Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their celebrations and presentations and ministry events. More information can be obtained by visiting links to the parishes and organizations mentioned, contacting the friars by phone or e-mail, and by connecting with the Communications Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, e-mail information to communications director Jocelyn Thomas.
Todd Carpenter, OFM, has set up a Facebook page for St. Paul’s Church, where he is pastor. He said that after the discussion at the Chapter on social media, he decided to create the page for the Wilmington, Del., parish. “While I will continue to use my personal page to promote our ministry, we now have a dedicated page for our parish.”
Robert Gavin, OFM, is teaching a course at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Midtown Manhattan. It is titled “Testing our Spiritual Growth” and runs Feb. 16 to March 16. Information about the hour-long noontime class is available from St. Francis of Assisi Adult Education Center, 212-736-8500.
A photograph of Daniel Grigassy, OFM, celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at St. Bonaventure Church, Paterson, N.J., appeared in the Dec. 30 issue of The Beacon, the weekly newspaper of the Paterson, N.J., Diocese.
At its Jan. 10 to 11 meeting in New York, the Provincial Council officially re-appointed Michael Harlan, OFM, as Provincial Secretary.
The expansion of The Bridge, thrift shop of St. Bonaventure Church in Allegany, N.Y., and the growth of St. Francis Urban Center in Philadelphia were described by Joseph Hertel, OFM, in his January letter to members of St. Anthony’s Guild, of which he is director.
Among the friars recognizing National Vocation Awareness Week (Jan. 9-15) are David Hyman, OFM, and Thomas Vigliotta, OFM, at the Catholic Center at University of Georgia. On Jan. 11, the friars invited the two sisters “who work on our staff to talk about their religious orders. The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have a wonderful tradition here in Athens, Ga.,” said Tom, director of the Catholic Center. The friars have also invited two of the Poor Clares from the monastery in Traveler’s Rest, S.C., to join them at this gathering to share their story of the Franciscan contemplative life.
Daniel Horan, OFM, will be speaking on Jan. 29 for the Thomas Merton Society at Corpus Christi Church in New York City. “It came to my attention that my upcoming lecture in NYC is already being advertised by the Archdiocese of New York and thought that our local parishes and ministries in the Metropolitan New York area would be interested in passing along the word.” Information about the event is available on the website of the archdiocese.
Pastor Michael Jones, OFM, led a bell ringing ceremony on Dec. 23 at St. Anthony Church, Butler, N.J., to celebrate the repair of the church bells. An anonymous donation of $16,000 by a parishioner allowed all four bells at the 132-year-old church to be repaired. They rang officially for the first time in 30 years on Christmas Eve.
Jerome Massimino, OFM, guardian, and the friars of St. Francis Friary in Midtown Manhattan hosted the Christmas dinner for the West Side Vicariate on Dec. 30.
Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, reports that Joan Conway, a parishioner of St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md., was recognized in the Jan. 2011 issue of the Washingtonian. Conway, who was named as one of the top Washingtonians of 2010, was also featured in the Greenbelt News Review. She is one of the coordinators of the St. Camillus food program.
Mark Reamer, OFM, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Raleigh, N.C., has announced that three new buildings on the parish campus have attained LEED certification for successfully implementing United States Green Building Committee standards in their construction. A ceremony presenting the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED, Certification awards is scheduled for Jan. 31.
Sacred Heart Parish, in Tampa, Fla., where Andrew Reitz, OFM, is pastor, was featured on the blog of Bishop Robert Lynch. In his blog “For His Friends,” the St. Petersburg, Fla., archbishop wrote about how the parish, which is celebrating its 150-year anniversary, has been a staple in the Tampa community.
Peter Schneible, OFM, of Allegany, N.Y., reached a milestone birthday on Jan. 11. Other friars celebrating birthdays in January include Evan Greco, OFM, and Gene Pistacchio, OFM, on Jan. 3, Mark Reamer on Jan. 6, Reginald Redlon, OFM, on Jan. 10, Michael Oberst, OFM, on Jan. 20, and Robert Norton, OFM, on Jan. 23.
A. Francis Soucy, OFM, director of Holy Name Community in Ringwood, N.J., said that because of concerns about memory loss that friars expressed to him during the Jan. 3 to 7 Chapter, he has provided the names of books on this subject. “Two that may be helpful and that can be bought from Amazon.com are Total Memory Workout: 8 Easy Steps to Maximum Memory Fitness by C. R. Green, the founder of a memory enhancement program at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and Achieving Optimal Memory by Aaron P. Nelson, of Harvard Medical School.”
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Jan. 19 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date). Updates about Province ministries and friars can be found on the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province Facebook page, which has more than 560 followers.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· 2011 jubilarians
· Provincial commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.
· Jan. 31 USGBC presentation ceremony at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Raleigh
· Music ministries in Massachusetts, New York and the Carolinas
· JPIC local contacts retreat
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas, who welcomes questions and comments about this newsletter and other aspects of Provincial communications.