Volume 5, Number 2
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006
www.marianist.com

DISTRICT OF INDIA CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Processing to the ceremony of perpetual profession for seven Indian brothers, Fr. Joe Lackner, assistant for developing regions; Fr. Pragasam T., new district superior of India; Fr. David Fleming, superior general; and Bro. Stephen Glodek, provincial of the Province of the United States.

On Jan. 1, there was much to celebrate in the District of India. 2006 marked the 25th anniversary of the Marianist presence in India and the start of a week of special events to commemorate this milestone. Provincial Stephen Glodek and Superior General David Fleming were present for the festivities which included a ceremony to install the new district council members and a blessing of Chaminade Hall at Deepahalli.

The new district council for the District of India: Bro. Anand Prakash Kujur, councilor; Bro. Delmar Jorn, assistant for temporalities; Bro. Xavier Raj, assistant for religious life; Fr. Pragasam T., district superior; Bro. Sanjay Ekka, assistant for education; and Fr. D’Cruz Nicholas, councilor

Other activities included readings from the book “A Short History of the Marianists in India,” edited by Bro. James Babu, and reflections from former Marianist Jim O’Hara and Bro. Delmar Jorn, two of the early pioneers in India. A slideshow on the first Marianists in India and video about the district also were presented. The week was capped off by the perpetual vow celebration for seven brothers.

Following the perpetual vow ceremony on Jan 5, 2006, Bros. Dilip Kumar Tirkey, Joseph Barla, Marianus Bilung, Xavier Raj, Kerobim Xalxo, Bhaskar Galleli and John Gracious Minj

The closing ceremony was attended by over 500 people, including friends and family members, Ragpickers Education & Development Scheme (REDS) staff and children, and Marianist Lay Community members from Bangalore, Ranchi and Nepal.

CLEVELAND HONORS MARIANIST SESQUICENTENNIAL

More than 450 people honored 150 years of Marianist presence in Cleveland on Jan. 22, 2006, at St. Patrick Church, site of the Marianist foundation in 1856. Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland presided at the Mass, which was followed by a reception at the church hall with a standing-room-only crowd. Organizers of the joyous event were Bros. Jack Dempsey, Bob Dzubinski and Dave Murphy and Fr. Bill Behringer. At the Eucharist, Provincial Stephen Glodek greeted the assembly and Fr. Paul Marshall gave the homily. Fr. Mike Lisbeth sang the communion meditation, and Bro. Bob provided piano accompaniment. Bro. Jack wrote a history of the Marianists in Cleveland. If you’d like a copy, e-mail him at jpjd@myway.com

The Eucharistic celebration at St. Patrick Church honoring the Marianist sesquicentennial in Cleveland, Jan. 22, 2006, photo by Joe Wadowick

At the Cleveland celebration: photo left: Provincial Stephen Glodek with Bishop Anthony Pilla of Cleveland; photo right: Bros. Tom Giardino, George Kemmett and Larry Cada and Novice Stephen Paone

Photo left: Aspirant Luis Gamboa with Novices Armando Añeses and Bob Jones;
photo right: Bro. Phil Aaron, Fr. George Abmayr and Bro. Leo Willett

RETREAT INFORMATION COMING

Coming this week via e-mail: Every brother who has e-mail will receive a link that includes information on 2006 Province Retreats as well as online registration. Also, one retreat booklet will be mailed to the director of every community for those who need to register via fax or snail mail. The Province Retreat Commission encourages brothers to register online.

BIRTHDAY BOOK 2006

A copy of the 2006 "Birthday Book" has been mailed to all directors. To obtain a personal copy, e-mail dtucker@sm-usa.org. NOTE: A list of all birthdays by month (with e-mail addresses) is available on the PORTAL at www.marianist.com/portal.

NEW COMMUNITY OPENS IN CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Bros. Tobias Ferrer, George Onida and Jerry Sullivan have formed a new community in Charlotte, N.C., focusing on outreach to the Hispanic community. The three brothers, all fluent in Spanish, are a welcome sight in a region that is experiencing an influx of Hispanics, with few bilingual priests or religious. They will be working with 18- to 35-year-olds to develop youth groups and retreats. Contact them at: Marianist Community, 2508 Lassen Bay Place, Charlotte, N.C. 28215 or 704.599.4584.

LAY AFFILIATE LEADERS MEET IN FLORIDA

COUNCIL DRAFTS NEW STRUCTURE; ASKS FOR FEEDBACK

The Provincial Council has drafted a proposal of how the Provincial Council might be structured in the future, and the Council and Province Directory Committee would like your feedback. To read the document, visit the PORTAL (Note: There was some confusion about where to find this document. Click on “Documents” and then click on “Directory Documents”) and respond no later than Feb. 19 to Fr. Jim Fitz at jfitz@sm-usa.org or by mail to the Province office. Please indicate the line of the document that corresponds to your comments. This document was requested by the Chapter at its September 2005 meeting, and will be presented at the March 2006 Chapter. It is being reviewed by the Corporate Reflection groups in January and February.

WINTER IN TEXAS

The Medina River in Castroville, Texas, photographed by Bro. Jim Wisecaver

PERSONNEL NEWS

Bro. Larry Corbin will move from the DeSales Crossings community in Cincinnati to the Madeleine House community in New Orleans from January through June 2006. He will minister in social services in New Orleans and will assist the Provincial Council in its discernment concerning our Marianist religious future in New Orleans.

Bro. Tom Heinle will move to the Woodlawn community in San Antonio, effective Jan. 15, 2006. He has lived in Houston since Hurricane Katrina hit in New Orleans.

CHAMINADE RECEIVES $1 MILLION GIFT

Chaminade University of Honolulu president Sue Wesselkamper and Fr. Tim Kenney (Assistant for Education) pose with John and Mary Lou Brogan who pledged $1 million to help fund an educational center at the university. The Brogans were honored for their generosity at a ceremony in December in which the education building was renamed Brogan Hall.

GENERAL CHAPTER 2006

Read an update from the Preparatory Commission dated Jan. 20, 2006, regarding the new logo and prayers for the 2006 General Chapter to be held in July in Rome.

View the Prayer Card for the 2006 General Chapter.

View the Prayer Schedule for the 2006 General Chapter.

DIRECTORY COMMITTEE REVIEWS FEEDBACK ON POLICIES

The Province Directory Committee met in St. Louis on Jan. 13-14, 2006. They reviewed feedback on Province formation policies and financial policies for responsible investment. The group also reviewed the recommended structure of the future Provincial Council. Shown are (standing), Bro. Ed Violett, Bro. Mike O’Grady and Fr. Jim Fitz; (seated), Frs. Jack McGrath and Ted Ley

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE REPOSE OF THE SOUL OF . . .

The Marianist ministry team for central New Jersey with Bro. Walt - December 2004

Walt Oberster, undated

Bro. Walter Oberster (Rockaway Park, N.Y.), 71, who died on Jan. 11, 2006, of cancer in Brentwood, N.Y. May he rest in peace. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 14 at St. Camillus Church in Rockaway Park. Fr. Paul Landolfi presided. Read Fr. Paul’s homily. He was buried at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury, N.Y. Bro. Walt was a teacher and guidance director and was greatly admired for his work with Marianist Lay and Volunteer Communities, parish family retreats, spiritual direction and vocation ministry. Read Bro. Walt’s obituary.

Read relections from Bro. Stephen Glodek, Bro. Jack Ventura and Lay Marianist Anthony Garascia.

Fr. Tom, circa 1940

Fr. Tom Schelble (Marianist Residence, San Antonio), 88, who died Jan. 7, 2006. May he rest in peace. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Jan. 10 at the Marianist Residence, with burial at the cemetery at St. Mary’s University. Fr. Franz Schorp presided. Read Fr. Tom’s obituary.

Bro. Herman Lambers (Mercy Siena, Dayton), 93, who died Jan. 5, 2006. May he rest in peace. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Jan. 9 at Queen of Apostles Chapel at Mount St. John in Dayton. Fr. Jim Fitz presided. Bro. Herman was buried on Jan. 10 at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Read Bro. Herman’s obituary.

Bro. Miguel Lete Alday (Bogotá, Colombia), priest, 79, who died Nov. 14, 2005. Read Bro. Miguel’s obituary.

John Toth, who died on Jan. 21, after a long illness. John was a Pueblo Affiliate.

WINTER REFLECTIONS, EUREKA, MO.

Photo courtesy of Bro. Bob Resing, S.M. Bro. Bob's images are available for sale as note cards or prints. To order, visit www.resingart.com

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF . . .

Bro. Dan Stupka (DeSales Crossings, Cincinnati), who is recovering from heart surgery at Mercy Siena in Dayton, Ohio.

Fr. Stephen Tutas (Marianist Community, Maui), who is recovering quickly from a heart procedure he underwent on Jan. 16 at the Straub Heart Clinic in Honolulu.

Fr. Bill Wightman (Our Lady of the Pillar, St. Louis), who is at home after a recent hospitalization.

Please pray also for Elaine Acker, Norbert “Buddy” Alberts, Fred and Rosemary Bartkowski, Jack Daley, David Fitz, David Geer, Millie Konieczny, William Meyer, Tony Spring, Agnes Roten-Truffer, Edward Winters and Tony Zubek. Read more.

FIRST PROVINCE REFLECTION GROUP A SUCCESS

Marianist brothers articipating in the Province Reflection Group in Phoenix Jan. 5-6, 2006, standing, Mike O’Grady, Ted Cassidy, Robert Osborne, Dick Olsen, Bob Moriarty, Charles Johnson, Dennis Schmitz, Gene Contadino, Tom Spring, Paul Marshall and Aaron Sonnenburg. Seated, Mike Sullivan, Bill Bolts, Victor Forlani, Isak Keyman-Ige, Cris Janson, Fred Stovall, Richard Schrader and Frank O’Donnell. The second group is scheduled for Feb. 6-8 in Atlanta. The purpose of the groups is to have open conversation to develop input for the Provincial Chapter, Provincial Council and the membership.

At the Province Reflection Group in Phoenix (left photo): Bro. Fred Stovall and Fr. Gene Contadino and (right photo): Bros. Tom Spring and Dick Olsen

CHILD PROTECTION WORKSHOPS SCHEDULED

The schedule for the child protection workshops — part of the Province's accreditation process from Praesidium Religious Services - is now available. The workshops include a review of the Province's revised Child Protection Policies; education about the prevalence, identification and prevention of child sexual abuse; warning signs associated with sexual abuse; and education regarding protection from false allegations and sexual abuse. Any Province member in full-time ministry — or in part-time ministry that includes contact with children — is expected to attend this workshop. This includes volunteer work or saying Mass periodically at a parish. View schedule.

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES

Photos from the Catholic Universe Bulletin story, taken by Nancy Erikson: (photo left): Bro. Jack Dempsey counseling student Daniel Hernandez at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in Cleveland; (photo right): Bro. Will Halloway works with parishioner Delores Brown at St. Aloysius-St. Agatha Church in Cleveland

The 150th anniversary of the Marianists in Cleveland was covered as a center spread story in the Cleveland Catholic Universe Bulletin newspaper on Jan. 13. The story highlights the ways the Marianists have built communities of faith through the parishes, schools and community outreach activities they have supported in Cleveland.

Bros. Isak Keyman-Ige, Armando Añeses and Jim Wisecaver are featured in an article titled Casa María Marianists Promote Multiculturalism in the Jan. 6 issue of Today’s Catholic. Read the article.

MARIANIST LIFE TEAM GATHERS IN HONOLULU

MYSTERY MARIANIST

Our Mystery Marianist was a chaplain at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland and the director of the Marianist community when this picture was taken in the early 1980s. Who is this priest?

BOUQUET OF BEAUTY…

. . .a photograph by Bro. Fred Silbereis
(Kenya, Africa).

WHO'S DOING WHAT

Congratulations to Bro. Erick Odhiambo Otiende, who professed perpetual vows in Eastern African on Jan. 14, 2006. More in the next issue of FamilyOnline.

Bro. Charles Roggemann (Mercy Siena, Dayton) was honored in the Winter 2005 edition of the Chaminade-Madonna Connection magazine for his 35 years of service to the school. He was recognized for his teaching as well as his support of many campus activities. Bro. Chuck is known for his “word of the day” and devotion to turning recycling money into financial assistance for needy students. Read more.

Photo left: Bro. Charles Roggemann (undated); photo right: Bro. Charles (far left) with Bros. Don Neff, Ray Kane and George Endres at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory in Hollywood, Fla., January 2005

Felicitas Samtleben working with children in Niger.

Felicitas Samtleben-Spleiss (Lay Affiliate, Stadtbergen, Germany) recently returned from a month of service in Niger. She and three others ministered to over 1,500 children, treating them for malnourishment, AIDS, flu and other diseases. Felicitas, who is a nurse and a translator, also has served in Iraq and Nairobi. She will return to Kenya to teach English to the novices and teach poor children. Read her reflections on Niger.

Marianist Artists at Work
BROTHER DON SMITH – INSPIRED BY MARY

Since 1987, Bro. Don Smith (Meyer Hall, Dayton) has ministered as a professional artist. He works mostly with clay and specializes in Raku, an oriental process of glazing and firing clay. Bro. Don's commissioned work includes chalices, altars and murals and various forms of religious art. Each year, he creates pencil portraits of deceased brothers in the Province which are displayed during the annual retreats. Bro. Don says he is blessed to spend his life as a Marianist artist. "Much of my work has been centered around religious themes. This allows me time to contemplate the mysteries of faith. Mary is an important inspiration to me. With Mary as our inspiration and model, we Marianists need to be creative and bring beauty and understanding of cultural development into our world.”

NEXT ISSUE: If you're an artist and would like to be featured, e-mail dguerra@sm-usa.org. (This feature was produced by Novice Dennis Bautista.)

Altar with sea shells and sea gull feathers impressed in clay tiles for the chapel at St. John's of Rockaway Beach

Altar with grape leaves, wheat and flowers impressed into tiles for the Meyer Hall chapel, Dayton

Matched set of chalices and plates for the Marianist Martyrs Chapel at the University of Dayton

MSJC HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING

The Steering Committee of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative (MSJC) met for its annual meeting in Cincinnati on Jan. 12-15. The committee welcomed three new members: Ray Dominguez, Cynthia Sias and Alison Radelet; thanked Nancy DeHonores for her many years of service as she leaves the committee; re-elected Fr. Ted Cassidy as chair; and planned for the coming year. The Collaborative will work with the Province Peace and Justice Committee to coordinate social justice efforts in the Province. Shown standing, Ray Dominguez, Jeff Campbell, Al Prendergast, Bro. Bob Donovan, Alison Radelet, Bro. Bill Farrell and Jim Vogt (MSJC Director). Seated, Cynthia Sias, Bro. Don Geiger, Sr. Laola Hironaka, Fr. Ted and Myles McCabe (Director of Peace and Justice, Provincial Office)

FROM THE SCHOOLS . . .

CHAMINADE COLLEGE PREP IN ST. LOUIS announced the appointment of Louis Peters, Ph.D. to the position of principal, effective July 1, 2006. Dr. Peters has taught religious studies at Chaminade for seven years and has been in the education field for 33 years. He is also an ordained deacon in the Maronite Rite of the Roman Catholic Church.

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON. Sister Dorothy Stang, a Dayton native and graduate of Julienne High School (now Chaminade-Julienne), will be honored posthumously in a ceremony on Feb. 2 at UD. Sister Dorothy, who fought tirelessly for human rights and the environment, was killed last year in Brazil. The event is part of UD’s “Human Rights Week 2006.”

ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY. Dr. Charles Cotrell, president of St. Mary’s University, was presented with a sizeable donation from the St. Mary’s Alumni Association at its holiday reception at the Omni Hotel on Dec. 1. The donation will be used to benefit scholarship, university and alumni programs.

MORE MAJORING IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES

A recent University of Dayton alumni news story reports strong growth in the number of students choosing to major in religious studies. More than 80 students are majoring in religion at UD this year, more than doubling the number in recent years. This increase mirrors growth nationally. Read more.

ALIVE MAGAZINE

If you need additional copies of the new Alive magazine, e-mail Ann Mueller at amueller@sm-usa.org.

OUT AND ABOUT

Read the upcoming travel schedule of members of the Provincial staff in St. Louis.

Read updated changes to the personnel. For more copies of the new personnel, e-mail amueller@sm-usa.org. Remember that personnel information on the PORTAL is updated on a regular basis at www.marianist.com/portal

NEWSLETTER CENTRAL

INDIA NEWSLETTER. Read the Jan. 12 , 2006, newsletter from the Region of India.

Read a letter from Fr. Florian Royer-Chabot in Haiti.

Read Fr. Steve Tutas’ January 2006 newsletter. Maui Newsletter.

THE CLASSIFIEDS

CENTER DIRECTOR. The Marianist Family Ministry Inc. (MFM) seeks a director for the Christian Family Living (CFL) Family Retreat Center in Topsail, N.C. Read the job description. Contact Tina Bauman at tinab220@yahoo.com.

MYSTERY MARIANIST UNVEILED . . .

It’s Fr. Ken Templin, director of Campus Ministry at Chaminade University of Honolulu. Fr. Ken’s life lesson: “GWTF! Go With The Flow one day at a time and be grateful for all of life’s blessings.”

SAVE THE DATE . . .

Bro. Jack Ventura invites all members of the Marianist Family from the St. Louis area to evening prayer and dinner to celebrate the 205th anniversary of the Foundation Day of Marianist Sodalities on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006, at 5:30 p.m. at Our Lady of the Pillar. Bring a favorite wine and dessert to share. For information or to RSVP, contact Donna Tucker at dtucker@sm-usa.org by Jan. 25.

JUST ONE MORE . . .

January

February

VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT www.marianist.com

Materials deadline for next issue is Jan. 31.

Editor: Diane Guerra; assistant: Ann Mueller. This biweekly e-mail newsletter produced by the Society of Mary features news about the Society of Mary (SM), Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI) and lay Marianists. Bro. Stephen Glodek, SM, provincial; Fr. Jim Fitz, SM, assistant provincial. Read the 2005 publication schedule and deadlines. Read hints about submitting photos and copy. NEWS: We'll include news of travels, health updates, prayer requests, community celebrations, professional accomplishments, birthdays, and whatever personal or community news you'd like to share. Send news, digital photos and comments and suggestions to Diane Guerra at dguerra@sm-usa.org and use "FamilyOnline" as your subject line. TECHNICAL PROBLEMS: If you're not receiving this newsletter in the proper format, with proper spacing and photographs and art appearing, please let us know and we'll try to find a solution. If we can't, we'll put you on our "NOTIFY ONLY" list. CHANGE IN E-MAIL ADDRESS: Send to Ann Mueller at amueller@sm-usa.org. NOTE TO DIRECTORS: Please print this newsletter and post or distribute to brothers who do not have e-mail. BACK ISSUES/SEARCH: Visit www.marianist.com/fol. SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Visit http://www.marianist.com/subscribe.htm. Remember: you can search the archived issues of FamilyOnline at www.marianist.com/fol. Type in the word(s) you're looking for, open the issue, pull down the "Edit" bar and click on "Find on This Page," which will take you to the exact spot you need.