High Tidings

E-news from the CFL Family Retreat Center
Sponsored by Marianist Family Ministry

January 2005 Vol. 2 Issue 1

Building with God in Summer 2005
Reservations will be accepted beginning February 1 for the 2005 Family Week Retreats. Join “God the Builder” and friends in constructing sturdier family lives through affirmation, improved communication skills, mutual forgiveness, and increased commitment. Spend a week at the shore relaxing, having fun and nourishing your faith and family. The retreats begin June 12, and the 2005 program brochures are in the mail. More information and applications are also available on the CFL center website, www.christianfamilyliving.org, or by telephoning the center at (910) 328-1584.

Working to improve our center
Spend Presidents’ Weekend, Feb. 18 to 21, at CFL working with your family and new and old friends to spruce up our center. Projects will include painting; roof repair; some carpentry, electrical and plumbing work; cleaning and organizing; computer and office work; meal preparation; and child supervision. To reserve a room for you and your family, please contact the center by e-mail at cflcenter@charterinternet.com or by telephone at (910) 328-1584. There is no charge for this weekend, but donations to cover food costs are always appreciated. Also mark our Easter Work Week, March 27 to April 3, on your calendar. This week will be crucial to completing the renovations on the middle building.

Celebrating a Holy Weekend at CFL
Join Fr. Rich, Bro. Ray and the gang at CFL for the Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday Family Retreat, March 24 to 27. Explore the holiest Mysteries of our Christian faith and reflect on their meaning for our lives. Learn more about and celebrate the liturgies of these days as well as adoration, Stations of the Cross on the beach, and the solemn Easter Vigil. The retreat starts with the Holy Thursday Seder Supper and concludes with an Easter Egg hunt and breakfast on Easter morning. More information and an application are available on the CFL center website, www.christianfamilyliving.org, or by telephoning the center at (910) 328-1584.

Special Summer Weeks on the beach
CFL is sponsoring a variety of special weeks this summer. July 3 to 8 will be for families with Hispanic heritage, and the program will be presented in both Spanish and English. July 17 to 22 will be for families with African Ancestry. July 31 to August 5 will be for families who have participated in two or more CFL retreats and have the desire to deepen their commitment to family life and service. More information and applications for these weeks are available on the CFL website, www.christianfamilyliving.org, or by telephoning the center at (910) 328-1584. The weeks of September 11 to 16 and October 2 to 7 will be for home schooling families or families with younger children.

Check out our wonderful newly redesigned web site
Go to www.christianfamilyliving.org for the latest program information and to learn more about Marianist Family Ministry and the CFL Family Retreat Center. Many thanks to Heather Grimes for her leadership and hard work on the site redesign.

Still time to contribute to our holiday appeal
Our first annual holiday appeal has already raised more than $5,000.00. If you’ve missed the appeal letter or have not yet had the chance to send in your contribution, you can donate by credit card on-line. Go to www.christianfamilyliving.org/Donate.htm, click on the Donate Now button, and follow the instructions. And you can always send a check to Marianist Family Ministry, CFL Family Retreat Center, 2006 Wicker Street, North Topsail Beach, NC 28460.

World Youth Day in Germany, anyone?
World Youth Day will be held in Cologne, Germany in August, and the Marianist Province of the United States is sponsoring a trip to it! The tour will leave the U.S. on August 14 and return on August 22, and anyone who has participated in a CFL retreat is eligible to join in. More information on schedules, costs, and financial assistance is available from Donna Tucker in the Marianists’ Office of Religious Life. Contact Donna by e-mail at dtucker@sm-usa.org or by telephone at (314) 533-1207.

December at CFL
In December, the center sponsored two Advent and a New Year’s Retreat for families. The following families participated in at least one of the retreats: the Ohlhaut’s of Kannapolis, the Young’s of Salisbury, the Lilly’s of Salisbury, the McLaughlin’s of Durhan, the Williams’ of Harrisburg, the Metz’s of Concord, the Sentiles of Concord, the Winner’s of Wilmington, the Futch’s of Fayetteville, the Lombardo’s of Fayetteville, the Phillips’ of Cary, the Harmati’s of Winnabow, all of North Carolina, and the McKeone’s of Hamburg, New York. The center also hosted Dec. 16 to 19 a Cursillo retreat for women who speak Spanish. And many thanks to the Watkin family of Westminster, MA, and the Underwood family of Richmond, VA, for volunteering at the center over Christmas vacation.

Please pray for . . .
The success of a CFL weekend that Fr. Doug May is hoping to sponsor for the English-speaking community in Cairo, Egypt, around the time of Pentecost. . .

The recovery of the mother of Jo Musick, CFL cleaning coordinator, from an acute illness . . .

The repose of the soul of the mother of Greta Morris, CFL program committee co-chair.

(Please telephone the center at (910) 328-1584 or e-mail prayer requests and other items for High Tidings to cflcenter@charterinternet.com.)

High Tidings is edited by Ed DeBerri, CFL Center director.
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