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Man rediscovers Christian faith in birthplace of Islam
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the prophet Mohammed, is a nation where the public practice of religions other than Islam is prohibited. Yet, it happens to be the very place that a St. Petersburg man rediscovered his Christian faith. Today, 70-year-old Jim Hall is celebrating his spiritual rebirth, along with more than 1,000 adults in the Tampa Bay area who were formally initiated into the Roman Catholic Church during Easter Vigil services Saturday. Hall is the oldest of eight candidates from St. Paul's Catholic Church who studied for months to prepare for the Easter Eve rite. As the days drew close, he could find few words to express his excitement. "I can't describe it," he said. He was drawn to the Catholic Church, Hall said, by its rituals and reverence for Mary. "I never felt any better, and when I go to church, I feel like the Lord is right there with me," he said. Easter, whose central theme is rebirth, traditionally has been chosen as a time of formal entry for new members into the church, said the Rev. Robert Gibbons, pastor of St. Paul's and chancellor of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. "This was always the special day for baptism in the history and tradition of the church. Baptism celebrates the resurrection of the Lord, emphasizing new life and rebirth, and we see baptism as signifying for the individual rebirth to life with God," Gibbons said. To prepare for his initiation into the Catholic Church, Hall had to participate in what is known as the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, a program that focuses on church history, teachings and practices. Of the eight candidates in the RCIA program at St. Paul's, three who had never been baptized were scheduled to receive that sacrament at Saturday's Easter Vigil. All were confirmed and then allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist for the first time as Catholics. Hall, who is unmarried and has no children, grew up with a brother, now a United Methodist minister, and a sister. He was born in Wichita, Kan., and grew up as a Protestant. He and his family usually went to church on Sundays, he said. When he married a Catholic woman, he occasionally went to church with her. "Today I go every day to Mass," said Hall, who retired from the U.S. Navy as a supply clerk. A resident at Lutheran Towers in downtown St. Petersburg, Hall attends weekday Mass at St. Mary Our Lady of Grace Church because it is nearby. The daily Mass has become an important part of his day. "I enjoy the service and I feel a closeness to God," he said. "I've got some health problems, and I feel like he's helping me with it." It was in Saudi Arabia, home to the two holiest sites in Islam -- Mecca and Medina -- and where strict regulations govern the importation of items held to be contrary to the tenets of Islam, that Hall first became interested in the Catholic Church. In 1987, he went to work for the Saudi navy in its supply department and remained for 21/2 years. "For the first six months, I just felt lost," Hall said, adding that he asked his roommate about churches he could attend. "He said, 'You can't go to church.' I said, 'Is there any denomination that gets together and prays?' And he said, 'Only the Catholics.' He introduced me and I went on a Friday. I liked it and I went back the following Friday and I liked it even more." Services were held on Friday, he said, because it is the holy day for Muslims. Hall began worshiping with about 20 to 30 others in a house on an American compound. There usually was no priest to conduct the services, he said, and the Saudi Arabian authorities did not appear to be aware of the gatherings. "The only time they knew was when we had Palm Sunday services," which were held in a gym on the American compound, he said. "They knew we were having it, but there was nothing they would do." According to Hall, Saudi Arabian authorities also appeared to ignore other infractions. "I took in a Bible myself. They looked at me when I came in at customs and I said, 'Don't you even dare think about it.' And they let me keep it," he said. Customs authorities in Saudi Arabia -- which practices a conservative version of Islam known as Wahhabism -- enforce regulations concerning the importation of banned items such as alcohol and weapons. According to the U.S. State Department, non-Islamic religious materials including Christmas decorations, may be confiscated and the owner fined. Hall recalled that when a priest returned to the country with liquor and some crucifixes that had been blessed by the pope, he was expelled. Another time, after members of his Friday worship group paid a visit to an old church, a fence was erected to prevent them from returning, Hall said. Hall's interest in the Catholic Church continued to grow after he left Saudi Arabia, but it was not until last year that he decided to become a member. He doesn't know what took him so long, he said. Gibbons, his priest, feels "humbled" with each initiation into the church. "I realize that it is God who has drawn them to this point in their life and it's beautiful to see them responding so wholeheartedly to God's invitation," he said. "It's amazing to me the tremendous diversity of people who respond to his invitation. People of all ages, all backgrounds, varied histories." At his confirmation Saturday night, as is traditional, Hall added a new name to the ones he's had since birth. He chose Jude, in honor of St. Jude, his favorite saint and the patron of lost and desperate causes. Joe Poole, who led the team of four catechists who taught Hall's RCIA class, said biblical characters often took new names at significant points in their lives. "Abraham was Abram and Peter was once known as Simon," he said. "So, at confirmation, the new name reflects a similar transition to adulthood in the faith. It's most often that of a particular saint or a person for whom they have an affection." Saturday evening's ceremony was one of three leading to membership in the Catholic Church, Poole said. The first was the rite of welcome, which was held at St. Paul's late last year. The second, the rite of election, took place March 9, when Bishop Robert N. Lynch, head of the diocese, formally greeted 1,071 candidates from 67 parishes. During the ceremony, which was held at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle, the bishop greeted each candidate personally with the promise that they would be fully initiated into the church at this year's Easter Vigil services. "I know that all the candidates were very moved by the event," Poole said. "It was moving for them because they could see that they were not alone and they could see that their quest was not alone."
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