Stop Me If You've Heard This Before.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 
Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
 
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
 
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
 
Okay, so you've heard it. Now let me put it in context. When Paul wrote this letter to the Community at Corinth the Community was struggling. This letter was Paul's advice on how to build community. Paul reminded the Christians of Corinth that we want to get this faith thing right but it is love that builds community.
 
All communities struggle from time to time. If your community is lacking, listen to Paul to ease your struggle. If that doesn't work, contact me (aj@marianistfamily.org) and I will try to get you with someone who can help.

peace and love,

aj

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Making a House a Home
by Robert Manuel,
St. Louis volunteer, 2007-2008

Introduction by Ruth Pera, Assistant Coordinator MVP

This article was written by Rob Manuel as he ended his year with the Marianist Volunteer Program (MVP) this past July. He is now a graduate student in Education at the University of Dayton and a Residence Coordinator in one of the freshman dorms. One of the houses built by the Solomon Project (described in this article) is now being used to house the Marianist Volunteer community in St. Louis.

I entered this year with hopes of understanding more fully ideas of service, simplicity and justice through firsthand experiences. I hoped to know what it meant to live the Gospel message in solidarity with the underserved. I strove to make this a year of quiet reflection and active participation in order to best define and find my place within a life choice of authentic commonality.

I applied with the Marianists, having experienced the Charism the order holds close. With their emphasis on community, service, education and an awareness of cultural appreciation, I knew I was in safe hands for a year of exploration and dedication to my work. I foresaw my assimilation into a larger community as being essential to a fruitful living environment and spiritual growth. I knew that, after graduation from St. Mary's University, I was to be put in a challenging position with everything I needed to succeed. When applying with MVP, I requested work involving my hands in some way. Having grown up working in kitchens and bakeries, I recognized the important spirituality I received when using my hands.

I was placed in St. Louis, Missouri at a non-profit organization known as North Grand Neighborhood Services (NGNS). NGNS (pronounced: engines; something used to affect change) was founded nearly three years ago by Fr. Gary Meier, a Catholic diocesan priest, in response to stated needs of the community. When Fr. Gary arrived at Sts. Teresa and Bridget parish, 42 percent of all properties in the three and a half blocks surrounding the parish were abandoned and blighted. It is difficult to imagine nearly half of all the buildings one would see on a daily basis empty, burned out or being used as drug houses and prostitution.

In active participation with the parish council and social justice committees, NGNS was founded to stabilize the neighborhood through a number of different avenues. Solomon Project (SP) - the first of the programs created through NGNS - was created to address housing issues around the parish. SP purchases empty buildings and properties. Those projects are turned around by volunteer labor and services and turned into low-income housing. Stemming from these efforts was our "First Time Homeowner Mentoring Program." Applicants apply for houses and agree to a commitment to monthly meetings addressing issues of first-time home-ownership, monthly service requirements and mandatory credit counseling. From NGNS' beginnings, the process of homeownership was seen as being essential to the stabilization of the neighborhood. From there, other efforts came about from NGNS, including a small baking business run by neighborhood youth (Angel Baked Cookies - www.angelbaked.org), participation in and expansion of parish after-school and summer programs, along with other avenues working toward "community stabilization."


Father Gary with Rob Manuel and Travis Rindler (MVP)

 What became most important to me through being involved in the programs described above were the relationships I built with community members and others with whom I worked. I met lifelong community members, students from local and national youth groups, high schools, middle schools and parishes. It was through the relationships I built with the parish community, though, that the most fruitful relationships were formed and important conversations began. I met families who moved into North St. Louis to consciously live and work in solidarity with those most in need. I found the passion and hope I was searching for in this community, which inspired them all to work toward the betterment of the place they called home.  It was incredible to see this group of incredibly diverse people unite not under a common faith identity, not by place of residence, not even under common ideals, but under a concern and respect for this little area of a much larger neighborhood.  The effort toward respecting the residents here provided what I am beginning to see as the perfect example of what I have looked for from the beginning of my volunteer year, true solidarity with the downtrodden, underserved and forgotten.

I encourage you to link to the following video:  It's a 17-minute documentary about the work of NGNS. The video features Rob and is a FANTASTIC description of the work of NGNS. It's really a great supplement to Rob's article.

You are invited to join with the members of the State Community, Miryam Community and members of the SM, FMI and Lay Communities in Dayton and beyond to reflect on:

 Marianist Movements:
Common Roots and Future

Saturday,
October 25, 2008
9:00 a. m. to 4:00 p.m.
Bergamo Center for Life Long Learning


Liturgy at 7:30 p.m. on October 25th at the Queen of Apostles Church
 4435 East Patterson Rd. Beavercreek, Ohio 45430.
All members of the Family of Mary are invited to attend and a social will immediately follow.

Presenters include Mike Lisbeth S.M., Nicole Trahan FMI, A.J. and Joan McGinnis-Wagner, Tony Garascia, President of the International Marianist Lay Communities and Isabella Moyer, International MLC Representative for North America, Asia, Australia and Ireland

Please join us for part of the day or the entire day - kindly RSVP to Susan Vogt for the retreat, meals the liturgy and the social by Saturday October 18, 2008  SusanVogt@fuse.net

Contributions to cover the cost of meals for this day are greatly appreciated.