Jim McIntosh, who has gathered, edited and published the news of the friars for more than a year, is leaving his position with HNP Today after this week. Beginning in October, he will be living and working in Bolivia. Below are Jim’s thoughts as he prepares to embark on his next venture.
I would like to thank the brothers for giving me the opportunity to edit the HNP Today newsletter these last 16 months. I hope that readers found the new format to be a good one.
As for the content, I want to thank Cassian Miles for his guidance, advice and numerous reminders about where to put commas, and Dominic Monti for providing a direction for the publication and for pointing out my numerous errors. The friars who sent in material for the newsletter receive the biggest thanks, since without content there would be nothing to print.
I leave the newsletter in the very capable hands of Jocelyn Thomas. I hope the friars will support her work by continuing to send notice about news that is of interest to the friars. These items should still be e-mailed tocommunications@hnp.org or faxed to 888-741-1045. Now that the newsletter can display photos, enclosing a photo or two in your e-mail would be appreciated.
Looking Back
Twenty years ago, on Oct. 4, 1986, Joseph Nangle and I entered a house in inner city Washington, D.C., said a prayer and hung a picture of Assisi on the wall. The Assisi Community, where Joe has lived since then, marks this event as the founding of the community. The actual beginning of the community took place during a series of meetings by a group of people who met twice a month for about a year to discuss the idea of an intentional community. It was out of these meetings that Joe, Marie Dennis, Sister Rita Studer, SSND, and I decided to start living in community. It was shortly after this that Vianney Justin joined the community, and lived there for more than 15 years.
During the past 20 years, the Assisi Community has had many diverse members. There have been some vowed, and some non-vowed; there have been families, and there have been single people; there have been young people, and old people; there have been North Americans and people from other countries – some documented and some undocumented. All have been invited back on the weekend of Oct. 7-8 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the community.
I will leave New Jersey this week to spend some time with my parents and family, and then attend the Assisi Community celebration. I will leave for Bolivia on Oct. 9.
Looking Forward
In Bolivia, I will join Ignacio Harding and Thomas Kornacki in Cochabamba. There, I will work part time in the Provincial Office, helping them with their on-line tasks, and the rest of the time I will be working in some sort of ministry with the people. We have discussed various projects in which I might become involved after this time in Cochabamba, but none of them is definite yet.
While away from the U.S. I will continue to use the same e-mail address. Please feel free to write and let me know what’s happening up in the North.
Gratitude From Provincial Office
Vicar Provincial Dominic Monti, shares his gratitude for Jim’s service and dedication below.
I would like to express my own personal thanks – and I am sure for all of the friars in the Province – for the truly great job that Jim has done over the past year as editor of HNP Today.
As interim director of communications, I may have corrected a few mistakes Jim made here and there in his articles, but he has admirably fulfilled the ad hoc Committee on Communication’s request that he move our newsletter to a web-based format. His technical expertise has brought us to a new level of sophistication and enjoyment. He was a real pleasure to work with, and I am sure all of us wish him God’s blessing on his work in Bolivia. Jim, you go with our thanks.