Dear Brothers,

General Council visit to the province

We received information from the General Council that they will be visiting the province:

Phase 1: Last two weeks of September 2020 until the

end of October 2020

Phase 2: First three weeks of December 2020

If it seems like this is a long time away—you are right. I’m publishing the dates so that you are aware. I’d ask province ministries/groups/areas to let me know if there are important events happenings during the General Council visit. This will allow us to schedule the visit appropriately. We will do the best to accommodate your requests. Please send information directly to me. 

Marianist Sisters General Council visit to the US

The General Council for the Marianist Sisters will be visiting the sisters during October 2020.  

A positive note

It seems that many times all we see in the news about religious is the negative. Sometimes we need to be reminded of positive images and messages. I’m thankful to the brothers at the Chambers Community for sending me this link to the radio interview produced by WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Each week, they have a segment called "Senior Voices" in which an older person shares a story. Recently, they featured our very own Fr. Ken Sommers. He tells a story about being on the Chaminade (Dayton) football team under Coach Gerry "Fuzzy" Faust.

Vocation awareness week

Did you know that this is Vocation Awareness Week? Have you prayed for vocations recently? Today? How are we assisting our communities in developing a culture of vocations in our province? I invite you to join me in praying for our national vocation director, Bro. Mark Motz and the entire team of dedicated individuals that assist him each day. Please remember to pray (& act) for vocations!

Vocation information on the web

Remember that social media is based on visits to a particular web page. Facebook is one of the ways that we tell our Marianist story. Let me encourage you to visit (& like) the Marianist Family Facebook page.  

The USCCB has a web page dedicated to the Vocation Awareness week. Enjoy!

This coming week

Dear Brothers,

Pr ovince jubilee dates for 2019

A sign of great joy and hope for me in the province is when we honor our Marianist Jubilarians. In 2019, we will witness and celebrate with 46 of our brothers as they give thanks to God for 75, 70, 60, 50 and 25 years of religious profession along with 60, 50, and 25 Sacerdotal years.

As we begin this time of planning, please take note of these dates:

Formation meetings next week

I invite you to keep in mind an important gathering of young Marianists and their formators as we meet next week at Mother Boniface Spirituality Center located in Philadelphia. Our main theme will be "Collaboration with Lay Marianist Communities" so it is appropriate that we will be spending time at the Marianist Center for Lay Formation. Joining in this meeting will be nearly 30 of our contacts, pre-novices, aspirants, temporary professed, & formators from the Marianist Province of the US, the Province of Meribah, and the the US Province of Marianist Sisters. 

Daily resources via email for your prayer

Every day, I look forward to receiving and prayerfully reflecting on three resources that I value. I encourage you to sign up to receive these resources through the following links that you might enjoy for your own meditation:

Marianist parishes

I have now scheduled visits to our six parishes over the course of the next six months.

The Characteristics of a Marianist Parish:

Dear Brothers,

What’s Happening

Next week, I will head back to Honolulu for the Chaminade University and Saint Louis School board meetings. I will then make a trip over to Maui to visit the parish and school at St. Anthony’s. I look forward to visiting with Fr. Roland Bunda, the pastor of St. Anthony’s, along with the school president Tim Cullen. Please keep these important meetings in your prayers. 

New AMU Executive Director

Congratulations to Bro. Thomas Giardino who has accepted to serve as the new executive director of the Association of Marianist Universities beginning July 1, 2019. Read the announcement.

A story of hope and joy

(Submitted by Bro. Dennis Schmitz , director of Special Ministries for the Marianist Center of Hawaii)

A wonderful group of Lay Marianists here in Hawaii recently took some time to organize Keiki Day (Childrenʻs Day) at the Womenʻs Community Correctional Center (WCCC) on Oahu. They worked together with a local organization, the Puʻa Foundation, dedicated to helping incarcerated women. Women from the prison’s work line were also a big help for this special occasion. During the day lunch, entertainment, crafts, games, music etc. served as an opportunity for some of the women to be reunited with their children in a fun filled atmosphere.

This kind of activity plays an important role as these women prepare to return to society. Studies show that their children are five times more likely to be incarcerated than children of those who are never incarcerated. Children's Day tries to create more positive ties in families as a preventive measure for future incarceration.

The event was truly a Marianist Family event. The Lay Marianists included formally committed Marianist Lay Community members from both the adult and university levels. Current and former faculty, staff and administration from Saint Louis School and Chaminade University played prominent roles in puppet shows, water balloon tosses, paper airplane making and assorted crafts.  Dr. Glenn Medeiros, head of school at Saint Louis School and a well-known local entertainer, provided a musical background for all of the festivities. Several participants are now planning a new puppet show for the diocesan sponsored Christmas Party for the incarcerated mothers and their families in December.

The enthusiasm for this ministry has sparked enthusiasm campus wide. The Saint Louis School LIFE students are exploring possibilities for helping out. One of the professors from the university has offered a studio apartment as affordable housing for a woman currently in the diocese's Mercy House, a live-in program for women returning from incarceration. One woman who was incarcerated for 15 years, has turned her life around and is applying for Chaminade University in the fall. It truly takes a family to nurture renewed lives.

Pictured above are Michelle Tuzon , Kapono Ryan and Sandy Bellizzi of the Faith of the Heart MLC with Toni Bissen (blue hat), the executive director of the Pu'a Foundation

Please pray for our brothers who are celebrating their birthdays

November 11: Joseph Hartzler

November 15: Thomas Redmond

This publication is for members of the Society of Mary. Please do not forward it. Also, please provide a printed copy for brothers who do not use email.

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