Get cultured!
On Wednesday, September 1, the ESL program at Sacred Heart School of Theology will host its annual Culture Fair. Students from around the world will have displays about their home countries. Of course, as in the past the fair will also feature food and beverage items from the countries represented.
The ESL Culture Fair will take place in the SHST dining area from noon until 2 p.m. All SCJs, as well as co-workers, students and other friends of the community are welcome to attend.
As noted earlier this month, Fr. David Szatkowski is the new director of the ESL program. A member of the Sacred Heart Monastery Community, Fr. David is also teaching canon law at SHST this semester.
Provincial’s time
Fr. Cassidy is in South Dakota for a visitation. The next council meetings are September 14-15.
Keep in prayer
Fr. Tony Russo: Fr. Tony was hospitalized last week with pneumonia.
Fr. Chuck Wonch: Fr. Chuck has been dealing with a number of health concerns since suffering a heart attack earlier in the summer. To better meet his healthcare needs, as well as further evaluate his situation, Fr. Chuck will be residing at the Congregational Home in Brookfield, Wis. (Room 1158), for the next month. He welcomes visits and phone calls. You can reach him on his cell phone at: 414-573-9515.
“Hotel Dehon”
Last week SCJs received a mailing via email regarding a lecture series on reconciliation and forgiveness at Catholic Theological Union. Also with that mailing was an invitation from the Dehon Formation Community in Chicago. The community welcomes SCJs attending lectures or other events in the Chicago area to stay with them.
Contact a member of the Dehon Formation Community if you would like to reserve a room. You can also call the house at: 773-363-1326.
New on the web
As noted in last week’s Fridge Notes, Sacred Heart School of Theology is enjoying near-record enrollment this semester. The seminary shares more about the increase in a recently posted feature on the province website. To view the feature, click here.
Also, the August issue of the SCJ News has been posted to the province website. Hard copies have been mailed. To view the newsletter on-line, click here.
If you or someone you know would like to be added to the mailing list for the printed copy, please contact Mary Gorski.
Welcome!
Kassandra Huerta will begin work this week as the new administrative assistant at the Provincialate Offices. Her first day is Wednesday, September 1. We will share more about Kassandra in the weeks ahead.
Noted in the Times
The Priests of the Sacred Heart were noted in the New York Times on August 20 (mis-named with a lower case “priests” instead of the actual title of the community with the upper case “P”).
“Films in Search of the Faithful,” was an article written by NYT reporter John Anderson that explored the marketability and impact of mainstream movies that address themes often associated with religious values.
“Like the Nativity story told at Christmas, or the 30,000th rerun of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ the story of mainstream cinema and Christian America has a familiar ring to it: a surprise hit comes along, revealing a huge, underserved religious audience ready to be relieved of its entertainment dollars,” states the article. “There is a subsequent gnashing of teeth or rending of garments along the corporate canyons of Hollywood. Regret, anguish and then some gestures of atonement, through marketing outreach and promises of more faith-friendly entertainment…
“Any movie produced by a religious organization seems to automatically connote preachiness and sermonizing. When the 1996 Christan allegory ‘‘The Spitfire Grill” came out, said James Martin, S.J., author of ‘The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,’ ‘the critique was that the movie had been produced by the priests [sic] of the Sacred Heart and had a hidden message.’
“He added: ‘My answer to that is: All movies have a secret message. And the idea that a religious message would be more dangerous than any other message in our culture is fairly ridiculous.’”
To read the full article on the New York Times website click here.
Happy Labor Day!
The Provincialate Offices will be closed next Monday, September 6, in observance of Labor Day.
