NEW YORK — 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, by 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.
Michael Calabria, OFM, traveled to Exeter, England, in January to meet with his dissertation director, Dr. Ian Netton, Sharjah Professor of Islamic Studies and Deputy Director of Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Michael’s dissertation, “Foremost among Believers: the Egyptians in the Qur’an, Islamic Exegesis and Islamic Tradition,” will explore Islamic concepts of God, humanity, sin, repentance, faith and devotion through the characterization of the Egyptians in the Qur’an.
Richard Husted, OFM, pastor of St. Bonaventure Church, Allegany, N.Y., celebrated a memorial Mass last week for Sr. Agnes Morrissey, SC, at St. Joseph Church in East Rutherford, N.J.
Christopher Keenan, OFM, of the HNP Leadership Development Committee, reports that three groups of friars interested in sharing their leadership experiences met during the Chapter and will gather monthly until May 2011. At that time, the groups will evaluate with Karen Siewert, a specialist consulting with the Province, the effectiveness of several models for friar leadership development. The groups — led by David McBriar, OFM, Thomas Gallagher, OFM, and Mark Reamer, OFM — comprise six friars who are solemnly-professed under five years, six friars above the age of 35 and eight friars who are meeting to discuss a leadership program. This is “good news on our path forward with leadership development,” Christopher said.
The reflection by Stephen Lynch, OFM, that appeared in the last issue of HNP Today was reprinted in the Jan. 14 issue of Weekly re:Cap, the newsletter of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph, based in Milwaukee, Wis. The essay is titled “Civility Moderates Violence.”
Kevin Mackin, OFM, recently joined the board of the Newburgh, N.Y., Armory Unity Center, Inc., a non-profit organization that works on programming and other aspects of the property. Kevin, president of Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, remains active as a commissioner of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, as president’s council chair of the Skyline Conference of College in the greater New York metropolitan area. He is also on the board of directors of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce and Pattern for Progress in the Hudson Valley, a group that promotes sustainable solutions for the region.
Parishioners from St. Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle, Va., where Charles Miller, OFM, is pastor, and St. Anthony of Padua Church in Camden, N.J., where Jud Weiksnar, OFM, is pastor, were among the people from Holy Name Province ministries who participated in the annual March for Life in the nation’s capital on Jan. 24.
Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, is in the Midwest conducting visitation for Assumption BVM Province. He will return on Jan. 28 to his office in New York after meetings in Illinois, Mississippi and Texas.
Joseph Nangle, OFM, recently visited Bolivia to participate in a Franciscan Mission Service retreat. Jan. 19 marked the close of the first year of the five missioners’ three-year commitment to presence and service in the country.
As preparation for next month’s Congressus, the Provincial Administration, under the leadership of John O’Connor, OFM, is talking with friars about possible changes in assignments. The Provincial Council will decide and finalize the appointments for pastors and guardians at its Feb. 20 to 24 meeting.
Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, of St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J., recently passed his clinical licenture examination and is awaiting his LCSW license.
Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, participated in the “polar bear plunge” organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network on Jan. 22. “As a follower of St. Francis, patron saint of ecology, I feel strongly about the need to be more proactive in responding to the great threat that global climate change presents to humanity and the rest of the earth’s community,” he said. His comment was made on his online fundraising page created to draw public attention to “this critical moral justice issue of our time.” Details about this event will be featured in the Feb. 9 issue of HNP Today.
The Catholic Community of St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, N.C., will receive three Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Awards from representatives of the U.S. Green Building Council. The parish, where Mark Reamer is pastor, has a 28-year history of concern for the environment.
Frank Sevola, OFM, celebrated a Mass on Jan. 18 for volunteers of Church of St. Mary in Providence, R.I.
Jan. 22 and 23 at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Greenville, S.C., where Patrick Tuttle, OFM, is pastor, was “DVD Weekend” since the video about St. Anthony of Padua school was shown at the Masses. Patrick said recently on his Facebook page that the project is the “prize of my heart for the last six years.”
Last month, Michael Tyson, OFM, participated the Wilmington Peacekeepers activity. The group, of which he is a member, visited the homes of families who had lost a loved one to violence in 2010. “We arranged to have the women visit a local beauty school to have their hair done as well as have a manicure and a pedicure,” Michael said. “In the evening, we treated them to dinner at a local fast-food restaurant. When we visited the families, many did not answer the door. However, five tables in the restaurant were filled with survivors of the violence.”
Basil Valente, OFM, appears in a photo in the Fall 2010 issue of The Communicator magazine of St. Bonaventure University, Allegany, N.Y. The article described a new St. Bonaventure award named for university trustee Laurie Branch that will be given to an outstanding integrated marketing communications graduate from the Bonaventure campus.
Provincial Treasurer Dennis Wilson, OFM, reminds friars that the 2011 quarter 2 fiscal year financial reports are due from all houses to his office by Feb. 15, 2011. Forms and sample reports can be found on the HNP Extranet.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Feb. 2 (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 575 followers.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· profiles of friars celebrating 25 and 50 years of profession
· the LEED certification of several new buildings on the campus of St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, N.C.
· postulant activities
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas