Aug 19, 2017
by Lucia Ferrara, Hospitality Coordinator
Greetings Everyone! I am sure that your summer activities are coming to an end as we begin our next season filled with new adventures as the autumn leaves change color and fall. Here at the Center we are continually busy with programs and guests. Biaggo Mazza presented Growing in Awareness of the Qur’an, Part 2: How Does It Relate to the Bible? in late June. This program was informative because Biaggio shared how the Bible and the Qur’an are two completely different books in terms of literary style and purpose. Yet, they share similarities in terms of people and stories. This program was well attended.
If you wanted a weekend filled with walking our labyrinth, silent reflection and faith sharing, A Transformed Life Weekend Retreat, facilitated by Kathy Keary is where you should have been. The weekend centered on a DVD series, A Transformed Life, featuring, Sr. Maria Tasto, OSB. Individual spiritual direction was available as well. If you missed it, the Center is offering another weekend retreat entitled “Following the Mystics Through the Narrow Gate…. Seeing God in All Things” on October 20-22. This retreat will be facilitated by Kathy Keary centered on the DVD series featuring James Finley, a Merton scholar and master of contemplative life. Individual Spiritual Direction will be offered during this program. Please register by October 18th.
The Center hosted many groups this summer and one came all the way from West Bend Quad Parishes in Wisconsin. They are a group of young people working with Catholic Heart Work Camp, serving the marginalized in the areas surrounding metro Kansas City. Several homeless families from Family Promise of the Northland stayed at the Center this summer. As a host congregation, we help provide a safe, homelike accommodations and friendly support to all.
Local organizations like Jobs with Justice and Cross Border Network spent time at the Center developing and planning for future activities, workshops, and meetings. Both groups advocate for economic justice, peace, and equality. St. John Lalonde from Blue Springs and St. James School Faculty in Liberty, both held day retreats here at the Center for some rest and renewal before heading off to greet the kids to a new school year.
Please do not miss out on our next serval events and programs scheduled at the Center in the next months. Circle of Understanding is on the first Thursday of every month beginning with a soup dinner. Bridges to Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton will be facilitated by Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.P.P.S. and Kathy Keary on Thursday evenings starting September 14th. Growing in Awareness of the Struggle of Bipolar Disorder will be presented by Donovan Gardner, a mental health activist and motivational speaker on Thursday, September 21st. Sessions will begin with a soup dinner followed by the presentation. Join us for an evening of reflection and prayer led by Fr. Garry Richmeier, C.P.P.S. on Friday, September 22nd from 6-8 p.m. for a Celebration of the autumn equinox.
Please register for all programs and events at info@pbrenewalcenter.org or 816-415-3745.
Aug 17, 2017
August 1, 2017
Dear brothers in community,
I am writing to thank you for the requested funds of $10,000 from the Human Development Fund. The grant money will help offset the amount of money that we yearly give to parishioners, neighbors and the poor who need emergency help with lodging, goodwill, utilities, emergency travel and rent assistance. As with many urban areas in the United States many of our parishioners find themselves in situations where their rent is unjustly increased or their houses and property is taxed beyond their capabilities to pay. This past year we began a ministry to aid us in teaching and challenging our parishioners to serve their neighbor, to learn about the systems that cause poverty and mass migration so that we may confront as a people of God those in power who maintain these unjust systems and to develop alternative avenues for living together in equitable ways.
We are very grateful here at St. Agnes for the Missionaries willingness to continue to serve and invest both human and monetary resources for the people of South Los Angeles.
In Christ’s blood,
Fr. David S. Matz, C.PP.S.
Pastor
Aug 17, 2017
“The boards are primed and are ready to be painted,” were the only words of instruction given to us to paint one of the Peace Poles at PBMR. During the Vocation Mission/Discernment week that Fr. Steve Dos Santos and I hosted we had the opportunity to experience many different activities of the Center. Over the past couple of years, different Peace Poles have been hand-painted and placed on the property and around the neighborhood. Each Peace Pole is made with four panels. We could either design each one individually or wrap our design around. As ideas were thrown out, the image of the cup and cross, a tree, a person, and hearts were incorporated into the design. Isaac, one of the young men, began to pencil in the outline of the tree. Before he could begin to paint he had to leave for another commitment. When he returned about an hour later, he was very impressed with the tree and branches we had painted from his pencil lines. It was awesome to see the smile and look of pride and accomplishment on his face. Although we were unable to completely finish the Peace Pole, we were assured others would do it for us and it might be placed in front of the Art Studio in the place where a tree once grew.
Interacting with the youth, the young men, and the various mothers who call the Center home, it is great to hear each of their stories but more importantly it was great to hear the stories of their accomplishments and being empowered as leaders. It was also interesting seeing and hearing the stories of our two inquirers, Travis Bruns from Chickasaw, OH, and Marcus Palacios from Tampa, FL, and their reactions to life in Chicago and the ministry of PBMR. Both had great insights into pulling things together and understanding the workings of PBMR and recognized how much a culture experience it is.
Both Travis and Marcus helped with the design and drawing of the Peace Pole. It was amazing watching them take the idea and make it come alive. Like many of the other young at the Center, it is amazing what can happen and be created when they are giving a chance to express themselves.
Aug 14, 2017
The crematorium at Auschwitz where St. Maximilian Kolbe was martyred.
August 14, 2017
Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Dear Members, Companions, and Friends,
When I was in Poland in April, I spent a day at Auschwitz. One of the most moving moments was visiting the cell where Father Maximilian Kolbe was imprisoned. It was Easter week, so there was an Easter candle and a stole draped on a kneeler in his cell, symbols of life and the legacy of a priest who gave his life so that others might live. Today’s feast reminds us that St. Maximilian Kolbe was martyred because he spoke up against injustice and oppression. He died because he opposed the Nazis and their white supremacist propaganda.
In the darkness of the events this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia—and in the light of today’s feast and the 202nd anniversary of the founding of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood tomorrow—we who often quote our founder, Saint Gaspar, and his famous words about “a thousand tongues” to proclaim the merits of the Precious Blood of Jesus, must raise our voices to condemn racism and hate speech wherever and whenever it occurs.
We saw again this weekend where hate speech leads: to violence and death. Once again, we are overwhelmed with grief because the words of hate became a weapon of death and destruction as a car plowed into protestors. We mourn the loss Heather Heyer described by her friends “as a passionate advocate for the disenfranchised who was moved to tears by the world’s injustices.” It was this “sense of conviction” that “led her to join demonstrators protesting a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville” this past Saturday. We mourn the death of the two police officers who were killed in the line of duty. We grieve the many who were bloodied, bruised, and broken when hate speech turned into violence.
When Saint Gaspar prayed for a thousand tongues, he dreamed of a community of ambassadors for Christ who proclaimed with their words and their witness the reconciliation won for us in the blood of Jesus. How are we using our tongues to speak truth to those in power? How are we using our tongues to build up and not tear down the body of Christ? How are we using our tongues to offer words of encouragement, compassion, and care to those who are victims of injustice and oppression, who are targets of hate-filled speech and violence? How are we using our tongues to confront and condemn those who promote bigotry?
On this feast of a priest and martyr who used his tongue as a mighty sword against injustice and paid the ultimate price; and in anticipation of the anniversary of our founding by Saint Gaspar who prayed for “a thousand tongues” to proclaim and promote peace and reconciliation, I am reminded of the famous quote from the Martin Niemoller, another prominent critic of Adolph Hitler. Niemoller, a Protestant pastor who was imprisoned for seven years in a concentration camp because of his resistance to the evil of Nazism, said, “First they came for the socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
As we celebrate the anniversary of our founding, may we use our thousand tongues to condemn hate and proclaim love as we stand up, speak out, and give witness to reconciliation in the blood of Christ.
With peace in the Blood of Christ,
Joe Nassal, C.PP.S.
Provincial Director
Aug 10, 2017
Dear Father Richard Bayuk:
Please convey our thanks to all involved for the grant of $2,000 that was awarded to Wichita Women’s Initiative Network by the C.PP.S. Human Development Fund. This money will help us continue our important work of helping women survivors of domestic violence through their journey toward dignity, healing and self-sufficiency.
Domestic violence affects 1 in 3 women during their lifetimes. They often stay in relationships with their abusers because they lack the self-confidence and financial resources to leave. The Wichita WIN program addresses this issue by providing women with the job skills, education and encouragement they need to get and keep a job that allows them to independently support themselves and their children.
Specifically, this C.PP.S. Human Development Fund award will provide one participant with 264 hours of on-site employment — 20 hours each week for 13 weeks — while she gains valuable job experience, attends classes in job-readiness training and independent living skills, participates in group and individual counseling, completes high school or specialized career training, and searches for full-time employment with the guidance of a professional mentor.
This provides these vulnerable women with the resources they need to make and meet personal goals for a better life of personal responsibility, self-reliance, and economic independence.
On behalf of the women we serve, thank you again for your support of Wichita WIN.
Judy Conkling
Development Director
Wichita Women’s Initiative Network
510 E. Third Street
Wichita, KS 67202
judy@wichitawin.org
316-262-3960
316-519-5786 cell
Wichita Women’s Initiative Network is a non-profit collaborative endeavor that provides women survivors of domestic abuse with educational and employment opportunities fostering healing and self-sufficiency.
