NEW YORK — Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their presentations, outreach and celebrations. 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 communications director Jocelyn Thomas at communications@hnp.org.
On Nov. 8, Michael Carnevale, OFM, celebrated the annual memorial Mass for deceased family and friends of the St. Francis of Assisi Parish RENEW group in New York City. In its November 2009 newsletter, the RENEW group thankedJerome Massimino, OFM, pastor, and the friars and staff of the parish for creating informative and enlightening events during Francis Week in October to commemorate the Order’s 800th anniversary.
Provincial Councilor Daniel Dwyer, OFM, is pictured on the cover of a recent Siena College mailer. Daniel is a professor of history at the Loudonville, N.Y., college.
William Fitzgerald, OFM, hosted an international Thanksgiving at the Province’s Quam Bonum Friary on Cape Cod, Mass. “Since holidays can be difficult for people who are alone or going through a rough spot in their life, I decided to invite some of my friends who would otherwise be alone at this time of year.
William said five countries represented: the United States, Taiwan, Peru, Italy and Switzerland. “The menu consisted of American turkey with all the trimmings, Italian wine, Peruvian pastries, Swiss chocolate and Taiwan noodles,” William said. “Two of my neighbors sent over some of their homeland favorites from Korea and Hungary. It was a wonderful day spent with some remarkable friends. We all had something to be thankful for this year.”
Gerald Hudson, OFM, of Camden, N.J., was mentioned in the Nov. 26 issue of The Economist. The article, titled “Camden Crisis: Ungovernable?” stated: “In the Cramer Hill district, Brother Jerry Hudson of St. Anthony Padua Church talks about the run-down place next door to the parish school. Although the city had boarded it up, vandals routinely broke in. It became a den for drugs and prostitution. Though many such buildings have been demolished, Br. Jerry reckons there are just as many now as there were in 2002.”
The annual Gaudete concert featuring the Unity Choir, under the direction of Richard Husted, OFM, will be held at 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 at St. Bonaventure University’s Quick Center for the Arts in Allegany, N.Y. Richard wrote the script of the show, “Seasons of Your Heart.” He said in the bulletin of St. Bonaventure Church, where he is pastor, that the event coincides with the third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete or “rejoice.”
David Hyman, OFM, is organizing the Province’s annual commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 17. It will include a 10 a.m. Mass celebrated by Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, with special guests at the Catholic Center at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Michael Johnson, OFM, pastor of St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md., congratulated the parish’s JPIC Ministry for creation of a document about healthcare reform now posted on the parish’s Web site.
The HNP Sick and Retired Directorate, chaired by John Mahon, OFM, of Butler, N.J., is producing a two-disk DVD set about aging that will be provided to all HNP guardians later this month.
David McBriar, OFM, chair of the Province’s Evangelization Directorate, reports that space is available for friars to participate in the Province’s preaching workshop in February. Registration forms are available through the Provincial Office. The format of the workshop is unique, said David, as friars will deliver homilies that will be discussed. In addition, the facilitator, Dr. Thomas Long, will also present a homily for discussion. “Stories and the imagination is the direction we are taking,” said David. For more information, contact David atdavid.mcbriar@gmail.com or register by calling Sharon Berrios at the Provincial Office, 646-473-0265.
Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, reminds friars that their completed inventories are due to the Provincial Office by Jan. 4. Nearly 250 friar inventories have been received so far. An e-mail sent to friars Dec. 9 clarifies some common questions about the inventory and the value and contents of the form. Questions about the form are being answered by Dominic as well as Francis Gunn, OFM, the Province’s coordinator for strategic planning.
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, attended the Dec. 4 inauguration of Fr. Fred Tillotson, O. Carm., as president of Washington Theological Union. The event was held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C., on the evening of the WTU board of directors meeting.
Robert Sandoz, OFM, offered a seasonal message in an e-letter distributed Dec. 9 by Christ the King Preparatory School in Newark, N.J., of which he has been president since the summer.
Paul Santoro, OFM, campus minister at Santa Fe Catholic High School in Lakeland, Fla., and school president Gwen Cote, took four students to the National Catholic Youth Conference in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 19 through 21. They joined more than 21,000 other teens and hundreds of adult chaperones for three days of prayer, music and workshops. The theme of the conference was “Christ Reigns.” The conference, sponsored by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry, is held every other year, said Paul, a resident of St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The food ministry at St. Francis Chapel in Providence, R.I., is being featured on NBC’s Today show, according to pastor Frank Sevola. OFM. The show was filmed at the chapel’s Poverello Center, an outreach program that serves the poor through food and wellness programs. Today wanted to follow a client through her day, according to Frank, so the Poverello Center recommended “Lisa,” one of its volunteers. “The Today show spent an entire day with her on Monday and then came to Poverello on Tuesday, when Lisa volunteers for us. On Dec. 10, the Todayshow will be live at Lisa’s house to give her a life-changing gift,” said Frank, who plans to be at the house.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Dec. 16. Some of the topics that will be featured in the coming issues of this newsletter include:
· How parishes commemorate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
· More details about the preaching workshop and the provincal celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
· St. Francis Urban Center in Philadelphia, as St. Francis Inn commemorates 30 years
· Strategic planning being done by St. Francis of Assisi Community of Midtown Manhattan
· Ongoing formation retreats scheduled for 2010
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas