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News Briefs:
UW students to hear cartoonist speak
MADISON -- Undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are invited to attend the new semester's kick-off Alpha-Omega event at St. Paul's University Catholic Center on Thursday, Jan. 25, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Alpha-Omega is the weekly undergraduate large group that meets for praise and worship, music, evangelical preaching, and fellowship every Thursday.
The group has taken on a "Survivor" theme for their spring semester. For the 2007 kick-off event they have invited national speaker and cartoonist Jason Kotecki to share a program entitled, "Surviving Adultitis." Kotecki will be sharing inspirational and humorous stories and tips with the students to help them live life with less fear, stress, and busyness.
"College students are under a lot of pressure. It is a stressful time of life. Adultitis has a way of sneaking up on us when we are busy and tired," shares Kotecki, author of the book Escape Adulthood: 8 Secrets from Childhood for the Stressed-Out Grown-Up.
Although there is no known cure for Adultitis, Kotecki will share some practical tips to "Survive Adultitis," in order to put into practice Jesus' call to live life to the fullest and to become more like the little children. For questions about the event, contact Andre at 608-258-3140, ext. 107.
Theology of the Body series
at St. Dennis
MADISON -- St. Dennis Parish is hosting a video study on Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body. It is a two part study, and will be held on Sunday, Feb. 18, and Sunday, Feb. 25, from 1 to 4 p.m. Free childcare is being offered.
Register by February 2 by contacting Kelly at 608-222-1039 or tkbutler@pngusa.net
Vocation program
at Schoenstatt Feb. 4
MADISON -- A Vocation Awareness Afternoon will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, for girls at least seven years of age, young women, and parents, at Schoenstatt Heights, 5901 Cottage Grove Rd.
At 1:30 p.m. there will be a speaker, followed by discussion and snack. At 3:30 p.m. those attending will go to Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Redeemer Church, Madison, followed at 4:45 p.m. by an optional pizza supper.
To register, call Sister M. Elizabeth at 608-222-7208 or e-mail Sister M. Victoria at mtaq@netpenny.net Parents will be needed to help drive to Holy Redeemer Church and to the pizza supper. There is no cost except to pay for pizza at supper.
Retreat for women planned
at Sinsinawa
SINSINAWA -- A Women's Retreat, "The Winter-Times of Our Lives: Exploring Their Gifts and Challenges," will be held at Sinsinawa Mound from 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, through 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3.
Winter holds its share of darkness, storms, icy cold, and feelings of emptiness. Leader Marilyn Dansart offers this ecumenical retreat as a time for women of faith to "come away to a quiet place" and prayerfully explore their experiences of both the gifts and the challenges of the "winter-times" of their lives.
To register, call guest services at 608-748-4411 by January 26. The fee is $92 for an overnight guest and $64 for a commuter, which includes meals.
For more information on the Sinsinawa Mound, go to the Web site at www.sinsinawa.org
Catholic Educator of Year
MILWAUKEE -- In celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2007, Catholic Family Life Insurance has announced a new award program to recognize outstanding Catholic educators. Prizes include a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond for the winning educator and a matching $1,000 cash award for the educator's school.
The 2007 award will recognize an educator working with students grades six through 12 in a Catholic school and will be based on the winning nominee's achievements during the 2006-2007 academic year, as well as his/her adherence to the school's mission. The winner will be determined by an independent panel of judges. Only one nominee per school will be accepted per academic year. Next year the society plans to honor a kindergarten through grade five Catholic educator.
For further information on the award or to receive an official entry form, contact: The Fraternal Department, Catholic Family Life Insurance; P.O. Box 11563, Milwaukee, WI 53211; call toll-free 1-800-227-2354, ext. 233; or visit www.cfli.org
Catholic Family Life Insurance, founded in 1868, is America's oldest Catholic fraternal and financial services association.
St. Vincent de Paul appeals
for blankets, bedding
MADISON -- Madison's winter has turned cold after all. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is asking Dane County residents to let single-digit nighttime temperatures serve as a reminder to share the comfort they enjoy in their own homes with those who have less - by recycling the warmth.
The society's 15th annual Recycle the Warmth Blanket Drive, an appeal for used and new blankets and bedding, will take place January 26 to 28. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 26, and Saturday, Jan. 27, St. Vincent de Paul volunteers will staff Recycle the Warmth collection points at all four Madison-area ShopKo stores. ShopKo will offer a blanket at a deeply discounted price to maximize the buying power of donors who would like to contribute new blankets. Bedding will also be collected at St. Vincent de Paul's five Dane County thrift stores. St. Vincent de Paul operates three stores in Madison, one in Stoughton, and one in Waunakee.
About 50 area religious congregations will collect bedding for the drive on Saturday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 28. Donors may contact the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at 608-278-2920 for participating places of worship. Congregations taking part are also listed on the St. Vincent de Paul Web site at: www.svdpmadison.org/recyclewarmth.html
Tax-deductible donations of money are welcome and will help buy blankets and bedding. Checks may be made payable to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and sent to: District Council of Madison, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, 1109 Jonathon Dr., Madison, WI 53713-3230.
Video series on grief
at St. Ann, Stoughton
STOUGHTON -- The Grief Support Ministry of St. Ann Parish, Stoughton, will be facilitating a video series entitled "No One Cries the Wrong Way."
These sessions will include a group discussion after each of eight videos and a prayer service. This video series is narrated by Fr. Joe Kempf.
The video series is scheduled to be held at St. Ann Parish, 323 N. Van Buren St., in the lower level on Tuesdays, Feb. 6, 13, 20, and 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. The reunion or fifth session will be held on March 20.
There is no fee to attend the program, but participants are asked to register by calling Rita Ihm at 608-873-3253.
Mission program:
Registration on Jan. 28
MADISON -- LAMP (Latin American Mission Program) is seeking volunteers to spend two weeks this summer in Mexico to teach religion, arts and crafts, or English; cook for volunteers; be a driver; or serve in other ways.
Registration for those interested will be held Sunday, Jan. 28, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Multicultural Center, 1862 Beld St.
For further information write LAMP, P.O. Box 85, Madison, WI 53701-0085, or call 608-845-7028, 608-255-5284, or 608-868-7816.
Benefit for Sacred Hearts
memorial fund
SUN PRAIRIE -- The second annual Jacob Tjugum bowling fundraiser will be held at Prairie Lanes in Sun Prairie on Saturday, Feb. 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds go to the memorial fund that has been set up at Sacred Hearts School in Jacob's memory.
Jacob died shortly after birth in August of 2000. He would have been in first grade at Scared Hearts School this year. The memorial fund will help other students that cannot afford tuition, books, and other expenses but would like to attend Sacred Hearts School.
A minimum donation of $10 for adults and $5 for children is requested. This donation covers up to two games of bowling, shoe rental, and lunch. In addition to bowling, there will be a raffle with some nice prizes. Those who do not wish to bowl may also consider coming for lunch. To register, contact Sue Tjugum at 608-837-3706 by Monday, Feb. 5. Donations are tax-deductible.
Childhood depression
MADISON -- Childhood depression is a serious and increasing problem for today's youth. If left untreated, it can lead to poor grades, low self-esteem, and even, in extreme circumstances, suicide.
On Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m., Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison will host a presentation to help parents, teachers, and others involved with children to help recognize the signs of depression and know where to seek help.
Catholic Charities representatives Katie McIntyre, a school counselor and licensed therapist, Cecilia Cázares, and Astrid Edens will join McIntyre in discussing this mental illness that affects as many as one in every 33 children and 15 percent of adolescents.
The presentation will take place in the gathering space at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, 401 S. Owen Dr., Madison. It is free of charge and all are invited. For more information, contact Vicky Franchino at 608-238-8219.
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Saluting Catholic schools
(See also front-page links to related items.)
Washington, D.C. -- The nation's nearly 8,000 Catholic schools will celebrate Catholic Schools Week January 28 through February 3.
This year's theme is "Catholic Schools: the Good News in Education." The theme was chosen because of its appeal to Catholic schools and for the strong message it sends to parents and supporters.
The week is an activity of the National Marketing Campaign For Catholic Schools, a project of National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
NCEA President Dr. Karen M. Ristau said, "Catholic schools do good work all year around. But on this week we want to focus everyone's attention on the fact that Catholics schools are good news. In addition to learning reading, writing, and arithmetic, students also learn responsibility - and how to become persons of character and integrity."
Fr. William Davis, a priest of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and USCCB interim secretary for education, said, "High achievement rates, high retention rates, high moral values and high student and parent satisfaction are the distinctive marks of a Catholic school. That's the good news and we want to share it."
National Appreciation Day For Catholic Schools will be observed Wednesday, Jan. 31. National Appreciation Day was established to encourage supporters nationwide to showcase the great accomplishments and contributions of Catholic schools to our country.
Schools in other parts of the country are encouraged to carry their message of good news to local and state officials.
Guided by the Spirit: Cluster core committee structure and roles
By Grant Emmel
VICE-CHANCELLOR
(See also front-page links to previous articles.)
After taking a break over the holy days of Christmas, we continue this series of articles on the various aspects of the Guided by the Spirit planning process.
As previously stated, this process is being used to assist the Bishop in ensuring that each member of the diocese is being given the opportunity to meet the Risen Christ, every day, through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. These opportunities are realized primarily through the actions of the priest In Persona Christi, thus highlighting the need to somehow accommodate the current diocesan priestly shortage.
Additionally each parish should provide opportunities for the lay faithful to reach out, showing the face of Christ to others in the parish community, hopefully many more than the pastor could reach by himself alone.
It is within this context that each parish has been spending considerable time evaluating their local community, looking at their strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the working clusters being formed as part of the planning process.
The clusters have been formed upon the recommendations of each parish and after discussions with each parish. The list of working clusters is on this page [print edition only].
Each parish will now send their Core Committee into cluster meetings where, as a cluster core committee, they will evaluate their cluster's strengths and weaknesses. As a larger group they will be better able to provide those opportunities to meet Christ - and be changed by Him - to persons within the larger community.
It should come to no one's surprise that by 2015 the diocese expects to have 53 priests and we have organized all parishes into 41 clusters. Thus we have a mechanism to provide
priestly ministry to all faithful in the diocese and raise the bar with regard to providing the range of ministries - educational, catechetical, vocational, or outreach - to the larger cluster community.
This evaluation will lead toward the cluster suggesting a model of operation for the cluster. Think of this process as similar to someone figuring out where they want to go on a
trip. Before you can start thinking about how you are going to get to your destination, you need to know where your destination is.
Similarly, each cluster is charged with looking at all realities of their cluster parishes, good, bad, or indifferent, and coming up with a cluster suggestion or "destination" that will be discussed with the diocesan Planning Commission. This suggestion includes a model for the most effective way that the parishes can work together in the future.
This discussion will begin with the cluster submitting their suggestion by March 9 to the Planning Commission and the commission responding by the end of March.
We need to be focused on prayer during this process, not only that the core and cluster committees are praying but that all of the diocesan faithful are praying for these
committees and the Planning Commission, so that God's will for each cluster and parish is realized.
If you have any questions, please contact us at guidedbythespirit@straphael.org or mail us at Guided by the Spirit, 702 S. High Point Road, Madison, WI 53719. Mary, Seat of Wisdom, help us to be . . . Guided by the Spirit.
Next Article: Parish Models
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