CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese of Atlanta is growing a greater sense of community in its parishes through a recreational sports league.
Catholic Metro Sports, an interparish ministry, is connecting families with others in their home churches by forming teams to play basketball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, and cross country.
According to the Georgia Bulletin, the ministry is giving more than 5,900 kids access to sports, fostering camaraderie and companionship among the youth. Catholic Metro Sports helps organize and promote games at no cost for 14 parishes, three archdiocesan schools, and four private schools in the dioceses.
The ministry finds fields, orders uniforms, and creates the game schedules. In January, Catholic Metro Sports hosted its annual basketball tournament and raised $30,000 for childhood cancer research.
Athletic Director Trish Marmion told the Georgia Bulletin in an interview, “Sports leagues keep families involved in their parish, when players and parents go into church on a Sunday, they see other friends and parents from their games.”
According to its website, Catholic Metro Sports’ mission follows Pope Francis’ words in Christus Vivit.
“The Church should not underestimate the potential of sports for education and formation, but instead maintain a strong presence there,” he wrote.
The Pope highlighted problems in the world of sport such as idolizing champions, bowing to commercial interests, and promoting success at any cost as some of the reasons to have a Church presence in sports.
He continued by emphasizing the benefits of athletic pursuits, “At the heart of the experience of sport is joy: the joy of exercising, of being together, of being alive and rejoicing in the gifts the Creator gives us each day.”
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