THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF January 15, 2007...
Provincial’s time Fr. MacDonald will be at the funeral for Mrs. Jackson (see below) this week. He returns in time to take part in the Dehonian Family meeting Friday evening through Saturday. Please remember… Hermina Jackson, the mother of Fr. David Jackson, who died January 11. The funeral will be Wednesday, January 17 at 2 p.m. at Prince of Peace Church in Lyford, Texas. Viewing at the church will begin at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Mont Meta Cemetery in San Benito, Texas. Fr. Dave is a member of the nearby Raymondville community. Cecelia Giudice, the sister of Br. Jim Willis, who died in December. Because of health concerns, Br. Jim was unable to attend his sister’s funeral. He thanks SCJs and others for their prayers and support following news of her death. Remembering MLK Today, many schools and businesses are closed in commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, including Sacred Heart School of Theology. Seminarians will take part in the 16th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Prayer Service at St. Michael Parish in Milwaukee’s central city. “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, keep moving!” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Update Fr. Ralph Intranuovo New e-mail address: rajin37@yahoo.com Spring in South Africa Fr. John Strittmatter, an American SCJ who has served for many years in South Africa, recently sent out a note for spring (remember –– South Africa’s spring comes in the middle of our winter here in the United States). Excerpts from the letter: “Today is the first day of spring here, at least according to the calendar. So I am coming out of my winter hibernation… “My assistant priest, Fr. Douglas Sumaili, was sent to Colesberg to fill in for Fr. Peter, who had a short holiday in Poland. He has since returned but is now working at our formation house in Natal. So, I am learning to live with myself again. “Meanwhile, someone broke into our church here in town and stole all of our vestments (chasubles). I don’t know what they plan on doing with them. Our ladies sewing group is helping to making replacements. “There is so much unemployment, therefore so much stealing. One tries to help with food, etc., and even some extra employment, but what we can do is far too little. The economy is growing and the government is giving more and more grants of various kinds but it will probably still take years before unemployment is brought down to a reasonable level. It is probably the biggest problem followed by HIV/AIDS. “Speaking of HIV/AIDS, the recent breakthrough with the one ‘cocktail pill’ twice a day –– which is much less expensive than previous protocols –– I really believe that many, many lives can be saved. Let’s hope and pray. We are fortunate to have two of our hospices already involved to a limited extent (130 patients). This is thanks to ‘Pepfar,’ from the United States, and the Global Fund, provided via the South African Bishops Conference. Our recipients have had good results with few exceptions. We only hope the government hospitals will sooner rather than later begin a wider roll-out and that the grant given to such patients will not be taken away too soon. “We have other projects as well. There are the two soup kitchens and the St. Vincent De Paul food parcels that help the unemployed. We also have job creation projects and hope for more. “That’s it for now. May you all be well in mind, body and soul!” Provincial Conference follow-up The ACTA from the Provincial Conference on the Dehonian Family goes in the mail this week. It contains the synthesis statement, pre-conference mailings, the participant list, work of the conference and Fr. MacDonald’s follow-up letter. The ACTA will be sent to all SCJs in North America, as well as lay participants in the Provincial Conference. However, anyone is welcome to receive a copy. If you would like one, please contact Mary Gorski at 414-427-4266 or at marygorski@sbcglobal.net. Another follow-up to the conference takes place this weekend. At the conference, lay participants said they hoped to continue discussions regarding the wider Dehonian Family. This weekend, approximately 20 lay people will gather in Hales Corners to continue to explore topics raised at the October conference. Fr. Jack Kurps will serve as facilitator and Dn. David Nagel will be a presenter. Fr. Richard MacDonald will celebrate the closing Mass on Saturday.