The farewell Mass and luncheon for Bishop J. Peter Sartain with the diocesan employees at St. John Center in Little Rock June 12 combined laughter with a few tearful moments.
The event was one of three scheduled events in Little Rock for Bishop Sartain, who will become the new bishop of Joliet, Ill., June 27.
More than 100 current and retired employees and their spouses were invited to the Mass in Morris Hall Chapel. During the offertory, two employees presented a decanter of chrism oil used at his episcopal ordination in 2000, a copy of his book “Of You My Heart Has Spoken,” an Arkansas flag and magnet. The items were placed in front of the altar along with other mementos of his years in Arkansas.
During the lunch in the dining hall, employees were invited to play a couple of games of free bingo and enter a raffle with “bishop bucks.” All in good fun, the raffle prizes included the bishop’s parking spot at St. John Center, the assistance of his former secretary, Jan Brass, and the use of his former office.
Tom Navin, director of social action and prison ministry, presented a light-hearted list called “Top 10 Things Bishop Sartain Will Miss About the South.” Among the items were Southern food, country music, accents and words, writers, Southern football, fishing and living in “Wal-Mart Country.”
“We did a little research and there are only two Wal-Marts in Joliet,” Navin said. “In Central Arkansas alone there are 18.”
Several gifts were presented to the bishop, including a football helmet from Catholic High School in Little Rock in a clear acrylic display case. The engraved marker noted Bishop Sartain, who sat on the sidelines of each home football game, was CHS’s “No. 1 Fan.”
Head Coach Ellis “Scooter” Register attended the Mass and lunch and presented the helmet and school sweatshirt to the bishop. The bishop praised Register’s ability to coach the winning team in 2005-2006 and encouraged the staff to attend a game this fall.
Navin noted that another thing the bishop will miss is his hometown of Memphis. Because the bishop grew up on Graceland Drive, Father Ed Graves, pastor of St. Peter Church in Wynne, presented his act as “Elvis Priestly.”
“There is a rumor going around that I am dead,” Father Graves said in Elvis-style. “Actually I became a Catholic priest.”
Navin said the No. 1 thing Bishop Sartain will miss is the staff at St. John Center. The employee gathered a scrapbook of letters, cards and poems and presented it to him to read later. Also, an original woodcut print by Aj Smith, a professional artist and member of the Cathedral of St. Andrew, was given to the bishop from the staff. The print, “St. Paul in Prison,” was inspired by Rembrandt’s oil painting by the same name.
Bishop Sartain promised the staff that his years in Arkansas would not be forgotten.
“They will be six years that I will cherish,” he said.
He also promised to continue to pray for the employees and everyone in the Diocese of Little Rock.
“I never take people off my prayer list,” he said. “I just add more. You will always be in my heart and prayers.”
In his 28 years as a priest Bishop Sartain said God has always been watching over him and putting people in his path that he should meet.
“I find that God has never let me down,” he said.
“Our vocation is really God’s blessing to us. I know that what God asks of us is really a gift to us.”