Current Mass Times

Saturday: 5:00pm

Sunday:

7:30am, 9:30am, 11:30am, 2:00pm (español), 5:00pm

Monday-Friday: 9:00am

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 12:10pm

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Confession

Saturday: 10:00am-10:30am (English)

Sunday: 3:00pm- 4:00pm (español)

Wednesdays (During Lent): 6:30pm - 8:00pm

by Fr. Joe Brennan, OSFS

Volunteering is one way to express gratitude for what we have been given. It also helps broaden our horizons. For Christians, especially Catholics, it helps us live out the Gospel and embrace Catholic Social Teaching.  

As pastor at St. John Neumann, one of the highlights for me is witnessing how parishioners of all ages give their time and talent to ministries and programs within and outside our parish. It is amazing to see the number of people who are catechists to our youth and adults. Many parishioners give of their time with the annual Hypothermia Prevention Week hosted by SJN, which provides shelter, meals, and care to our area homeless. The list of all the different ways people give of themselves to build up the parish, the universal church, and the community can go on and on. This letter doesn’t even include all who participate in our different liturgical ministries, which is a topic of its own. 

This past weekend, the Ignatian Volunteer Corp (IVC) had a table in the Narthex with a representative promoting its Mission and answering questions. I began to think of the number of our parishioners IVC volunteers. Most volunteers are retired or semi-retired and work with IVC member organizations by sharing their talents and time. Some volunteer as nurses, and others by teaching or providing administrative positions, support, or counseling. We have a couple of IVC volunteers from the parish who work at the Lamb Center. One benefit of IVC is that there is a theological reflection component, spiritual direction, and monthly communal sharing with other volunteers. 

In addition to the IVC, there are many other programs that engage seniors to share their skills, gifts, and talents abilities, especially in assisting the poor and downcast in our society. You can find many organizations that fit your interests and schedule by checking out the Catholic Volunteer Network or AmeriCorps. Meals on Wheels is a wonderful opportunity for people to assist the homebound by delivering meals. 

I would expect most of us to be familiar with the Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, and AmeriCorps as prime examples of organizations where adults can volunteer. There are also volunteer opportunities for teenagers, college-age students, and young adults to share their gifts, time, and talents that will help the less fortunate, make a difference in society, and broaden their perspective. I know in college, I volunteered in the Big Brothers program. Several friends took a year after college before joining the workforce and volunteered with the Jesuit Volunteers and the International Jesuit Volunteers. I know of recent high-school graduates who took a gap year to volunteer with a religious organization working with the poor nationally and internationally. Their gap year experiences not only broaden their views of the world and enhances their faith life but also help prepare them to embrace the college experience more maturely.  

Certainly, the diocesan WorkCamp is a wonderful opportunity for our high school youth to make a difference by helping the less fortunate in our society while at the same time growing in their own spiritual lives. I am also always impressed when I get a note from some of our college-aged parishioners who inform me of their alternative “spring break.” Instead of sunbathing and relaxing at some warm destination, they go with groups of other college students to serve those in need nationally and internationally. 

In summary, wherever we are in life’s journey, as Christians, we are called to serve and to somehow make a difference in the lives of others. People often say they always seem to receive much more than they give. Perhaps if you are at a transition point in your life, you may want to consider how you may volunteer and share your time and talent in building up the Kingdom of God in your little part of the world. 

SJN Parish Lenten Mission - Sunday, March 12 - Tuesday, March 14: More details on the mission's theme and speaker will be forthcoming.

Live Jesus! 2023 - Saturday, March 18: "Live Jesus" 2023 will take place at St. Paul VI High School,  42341 Braddock Rd, Chantilly. Speakers will include Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS; Sr. Susan Louise Elder, OSFS; and Dr. Thomas Opfer, Ph.D. Registration will open soon.

Look for details on all of these events in the weekly SJN bulletin.

If you have been around SJN for any amount of time, especially if you attend the 9:00am daily Mass and 9:30 Sunday Mass, you have probably met Claire Burchell. She has been coming to Mass here since 1998 and officially became a parishioner in 2000. 

Claire is very involved in the SJN RCIA program, which helps those converting to the Catholic Faith discern their calling and prepares them to receive the sacraments. "I help people feel comfortable with their journey and teach them when asked." I also lead the Dismissal of the Elect from Sunday Mass when it is my turn."

As a testimonial to Claire's skills, Mary Steen, our Parish Secretary, said, "when I was on my faith journey to becoming Catholic, Claire was a great source of guidance and support."

Claire also Lectors and leads the Holy Housekeeping ministry, and lends editing support to the weekly bulletin.

Like many of us, Claire strayed from the Church, "I didn't lose my faith, I just didn't attend Mass" in her younger years, returning to the Church in 1998 due to "a personal experience that renewed my desire to attend Mass." This experience perhaps makes Claire more sensitive to the needs of those searching for Christ and desiring to worship Him in the Catholic faith.

Regarding why she likes St. John Neumann, "it's the community, the people. The welcoming atmosphere, and, really, the Salesian Spirituality that is taught here. I find it all very comforting."

You might not know that Claire is a United States Navy veteran who retired as a Senior Chief Petty Officer. During her time in the Navy, which included service in the Vietnam era. "When I took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test - the test that evaluates your suitability for service and your potential skill sets - it turned out that I had scored high enough to be considered for electronics school, and, since I liked working with my hands, I thought that would be interesting, so I marked it as my first choice for training and the Navy agreed." Claire worked as an Electronics Technician for three years and then converted to Data Processing. In her career with computers, she went "from key punching to programming and received a front-row view of the evolution of computers in the Navy. Claire spent her entire Naval career here in the Washington, D.C. area, including the time she spent in the active reserves. She said her favorite parts of Naval service were the ceremonies and the friendships she made. "I still keep in touch with some of the people I served with." After leaving active duty, she went to work at the Department of Defense, still working with computers.

Now that she is retired, she keeps busy. “I don’t see how anyone here and retired could be bored; the D.C. area has so much to offer.” On days with good weather, you can find her “playing in the dirt” in her backyard, gardening, and creating “fence art.” One of her  projects involved turning old gas grills into colorful planters. Claire also has two cats, “Gracie” and “Rosie,” to whom she is devoted. When not gardening or spending time with her cats, she is an avid reader; her most recent reads were Shannon Bream’s “The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak” and William P. Young’s “The Shack.” She highly recommends “Finding Sanctuary” by Jennifer Hubbard, especially for anyone who has experienced trauma. She also has “five siblings and several nieces and nephews with whom she spends time. As a Detroit, Michigan native, she is fiercely devoted to the Detroit Lions football team and the Detroit Tigers baseball team, but not so much to the Red Wings or Pistons.” I have many good memories of watching the Tigers play at Briggs Stadium, Detroit’s old ballpark.”

Thank you, Claire, for your service to our nation and all that you do here at SJN to better the lives of our parishioners, especially those joining the faith.

by Duane Hyland

"They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength... They will run and not grow weary..."

Isaiah 40:31

Many of us have probably seen the 1981 movie "Chariots of Fire," which dramatized the athletic exploits of Harold Abraham from England and Eric Liddell of Scotland. The movie points out that Abraham and Liddell were men of great faith, Abraham a Jew, and Liddell a Scottish Rite Presbyterian. Quinn Crispell, a freshman at Misericordia University, a Catholic university in Dallas, Pennsylvania, is a worthy successor to those great runners of faith.

Quinn runs for the university's women's cross-country team. What makes her unique is that she is the only athlete in NCAA history, insofar as records indicate, to compete in collegiate athletics while also having Downs Syndrome. Every time she moves to the starting line, Quinn demolishes the bigoted myth that kids with Downs Syndrome cannot compete in sports, much less at the NCAA level.

"The National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) explains how Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. However, Individuals with Down syndrome are becoming increasingly integrated into society and community organizations, such as schools, health care systems, workforces, and social and recreational activities."*

"I started running in seventh grade, and at first, I hated it," Quinn said before continuing, "but then, I kept working and I got better at it. I ran all through high school and now run for the university." "In college you run a 6k race (3.72 miles), and in high school, you only run a 5k race (3.1 miles), so it was an adjustment." Quinn loves the training for races, five days a week - both with her team and on her own, and the races and "loves tracking and bettering her times." She enjoys "the friendship and camaraderie of the team."  

"She gets tons of encouragement from her teammates and she inspires them," said Misericordia cross country coach Chris Wadas. "[Her teammates] embraced her as they should as one of the Cougars, and she knows that and values that and has done great things for our program."*

Since we have a lot of student-athletes here at SJN, I asked her what advice she has for athletes looking to transition from high school to college sports. "I think kids who want to run at the college level should do their best to always do their best and don't ever give up." She also advised that while the leap may seem daunting, "anyone can do it." 

She advises coaches and others who work with young people who might be daunted by having a student that doesn't fit the traditional mode of an athlete or participant in their activity, "treat that kid the same as you treat everyone else. Give them the same workouts, the same encouragement, the same guidance as everyone." Most of all, she encourages coaches to "believe in your students." She explained that her coach, Mr. Wadas, makes no exceptions for her - that he treats her like every other runner, which is very important to her.

When Quinn isn't running across the fields, she is majoring in Sports Management and holding down a "3.75 GPA." She plays golf when not running, which she started playing at age seven. As a lector, she is also very active in her parish, Corpus Christie parish, in West Pittston, PA. On the day of our conversation, Crispell was en route to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to speak at the Pennsylvania State Education Conference as part of a panel on the organization "Mikayla's Voice," which promotes total inclusion of kids from all walks of life, disabilities, abilities, etc., in sport and the art."

Quinn's next project is running in The National Down Syndrome Society's "Run for 3.21," an annual relay race from New York City to Washington, D.C., celebrating World Down Syndrome Day on Tuesday, March 21. She will arrive in D.C., as part of the last group to run, sometime between 7:00am and 11:00am on Sunday, March 19. Please pray for Quinn and her relay teammates as they complete this run.

The next time you look at someone and think, "wow, they can't possibly do that activity, or achieve that feat," think of Quinn Crispell. She is shattering myths and barriers every day. And never forget her favorite quotation, courtesy of Walt Disney himself, "If you can dream it, you can do it!" Quinn has taken that advice to heart, and so should you. 

Like Harold Abraham and Scott Liddell, Quinn Crispell runs with faith and fire; we can all learn from her.

*Quotation from https://www.pahomepage.com/sports/college-sports/an-inspiration-for-anybody-quinn-crispell-making-history-at-misericordia-university/

**Photo Credit Aimee Dilger | Submitted photo to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, February 26, 2023.