Special Edition 

Today's Special Edition of  Notes from the Provincial Council is intended to highlight the fact that today is August 1, the beginning of the mandate for the Provincial Council. On behalf of the Provincial Council, I thank you for the trust that you have given to us by calling us to join you in serving the province and the people of God. (Next week, we return to the regular publication schedule of Notes from the Provincial Council.)

We look forward to serving you in a spirit of humility and collaboration. I once again thank Fr. Marty Solma and Bro. Joe Kamis for their service to all of us. I've assured both of them of our prayers.

As I and the other members of the Council begin our service, we are eager to visit our different ministries and communities. This evening, I invite members of the Province to pray for our province, ministries and the new Provincial Council in your community Mass/prayer. In a spirit of solidarity and support, the St. Louis area communities will be gathering this evening at 5:15 p.m. for Mass and dinner. Please send us pictures of your local community/area gatherings on this date.

Because in early August many of us are still on summer programs, travels and home visits, Bro. Bernie Ploeger & I will release a short video on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption.

I will be at the CMSM (Conference of Major Superiors of Men) annual meeting here in St. Louis from July 31 to August 3. This will be my first meeting representing the Marianists. Please keep this important meeting in your prayers.

I ask for your prayers and please be assured of our prayer.

Over the course of the last few weeks, I have been thinking about how thankful I am:

 

• Thankful for the experience of our Province Assembly;
   
• Thankful for ways in which I and other members of the new Provincial Council have received so much support and encouragement from you;
   
• Thankful that my time & service at St. John Vianney High School of 11 years has come to an end with great memories in my heart;
   
• Thankful for the opportunities this summer to be able to do missionary preaching at several parishes on behalf of our Marianist Family;
   
• Thankful for the meetings that I have had with Fr. Bill Meyer and other members of the Office of Religious Life as we plan for the future;
   
• Thankful for some quiet moments when I have been alone at our Salve House in St Louis to work in the garden and think about God's creation and the call to take care of our earth;
   
• Thankful for the times when I have been able to encounter some poor people on our street corners this summer and hear the call Jesus gives us from last Sunday's Gospel: you give them something to eat;
   
• Thankful for the opportunity to walk or ride by Planned Parenthood almost every day here in St Louis and think about our call to promote life in our ministries & communities from the womb to the tomb and to pray for so many women who encounter fear and darkness because of very sad situations;
   
• Thankful that we will encounter each other in many different ways and circumstances in the days, months, and years ahead and we will be "Brothers of Hope and Joy" for each other

It is with deep gratitude and excitement that I begin my service to the province in the Office of Education.
At our assembly, we shared together about what it means to be "brothers of hope and joy." I look forward to traveling the province and seeing first-hand how we are living out this dream in our various ministries.

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Bro. Tom Giardino for his generosity, wisdom and support to me during this transition. Like Mary, may we all have the commitment to "say yes" as we move into the future with hope and joy.

I look forward to serving the province again as assistant for temporalities and am most grateful for the opportunity of working for Bro. Ron Overman these past three years.