On the way to WYD!
Br. Andy Gancarczyk, Fr. Mark Mastin, Frater Juancho Castañeda Rojas and Frater Justin Krenke left for Poland on Friday. They are accompanying the youth group from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Houston, to World Youth Day in Kracow.
“We arrived in Krakow Saturday and had a very nice welcome from our fellow SCJs,” wrote Fr. Mark. “We didn’t lose anyone –– always a first priority!!! The trip took 10 total hours by air and we had a three-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. There we met a WYD group from Miami. When we exited the Warsaw terminal there were a few WYD groups playing their instruments and singing –– it got us excited for things to come in the days ahead!”
World Youth Day takes place July 26-31. This week, youth groups from SCJ ministries around the world will gather for activities organized by the Polish Province.
Polish SCJs are maintaining a multilingual Facebook page for Dehonian youth at WYD. Click here to visit it.
Fr. Ed Kilianski leaves for Poland on Friday to meet up with the Houston group at WYD.
Keep in prayer
Br. Luc Coursol of the Montréal community was recently diagnosed with cancer of the intestine and liver; he will soon begin chemotherapy.
Please remember
Fr. Ambrogio Bottesi, a member of the North Italian Province, died July 17. He was born in 1936, professed in 1953 and ordained in 1962.
Thank you
Fr. Mark Fortner writes: “For the outpouring of love, support, and prayers which I received following the death of my eldest brother, Harvey, I want to express my deepest gratitude to each of you, SCJs and friends, near and far. Knowing that the grieving process has only begun, I trust that you will continue to remember my brother and my family in your prayers.”
New team in Mississippi
Fr. Thi Pham refers to it as the “Mississippi Dream Team” – the pastoral team in northern Mississippi that serves a cluster of six parishes: Christ the King Church in Southaven, Holy Spirit Church in Hernando, St. Gregory’s Church in Senatobia, Good Shepherd Church in Robinsonville, St. Joseph’s Church in Holly Springs and Queen of Peace Church in Olive Branch.
Fr. Thi is the moderator of the newly configured team, replacing Fr. Bob Tucker, who moved to Chicago this summer to serve in formation.
The pastoral team’s newest member is Fr. Zbigniew “Ziggy” Morawiec. Fr. Ziggy recently moved to Mississippi from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Houston. His Spanish skills will be well used in Mississippi, which has a growing Hispanic population. Fr. Greg Schill continues to serve the team.
“There is an incredible representation in diversity on the team that has been already noticed by parishioners,” said Fr. Thi. “I am from Vietnam, Fr. Ziggy is from Poland and, of course, Fr. Greg is from Texas!”
Reflecting on ordination
In last Friday’s Dehonian Spirituality, Fr. Wayne Jenkins reflected on his vocation. The theme for the issue was Fr. Dehon’s first Mass. This Thursday, July 19, is the 147th anniversary of the founder’s First Mass, celebrated in his home town of La Capelle, France.
About his own ordination, Fr. Wayne wrote that “as I am writing this reflection, my day of ordination — June 25th —is approaching. On Sunday, June 26th, I celebrated my first celebration of the Eucharist. These events bring forth two memories.
“First, my association with the Ursuline Sisters of Chatham [Ontario, Canada] introduced me to religious life. Not only were they my teachers throughout my 12 years of education… they also were my introduction to religious life. My Aunt Rosemary Zimmer, OSU, invited the family to Glengarda and to the Pines. It was there that I saw her ministry with the mentally challenged and with her nursing skills. This was nourished by her community life and by their community prayer.
“Secondly, my home parish of Blessed Sacrament helped me to understand the life of the Church through its sacramental life of Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, and Ordination. This also consisted in serving at the altar and in being a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. This participation in the life of the parish helped me to understand that Eucharist did not stop after entering the church. But it overflowed into the lives of the people within the church and beyond the doors of the church…
“ Our SCJ Constitutions state that our community life is the source for our spirituality and for our ministry. Both the parish community and the Ursuline community were being Eucharist. Or in Dehon’s words, we were participating in a never ending Eucharist. Moreover, I was thrown from their sacristies onto the streets in Chatham.”
Click here to read the full issue. Click here to subscribe to the weekly e-publication.
Note: There will be no Dehonian Spirituality published this week. After a brief summer break the next issue will be published on July 29.
Admissions workshop
The Admissions Board is hosting a training workshop for interviewers on Thursday, September 15, 2016, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Members of the US Province received an email about it last Friday and are asked to register by September 1.
“I encourage all those who are presently interviewers or board members to attend for the purpose of developing our skills,” said Fr. Tony Russo, Admissions Board chairperson. “I especially urge our younger members who have not yet been interviewers, including those in formation, to attend. We need you to participate in our admissions process so please consider attending this workshop.”
To register, or if you have questions, please contact either Fr. Tony at [email protected] or Fr. Quang Nguyen, province vocation director, at [email protected]
Reviewing the Mission Statement
Our general curia continues to look at new ways of communication, including a review of the congregation’s mission statement. Click on the brief video above to learn about the second communications workshop in Rome with curia members.
“Martin Proestler helped us to revisit the formulation of the Mission Statement, that is, the vision and mission of Dehonians in the world,” said Fr. Radosław Warenda, vice general secretary. “The next day was devoted to identifying and describing the different groups that we want to reach, not only with the Gospel, but also with an invitation to collaboration.”
If you are unable to access the video from the link above, click here.
New meeting dates
The council set the following dates for meetings in 2017:
February 7-8: Provincial Council
March 13-14: Local Superiors Meeting beginning with dinner and check-in on March 13, going all day on March 14
March 15: Provincial Council
May 16-17: Provincial Council
June 27, 11 am: Conference call regarding formation requests
Council meeting dates for the rest of 2016:
July 21, 11 a.m., conference call
September 13-14
October 17-18 (in Toronto with the Canadian Council)
November 15-16
December 14-15
Requests
From Rome –– The Centro Studi Dehoniani (Dehon Study Center) in Rome is digitizing and publishing all editions of the Dehoniana. The Centro Studi staff have asked for volunteers to proofread the texts that are to be placed online. The task is only to proof for typos and spelling errors, not the quality of translations. If any SCJ is willing to assist with proofreading he is to send an email to Fr. Juan José Arnaiz Ecker, vice director of the Centro Studi, at [email protected]
Request from the Provincial Council –– At its meeting last week the council affirmed that the work of the North American Immigration Committee should continue. This was a committee of both US and Canadian SCJs that sprang from the 2013 North American Continental Conference. The council asks members of the US Province to consider serving on this committee. Those who are interested, or who would like more information, should contact the province secretary, Br. Frank Presto, at [email protected].
Provincial’s time
On July 22 Fr. Ed Kilianski leaves for Poland to take part in World Youth Day. He returns to Milwaukee on August 4. August 7-11 he will be in Montréal for the Canadian Regional Assembly.
ESL in Chicago
On Friday, July 15, Candidate Paul Hoang brought a group of six SCJs from the ESL program to visit the Dehon Formation House in Chicago. “We were greeted with a warm and welcoming dinner on the patio by Fr. David Szatkowski and Fr. Bob Tucker, members of the formation team. Saturday morning, we went to the Field Museum to see the Terracotta Warriors Exhibition.”
Paul, a member of the Dehon Formation Community, has been assisting with the ESL program this summer. “It’s been a pleasure for me, especially bring our international SCJs to the formation house.”
Putting on his journalist’s hat, Paul interviewed the traveling SCJs and sent a few quotes from them:
Fr. Emerson Ruiz: “it was very interesting to see the formation house and learn about its history from Fr. David. The dinner was very warm and welcoming.”
Fr. Renzo Busana: “I liked the Field Museum but would also like to visit more of Chicago’s streets and parks.”
Fr. Manuel Vincente: “I liked everything about the trip, especially the hospitality of Fr. David and Fr. Bob.”
Fr. Quang Tran: “The Field Museum was very impressive. I also want to thank Fr. David and Fr. Bob for their generosity and hospitality.”
