for providing a prairie for his “child to grow up in” and relief to see the church dome repaired.
It is when someone says how impressed they were with the kindness of the parish teens.
It is when people come from North Dakota, Minnesota and Ohio to attend Prairie Fest because they heard about it on our radio programs.
It is the when hundreds of people go on a tour of the church interior, many of whom did not know what a Byzantine Catholic church was until they attended Prairie Fest.
All of these moments, and so many more, affirmed the vision of Annunciation Parish, founded in 2000.
In addition to being a fundraiser, Prairie Fest is above all another venue for evangelization, for God to act and for people to grow in holiness.
Caption: A ByzanTEEN of Annunciation Parish volunteers as Prairie Fest staff. (Photo: Father Thomas J. Loya)
As published in Horizons, Dec. 2, 2018.
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