THE NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 24, 2008...
Provincial’s time Fr. Cassidy is in Baileys Harbor March 24-26. He’ll be in the office most of next week. NEW US Province website (www.scjusa.net) The U.S. Province has a new website: www.scjusa.net. From it you will be able to access the Fridge Notes. Today is the last day that the Fridge Notes will be printed and sent via the mail. After this we ask that you read the Fridge Notes on the web site; generally, it will be updated by noon on Mondays (Central Time). This saves the province quite a bit of money in paper, envelopes and postage, as well as the time required for someone to assemble the mailing. You can also have a text-only version of the Fridge Notes sent to you in an e-mail on Mondays. If you would like to be added to this list, please contact Mary Gorski at marygorski@sbcglobal.net. There are a few people who do not yet have internet access. Although we encourage everyone to have e-mail access (there are free e-mail services and the internet can often be used without cost at libraries and other public places), paper copies of the news page can be printed and mailed to those who request it. If you are unable to have internet access and you do not have a member in your community who can print the weekly news for you, please contact Mary Gorski at the Provincialate Offices (414-427-4266). As with most new projects, there are bound to be a few glitches that will need to be worked out. If you run into a problem using the site, please contact Mary Gorski at marygorski@sbcglobal.net. Center meets needs of SD children “The services provided by the Sacred Heart Center definitely meet the unmet needs of the community,” wrote Brenda Claymore, chief judge of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, in a letter about the Sacred Heart Center in Eagle Butte, S.D. The center was begun by the Priests of the Sacred Heart and is now a ministry of St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain. “The services that are now being offered by the center come at a time that is a blessing for the court,” continued Chief Judge Claymore. “Many programs have cut their services due to budget restraints. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe presently has over 100 children that are in the custody of South Dakota Social Services. Some of these children would not have had to have been taken out of the care of their parents or relatives and placed off the reservation if we had the services that are now being offered by the Sacred Heart Center… “The court used to have a problem with ordering supervised visitations because there wasn’t anyone who could provide this service. My recent experience with the Sacred Heart Center has been very positive. The monitoring that is provided as well as the documentation and the reports submitted to the court have been very helpful…I have only touched on a few of the new services offered but wanted to thank you for your services. I see a close working relationship being developed between the courts and the Sacred Heart Center.” Thanks As we noted last week, Marge Lirette, retired assistant to the president-rector at Sacred Heart School of Theology and secretary to the board of directors, was honored by the SHST board at a special dinner. To the board, Marge wrote “Thank you seems so inadequate to express my enormous gratitude to the board of directors for the special way in which I was honored… the board’s proclamation awarding me an honorary Master of Divinity degree is priceless… “Mother Teresa’s quote says it so well, ‘We can do no great things, only small things with great love.’ The ‘great love’ for me was to be at Sacred Heart School of Theology for over 23 years and the ‘small things’ were the ways to make a difference in people’s lives.” Alumni update Fr. Paul Whalen, a former SCJ, has a new address. It is: Villa Angela Room A-010 685 Angela Dr. Greensburg, PA 15601 724-834-2556 Please remember… Fr. Michael van der Peet who is to have back surgery on March 26. Although all surgeries are significant, Fr. Michael is happy to report that this procedure is only supposed to take about an hour-and-a-half and generally requires just a single night’s stay in the hospital. Best of all, the success rate is 95%. Fr. Michael is being treated for back pain that became much more significant at the end of the year. Happy Birthday! Those celebrating birthdays in April include: Fr. Ken Mitchell (88) and Fr. George Balderrama (81) on April 16, Fr. Jim Walters (58) on April 17, Fr. Jim Schifano (63) on April 19, Fr. Ray Vega (84) on April 22, Br. Duane Lemke (36) on April 26, Fr. Tom Lind (76) on April 27 and Fr. Paul Casper (78) on April 29.