Below is news about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars – including their speeches, ministry work. and community events. More information can be obtained by visiting the links to the parishes and organizations mentioned, by contacting the friars by phone or e-mail, and by contacting the Provincial Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, contact Jocelyn Thomas through communications@hnp.org.
► As he has done for many years, Brian Jordan, OFM, participated in the New York Marathon. He ran the Nov. 4 race in five hours, 23 minutes.
► Claude Lenehan, OFM, presented four Retrouvalle programs in the last four months around the United States. The most recent were held in New Jersey, where he presented the program of marriage strengthening tools to 27 couples in Edison in September and to 10 couples in Parsippany in October. Claude said there is a strong need for more priests to help with this program.
► Members of the Provincial Office staff attended a Eucharistic liturgy for the Solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1 celebrated by Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, in the friary chapel, just one floor above the Provincial Office.
► Siena College president Kevin Mullen, OFM, was appointed recently to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Directors. Kevin will serve a four-year term on the 18-member panel, which is charged with setting divisional policy and direction. Kevin replaces Rider University president Dr. Mordechai Rozanski on the board, and his term will run through April 2011.
Kevin also recently was appointed to the board of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, a key association in New York State’s capital region.
► Russel Murray spoke on Nov. 4 after the Masses at the Cathedral of St. Matthew, Washington, D.C., on the plight of Christians in the Holy Land. It was part of a fundraising effort by the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF), which is one of the partners of the Province’s JPIC committee in the work of pre-emptive peacemaking.
On Nov 11, Russel will give an address to the SFO (Secular Franciscan Order) ministers of the St. Margaret of Cortona Region on the theme “Inter-Christian Dialogue: A Franciscan Approach.” He will present the outlines of what he believes to be a uniquely Franciscan approach to the process of ecumenical (i.e., inter-Christian) dialogue.
► Daniel Riley, OFM, director of the Mt. Irenaeus Franciscan Mountain Retreat in Southwestern New York, presided at two Masses for St. Bonaventure University alumni last month. They were held Oct. 27 in Virginia and Oct. 28 at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pa. Daniel was one of two speakers at the annual Mountain Auction held Nov. 3 at SBU in Allegany, N.Y. Details about the auction will appear in the next issue of this newsletter.
► Brian Smail, OFM, attended a new vocation director orientation program in Kansas City, Kan., last week, conducted by the National Reiigious Vocation Conference (NRVC). The Oct. 29 – Nov. 2 workshops featured topics including candidate issues, assessment and the application process, the role of membership and religious leadership, advertising and education, and ethics and boundaries. Brian assumes direction of the Vocation Office Nov. 12.