Dear Editor:

My heart is filled with joy as the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC), Nesquehoning go forward with the Diocese of Allentown in the reopening of their church.It's been a long and painful journey for the past two-1/2 years, but they have remained faithful to God and their responsibility as a prayerful community.Their final step to the Signatura - the "Supreme Court" of the Catholic Church - will require even more patience and I pray that the Grace of God will sustain them.About five years ago, I went to an exhibit of the drawings of Frank Wyso (1915 - 1994). They gave a complimentary copy of some of his drawings. In his art, he tells the story of the coal miners in northeast Pennsylvania. The image of tired miners sitting on a bench and children picking coal is heartwrenthing.These men and boys, along wit the hard-working women in garment factories, built their Catholic Churches. (Many of those churches were recently suppressed or closed.)However, the strength of their character and hard work and prayers, live on in the people of

O.L.M.C.Sincerely,Kay Ann MulliganBethlehem, Pa.