A year in photos
A video slide show with photos from the past year in the US Province was posted on the province website. To see it, click here to view it on YouTube. The slide show runs less than three minutes.
Looking ahead
Fr. Ed Kilianski invites SCJs to take part in two celebrations with benefactors this spring. The first is a Vocations Day Mass on Sunday, May 7, at 11:00 a.m.; the second is the annual Mass for the feast of the Sacred Heart, which takes place on Friday, June 23, also at 11:00 a.m. Both celebrations will be at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
“Moments like these are vital in helping us to build strong ties with our benefactors,” wrote Fr. Ed in a letter to SCJs last week. “It is important for us –– SCJs as well SHSST faculty, staff and students –– to have a strong presence among those who support us and our works.”
Pam Milczarski of the Province Development Office is taking charge of these two events. Please let her know if you can attend. You can call her at 414-427-4230 or email her at: PMilczarski@poshusa.org.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
“Reconciliation: the Love of Christ Compels Us” is the theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25. According the USCCB website (US Conference of Catholic Bishops) The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity “has a history of over 100 years in which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity. By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that they all may be one.” (cf. John 17:21)
Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology will have an Evening Prayer for Christian United at 5:00 on Wednesday, January 25. Dr. John Allen, a priest at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Milwaukee, will be the guest homilist.
Check the calendar!
A reminder that the US Province has a Google Calendar in which dates of meetings, celebrations and other congregational events are listed. Click here to take a look. The calendar can be synced with most mobile devices. You can also access it at the bottom of any page within the province website (including this one) and from a link at the right in the email version of the Fridge Notes.
Do you have an event (committee meeting, celebration?) that you would like to add? Click here to submit it.
Letter to the president from religious leaders
The leadership of CMSM (Conference of Major Superiors of Men) and LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious) wrote a joint letter to President Donald Trump in which they called for a dedication to “respectful and dignified civil discourse with those whose positions differ from our own.”
“To the extent that the new administration seeks to promote the common good through its policies, practices and people, we stand ready to collaborate,” they continued. “We will actively work for the preservation of the dignity of all whose home is here in America and to welcome those who come to our shores in search of safety, freedom and a life worthy of their dignity. We will also actively advocate against promoting the privilege of some over the needs of others and turning away from our shores those who are in need. Together, we have the opportunity to advocate for and build a just, merciful and humane society worthy of the dignity of all.”
Click here to view the full letter
Provincial’s time
Fr. Ed Kilianski will be doing his visitation of Sacred Heart Monastery January 24-26; February 1-4 he has a visitation with the St. Francis and Dehon House communities. The next council meeting is February 7-8.
Closing shot
How about touring 20 states in 20 minutes? That’s what students at St. Martin of Tours did last week when viewing a presentation by the school’s third and fourth grade students who displayed facts and folklore about their favorite states. Exhibits even included food samples! Note the lobster fisherman on the right! Fr. Yvon Sheehy is pastor of SMOT and Fr. Joseph Dinh is associate pastor.
