Instruments of God's Peace

Please Pray for our Sisters and Brothers in Arizona

2011-01-11T01:37:00.001-05:00

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Beloved National Family,

As we gather in churches, families and fraternities this holy last Sunday of the Christmas Season, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us pray for our brothers and sisters in Arizona, for the souls of those who have been slain including Federal Judge John Roll, who had just been to daily Mass; nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, born on September 11, 2001 and who had recently made her first Holy Communion; Gabe Zimmerman and three others; let us pray for U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and perhaps 17 others wounded, as well as all of us who are traumatized and depressed by this horrible act.

The sheriff of Pima County Arizona has been quoted in today's newspaper saying, "The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous, and unfortunately Arizona has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry." Having recently participated in our National Chapter in Arizona with Sue Simeone and all the good people of her Region, including our NAFRA Peace Award winner Brother David Buer, OFM, I cannot believe the sheriff's words to be true, but let us all pray in solidarity with the good people of Arizona that Arizona and all of us in our beloved United States will be people of love and people of peace.

We can never give in to the forces of evil; rather, evil must be overcome by good through the grace of God, the sacrifice of God's Son and the working of the Holy Spirit. Let us never cease our prayers, never lose faith, never surrender hope, never run away from God's command to love. Let us all continue as good Franciscans to be instruments of God's Peace.

With love and peace, Tom Bello National Minister Secular Franciscan Order The United States of America

Nominees for 2010 NAFRA Peace Award

2010-07-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

Dear Readers,

It gives me great joy to share with you all of those nominated, with the actual nominations, for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award.

Of course, all of them are winners. I hope that their lives will inspire you as they inspire me to be better Instruments of God's Peace.

Please pray for them that they may continue their great witness and that we may provide better witness as we all try to follow in the footsteps of Sts. Francis and Clare ever closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Peace and love,

Tom

National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order

2010 Peace Award Nominations

Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA
Rev. Scott Binet, M.D.
Br. David Buer
Bishop Ellis Chacour
Captain Paul K. Chappell
Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, PHD.
Franciscan Connection of St. Louis, Missouri
Char Hipp SFO
Immaculee Ilibagiza
Deacon Mark Keely
Gaylord A. Nelson
Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap.
Jim O’Neill, SFO and Barbara O’Neill, SFO
Alan Ouimet SFO
Jeffrey Raymond Proulx, SFO (Deceased)
Fr. Regis Scanlon OFM Cap.
Fr. Paschal D. Siler, OFM Cap.
Stephanie Sormane SFO
Starcross Community of Annapolis, CA
Fr. John Stowe
Reta Tombaugh
Ron Wakefield

2010 Peace Award Nominations

1. Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA

Dear Tom Bello, SFO,

I would like to make a personal nomination for giving a peace award to mother Angelica for her gift of EWTN. EWTN has done a lot to give me PEACE in my mind, my heart, my home, and in my world. I am eternally gratefully.

Mary Sheehan, SFO

St. Pius X Fraternity

Middleton, CT.

Dear Bro Tom:

In response to your request in the summer edition of TAU USA, the San Juan Capistrano Secular Franciscan Fraternity (#111) of the St. Francis Region (#52), met today and unanimously puts forward the following name for consideration of the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award: Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, PCPA - EWTN Foundress.

We all shared that Mother has tirelessly built a Catholic and Franciscan global network out of virtually nothing but a mustard seed of thought. The network has touched millions of lives and brought into our homes and hearts the depth of God's love for us and the Peace of Christ - centered and energized by the inspiration of Sts Francis and Clare. We feel that Mother would be an outstanding candidate for consideration of this award and look forward to hearing of the formal nomination.

Bro Tom Cooney, SFO, Minister

2. Rev. Scott Binet, M.D.

Dear Tom,

My fraternity sister, Harriet Sporn, suggested the following nominee for the NAFRA Peace Award on behalf of our fraternity—

The Fraternity of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Hilton Head Island, SC, BSSF Region #61, would like to nominate Rev. Scott Binet, M.D. for the NAFRA Peace Award.

Fr. Scott is a member of the Order of St. Camillus, a worldwide group of over 1,100 priests and religious brothers dedicated to making Christ present to people in need, whether it be in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Haiti, or other destinations around the world. Fr. Scott has been and continues to serve the people in Haiti since the devastating earthquake there earlier this year. By way of his total dedication to those in need, Fr. Scott brings Christ--and Christ's peace to all.

Peace and all good,

DorothyAnn Rowland, Minister

3. Br. David Buer

NAFRA 2010 Peace Award Nomination for Brother David Buer, OFM

The Saint Thomas More Region Executive Council and the following local fraternities within this Region: Saint Anthony Fraternity, Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity, Pope John XXIII Fraternity, Saint Francis Fraternity, Our Lady of the Rosary Fraternity, Saint Clare of Assisi Fraternity, Peace Fraternity, Saint Andrew Kim Taegon Emerging Fraternity, Portiuncula Fraternity, and San Damiano Fraternity humbly nominate, Brother David Buer, OFM, Regional Spiritual Assistant and Saint Anthony Fraternity Spiritual Assistant for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award.

Brother David lives the poverello life. He is humble, seeks only to help others, refrains from judging others, and praises God in all he does. He has made a life time of seeking out our poor and society’s forgotten men and women and serving them with dignity, kindness, and love. He clearly understands that by serving others will we find peace. He is a role model for not only Franciscans or Catholics but for all people. He evangelizes through the way he lives his life, using words if necessary. During the past year he has worked to open a cooling station allowing homeless men to spend some time inside a cool building during our blistering summers. This past winter he was instrumental in convincing members of other faiths and organizations to open a shelter for homeless men during the coldest nights of the year.

Most recently when Arizona passed a controversial law on immigration, Brother David steadfastly continued his humanitarian service to those who are crossing our southern deserts. He knows the law does not serve the poor and the helpless and he is tireless in his work to help them. He speaks to groups on the humanitarian efforts that are currently going on in Arizona but more importantly he lives it! There is no fanfare, nor boasting of what he has done for years to help the poor. He simply serves his fellow brothers and sisters with love and will continue to do so as others still argue the law.

He has managed to carve out time in his exhausting schedule to facilitate a Franciscan Family Connections class for our Region to help fulfill the need for local spiritual assistants. His nature is to be accepting and encouraging as the participants move through this course and eventually on to serve as spiritual assistants.

He truly deserves to be nominated for the NAFRA 2010 Peace Award. Brother David Buer, o.f.m., is from the Santa Barbara Province of Franciscan Friars, California. Two fraternities in the Saint Thomas More Region have provided some history of Br. David’s unwavering service to our marginalized and too often forgotten brothers and sisters.

By Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity of Secular Franciscans, Las Vegas, Nevada:

Brother David came to the Las Vegas, Nevada area in the late 1990’s. He quickly recognized that even though Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army provided overnight shelter and beds for the homeless in Las Vegas, there was a tremendous need for a daytime home for homeless men. In 1997 through challenging work and the awesome task of raising the funds, Brother David opened Poverello House in Las Vegas, near what is known as the Homeless Corridor, where many of the homeless live. It is a welcoming place where homeless men can receive two nutritious meals during their day’s stay. The homeless men are also given clothing, blankets, and personal hygiene items, when needed. Showers and laundry facilities are available and are regularly put to good use. The men also can take naps on the beds or watch television or play games for recreation. They can also sit and rest in the large enclosed yard. Poverello House was established to provide a place where homeless men could find a safe haven to rest and refresh themselves before they began searching for a bed for the night. Poverello House is open five days a week. In 2002, Brother David started a second Poverello House in nearby Henderson, Nevada. It also welcomes homeless women one day a week.

Brother David made sure that the homeless were and are respected. He exhibits this through his caring, live-giving words he uses with all people, including those who may live on the streets. His humble approach to life is demonstrated by giving and serving our poor and marginalized brothers and sisters. Such as Saint Francis said, “Preach the Gospel, use words if necessary.” Brother David preaches the Gospel by his actions. He uses words when necessary, especially when it involves housing, services, or laws that affect the homeless. He became known to the Las Vegas Mayor and the city council, when he would speak on behalf of the homeless, whenever it was necessary. We, the Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity, would also go to the city council meetings with Brother David to face the mayor; to bring petitions opposing any closings of facilities or services for the homeless that the city was planning. The wintertime was the worst for closing shelters. Brother David was the first in line to fight for the rights of the homeless. We would also stand in silent protest or walk with Brother David on the Las Vegas Strip.

Brother David has been an inspiration to the Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity of Secular Franciscans. His Franciscan spirituality, respect and caring for the homeless (our present day lepers) and preaching the Gospel by living it, has changed our lives. We have washed walls, cleaned toilets, painted and have taken turns cooking at Poverello House. We still do. Brother David is a man of peace. He simply serves others with dignity and grace. He asks nothing for himself.

Brother David has taken members of the Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity on walks through the Homeless Corridor in Las Vegas to meet personally the homeless, to put faces and humanity on the homeless. Those type of experiences opened our eyes to see what the homeless have to go through in their everyday lives. Walking the railroad tracks and seeing the tent cities gave us all a greater appreciation for the blessings that the Lord has given us and how much we need to give to our fellow brothers and sisters.

Brother David would sleep on the streets and spend vigil time for a number of days while fasting, taking in water only. Many Secular Franciscans met him for prayers while he was fasting. Secular Franciscans would also bring him communion while he would be on the streets. On one of the vigils, Brother David was interviewed by a local television station. A woman watching the newscast saw her brother in the background. She had not seen him in years. This is the Holy Spirit at work.

Brother David was also involved with Saint James the Apostle Catholic Church in Las Vegas. His Franciscan Community provided the Pastor for the parish, which serves primarily the African American community. Brother David was always available to help with the outreach programs. He was vital in securing and distributing food for the needy people who live around the parish.

Brother David is always in motion, seeking to help others. He never says “no” to anyone who needs help. He models Franciscan spirituality and how a Franciscan can lead a life of helping and serving others. He served as Spiritual Director of the Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity of Secular Franciscans. The Secular Franciscans learned a great deal from him by the way he lead his life of peace and joy in all he approached. It was a great loss for them when his order left Las Vegas and he was transferred to Arizona. The lessons he taught them about being Franciscan continue to be valuable and poignant in a city with so much neglect of their homeless populations.

By Saint Anthony Fraternity of Secular Franciscans, Tucson, Arizona:

Saint Anthony Fraternity's prayers were answered when Brother David became the Spiritual Assistant in 2005. He wished us a Happy Liturgical Year as we began our Advent season in that year. He reminded us that we live in the world, but also that we have another clock as Catholics, as Franciscans - that the liturgical calendar alerts us to spiritual realities that feed our souls that edify our humanity. He has since shown us by example that he lives that truth.

The first few months he was in and out of town - the friars of the Southwest region of Saint Barbara Province in the spring of 2004 elected him to serve on the Chapter Steering Committee which required meetings in the San Francisco Bay area about every six weeks. That work culminated with the Provincial Chapter at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA in January of 2006. At that time, he also continued to serve on the board of Poverello House in Las Vegas, the house of hospitality for the homeless.

He had hoped to have Father Walter Holly, OFM, as his mentor during those first months but our Lord called him home soon after Brother David accepted. He said he was comforted on occasions when he walked over to the cemetery down the road from the Mission to visit his grave. He knew he had another Franciscan friend in Heaven who was praying for us.

He urged us to reach out to Poor Clare Monasteries because it is important that the relationships with the other branches remain strong. By praying with each other, we could educate each other in our Franciscan journey. Since there were no Poor Clare monasteries near us at the time, this was accomplished at one of our meetings by the members writing a personal letter to the Poor Clares in Roswell, New Mexico. Brother David sent the 15 letters in a manila envelope to them. We received a little packet of materials including a letter from the Abbess with the name of the 21 Sisters and 1 Postulant there. This ultimately led to 39 pilgrims in the Saint Thomas More Region to participate in a 500 mile bus trip to the Poor Clare Monastery in Roswell. It was a pilgrimage to connect the Franciscan family of friars, Poor Clare Sisters and Secular Franciscans. The pilgrimage included a tour of San Xavier Mission led by Dr. Bunny Fontana, Mass and supper at St. Joseph's Apache Mission in Mescalero, New Mexico a 12-hour day of prayer with the Poor Clares in Roswell, which included three conferences by Capuchin Father McCreary. The bus was used for times of prayer, song and audio CDs on "Francis of Assisi, A New Way of Being Christian" narrated by Bill Short, OFM. Brother David coordinated this trip.

Brother David visits the home-bound members of our Fraternity quite often. He enjoys those visits and urges those members to write the stories of their Franciscan journeys. These were published in the monthly newsletters.

July 3rd of 2006, Brother David opened the doors at Saint Francis Cooling Center for the homeless. It was in the basement of an old building on Santa Cruz's property. With the help of volunteers, the basement was fixed up to be usable. Two air conditioners were installed along with a large kitchen sink. The graffiti on the walls were cleaned up, a half dozen fans were brought and inexpensive tables and chairs were gotten from St. Vincent de Paul. Some cots were borrowed from the Interfaith Homeless committee. Funds from a diocesan grant were received. Two port-a-potties were donated and a new roof was installed when a monsoon storm tore the roofing off. Thanks, to Father Bob Carney of St. Francis de Sales Church, two freezers were donated. Reverend Bandon Wert at Southside Presbyterian worked two days to help get the basement ready to open. They were open from noon to 4:45 pm, 6 days a week until August 9. The Saint Francis Cooling Center averaged 30 guests a day.

In the winter of 2007, after Brother David’s attempt to get a shelter opened for the homeless failed, he instead rented a van and went out each evening providing hot soup, hot chocolate, bread, cookies and blankets to the homeless. The food was generously provided by Caridad, a feeding program begun by Father Joe Baker at Holy Family Church. From 6 - 9 pm, he and a helper patrolled some of the washes in the area, Santa Rita Park, the streets near the Convention Center, Santa Cruz Church, Millers Surplus, Ajo, and the Santa Cruz River, the main library and any place they found homeless camped. They continued six nights a week through February.

He considers it a blessing to have worked almost thirty years with the homeless - the Open Door community in Atlanta, St. Francis Center in Denver, the Franciscan House of Mary and Joseph in Chicago, the Catholic Workers in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and elsewhere. He is still amazed at how blessed the work is when the poor and homeless are treated with respect and dignity as we work to get their basic needs met.

Brother David recently opened a Poverello Hospitality House here in Tucson similar to the one in Las Vegas. The homeless can come by appointment to spend a day in a home where they can take a shower, wash their clothes, get needed clothes and have a cooked meal.

When the homeless receive food, shelter, showers and hospitality, it is good. But Saint Paul's challenging words remind us that without love, it is nothing. We know this is true in other areas of our lives. If we get into disputes, do we allow anger and righteousness with our position disrupt our fraternal relations? With love and mutual respect, we can defend our deeply held beliefs without disrupting our relationships. As we go about our daily work, do we get irritable with co-workers who we judge to not be carrying their weight? Or do we recognize that Jesus calls us to 'forgive those who trespass against us? Brother David asks us.

He is very involved in the "No More Deaths" movement which works with humanitarian help to the migrants coming across the border. He regularly goes on patrol in the southern Arizona desert near the Mexican border in order to provide water, shelter from the sizzling sun, food and basic clothing items such as hats, sox and shoes. Poverty has no boundaries so Br. David courageously serves all he meets in the desert and stands up for the immigrants who are seeking a better life.

Brother David served Saint Thomas More Region as a "de facto" Regional Spiritual Assistant for many months before being officially installed as Regional Spiritual Assistant at the Pastoral and Fraternal Visitation of the Region in July of 2008.

Brother David wrote a 20-page report for the provincial on the Religious Brothers, Franciscan Saint Barbara Province, 1908-2008". The book, "Gregor Janknecht and the Franciscans in Nineteenth Century United States and Europe" published by the Academy of American Franciscan History Berkeley, CA has in the Editor's Note inside: Special thanks to Brother David Buer, OFM for facilitating this project. Without his determination it would never have come to fruition.

We are blessed to know Brother David as our Region’s Spiritual Assistant. He provides compassion and concern to all he meets. He offers ideas on how we as Secular Franciscans can reach out to other Franciscans and has planned activities to do so. At our Regional Council meetings, Executive Council meetings, workshops, days of retreat, and pilgrimages, Brother David peacefully speaks and walks the talk.

Peace and joy from Saint Thomas More Region:

Terry McCarthy, Sr., SFO, Minister, Saint Anthony Fraternity

Madge Lange, SFO, Minister, Saint Margaret of Cortona Fraternity

Rosie Roman, SFO, Minister, Pope John XXIII Fraternity

Linda Raimundo, SFO, Minister, Saint Francis of Assisi Fraternity

Robert Bundy, SFO, Minister, Our Lady of the Rosary Fraternity and Region Treasurer

Ron Muller, SFO, Minister, Saint Clare of Assisi Fraternity

Lynn O’Connor, SFO, Minister, Peace Fraternity

Kathleen Ott, SFO, Minister, San Damiano Fraternity

Michael Nam, SFO, Minister, Saint Andrew Taegon Emerging Fraternity

Clarita Caswell, SFO, Minister, PortiunculaFraternity

Carol Bundy, SFO, Region Formation Director

Paul Winter, SFO, Region Youth Councilor

Rosemarie LeClercq, SFO, JPIC Councilor

Pat Nikolaisen, SFO, Region Secretary

Bill Neu, SFO, Region Vice Minister

Susan Simeone, SFO Region Minister

Cc: Pat Nikolaisen, Region Secretary

4. Bishop Elias Chacour

8604 Wandering Fox Trail # 408

Odenton, MD 211113

May 3, 2010

Dear Tom,

I have enclosed some information on Bishop Elias Chacour as my nominee for this year’s Franciscan Peace Prize. I heard him speak several years ago at a peace conference, and have read his first book, “Blood Brother.” He is a remarkable individual, and, I feel, very deserving of this prize.

The enclosed material will indicate the many reasons for my nomination, and the many accomplishments and awards already received. This is a man who is dealing, on a daily basis, with the struggles and challenges of being a peacemaker.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Peace.

Sincerely,

Teri Egan, sfo

ARCHBISHOP ELIAS CHACOUR of the MELKITE GREEK CATHOLIC ARCHEPARCHY OF AKKO, HAIFA, NAZARETH and all of GALILEE

Bishop Elias Chacour (also Ilyas Shakur), also known as Father Chacour and Abuna Chacour, is the first Palestinian bishop to be born, raised, and educated in the Palestinian Arab sector of Israel. Chacour rose to international prominence in Europe, North America, Australia, and the Middle East as a peacemaker, educator, and founder and president of Mar Elias University and its related educational institutions in Ibillin, a Palestinian Arab village located in the Galilee between Haifa and Nazareth. As a recipient of numerous international awards and three-time nominee of the Nobel Peace Prize, Chacour began to be recognized by Israeli leadership as a prominent educator and advocate for the underprivileged Arab sector of Israel. Chacour is the author of three books that highlight his life story, including his work to build the various schools and university that comprise the Mar Elias educational institutions. His writings also tell of his philosophy and theology of nonviolence and work to transform the impoverished Palestinian Arab communities of the central Galilee through education of the youth of the region. Moreover, his commitment to reconciliation and collaboration among the four major religious communities of the Holy Land (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Druze) continues to leave a legacy of peaceful coexistence, not only in the Galilee, but globally.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Chacour was born on 29 November 1939 in the village of Bir’am, in the upper Galilee of Palestine to a Palestinian Christian family of the Melkite Catholic Church, the Byzantine Eastern rite church in communion with Rome. When he was eight years old Chacour and his entire village were evicted by Israeli soldiers during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and became refugees in their own land. The Chacour family fled with most residents of Bir’am to Jish, a neighboring village in the Galilee. After two years of legal appeals to the government of Israel, the residents of Bir’am were allowed to return in order to celebrate Christmas in their original homes. But in September 1953, the Israeli military destroyed the village just before the refugees tried to return. As they reached the top of the hills overlooking their village, they could see the smoke rising from their former homes.
The Chacour family placed a premium on education and remained close to the church. By the age of eleven, Elias was convinced he wanted to become a priest. After completing his primary and secondary education in Haifa and Nazareth he was sent to Paris by the Melkite Church where he studied for the priesthood, graduating with a degree in theology and biblical studies from the Sorbonne University in 1965. A few months after completing the degree Chacour was ordained a priest in the Melkite Catholic Church and was promptly sent by his bishop to the village of Ibillin. It was envisioned as a temporary one-month transition, but has now become a lifetime assignment.
In 1968 Chacour received his master’s degree in Bible and Talmudic studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the first Palestinian Arab to receive such a degree in that department. Returning to Ibillin, he concentrated on the youth of Ibillin, establishing a youth center and summer camp in addition to his regular priestly duties at the church. However, Chacour noted that his ministry would need to be enlarged beyond that of a village priest. From his own youth, Chacour knew that most of the Arab villages did not have adequate schools, libraries, or playgrounds, and that a university education was beyond the reach of over 90 percent of the population. With over 50 percent of the Palestinian Arabs in the Galilee under sixteen years of age, Chacour decided to focus his educational mission on several Arab villages in central Galilee, such as Jish, Tarshiha, Mi’liya, Shefa Amr, and Isifya, in addition to Ibillin. Within three years he established kindergartens, public libraries, tutorial programs, and youth centers in the six villages. Additionally, each summer he organized regional youth camps that involved up to five thousand youth.
Chacour completed his Ph.D. in ecumenical theology at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) in 1971 and again returned to focus on his work in Ibillin and the neighboring Galilean towns. After several years of planning, fund-raising, construction, and appeals to the Israeli Ministry of Education for a building permit, Chacour opened the Mar Elias High School with eighty students in 1982, but without a building permit. Chacour’s persistence, combined with international pressure from his many friends in Europe and North America, eventually secured the permit and official status for the school. Enrollment has steadily grown to approximately fifteen hundred students, with the high school receiving numerous academic awards, including taking first place in the Hebrew language (10th and 11th grades) in the entire country of Israel in 2003.
In 1984 Chacour published his first book, Blood Brothers, which describes his personal journey from the time of his expulsion from Bir’am to the process of building Mar Elias High School. The volume has been translated into twenty-seven languages.
Chacour was elected in 2006 as the Melkite Catholic bishop of the Galilee. The Melkite Catholic community represents the largest body of Christians in the Holy Land with the majority living in the Galilee.

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Chacour was nurtured in the Christian faith and by his devout parents, simple peasants who were active in the Melkite Catholic Church. From an early age Elias learned the centrality of peace, justice, reconciliation, and a strong sense of sumud (Arabic: steadfastness), for his people, as was modeled and taught by Jesus of Nazareth in the Sermon on the Mount, from whom Chacour drew inspiration and vision. The tragedies that befell his people and his family’s ordeal in losing their home and possessions in 1948 became the seeds for his eventual commitment to serve the underprivileged Palestinian Arab youth of Galilee through the educational institutions and programs he established throughout his career.

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Name: Elias Chacour (Ilyas Shakur)

Birth: 1939, Bir’am, mandatory Palestine

Nationality: Palestinian; citizen of Israel

Education: B.A., Sorbonne University (Paris), 1965; M.A., Hebrew University (Jerusalem), 1968; Ph.D., University of Geneva (Switzerland), 1971

PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY:

· 1965: Ordained to the priesthood in the Melkite Catholic Church; parish priest in Ibillin, Galilee

· 1982: Founds Mar Elias High School in Ibillin

· 1995: Founds Mar Elias Technological College in Ibillin

· 1997: Founds Mar Elias Teachers’ Resource Center in Ibillin

· 1998: Founds Mariam Bawardi Elementary School in Ibillin

· 2003: Mar Elias College becomes Mar Elias University

· 2006: Elected Melkite Catholic bishop of Galilee

THE WORLD’S PERSPECTIVE

Since the late 1970s and each successive decade, Chacour has traveled the globe spreading his message of peace and reconciliation while also appealing for support for the Mar Elias schools. His growing notoriety in religious and peace circles brought a steady stream of international visitors to Ibillin, many to spend several weeks in a volunteer service capacity, others for a short visit to see Abuna Chacour and the high school. Churches and peace organizations throughout Europe, North America, Australia, and India have hosted Chacour where he has been welcomed as a popular lecturer, as evidenced in the many awards and citations. He has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions: 1988, 1989, and 1994. Also in 1994, Chacour received the prestigious World Methodist Peace Award. Among the previous recipients were former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

In 1999 Chacour received two honors in France as he was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur by the president of France, and later in the same year the Marcel Rudloff Peace and Tolerance Award in Strasbourg. This was followed in 2001 by the Niwano Peace Award from Japan, which came with a cash prize that helped build the Niwano Peace Auditorium on the Mar Elias campus. The auditorium opened in 2004 with a seating capacity of fifteen hundred the largest in the Galilee.
Beginning in 1995, Chacour’s vision for additional institutions of higher learning began to be fulfilled with the opening of Mar Elias Technological College in October 1995. The college was fully accredited by the Israeli Ministry of Education and authorized to offer degrees in education and computer technology. In 1997 the Mar Elias Resource Center opened, offering both training and resources for educators throughout Galilee, also the first for the Arab population. In the fall of 1998 another school was added to the growing Mar Elias group as the Mariam Bawardi Elementary School opened with the first-grade class. Each year a grade has been added with the full six grades now in full operation.
The next stage of the vision was realized in October 2003 as the college became Mar Elias University, the first Arab Christian university in Israel. Mar Elias offers three degree programs with U.S. accreditation as a branch of the University of Indianapolis. The university continues to serve the four religions of the Holy Land: Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze, and its faculty also represents the four religions. The university received accreditation from the Israeli Ministry of Education’s Committee on Higher Education, with authorization to grant degrees in computer science, communications and marketing, and environmental science and chemistry.
In April 2002 Chacour authored his third book, J’ai foi en nous , published by Hommes de Parole, Paris. The international awards continued, such as the prestigious Peacemaker in Action Award in August 2002 from the Tannenbaum Center for Inter-religious Understanding in New York City. In December 2002 he was awarded the Dante Alighieri Peace and Human Rights Award in Rome. In 2003 Chacour was appointed by the Vatican as consultant to the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, and later received the Prix Meditérranée pour la Paix from the Accademia del Mediterraneo, Naples, Italy. On 20 May 2003 he was voted Man of the Year by the Lions Club of Israel.
The next building on the Mar Elias campus was a long-term dream of Chacour, realized in the fall of 2005 with the opening of the Church of the Sermon on the Mount. The majestic sanctuary is a testimony to peace, reconciliation, and the inclusion of all religions and people. The church quickly became the center of the burgeoning campus of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions. Later in 2005 Chacour received the coveted Americas First Freedom Award in Richmond, Virginia.

LEGACY

Chacour is the first Palestinian Arab bishop in the Melkite Church to be born, raised, educated, consecrated, and a citizen of Israel. The new bishop was quick to point out that he will retain his duties as the president of the Mar Elias Educational Institutions, where he envisions an expanded campus with a student enrollment of five thousand students from the entirety of Israel, continuing his commitment to an inclusive student body of Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Druze students and faculty. Having started in 1982 with eighty-two students in a building without a permit or electricity, the Mar Elias Educational Institutions now serve over four thousand students. It continues to be the only private campus in the history of Galilee where all of the religions of the region study together with the vision of creating a common future built on respect and justice for all. No other primary, secondary, or higher education institution in Israel can make that claim.

As an educator and man of peace, Bishop Elias Chacour has pioneered an educational model of interreligious education among the Christian, Druze, Muslim, and Jewish youth of the Galilee. His capacity to dream large and solicit funding from multiple international bodies have enabled him to build a significant system of institutions within the Mar Elias complex. The true legacy of his work are the thousands of young lives that have received not only an education and vocational training skills, but a respect for each others’ religions and cultures, and a model for successfully negotiating their differences through nonviolent conflict transformation.

Some Additional Items on Bishop Chacour

*Recipient of the prestigious Methodist World Peace Award (1994) [Past recipients include President jimmy Carter and former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat]

* Some honorary doctorates: St. Michael’s College (1989) Texas Wesleyan (1997) Duke University (2000) and Indianapolis and Emory Universities (2001)

* “ From my perspective as a believer and a diplomat, I take hope and comfort in knowing that amid all the hatred, destruction and death, Father Chacour continues his patient work, softening one heart at a time. He demonstrates how, through humility before the Word of God and the never-ending struggle to reconcile faith with the unhappy realities of this world, one courageous man has illuminated the truth he learned [and that we could all bear to learn]from another Man of Galilee: ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.’

Blessed, indeed, is the peacemaker.”

James A Baker III, U.S. Secretary of State, 1989-1992

5. Captain Paul K. Chappell.

Our Lady of Mercy Fraternity nominates Captain Paul K. Chappell for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award. Captain Chappell left his military career after serving seven years, including a tour in Baghdad, to spend his life committed to “Waging Peace.” Paul is committed to educating and inspiring people to rethink their old ways of looking at war and peace.

A young man in his late twenties, Captain Chappell has taken a position with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation as Director of its Peace Leadership Program. He is developing this free program to empower college students with the leadership skills that are vital for waging peace. Paul points out that the military is very successful in recruiting and training, and the peace movement must do the same. He has based his peace training on the training he experienced at West Point. While he is particularly committed to reaching young people, his programming and writings are, of course, valuable to people of all ages.

His two books, Will War Ever End?: A Soldier’s Vision of Peace for the 21st Century and The End of War: How Waging Peace Can Save Humanity, Our Planet, and Our Future (May 2010) challenge readers about war and peace, and about violence and non-violence in ways that could profoundly change the way people think. His logic and insight are especially powerful coming from the perspective of a West Point graduate and soldier. He is working on his third book, PEACEFUL REVOLUTION: How to Create the Future that Humanity Needs to Survive.

With relentless energy, Paul travels throughout the country speaking to colleges, high schools, veterans groups, churches and activist organizations. He dispels the myth that “we need war to end war” and encourages others to become leaders in waging peace. He not only inspires but gives the tools for peacemaking leadership.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, said of Captain Chappell’s latest book: “… has given us a crucial look at war and peace from the unique perspective of a soldier, and his new ideas show us why world peace is both necessary and possible in the 21st century. The End of War can help people everywhere understand why war must end, and how together we can end it."

Submitted by:

Jim Hanna for Our Lady of Mercy Fraternity

7494 Thackery Rd.

Springfield, OH 45502

(937) 788-2257

peghanna@woh.rr.com

6. Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, PHD.

Hi Tom, I had been praying about the peace award and I would like to nominate Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, PHD. Through her writings, teachings as well as her international ministry, I feel that she has done so much to foster peace, justice and the care for creation around the world.

I feel she should be commended for the work she is doing. It seems like everywhere I look I see something written about her, or a lecture she will be giving, and I even saw her on television. She is respected, loved and revered around the world.

I found this about her this evening:

Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, Ph.D.

Sister Ilia Delio is a Franciscan sister who holds doctorates in Pharmacology from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She lectures internationally in Franciscan theology/spirituality with a particular focus on integrating Franciscan theology and contemporary questions.

Sr. Delio has written Simply Bonaventure (2001), Franciscan Prayer (2004), The Humility of God (2005), and Christ in Evolution (2008). She also is a contributing author to Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth (2009). She served as Chair and Professor in the Department of Spirituality Studies at the Washington Theological Union, where she also was Director of Franciscan Studies. She is a member of the Commission for the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition that is sponsored by the English Speaking Conference of Friars Minor. She currently serves as a Research Analyst for the Franciscan Action Network and is a Senior Research Fellow in the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

Thanks Tom, and God Bless You for the Work you are doing to serve the Lord and the Franciscan Family.

Peace and Love, Mary Simmons, sfo

Md. Pa. Del. Regional Councilor

7. Franciscan Connection of St. Louis, Missouri

The St. Clare Regional Fraternity is eager to nominate the Franciscan Connection of St. Louis, Missouri for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award.

The Franciscan Connection is an outreach program begun and staffed by OFM priests and/or brothers of the Sacred Heart Province since 1991. During its almost two decades of outreach and service to the poor and marginalized of south St. Louis City, the friars have provided for the care and needs of those in the area around St. Anthony of Padua Church, the provincial headquarters-a neighborhood very much in transition, were refugees and ethnic minorities have replaced the once traditionally white population, where small stores and businesses have closed and buildings been boarded up and where a sense of urban decay has crept in. The Franciscan Connection began to provide emergency help to single mothers, to under-employed dads, and to the frail elderly of the community. A little financial assistance on a high utility bill, for example, could often save a home bound senior citizen from another night without electricity or heat; a backpack of school supplies and a voucher for new shoes could ready a young child for their first day in the classroom; bus tickets could provide the means to a job interview or getting to that doctor appointment; or a Christmas basket could brighten a family's whole holiday. The home repair ministry directly helps widows and other low-income families make their homes more safe, secure and healthy places in which to live. In addition, the friars offer one-on-one support to those who come to their door, addressing the needs of the inner spirit while leading them on to other area resources and encouraging them in their pursuit to become self-sufficient. Each year, over 500 families in need benefit from direct emergency assistance, home repairs and other support. Countless others receive helpful information and referrals.

While the friars in service at the Connection perform their ministry, they in turn inspire countless lay volunteers, from young teens to retired seniors, to join them through use of their time, talent and treasure in the service of God's children. Through the friars’ organization and direction, the Connection involves hundreds of people in carrying out the ministry the Connection seeks to provide. Volunteers come from throughout the area as well as other states to assist in one day, one week or longer projects. They have sought and received grants, as well as materials and specialized work crews from various companies and foundations. And it is through witnessing these friars preach the gospel through their action and love, that many of us have been led to a deeper appreciation of the Franciscan charism and the love of neighbor that is spoken of in the Gospel. As Secular Franciscans, many of us have been able to assist these dedicated friars in their work and participate in the spread of God's kingdom on earth.

In order for you to witness more fully the extent of the service provided by the Franciscan Connection, we encourage you to view their website www.franciscanconnection.org

Because of the peace joy, dignity and love these friars spread to their area of south St. Louis City and the lessons they share with volunteers and donors, the St. Clare Regional Fraternity nominates the Franciscan Connection and all its former and current friar staff members for this year's NAFRA Peace Award.

Sherry Stevenson, SFO

Sherry added in a later email: We have previously submitted the Franciscan Connection as our regional fraternity 2010 Peace Award nominee. In last week's archdiocesan newspaper, a beautiful article appeared showing how the Connection changes and adjusts to the needs of the community as well as the changes in personnel, but still gives totally to the people of God.

We thought you would like to read the article concerning these dedicated men who staff the Connection. We encourage you to visit www.stlouisreview.org for the article on The Franciscan Connection and Brother Donald.

Thank you for your consideration of this most worthy group.

Peace and All-Good

Sherry Stevenson, SFO

Regional Minister

St. Clare Region

8. Char Hipp SFO

Greetings Tom, I was given a verbal nomination for the Peace Award - in return I informed them that there must be a write up. They are in the process of doing so. The name of the person is Char Hipp, sfo. She is the infirmarian of the St Joseph Fraternity in Appleton WI.

She is a past Minister of the same fraternity. For the past 20 some years she as written, visited, talked on the phone, kept tract, and so very much more of all the active and inactive members of this fraternity.

At one time this St Joseph Fraternity had over 100 members. She has dedicated herself to the care of these folks - seeing that they are kept informed of the activity of the fraternity as well as seeing to their personal and spiritual needs in relation to the fraternity.

All of this while raising a family of I believe 12 or more children - grandchildren and great grandchildren that I can't even begin to say. She also nursed her husband in his final days. I believe they were married over 50 years. She is a model of a blessed individual, wife, mother, grandmother and to top it off a active member of her parish but at the heart of it all a Secular Franciscan who truly has lived the Gospels.

I hope this is not too late to enter her into the nomination process for the Peace Award.

I am sure more will come regarding her.

Thank you Tom - you inspire me to strive for more!

Peace and All Joy,

Ken sfo

9. Immaculee Ilibagiza

Cecilia Telles, SFO

4221 Santa Rita Street

El Paso, Texas 79902

June 25, 2010

Dear Mr. Bello,

Peace and greetings to you and God willing all is well with you.

I am submitting a nomination for the NAFRA Peace Award. The name of the person I am nominating is Immaculee Ilibagiza.

· She is a Rwandan genocide survivor who survived in a bathroom with 7 other women for 91 days while surrounded by killers hunting for them.

· Author of 3 books-a portion of the proceeds of her books go to the Left to Tell foundation which helps the children of Africa build better lives.

· Her books contain inspiring stories about survival, prayer, faith and above all forgiveness.

· She is establishing a Foundation to help survivors heal from the pain and evil of genocide and war.

· Forgiveness, faith, and prayer and the rosary are the messages that she hopes to spread through her speaking engagements, seminars, books, CD’s and television appearances.

· The beauty of her messages is that they all inspire a wonderful peace that comes through the power of forgiveness, faith, prayers and the rosary.

I am submitting this nomination on behalf of my fraternity. Saint Patrick Fraternity of El Paso, Texas. Our Minister is Adelina Frisbee and I am the Formation Director of our Fraternity.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Cecilia Telles

10. Deacon Mark Keely

I nominate Deacon Mark Keely sfo of the Little Portion Fraternity in Tahlequah, Oklahoma; for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award.

Deacon Mark Keely is my minister. He has always conducted our full fraternity meetings with a spirit of peace. He has a calm character and is a gentle and soft spoken man. He does not let emotions rule his intuition and intellect. Deacon Mark is a faithful servant of God who is dedicated to prayer by his assisting at Mass, leading the Liturgy of the Hours, and letting the Holy Spirit guide our monthly and bi-monthly meetings. Deacon Mark lives the gospel passage, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." He promotes peace by constantly referring to the gospels and the SFO rule and constitutions. Deacon Mark gives a clear message of who Christ is by his example of calm and humble leadership.

Sincerely with all P & G,

Stephen Lafferty sfo (Little Portion of Tahlequah, OK.)

Minister Mark Keeley is indeed a prayerful, dedicated, humble, and holy person. I heard a parishioner make the comment that Mark is a holy man. He is well respected by all and he strives every day to live a Franciscan life. He influences by example and good works. He can always be counted upon to assist anyone who needs his help. He blesses, and prays for people every day.

We are blessed to have him as our minister.

Blessings,

Mary SFO

11. Gaylord A. Nelson

Hello, Tom.

One of the members of St. Francis of Assisi Fraternity in St. Clare Region gave me a nomination for the Peace Award. The gentleman’s name is GAYLORD A. NELSON. Mr. Nelson is a former Wisconsin governor, senator and founder of Earth Day.

Thank you,

Mary Wainscott, SFO

Minister, St. Francis of Assisi Fraternity

Here is the nomination:

Dear Mary,

I am sending this man’s name Gaylord A. Nelson to be put on the list for the Peace Award. It takes a lot of people to focus on how precious the Earth is and here is one man that brought the attention to National Level and established Earth Day to raise attention to the care and restoration of our environment.

Thank you.

Sincerely in Our Lady of Guadalupe

and St. Francis of Assisi,

Cindy Siple RN, SFO

Editor’s Note: This nominee sent a picture from the newspaper of Gaylord Nelson which I was unable to include. The caption for the picture read: “Gaylord A. Nelson, a former Wisconsin governor, senator and founder of Earth Day, stands in a prairie of blooming wildflowers at Governor Nelson State Park in Waunakee, Wis., in 2001.

12. Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap.

Nomination for the NAFRA Bearers of Peace Award

Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap.

“A nominee should have made significant efforts in the generally defined area of Peace:”

Cardinal O’Malley OFM, Cap. has made significant efforts in the area of Peace by being a force for healing in the priestly sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston, Dioceses of Fall River, MA and Palm Beach, Florida. He is continuing his efforts to bring healing and peace to Ireland since he has been appointed by the Pope in this recent endeavor.

His ways of healing and peace were to personally reach out and to get to know the victims, he set up systems within the church to offer pastoral care for the victims of abuse and to speedily resolve the legal disputes. He arranged for the victims to meet with the Pope personally in New York and confidentially shared his knowledge of the extent of the victims. Victims were heard and their concerns were taken seriously. The local archdiocese became more transparent in dealing with the abuse and its victims and thus became a source of healing and peace.

Please see the attached biography for more information.

Nominated by: St. Francis Fraternity, Andover Massachusetts

(St. Elizabeth of Hungary Region)

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Fraternity Council,

Francine Gikow, sfo

Email: gikows@yahoo.com

Phone: 978-749-0880

Address: 41 Sagamore Drive

Andover, MA 01810

Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap

Cardinal of the Boston Archdiocese

Biography*:

Patrick O’Malley was born in Lakewood Ohio on June 29, 1944. He was received into the Capuchin Franciscans on July 14, 1965 and took the name “Sean” in honor of St. John the Apostle. He was ordained a priest in 1970. He holds a Masters degree in religious education and a P.H.D from Catholic University in Spanish and Portuguese literature. In 1973, he ministered to the Latinos in the Washington D.C. area and in 1978 he was appointed episcopal vicar for the Portuguese, Hispanic and Haitian communities.

In 1984, he became coadjutor Bishop of the Virgin Islands and became Bishop there in 1985. Later in New England, he became Bishop of Fall River, MA during the priest sex abuse scandals of Fr. James Porter and also in Palm Beach Florida where he also tried to settle the scandals of priestly sexual abuse.

In 2003, the Pope made Sean Patrick O’Malley, Archbishop of the Boston Archdiocese where he also inherited a huge priest sex abuse scandal from Cardinal Bernard Law who eventually resigned. In 2006 he became a Cardinal.

When Sean Patrick O’Malley became Cardinal in Boston, he breathed new life into a church wounded by priest sexual abuse. He actively reached out to the survivors in a pastoral manner and directed the diocese’s lawyers and insurance companies to quickly settle with the victims. He enacted a zero tolerance policy of sexual abuse and instituted one of the first comprehensive sexual abuse policies in the Roman Catholic Church. He also led a delegation of abuse victims who met with the Pope in New York so that their voices could be heard. He has done much for the healing of priest sex abuse in the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston.

The Archdiocese of Boston is a much more open and transparent Church since Cardinal O’Malley came. He is the only Cardinal to have a personal blog (cardinalseansblog.org) and has had podcasts as well, during the holidays. Now he has been asked by the Pope to assist the Church in Ireland in their own sex abuse crisis.

Cardinal O’Malley is and has been a force for healing in the church during the priest sexual abuse crisis and is an agent for peace among those who have been victimized in the church (both directly and indirectly).

*Biographical background taken from the on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia

13. Jim O’Neill, SFO and Barbara O’Neill, SFO

Blessed John XXIII Fraternity, nominates Jim O’Neill, SFO and Barbara O’Neill, SFO for the St. Francis Peace Award.

One cannot think of either Jim or Barbara without considering the other. They truly exemplify the meaning of the term “helpmates”. However, each one has worked individually for peace within the Order and within the worldly political arena. Jim was instrumental in negotiating and bringing to resolution the formation of our Region from the previous Provincial model. For many years, Barbara and Jim served as the SFO presence, indeed the Franciscan presence, as non- governmental observers at the United Nations. Finally, Barbara’s leadership for our Region has been that of sharing her wisdom to lead each fraternity to enflesh our Rule with peaceful solutions to the very real, everyday, nitty-gritty problems that ensue with fraternal life. Both Jim and Barbara have always been accessible to lend a Franciscan “ear” when called upon. Living in a peaceful manner themselves, encouraging others both in the Order and those not in the Order to make peaceful decisions, and by their presence in their respectful leadership roles they express in their lives what we each hope to live in ours.

Thank you for considering Jim and Barbara for this year’s Peace Award.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean A. D’Onofrio,SFO

Minister Bl.John XXIII SFO Fraternity

St. James, New York

June 9,2010

14. Alan Ouimet SFO

St. Conrad's Fraternity, Annapolis, MD nominates:

Alan J. Ouimet, SFO
Founder of Franciscan Family Apostolate (FFA) and continues to operate it today.

Website: http://www.openhearts.org/sponsor/index.html
93 Country Way
Madison CT 06443
ffaindia@att.netFollowing is from the website:The FFA was founded in 1971 by Alan Ouimet, SFO. For the first 8 years, Alan worked with a parish priest in India whom he contacted through a mutual friend. The organization came to the attention of the, then, Msgr. Peter Chenaparampil who was forming a Bishop's Relief Fund in the Alleppey Diocese. It was at that time that Msgr. Peter asked the Canossian sisters to provide a member of their community to oversee the program in India, a post which they continue to fill today. When Msgr. Peter was elevated to Bishop of the diocese, the FFA moved forward with him. Today, Bishop Stephen Athipozhiyil continues to give his support to the activities of the FFA to relieve the distress of the poor in his diocese.

The Franciscan Family Apostolate presently assists over 1300 destitute families in the district of Alleppey, Kerala, South India with monthly food subsidies, housing, medical attention and self-development programs.

St. Conrads has been sponsoring a family for more than 10 years. Our first family became self-sufficient. We are now supporting a second family.

Joan Faltot
Secretary, St. Conrad's Fraternity
Annapolis, MD

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Tom,
The following person is nominated as a recipient of the NAFRA Peace Award: Alan Ouimet. He has been an SFO since 1967.

Alan is Founder and President of the Franciscan Family Apostolate which cares for the destitute in India. (You can view the Franciscan Family Website.) He is the founding director of Heart2Heart USA, Inc. which cares for HIV/AIDS children in Kenya. Alan is also the founding director of the Connecticut Urban Education Fund which cares for at-risk children in New Haven, CT.

Joan Geiger, Minister, in the name of the Tau Cross Region, makes this nomination.

- - - - - - - - - -

Tom, Jan, Ken, & Stephanie,

On behalf of Father Solanus Casey Region as its minister, I would like to nominate Alan Ouimet, Founder and President of Franciscan Family Apostolate to be the recipient of the NAFRA 2010 Peace Award. Alan Ouimet is a Secular Franciscan who lives in Madison, CT and is a member of St. Pius X Fraternity in Middletown, CT. He was professed in 1968. The Franciscan Family Apostolate is a ministry that enables a person to support a poor family in India. Please visit http://www.openhearts.org to learn more about the Franciscan Family Apostolate. The Franciscan Family Apostolate was founded in 1971 or somewhere around there. Please feel free to contact me if any of you have any questions. My phone number is (860) 828-0878. Thank-you for your consideration.

Pax et Bonum,

Sally Haddad, SFO

Minister of Father Solanus Casey Region

15. Jeffrey Raymond Proulx, SFO (Deceased)

Nominee: Jeffrey Raymond Proulx, SFO (Deceased)

Nominated by: Fraternity of Mary, Queen of Peace, St. Paul, MN. Queen of Peace Region (written by Mary Marshall, SFO)

Down’s syndrome never proved to be an obstacle for the late Jeffrey Proulx, SFO, as he lived fully his Franciscan vocation. Jeff, who professed into our fraternity on September 14, 1977, was the personification of peace.

Because Jeff was our fraternity's official "greeter", no "stranger" ever visited our fraternity. With an extended hand and

"Hi! I'm Jeff. Welcome!” a new friend instantly materialized. Jeff demonstrated infinite patience with his fraternity siblings and was willing to perform any act of service asked of him-from assisting at Mass to bringing a cup of coffee to a sister with a walker.

Jeff possessed a deep sensitivity to the feelings of others feelings and had a remarkable ability to empathize with a suffering brother or sister. Through shared tears, a clasped hand, or perhaps an embrace, Jeff was able to cross that unseen barrier to truly become one in spirit with another soul. That perpetual optimism and calm strength that resided in Jeff seemed to transfer to those in need. From Jeff's soul it could truly be said that "peace is flowing like a river".

Jeff's life in the world included a career as a kitchen worker at a large corporation, a Special Olympian, and a Boy Scout. At his wake, an entire room was needed to display all his medals, ribbons, and wards. Several rooms were needed to seat his countless friends, who testified to having known the same man of peace as our fraternity had. (In fact Jeff was such a peacemaker that he managed to be both a Vikings and a Packers fan, and he had the wardrobe to prove it!).

On September 12, 2009, Jeff's physical heart failed, and he died. But the Franciscan heart of Jeffrey Raymond Proulx, SFO, is alive and well and will live on forever at the Fraternity of Mary, Queen of Peace.

P.S. Less than six months after Jeff's death, his older brother, the internationally renowned liturgical composer Richard Proulx, followed him to eternity. One can only imagine the canticle of peace the two must be singing together.

Submitted by

Michael Young, sfo

16. Fr. Regis Scanlon OFM Cap.

June 18, 2010

The Penitents of St. Francis, a fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order, wishes to nominate our Spiritual Assistant Father Regis Scanlon, OFM Cap. for the Peace Award.

For over ten years Father Scanlon has labored and served thousands of prisoners in Colorado jails. Many of the prisoners were Mexican nationals. Father Scanlon never inquired as to their immigration status. The only “papers” he cared about were the Gospel and the sacraments. Having gone to Mexico to learn Spanish he offered mass and the sacraments in Spanish. All of this he did with one vocal cord, the other paralyzed. His compassion often spoke louder than his voice and many Mexicans returned to the practice of the faith. Only a serious heart condition forced his retirement from prison ministry. In fact from his sickbed he had to be ordered under obedience to leave prison ministry, so reluctant was he to leave his flock orphaned without an immediate successor. Fr. Scanlon left prison ministry in April 2010.

Secondly, Father Scanlon, after personal appeal by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, now Blessed Teresa, offered countless retreats and workshops to the multi-cultural community of the Missionaries of Charity, both in Mexico and the United States. Once again Father Scanlon displayed his compassion and priestly zeal “sin fronteras” [without borders]. The only boundary he cared about was Christ’s love. He also provided priestly service to AIDS victims served by the Missionaries of Charity in Denver.

Finally, Father Scanlon was instrumental in establishing a home for women released from prison. Many of these women had gone from abusive e homes to austere jails. After their release, there was no place they could return to except the streets and a life that would soon return them to jail. Father Scanlon established a transition home where the women would receive the love and support they needed to rebuild their lives. Once again Father Scanlon helped heal their violent past with the peace of Christ.

For all these reason, we believe that Father Scanlon OFM Cap. should be recognized with a Peace Award.

Larry Brooks SFO

Minister, Penitents of St. Francis

(with the approval of the Council of the fraternity)

1367 S. Gaylord St.

Denver, Colorado 80210

17. Fr. Paschal D. Siler, OFM Cap.

Nominee: Father Paschal D. Siler, O.F.M. Cap.

Father Paschal is the pastor of St. Labre Mission to the Northern Cheyenne people in Montana. He has ministered to the Cheyenne people for nearly three decades. Despite being past retirement age (he will turn 77 in August) and coping with diabetes, Father Paschal drives many miles to serve three widespread parishes on the reservation, due to a lack of priests. This includes his regular 240-mile round trip to visit the sick in the hospital. During the severe Montana winters, these drives are hazardous.

In February students at the St. Labre Indian School honored Father Paschal for his long and continued commitment to them and to the Cheyenne Native Americans. He is a well-loved pastor to a community too often afflicted by broken families, addictions, unemployment and poverty.

Throughout his life Father Paschal has followed in Christ's footsteps, emulating St. Francis, by freely pouring out his own life in love and service to those on the margins of American society. Father Paschal offers his flock the only true peace, the "peace which passes understanding", the "peace which the world cannot give."

We first met Father Paschal in the early 1980s in Saudi Arabia where he was an undercover priest. (Many Americans do not know that the practice of any religion other than Islam is forbidden in that country.) Father Paschal brought the sacraments to the Catholics at the American Embassy. At great personal risk, he also celebrated clandestine Masses for the larger expat Catholic community in Saudi Arabia. His ministry was a great source of comfort and strength to Catholics far from home. Finally he was arrested celebrating Mass with Filipino dockworkers, held in a warehouse at the seaport of Jeddah. He was jailed, initially denied access to American consular officers, treated disrespectfully, and deported weeks later.

In earlier years Father Paschal served in his order's soup kitchen in Milwaukee, providing for the homeless and destitute in that city. From 1966 to 1974 he was the Vice Postulator for the cause of canonization of Venerable Solanus Casey, a member of the same order.

We heartily recommend to the committee Father Paschal D. Siler for the 2010 Peace Award. He is a model to all, and particularly to all Franciscans, of someone who daily lays down his life for God's people. Old age, disease and weather do not deter this priest!

Submitted by Brian and Susan Majewski, SFO (Holy Family Fraternity, Manassas, VA)

Address: 9369 Dahlia Ct., Manassas, VA 201110
email: brianmajewski@msn.com
Phone: (703) 895-8018

18. Stephanie Sormane SFO

Dear Ken and Peace Award Committee,

The St Bernardine of Siena Fraternity would like to nominate Stephanie Sormane. Stephanie has worked for peace and justice for many years. She does this quietly without making a fuss about her accomplishments. As a member of FAN, Stephanie has devoted herself to promoting FAN amount the SFO fraternities. She actively educates Franciscans about issues that have to do with peace and justice. She is passionately committed not only promoting FAN, but also making the connections with issues of peace and justice and our Franciscan Tradition.

Stephanie is also the PJIC Councilor for the Mother Cabrini SFO Region and helps to create awareness and educates members of the Region that challenge our understanding of what it means to live justly in the world.

The integrity of her life is a clear witness to peace.

Thanks for your consideration.

Mary Beth Murray

Minister, St Bernardine of Siena Fraternity

19. Starcross Community of Annapolis, CA

Starcross is a small autonomous community of lay people trying to live quiet lives in the monastic tradition and offering encouragement and affirmation to gentle folk on all spiritual paths. The members are Br. Toby McCarroll, Sr. Julie DeRossi and Sr. Marti . Their home is in the coastal hills of Sonoma County, California. Here are some excerpts from their website that talk about their work. The most well-known is their work with orphans of AIDS victims and children with AIDS.

AIDS + Starcross

Children with HIV/AIDS

From February 1986 to the present the AIDS pandemic has been a part of our life at Starcross. It's a story of people, mostly children, and of dreams. It started one night a few weeks after David, our adopted son, was born. A TV news program showed a picture of a toddler in a walker tethered to a doorknob in an empty hospital hallway. He was one of a growing number of children with HIV/AIDS warehoused in hospitals. They were called "Boarder Babies." Many were afraid to provide them with a normal home. The United States had no national public health policy on AIDS. Agencies were cautious. It was assumed the children would not live long. We looked at happy David and back to the

TV. It was wrong. These kids deserved to experience life no matter how short that might be. We had a big house but we were worried about handling medical issues from our rural location. Dr. Marshall Kubota, the remarkable physician responding to the people living with AIDS in our county, told us "At this time we have no medical answers. What these children need is love." So it started.

There were a lot of friends; doctors, nurses, social workers, lawyers, judges, journalists, and neighbors. But there was also a lot of fear in those early years. We were denounced in public meetings. The county dump would not take our garbage. Store clerks would not touch our money. A volunteer fireman would not respond to a call for help. Some social welfare and educational agencies responded to us with panic and hostility. Fortunately other officials did not. To us, we were simply offering to provide a home for a few children made homeless because they carried a deadly virus.

The negative reaction surprised us. It was painful and very time consuming. In time it passed - but there were new challenges. For reasons we could not understand we caught the attention of the international, national and regional media. An ABC-TV producer tried to explain that "in a sea of despair because of AIDS you represent something hopeful." As the story spread, so did the calls from people impacted from the pandemic. Mothers without family and with AIDS who did not have long to live were trying to make responsible plans for their children. We could only take a few children. Sister Marti became a one-person hub for putting people in need together with those opening their hearts and homes. Other well-meaning people wanted us to become an agency for Children with AIDS. We just wanted to be a few people responding to a need by providing a home and love for children as individual children, each with a right to be cared for lovingly.

It was hard for us to have a normal home life. Some well-known people moved forward to provide us with protection so that we could simply focus on the children. Several authors visited and became close friends: Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying; Randy Shilts, And the Band Played On; Paul Monette, Borrowed Time. But what was a normal day for us in those early years between 1986 - 1996? Sister Julie wrote: "Caring for desperately ill children brought out incredibly intense emotions. The deaths were more devastating than we could have imagined. There were sleepless nights followed by days of fighting bureaucracy. But we took utter delight in the world of the babies - reveling in each of their little victories." It was a bit hectic. We had 4 toddlers learning to walk. We were milking cows and trying to keep our Christmas tree farm going. Whenever there was a conflict the needs of the children came before the needs of the farm, and so money was an issue as well. Some of the children died. That was very hard. But they had lived well. Others came. Some died and some lived. Two who tested positive were found clear of HIV when the tests became more sophisticated. We had adopted them and they are very much a part of our family now as healthy teens.

Children with AIDS are no longer a major problem in the United States. Medicine has found strategies to greatly reduce the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to child. It is now down to 1% transmission. Adults and children can now live with HIV/AIDS much longer with antiretroviral medication and proper care.

Romania

In December 1989 the communist regime was violently overthrown in Romania. Immediately, unbelievable stories came out. At least 120,000 abandoned children were living in sub-human conditions, most of them had AIDS because of the practice of reusing needles for injections. Shortly afterwards, Toby went over accompanied by veteran journalists Robin Weiner (a producer), Alex & Franci Bruckner (camera and sound.) None of them were prepared for the horror they discovered and started communicating to the world. Four segments on Prime Time Live filming Brother Toby’s activities revealed that these children were left to die from starvation and neglect. Each TV presentation averaged 17 million viewers. This helped turn the spotlight on the situation. On January 17, 1991 we were able to open our House of Hope, "CASA SPERANTA", in Constanta. Until 1994, Starcross directed the daily operations at Casa Speranta.

Work in Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the world's highest HIV/AIDS infection rates. Without access to medications, large numbers of adults die quickly. Children would ordinarily have gone to live with aunts and uncles - but soon those too are dead. In some areas whole generations are missing. Only elderly grandparents and children were left. There is barely enough to keep a child alive and no money for education. We were asked by an ordinary person, who found our name in a book, to found a program in Uganda. We needed to provide not only food, medicine, and education for a child but to do it until they were well launched in life. Hope was what we were cultivating. It took awhile for a child to believe again in "a bright future" as they put it. We gathered co-workers from our group of AIDS orphan sponsors and formed Starcross Kin Worldwide (SKW), a separate non-profit corporation with a board of directors. Brother Toby and then Sister Julie served as the CEO. Many children come to SKW malnourished, suffering from repeated bouts of malaria. Some are disabled by anxiety and sever emotional trauma. A few have HIV/AIDS. If there is a viable family, we support the family. When the last adult dies the child comes to our House of Hope in Kampala.

For a copy of their newsletter please look here: http://www.starcross.org/pdfs/sharings10summer.pdf

20. Fr. John Stowe

2010 NAFRA Peace Award Nominee, Father John Stowe

Mary Immaculate Fraternity

El Paso, Texas

Father John Stowe joined the Franciscans at age 19. He was the youngest one in the candidacy program-the first step in the formation, or entry process. “I was reluctant to tell most of my friends, but nobody was surprised, everybody was supportive,” says Father John.

Father John Stowe was ordained to the priesthood on September 16, 1995 and became an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. Later Father Stowe was named pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Bishop Armando X. Ochoa named Father Stowe moderator of the curia and vicar general on December 24, 2002. While moderator of the curia, Father Stowe served as administrator of Our Lady of the Valley Parish July 1, 2005 through November 2, 2009. He has been elected vicar provincial of Our Lady of Consolation Province of the Friars Minor Conventual. During the past 15 years, Father Stowe has been active in projects to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding and has taught courses at Tepeyac Institute at the Diocese of El Paso, Texas.

As Father John accepts this new ministry to the friars of Conventual Franciscan province Carey, Ohio, he says he does so with great affection and gratitude for having been sent first to El Paso. He served two parishes in Ysleta, the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, providing sacramental ministry to Sierra Blanca and Dell City and other places on an ad hoc basis, he worked with the bishop and other diocesan ministries, including conferring the sacrament of confirmation upon thousands of young people, participating in the formation of permanent deacons, sharing his love for the Church’s history through Tepeyac courses, advocating for justice and for genuine participatory democracy through EPISO, and helping to bring living wage job training to El Paso through Project Arriba, promoting justice for immigrants and the reform of broken and unfair immigration laws, spiritual advisor for two fraternities of Secular Franciscans, sharing and exchanging pulpits with Rabbi Back of Temple Mount Sinai, discussing our Christian faith with members of the Islamic Center, and other privileged sites of ministry too numerous to count.

Through intensive investigations on sensitive matters for the Church, which were assigned to him as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in the Diocese of El Paso (Texas), he was instrumental in bringing about peace and justice in areas such as Liberia, the Honduras, Ecuador, and Africa.

The following are comments from those that have been privileged to know Fr. John and share in his spirituality and love of God:

Sister Nancy Hansen of the School Sisters of St. Francis offers the following statement on Father John: “Friar John Stowe has been instrumental in building bridges between religions. He has brought people of the Jewish and Islam traditions to encourage understanding. He worked alongside of Rabbi Bach and others to teach about these religions at Tepeyac, the Diocesan School of El Paso.”

The minister of Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Ysela Sanchez states: “I have admired Fr. John since I attended a Franciscan Spirituality conference which he led at Tepeyac Institute in 1997. I have found him to be tireless in his work for the Lord, and as a Franciscan Friar. Not only does he work for Peace on a large scale with the Diocese, internationally and locally, but he takes the time to educate. For example, he worked that we could have the Transitus of St. Francis, a yearly re-enactment of the final hours of St. Francis, the Blessing of animals, and many Franciscan events such as the Stations of the Cross, and the Christmas crèche. His humility is exemplary and he inspires by example.”

From our Formation Director, Rose Cano: “Fr. John has always been a great advocate for justice and peace both locally and internationally. He is inspiration to our fraternity and to me for us to follow. He walks the talk as a Franciscan.”

The Secretary of Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Gigi Gregory states: “I have always respected Fr. John’s spirituality and his dedication to educate us in our journey as Franciscans. We were in the process of understanding the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’ through his guidance and untiring teachings. He kept us informed of different events that we could attend that would inspire us to reach for peace and social justice in our area. He, with God’s help, will continue to encourage other people in their journey to God.”

Secular Franciscan and member of Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Mary Ellen Vega says: “My life as a Catholic has been enriched with the knowledge that my priest (Father John) is also my friend and brother. We are truly a family with God as the head. This is what I have learned from my brother, Father John Stowe; we are totally complete as a people because we are all totally saved by God’s love for us.”

Secular Franciscan and Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Oscar Casarez gives this statement: “What comes to mind when I reflect on Fr. John is of a simple servant who is full of the Wisdom of God and a perfect example of St. Francis of Assisi in today’s world.”

Secular Franciscans and members of Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Hector and Letty Ramirez say: “The very first time we heard Father John give one of his lectures to our fraternity, we were mesmerized; he made everything seem so simple; it’s easy to follow Christ, it’s all in us…no more excuses…and for this, we will always be thankful that our Lord put him in our paths.”

From one of our newest professed members, Cissy Castro: “…Father John Stowe studies God’s Word and Catholic Church’s teachings fervently. He applies what he has learned carefully serving God’s people whole-heartedly. Father John Stowe is a very good example of: Living a life from Gospel to life and life to Gospel. He tells us to ask ourselves, ‘What God wants us to do in each situation?’…he encouraged us to promote peace and justice and to seek first God’s kingdom. …To reach out and go beyond our comfortable zones. He also encouraged us to study the Gospel well, study our faith well, study human history well to keep up with current events and to apply our faith to current events of the world.”

Past Regional Counselor and long time member of Mary Immaculate Fraternity, Viola Marquez: “Father John’s Franciscan Spirit of authentic love, joy, and peace witnesses to people who encounter him no matter where he goes. The charisms of the Holy Spirit are most definitely at work in him as his humble life radiates the meaning of gospel living. His example continues to draw countless many to do as he does to follow our Lord Jesus. His encouraging words of wisdom and understanding have taught us to take care of the poor and marginal and to be a voice for the voiceless in a peaceful loving way. As busy as he is with the demands of his priesthood, he always finds the time to visit and minister to anyone who calls on him with such tenderness and care, a true reflection of a shepherd. As a spiritual director, Fr. John’s gift of listening and discerning God’s movement in my life has deepened my relationship with God as I know it has with many others. God has gifted Fr. John in a mighty special way whose life in return is a gift to us. We are so blessed!”

Therefore, it is with great pride and honor, that the Mary Immaculate Fraternity in El Paso, Texas, offers the nomination of Father John Stowe for the 2010 NAFRA Peace Award.

Ysela Sanchez, Minister

Mary Immaculate Fraternity of El Paso, Texas

10400 Shannon Place, El Paso, Texas 79925

PH. No.: 915-598-4158

21. Reta Tombaugh

Dear Tom,

The Santa Maria de las Montanas Region of the Secular Franciscan Order would like to nominate Reta Tombaugh for this year's Peace Award. Reta has spent the last ten years working with women (and their children) in crisis because of unplanned pregnancies, emotional and physical abuse. Healing the scars from physical battering is often less painful than the scars from years of emotional abuse and her program is structured to address the barriers of emotional instability, lack of education, and unplanned pregnancies. Women work, go to school, or get vocational training while pregnant. Once the child is born they prepare to transition to greater independence by working through various stages of the program. Parenting classes, mental health, trauma and sometimes substance abuse treatment are integral. All women are invited to discover their spiritual self. Prayer, and the healing from violence that comes through prayer, is part of their daily routine. A chapel is available 24 hours a day. Reta is not only a strong practicing Catholic but a member of the Secular Order since 1996. The organization, Maternity of Mary, functions through charitable giving from donors throughout the local community. Reta represents the best of what "in the trenches working for peace through non violence" means. We can look to her example for practical solutions, peaceful solutions, to some of the most violent barriers women and children face today.

Thank you for the opportunity to present this nomination for the National Peace Award.

Peace from the Santa Maria de las Montanas Region of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Dolores J. Walker, SFO

Regional Formation Director

22. Ron Wakefield

Secular Franciscan Order

St. Francis Region

Office of the Minister

8121 Barrington Dr.

La Mirada, CA 90638

paoli@roadrunner.com

June 25, 2010

Deacon Tom Bello, SFO

Minister, National Fraternity

1710 Chesterbrook Vale Ct.

McLean, VA 22101-3244

Dear Tom and the members of the Peace Award Committee:

I am writing to nominate, on behalf of St. Francis Region, Ron Wakefield for the annual Peace Award given by NAFRA.

Ron is a professed member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Fraternity that meets in Whittier, CA, and is a member of their council. He is an outstanding clarinetist, and was a studio musician for many years. He gave up that very lucrative work when he felt the Lord was calling him to work with children, and he took a job as a junior high school band director in an area with a heavy Hispanic population and gang problems.

What he has done with the band is hardly less than miraculous. But even more impressive is the work he has done - with his band - with disadvantaged children. He started by taking some of his band members to give a concert for the mothers and children staying at the Catholic Worker home in Santa Ana, CA. When several of the children “wished” they could play an instrument, Ron started taking some of his band members down there to teach the children. He provided the instruments for the children - often bearing the cost out of his own pocket - and supervised the student teaching being done. He took six of those students with his band to New York City to give a concert at Carnegie Hall!

Since then he has expanded his “kids helping kids” program to hospitals, homeless shelters, and agencies for abused and neglected kids. In August of 2010 he led kids on a concert tour in China, where they performed and taught music lessons at orphanages. His former students have started similar programs in Baltimore, Harlem, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia.

He was invited to speak earlier this summer at a conference in England on Spirituality in Music Education. After everyone had spoken, he was asked to speak more and tell the educators in more detail just how he had managed to do what he has done. As a result of that conference, it appears the program is spreading all over western Europe. Since returning, he has been asked to speak at the University of Arizona and help the educators there to start a similar program.

I am enclosing Ron’s resume, which tells worlds more about him and what he has accomplished, along with a brochure describing the program*, and a copy of a news article that appeared this year. Many Franciscans in this Region have been involved in helping raise funds for this program, and many have heard his band or small groups from it. I spent the first half of my life as a concert pianist and can say, from a professional perspective, that I have never heard a junior high band that sounds like this one. His band is the only junior high school band ever invited to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade, and they have done that twice. They have performed in Carnegie Hall four times.

This past year, Ron did not even conduct the concerts, including the one in Carnegie Hall. He had student conductors do the entire program. Some of the conductors were from his band, and others were former members who were now in high school or college. A large number of disadvantaged children from the various shelters here in CA and from the centers on the east coast, went to New York with the band and performed with it there, including a young girl from Haiti who had lost her leg in the earthquake.

Another most amazing aspect of Ron’s work is that in every concert he has managed to program religious music - either “classics” recognized by all, or religious tunes incorporated into music specially arranged for the band. The band members appear on stage with the boys in tuxedos and the girls in long, formal black gowns. They are well groomed, and very well mannered when meeting the audience at receptions after concerts. It is difficult to believe they are 12 - 14 year olds.

What Ron has done and is doing with these children - both the ones in his school band and the ones living in various shelters and hospitals - has changed their lives. With experiences like they’ve had, they have been totally removed from the potential status of failure, or gang, or worthless. They are and will be part of the peace efforts that are needed to change this world, instead of part of the problem. Ron himself is the most humble person you could ever imagine, very soft-spoken, and totally dedicated to doing God’s work.

Our Region urges you to give strong consideration to Ron Wakefield to receive the Peace Award for 2010.

Peace and God Bless.

Sylvia L. Paoli, SFO

Minister, St. Francis Region

* Editor’s note: We apologize that were unable to format the brochure in a way to include it in this document.

BIO OF RON WAKEFIELD

Clarinetist/Conductor Ron Wakefield has performed extensively around the world including in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China. His interest in contemporary music yielded more than 100 new musical works written for and dedicated to him. He has performed with many Southern California Orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has also performed with Mexico's Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa, and has recorded for Lorimar and Columbia Pictures. In 1985 he starred in the West Coast tour of the Broadway show "The Lady and the Clarinet". While the Los Angeles Times called Mr. Wakefield "...a splendid soloist..." , the Bern Post (Switzerland) described him as "...subtle and expressive..."

His North Park Middle School Band from Pico Rivera, California is the only middle school band to ever march in the world famous Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade (1997 and 2005), and they have performed in Carnegie Hall four times. The band also performs frequently for homeless shelters, children's hospitals, senior centers, and other social agencies.

In recent years Mr. Wakefield has become most interested in providing musical outreach opportunities for disadvantaged children. In his "kids helping kids" program he leads his students to teach music lessons to children in hospitals, homeless shelters, and agencies for abused and neglected kids. In August, 2010 he led kids on tour to China where they performed and taught music lessons at orphanages. Mr. Wakefield has founded music outreach programs on the East Coast in Baltimore, Harlem, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia.

Mr. Wakefield and the North Park Middle School Band recently returned from the East Coast where they performed in a children's hospital and in Carnegie Hall, bringing together children from all of the outreach programs from coast to coast. Also included in the performance was a young girl from Haiti, who lost her lower left leg in the January, 2010 earthquake.

Mr. Wakefield speaks frequently at educational conferences on the subject of Social Justice in Education. He has been a guest speaker at USC, UCLA, and will speak in England this summer at a conference on Spirituality in Music Education.

One of his future plans involves bringing disadvantaged children from his East Coast outreach project to California to perform at Disneyland.

In his "younger" years, Mr. Wakefield enjoyed climbing mountains. To his credit are the world famous peaks of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mexico's Pico de Orizaba, and Switzerland's Matterhorn.

Mr. Wakefield received his musical training at USC and is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Secular Franciscans passionate about serving others

2010-06-18T22:24:00.000-04:00

We hope that all Ministers (both Regional and Local) would consider asking your local diocesan or even local newspaper to "publicize" your Permanent Professions. What a wonderful story this is, and St. Clare Regional Minister Sherry Stevenson reported that they had a great turnout and numerous inquiries about the Secular Franciscan life as a result of this story.

Please don't let our "bright, new lights" be hidden under the bushel basket!

Secular Franciscans passionate about serving others

By Jennifer Brinker | jbrinker@stlouisreview.com

Image by Lisa A. Johnston

Pure joy is in Debbie Schisler's voice.

Since childhood, Schisler knew in her heart she wanted to help others. That carried over into adulthood. And next week, the 53-year-old wife and mother of five will make an even stronger commitment to that way of life as she is professed as a member of the Secular Franciscan Order.

Schisler, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception in Arnold, is one of five individuals who will make their profession as Secular Franciscans next week as members of the St. Francis of Assisi Fraternity in Oakville. They formally will become part of a larger community of Franciscans that pledge to live the Gospel message, following in the ways of St. Francis of Assisi. The saint exemplified virtues including obedience, charity, humility, poverty, simplicity and wisdom.

Secular Franciscans are individuals who live as married or single laypeople. They can also be diocesan priests and permanent deacons. They strive to live the virtues of St. Francis by using their individuals gifts, given by the Holy Spirit, within their families, workplaces and even parish life, according to formation director Rita Baughman.

Baughman said that there are many examples of those who wish to become Secular Franciscans. "We have young people, senior citizens. People like the simplicity, the deepening of the spirituality we try to emphasize. St. Francis had many dimensions, so people are attracted for different reasons." She stressed the main requirement for someone joining the community is a love for the saint and a desire to live their lives in his spirit.

Schisler was exposed to the Franciscan way of life at an early age. Her father's youngest brother was a Franciscan priest.

"I just loved his lifestyle," she recalled. "He just seemed so free and loving."

She also recalled a simple memory from her own childhood, a time she shared her crayons with a fellow classmate, only to be chastised by other children for doing so.

"I thought, 'Isn't that what we're supposed to do?'"

Schisler knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life helping others, but it wasn't until about four years ago, when an aunt died, that she recognized that there was a community of Catholics living the life she already had.

That aunt, buried in a brown habit, was a member of the Secular Franciscans. "I didn't know anything about them before that. So I started searching on the Internet about Secular Franciscans."

Prior to their profession, Secular Franciscans undergo formation, which generally takes about three years, sometimes longer, depending on the individual, said Baughman. There are several stages, including an orientation, which offers individuals an introduction to the community; inquiry, a formal period of initiation to learn more about the Franciscan way of life at a deeper level; and candidacy, a final period of initiation and immersion to prepare for the permanent commitment as a Franciscan.

After their profession, Secular Franciscans continue their formation through monthly group meetings. They also are involved in several apostolates, including assistance to the Poor Clare Sisters, participating in local fund-raising efforts, helping with the Franciscan Connection, a ministry that provides outreach to the poor, and teaching school children about the life of St. Francis.

While she was going through formation, Schisler said she was seeking a "set of rules -- something that was black and white." But instead, she developed an understanding that the commitment was more about emphasizing a way of life and not so much about following rules. "I learned that being a Franciscan is living with dignity while helping others to live with dignity."

Schisler said Baughman explained to her that "when you profess, you become part of a community of support. That's what drew me to this."

After profession, it will be life as usual for Schisler. During the week, she babysits for her three grandchildren. She also serves as a second-grade PSR teacher at Immaculate Conception, a role she has had for the past two decades. She volunteers as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist and participates in a small faith-sharing community at the parish. She especially enjoys working with PSR students at a time when they receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and First Communion.

The difference is that being a Franciscan "formally will hold me accountable," she said. "It will make my everyday living more conscious of it."

"This is an ongoing conversion," said Baughman. "It doesn't just stop at profession. We're constantly striving to become more Franciscan in our manners, in our mindset and in our lifestyle."

Profession

Five Catholics will profess as members of the Secular Franciscan Order next week. They include Suzee Irwin, Epiphany Parish in South St. Louis; Debbie Schisler, Mimi Siebert and Beverly Tedeschi, all of Immaculate Conception Parish in Arnold; and Deacon John Wainscott of St. Justin Martyr Parish in Sunset Hills.

All are welcome to attend the Mass and profession, especially those interested in becoming a
member of the Secular Franciscans.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9

WHERE:
Poor Clare Monastery, 200 Marycrest Drive in Oakville

INFO: To
learn more about the Secular Franciscans, call Sherry Stevenson at (314)
487-5058 or e-mail her at sherrysfo@yahoo.com [2]

ON THE WEB:
www.nafra-sfo.org [3]

Secular Franciscans

The following are current statistics on the Secular Franciscans in the United States:

* 14,722 professed members

* 2,143 members currently in formation

* 674 Secular Franciscan fraternities, with an additional 80 that are emerging

* There are 11 fraternities and 209 professed members in the St. Clare Region, which includes St. Louis, Oakville, Normandy, O’Fallon, Cape Girardeau, Mo., Boonville/Jefferson City, Mo., Rolla, Mo., Springfield, Mo., Belleville, Ill., Granite City, Ill., and Evansville, Ind.

* The Secular Franciscans are part of the Third Order of St. Francis, which was founded by the saint in 1221. It includes members who form fraternities as well as isolated tertiaries, hermits and pilgrims. Franciscans of the First Order include the Friars (priests and brothers), both Capuchin and Oblates, and was founded by St. Francis in 1209. The Second Order includes the Poor Clares, monasteries of cloistered women religious who profess the rule of St. Clare. The foundation for that community was created in 1212.

Visibility, Prayer and Defense

2010-03-31T12:59:00.006-04:00

Beloved National Family,

As we approach the Triduum, the three Highest and Holiest Days of the Church’s Year, please permit your unworthy National Minister to make three requests from you: Visibility; Prayer and Defense.

First, visibility. Our International Fraternity has urged “Presence in the World” as one of our priorities at the last International Chapter (http://www.ciofs.org/doc/kia8/kia8en06.htm). During these High Holy Days, many of us will be gathering with our Diocesan Bishop at the Chrism Mass and with our clergy, religious and lay faithful at Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday liturgies. Please, at all times wear your Tau Cross and introduce yourself as a Secular Franciscan following Christ to the Cross in the footsteps of Sts. Francis and Clare. Greet your Bishop, your Pastor, the clergy and religious with “Peace.” Offer your service, support and prayers. If possible, sit at these liturgies with brothers and sisters from your own local fraternities. Be Franciscan! Be peaceful! Be visible!

Second, prayer. Let us now and always pray for one another, especially now as we gather at these Solemn Liturgies. Our Lord will be so close to us during these three holiest days. Intercede for all our Secular Franciscan family and for all our Franciscan Order.

May I ask you to pray for three things in particular: one, pray for Youth. As far as I know, we have only one “officially constituted” youth fraternity in the whole United States. Most of our fraternities have few if any members in their twenties, thirties or even forties. Pray that we may attract more youth into our Order and be more “youthful” ourselves, regardless of our physical ages!

Two, pray for Spiritual Assistance. Pray always to the Holy Spirit for guidance. Pray that we ourselves may be more Spiritually-minded. Pray for all of our Spiritual Assistants. Pray that we may have more “capable and well-prepared” (General Constitutions Article 88.1) Spiritual Assistants for all of the fraternities-- local, regional, national and international--in our Order.

Three, pray for Unity in our Fraternities, in our Families, in our Church, in our Country. Why do we tear each other apart? On his last night, our Lord prayed fervently “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21). We are called to be “Instruments of God’s Peace,” and we can’t get along: fellow Franciscans, blood relations, fellow Catholics, fellow Americans. Please pray that we might “(d)o nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3-5).

Third, and finally, defense. St. Francis knew that Holy Mother Church could never be perfect as long as it had sinners in it like him and me. He knew the failings of brother priests. Still, he knew that he could only receive the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament from their hands. Still, he was always faithful to the Holy Father. Let us never be afraid or ashamed to speak in defense of Holy Mother Church, her Holy Father, Bishops and Priests.

My beloved sisters and brothers of penance, as you know, the Holy Spirit is the only Advocate that the Church, the Holy Father or we need. We may have read or heard about the recent stories in the New York Times and the Associated Press, but we may not have heard reported two other voices, which I share with you, one from Father Thomas Brundage, JLC, and the other from Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York.

First, Father Thomas Brundage, the then-presiding judge for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee gives first-person account of church trial: (http://fratres.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/the-just-judge-setting-the-record-straight-in-the-case-of-abusive-milwaukee-priest-father-lawrence-murphy/)

By Fr. THOMAS BRUNDAGE, JLC For CatholicAnchor.org

To provide context to this article, I was the Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1995-2003. During those years, I presided over four canonical criminal cases, one of which involved Father Lawrence Murphy. Two of the four men died during the process. God alone will judge these men.

To put some parameters on the following remarks, I am writing this article with the express knowledge and consent of Archbishop Roger Schwietz, OMI, the Archbishop of Anchorage, where I currently serve. Archbishop Schwietz is also the publisher of the Catholic Anchor newspaper.

I will limit my comments, because of judicial oaths I have taken as a canon lawyer and as an ecclesiastical judge. However, since my name and comments in the matter of the Father Murphy case have been liberally and often inaccurately quoted in the New York Times and in more than 100 other newspapers and on-line periodicals, I feel a freedom to tell part of the story of Father Murphy’s trial from ground zero.

As I have found that the reporting on this issue has been inaccurate and poor in terms of the facts, I am also writing out of a sense of duty to the truth.

The fact that I presided over this trial and have never once been contacted by any news organization for comment speaks for itself.

My intent in the following paragraphs is to accomplish the following:

To tell the back-story of what actually happened in the Father Murphy case on the local level;

To outline the sloppy and inaccurate reporting on the Father Murphy case by the New York Times and other media outlets;

To assert that Pope Benedict XVI has done more than any other pope or bishop in history to rid the Catholic Church of the scourge of child sexual abuse and provide for those who have been injured;

To set the record straight with regards to the efforts made by the church to heal the wounds caused by clergy sexual misconduct. The Catholic Church is probably the safest place for children at this point in history.

Before proceeding, it is important to point out the scourge that child sexual abuse has been — not only for the church but for society as well. Few actions can distort a child’s life more than sexual abuse. It is a form of emotional and spiritual homicide and it starts a trajectory toward a skewed sense of sexuality. When committed by a person in authority, it creates a distrust of almost anyone, anywhere.

As a volunteer prison chaplain in Alaska, I have found a corollary between those who have been incarcerated for child sexual abuse and the priests who have committed such grievous actions. They tend to be very smart and manipulative. They tend to be well liked and charming. They tend to have one aim in life — to satisfy their hunger. Most are highly narcissistic and do not see the harm that they have caused. They view the children they have abused not as people but as objects. They rarely show remorse and moreover, sometimes portray themselves as the victims. They are, in short, dangerous people and should never be trusted again. Most will recommit their crimes if given a chance.

As for the numerous reports about the case of Father Murphy, the back-story has not been reported as of yet.

In 1996, I was introduced to the story of Father Murphy, formerly the principal of St. John’s School for the Deaf in Milwaukee. It had been common knowledge for decades that during Father Murphy’s tenure at the school (1950-1974) there had been a scandal at St. John’s involving him and some deaf children. The details, however, were sketchy at best.

Courageous advocacy on behalf of the victims (and often their wives), led the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to revisit the matter in 1996. In internal discussions of the curia for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, it became obvious that we needed to take strong and swift action with regard to the wrongs of several decades ago. With the consent of then-Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland, we began an investigation into the allegations of child sexual abuse as well as the violation of the crime of solicitation within the confessional by Father Murphy.

We proceeded to start a trial against Father Murphy. I was the presiding judge in this matter and informed Father Murphy that criminal charges were going to be levied against him with regard to child sexual abuse and solicitation in the confessional.

In my interactions with Father Murphy, I got the impression I was dealing with a man who simply did not get it. He was defensive and threatening.

Between 1996 and August, 1998, I interviewed, with the help of a qualified interpreter, about a dozen victims of Father Murphy. These were gut-wrenching interviews. In one instance the victim had become a perpetrator himself and had served time in prison for his crimes. I realized that this disease is virulent and was easily transmitted to others. I heard stories of distorted lives, sexualities diminished or expunged. These were the darkest days of my own priesthood, having been ordained less than 10 years at the time. Grace-filled spiritual direction has been a Godsend.

I also met with a community board of deaf Catholics. They insisted that Father Murphy should be removed from the priesthood and highly important to them was their request that he be buried not as a priest but as a layperson. I indicated that a judge, I could not guarantee the first request and could only make a recommendation to the latter request. In the summer of 1998, I ordered Father Murphy to be present at a deposition at the chancery in Milwaukee. I received, soon after, a letter from his doctor that he was in frail health and could travel not more than 20 miles (Boulder Junction to Milwaukee would be about 276 miles). A week later, Father Murphy died of natural causes in a location about 100 miles from his home

With regard to the inaccurate reporting on behalf of the New York Times, the Associated Press, and those that utilized these resources, first of all, I was never contacted by any of these news agencies but they felt free to quote me. Almost all of my quotes are from a document that can be found online with the correspondence between the Holy See and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In an October 31, 1997 handwritten document, I am quoted as saying ‘odds are that this situation may very well be the most horrendous, number wise, and especially because these are physically challenged, vulnerable people. “Also quoted is this: “Children were approached within the confessional where the question of circumcision began the solicitation.”

The problem with these statements attributed to me is that they were handwritten. The documents were not written by me and do not resemble my handwriting. The syntax is similar to what I might have said but I have no idea who wrote these statements, yet I am credited as stating them. As a college freshman at the Marquette University School of Journalism, we were told to check, recheck, and triple check our quotes if necessary. I was never contacted by anyone on this document, written by an unknown source to me. Discerning truth takes time and it is apparent that the New York Times, the Associated Press and others did not take the time to get the facts correct.

Additionally, in the documentation in a letter from Archbishop Weakland to then-secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone on August 19, 1998, Archbishop Weakland stated that he had instructed me to abate the proceedings against Father Murphy. Father Murphy, however, died two days later and the fact is that on the day that Father Murphy died, he was still the defendant in a church criminal trial. No one seems to be aware of this. Had I been asked to abate this trial, I most certainly would have insisted that an appeal be made to the supreme court of the church, or Pope John Paul II if necessary. That process would have taken months if not longer.

Second, with regard to the role of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), in this matter, I have no reason to believe that he was involved at all. Placing this matter at his doorstep is a huge leap of logic and information.

Third, the competency to hear cases of sexual abuse of minors shifted from the Roman Rota to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed by Cardinal Ratzinger in 2001. Until that time, most appeal cases went to the Rota and it was our experience that cases could languish for years in this court. When the competency was changed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in my observation as well as many of my canonical colleagues, sexual abuse cases were handled expeditiously, fairly, and with due regard to the rights of all the parties involved. I have no doubt that this was the work of then Cardinal Ratzinger.

Fourth, Pope Benedict has repeatedly apologized for the shame of the sexual abuse of children in various venues and to a worldwide audience. This has never happened before. He has met with victims. He has reigned in entire conferences of bishops on this matter, the Catholic Bishops of Ireland being the most recent. He has been most reactive and proactive of any international church official in history with regard to the scourge of clergy sexual abuse of minors. Instead of blaming him for inaction on these matters, he has truly been a strong and effective leader on these issues.

Finally, over the last 25 years, vigorous action has taken place within the church to avoid harm to children. Potential seminarians receive extensive sexual-psychological evaluation prior to admission. Virtually all seminaries concentrate their efforts on the safe environment for children. There have been very few cases of recent sexual abuse of children by clergy during the last decade or more.

Catholic dioceses all across the country have taken extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults. As one example, which is by no means unique, is in the Archdiocese of Anchorage, where I currently work. Here, virtually every public bathroom in parishes has a sign asking if a person has been abuse by anyone in the church. A phone number is given to report the abuse and almost all church workers in the archdiocese are required to take yearly formation sessions in safe environment classes. I am not sure what more the church can do.

To conclude, the events during the 1960’s and 1970’s of the sexual abuse of minors and solicitation in the confessional by Father Lawrence Murphy are unmitigated and gruesome crimes. On behalf of the church, I am deeply sorry and ashamed for the wrongs that have been done by my brother priests but realize my sorrow is probably of little importance 40 years after the fact. The only thing that we can do at this time is to learn the truth, beg for forgiveness, and do whatever is humanly possible to heal the wounds. The rest, I am grateful, is in God’s hands.

Father Thomas T. Brundage, JCL

Editor’s note: Father Brundage can be contacted at brundaget@archmil.org or by phone at (907) 745-3229 X 11.

Second, Archbishop Dolan (http://fratres.wordpress.com/2010/03/28/full-text-n-y-archbsp-dolan-defends-pope-remarks-at-palm-sunday-mass/):

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, made the following remarks at the conclusion of Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York on Sunday, March 28, 2010.

"May I ask your patience a couple of minutes longer in what has already been a lengthy — yet hopefully uplifting —Sunday Mass?

"The somberness of Holy Week is intensified for Catholics this year.

"The recent tidal wave of headlines about abuse of minors by some few priests, this time in Ireland, Germany, and a re-run of an old story from Wisconsin, has knocked us to our knees once again.

"Anytime this horror, vicious sin, and nauseating crime is reported, as it needs to be, victims and their families are wounded again, the vast majority of faithful priests bow their heads in shame anew, and sincere Catholics experience another dose of shock, sorrow, and even anger.

"What deepens the sadness now is the unrelenting insinuations against the Holy Father himself, as certain sources seem frenzied to implicate the man who, perhaps more than anyone else has been the leader in purification, reform, and renewal that the Church so needs.

"Sunday Mass is hardly the place to document the inaccuracy, bias, and hyperbole of such aspersions.

"But, Sunday Mass is indeed the time for Catholics to pray for “ . . . Benedict our Pope."

"And Palm Sunday Mass is sure a fitting place for us to express our love and solidarity for our earthly shepherd now suffering some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging at the pillar, as did Jesus.

"No one has been more vigorous in cleansing the Church of the effects of this sickening sin than the man we now call Pope Benedict XVI. The dramatic progress that the Catholic Church in the United States has made — — documented again just last week by the report made by independent forensic auditors — — could never have happened without the insistence and support of the very man now being daily crowned with thorns by groundless innuendo.

"Does the Church and her Pastor, Pope Benedict XVI, need intense scrutiny and just criticism for tragic horrors long past?

"Yes! He himself has asked for it, encouraging complete honesty, at the same time expressing contrition, and urging a thorough cleansing.

"All we ask is that it be fair, and that the Catholic Church not be singled-out for a horror that has cursed every culture, religion, organization, institution, school, agency, and family in the world.

“Sorry to bring this up … but, then again, the Eucharist is the Sunday meal of the spiritual family we call the Church. At Sunday dinner we share both joys and sorrows. The father of our family, il papa, needs our love, support, and prayers."

These three requests I repeat: Visibility, Prayer and Defense. Through the intercessions of Sts. Francis and Clare and all the Franciscan saints, canonized or known only to God, through the petitions of our Patroness, Our Blessed Mother, may the Lord grant us, our fraternities, our families, our Church, our Nation, our Earth every Peace and Blessing during this Holy Week, Triduum and Easter Season.

Peace and love,

Tom

Secular Franciscan hopes to land chapel at Mitchell

2010-03-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

This article is from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. See the original at http://www.jsonline.com/features/religion/86694057.html. Suzanne McKinney is a Secular Franciscan in the LaVerna Regional Fraternity.

The full text of the article is included here to ensure that it continues to be available to our readers.

Parishioner hopes to land chapel at Mitchell

By Annysa Johnson of the [Milwaukee] Journal Sentinel

Posted [on the newspaper's website]: March 5, 2010

For years, travelers would stop at St. Stephen's Catholic Church on S. Howell Ave. for a moment of prayer before flying out of Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport.

That changed last fall when the 162-year-old congregation moved to its new building in Oak Creek.

Soon, though, travelers of all faiths may find a new place for prayer and meditation - in the airport itself.

St. Stephen's parishioner Suzanne McKinney of Cudahy is spearheading an effort to build an interfaith chapel at Mitchell, modeling it after facilities at Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports.

"Travelers are often under stress, and they need a little time for peace," said McKinney, who has founded a nonprofit organization, Interfaith Airport Chapel of Milwaukee, to promote and fund the chapel.

Airport spokeswoman Pat Rowe said the proposal is preliminary and must be approved by the Milwaukee County Board, which oversees Mitchell. Airport management is open to the idea but has stressed that any facility would need to be welcoming to people of all faiths.

"Our understanding is that it would not endorse any particular religion or view of God," Rowe said. "Some people may want to use it as just a quiet place to meditate."

That's the plan, said McKinney, a devout Roman Catholic who belongs to a religious fraternity known as the Secular Franciscans.

"Each chapel is different," she said of the 151 around the world that are affiliated with the International Association of Civil Aviation Chaplains. "Some are just a meditation room, some have full-time chaplains. They're as varied as you can imagine."

Milwaukee's profile will depend on the faith communities that choose to participate and how much they want to invest in a presence there.

The Chicago chapels, which will mark their 50th year in November, are open around the clock, offering regularly scheduled Catholic, nondenominational and Muslim services.

"These are the three faith groups in Chicago that wanted to do ministry here, but we have many others on our board of directors," said Susan Schneider, chapel administrator.

Created originally for employees whose schedules kept them from their religious obligations, they've become a mecca for travelers, drawing as many as 150,000 visitors annually just through the O'Hare chapel, she said.

McKinney was inspired after a visit to the lay ministry department at Cardinal Stritch University, where she learned that some graduates may go on to work in so-called mobility ministries - on cruise ships or traveling circuses, airports and truck stops.

It made her think: Does Mitchell have a chapel? The answer was no. So she set about creating one.

The group is looking at about 600 square feet in the Mitchell parking garage, accessible through the walkway that connects the ramp to the terminal.

It's beefing up its board of directors, working with an architect who has expertise in liturgical design, and planning a capital campaign with a target of around $300,000.

And they're hoping to incorporate some elements of the old St. Stephen's Church.

"We've received some stained-glass windows, some marble from the sanctuary, a few pews," said McKinney.

"No statues, no crosses, because it will be interfaith. But it's going to be a beautiful, spiritual place."

For information

The Interfaith Airport Chapel of Milwaukee can be reached at P.O. Box 402, South Milwaukee, WI 53172, or by calling (414) 570-9906.

COME AND MARCH FOR LIFE IN PRAYER

2010-01-19T00:03:00.001-05:00

On Friday, January 22, 2010, I invite you to come and join me if not physically, then please, spiritually in the annual March for Life down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, past the United States Supreme Court.

If physically and if you know the National Gallery of Art on the National Mall in front of the U.S. Capitol, we will meet on the steps of the National Gallery of Art West Building on 7th Street between Madison Drive and Constitu tion Avenue just opposite the skating rink.

I will be wearing the same green parka with the same banner that you see in the picture above. I am on the far left.

We have been having a bitterly cold and windy January so far, so please dress warmly in layers. We will not stay outside any longer than we need, and we will march.

If you cannot join us physically, and you are reading this on or before January 22, I would ask you to pray the following prayer from the National Basilica:

"Our Lady of Guadalupe, we turn to you who are the protectress of unborn children and ask that you intercede for us, so that we may more firmly resolve to join you in protecting all human life.

Let our prayers be united to your perpetual motherly intercession on behalf of those whose lives are threatened, be they in the womb of their mother, on the bed of infirmity, or in the latter years of their life.

May our prayers also be coupled with peaceful action which witnesses to the goodness and dignity of all human life, so that our firmness of purpose may give courage to those who are fearful and bring light to those who are blinded by sin.

Encourage those who will be involved in the March for Life; help them to walk closely with God and to give voice to the cry of the oppressed, in order to remind out nation of its commitment to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people.

O Virgin Mother of God, present our petitions to your Son and ask Him to bless us with abundant life. Amen."

If you are reading this message after January 22, please pray:

"O God, our Loving Creator, all life is in Your hands from the moment of conception until death. Help us to cherish our children and to be grateful for the privilege of sharing in Your work of creation. Bless all those who defend the rights of the unborn, the poor, the handicapped and the aged. Enlighten and be merciful toward those who do not value the gift of life. Help them to seek and find you. Grant that by our care and respect for all people and all life, we might be a sign of Your Love in our world today. We pray as always in Jesus' name. Amen."

Permit me to close by repeating those marvelous words of Pope John Paul II in his 1988 apostolic exhortation, The Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World (Christifideles Laici):

"The inviolability of the person, which is a reflection of the absolute inviolability of God, finds its primary and fundamental expression in the inviolability of human life. Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination (38)."

We Seculars have felt that need to march, to pray, to witness to Life: Secular Franciscans For Life (Pro Vita)! Please come and march with us in prayer!

Peace and Life,

Tom Bello, SFO
National Minister

Materials for the introductory video

2009-12-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here's what you need to customize the video for your fraternity's use:

1) The PowerPoint presentation. This is the version customized for the National Fraternity.
2) The MP3 file with the music. Right click on the link to the left and click "Save link as." The MP3 file will need to be placed in the same directory as the PowerPoint file. Note that it is a large file (over 3.5Mb) and may take a little while to download.
3) Microsoft PowerPoint and the free iSpring PowerPoint to Flash converter (available at www.ispringsolutions.com). I was also able to convert PowerPoint to Flash using OpenOffice (a free office suite), but it didn't incorporate the music. You can also Google for other ways to convert PowerPoint to Flash if you don't have PowerPoint.

If you want to see the video for a local fraternity, it's available here.

The making of an introductory SFO video

2009-12-13T19:15:00.000-05:00

More from Mary Lou Coffman, SFO, about the making of their introductory video on the SFO. In a subsequent posting we will include links to the materials needed to adapt it to your own use.
Vickie Klick

About a year and a half ago, our Fraternity had arranged to have a sister from a local convent come to give a talk on centering prayer. Two days before our meeting, Sister Charlotte became ill, and we were left scrambling for a topic of discussion and way to launch the discussion.

We handed out 3x5 cards and told each person to complete the sentence: I am a Secular Franciscan because I am looking for. . . . Each person wrote one phrase on a card; the cards were passed in, shuffled and read. We were deeply moved to hear all of the reasons to become a Secular Franciscan. As we discussed the ideas, it became clear that these were the reasons that it's necessary to pray, and we were prepared for the following month, when Sister Charlotte was able to come and talk to us.

Our webmaster posted the ideas on our Fraternity website. They can be found at http://sfoonline.net/who_we_are.php. Then I made them into two standup posters with photos of our various activities; we used the posters at our annual parish Ministry Fair.

Our Webmaster created a movie, which he posted on our Web site. I thought that was terrific, so I sent a link to our Regional Minister, Mary Thuman. She liked it a lot, and asked if we could make one for each fraternity in our region. I didn't know how to modify the movie, so I created a PowerPoint presentation, and changed the information to be specific to each Fraternity (30 in all!). Then I used ISpring to make a movie of each presentation.

We showed the PowerPoint at our annual meeting in November, and gave each fraternity a CD of their material. Tom Bello was there and liked the idea a lot, and asked if we could present it nationally.

At that point, I had to make a confession. Our Webmaster had downloaded the music that's in the background. I did a little digging and discovered that it's in the process of copyright, and I surely didn't want to have a national movie with bootlegged music. I don't think that would say anything good about the integrity of Secular Franciscans.

I tracked down the composer and told him what we're doing, and he kindly gave permission to use the music as long as nothing was being sold and if we would use the attribution language he sent. I added a final page to the presentation, giving credit to everyone who had a part in putting it together.

Editor's note: Mary Lou has adapted the presentation for the National Fraternity. It is available at http://www.nafra-sfo.org/VideoResources/PresentationNational.swf

Who We Are - Introductory video about the SFO

2009-12-02T20:53:00.001-05:00

I'll be posting a nice introductory video about the SFO from St. Margaret of Cortona Regional Fraternity. We hope to have Mary Lou Coffman, SFO, one of the producers of this video, share how this came to be made and how other regional and local fraternities might do something similar. Stay tuned...

The Franciscan Connection: An observer's perspective on Don Ryder, SFO and his work

2009-11-24T11:46:00.002-05:00

The following was written by Bob Stronach, SFO, about Don Ryder and his work (including how he used the $2000 prize for the Peace Award). Bob and his wife Mary are responsible for Public Relations for the National Fraternity. Bob's blog is http://www.westsidekitchen.org/blog/index.html

The Franciscan Connection

While in New Mexico recently, I met a man who prays and then acts. He seems to have a deep prayer life, somewhat contemplative, which opens him up to hearing the promptings of God.

His name is Don Ryder. He's a Secular Franciscan. And he was in Albuquerque to accept the National Franciscan Peace Award from the Secular Franciscan Order.

He has worked in soup kitchens and shelters. He has traveled with church groups to Jamaica to build churches, clinics, and homes for the poor. While in Jamaica, he met a missionary priest from Kenya who suggested a visit to his African homeland.

That led to a trip to Kenya to help build a church and repair homes. While there, he got to visit a Maasai tribal village in the semi-arid Great Rift Valley. Six months after returning home to Wausau, Wisconsin, Don got an email from the Vatican describing a worsening drought in Kenya. He emailed a Kenyan contact, who confirmed the Maasai were particularly hard-hit. Livestock were dying. People were sick and dying. Infant mortality was high. Maasai women had to travel by foot up to 15 miles one way to fetch water from dirty waterholes or contaminated streams. Some were getting raped enroute.

Don prayed. He decided to open the Bible at random. His eyes fell to John's Gospel, where Jesus, hanging on the cross, cries out, "I thirst."

"That impacted me," Don recalled. "It hit me that the Passion continues today with our Maasai sisters and brothers."

But he also thought, "Who am I? What can I do?"

He tried to put it out of his mind. He couldn't. A few days later he opened the Bible again, deliberately avoiding the Gospel of John. This time his fingers fell to a passage in Mathew where Jesus says, "I was thirsty and you gave me drink."

"Bam!" he said.

He recalled thinking, "I'll see what I can do, but it's in your hands, Lord."

He did some research and decided to raise money to drill a well. It would cost over $60,000.

He spoke to his parish priest about it and the parish got involved. He brought it up to Secular Franciscans and his fraternity jumped on board. Romey Wagner, the man who would become his co-leader, stepped forward.

Soon donations started coming. Coins from school children. $2,000 from a young couple. Word spread. Dollars arrived from all over the country.

They completed one well, drilling down 400 feet. It has a tank and pump house powered by a diesel engine. It's now providing clean water for between 4,000 and 5,000 Maasai and 100,000 head of cattle. Just last month they completed a second well, further north. This one is powered by a windmill. They ran pipe to a school with 400 students and are running pipe to a dispensary. Now that it will have running water, Don hopes it will be upgraded to a hospital.

Since the scarcity of water can lead to harm, even war, the Kenyan water project caught the imagination of the Peace Award Committee.

The award came with a $2,000 stipend. It didn't take long for Don to give it away, wiring it to a priest in Kenya who helped with the water project and who, with funds from the Vatican, built a church in the vicinity of the second well. But he ran out of money and couldn't furnish it. Then Don learned the priest and the people decided to dedicate the church to St. Francis of Assisi.

So now there is a St. Francis Church in Kenya's Great Rift Valley that's going to have pews and other furnishings, thanks to Don's Franciscan Peace Award.

-- Bob Stronach, SFO

Don Ryder’s comments upon receiving the 2009 National Peace Award

2009-10-29T20:57:00.001-04:00

This is what Don Ryder, SFO, had to say when he was presented with the 2009 National Peace Award by the National Fraternity (NAFRA) of the Secular Franciscan Order in the United States.

Thank you! Let me tell you that I am most humbled by this honor and I accept this recognition and award on behalf of those people I’ve tried to serve, the...

Working people in our communities.
Men in our prison system.
Hispanics in California.
Maasai tribe in Kenya, East Africa.

I also accept this on behalf of the many people I’ve worked with in this service and the many who have supported it financially and in other ways.

Not speaking at a national gathering like this before, I asked a few of my Franciscan sisters and brothers for some tips. I’ll do my best to follow the advice I received. I will...

Make some introductions.
Lay a foundation for an explanation of the work I’ve been involved in.
Tell about my work locally, nationally and internationally.

I prefer not talking about myself; in fact I’m rather uncomfortable doing it. I like the words attributed to St. Francis, "Preach the Gospel, only use words if you must."

We were reminded at prayer today that we are "children of God." Our God is a Triune God: God the Father loves the Son; God the Son loves the Father; this love between them is the Holy Spirit. So here we have the Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier who lives in us. God first loves us, which enables us to love our sisters and brothers.

We are Eucharistic people; we are blessed, we are broken, and we are given – one to another. We are all good!

As Franciscans, we are people of the TAU. That means we are people of…

Transformation
Action
Unity

We are the Mystical Body of Christ. We are all One. We are all connected. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. Together we can celebrate the ordinariness of our lives. We are living in our God and our God is living in us. So how do we experience this God in the ordinariness of our lives? Does God not speak to us through nature, through art, through other people, through silence? What does this look like in the busyness of our everyday lives? Let me bring it down to the basics for us with examples from my life, my journey. In this, you’ll see yourselves because we’re all one. It may appear that I’m bouncing all over the place, but pay attention and connect the dots because it will all come full circle.

Yes, God does speak to us, and for me, God seems to speak to me especially through my wife, Yvonne. Just last week, she pointed out to me the little "anger streak" that seems to still run through me. By the way, this was also confirmed to me just two days ago by our daughter who told me that I can still "red line" pretty quickly. You know, they are both right. I have to admit the plank in my own eye. I will continue working on improving. But the point is (and it’s good news) that God still uses us as instruments in spite of our failings.

About some of the work I’ve been involved in...

As I tell you about the international work, you’ll see how the Mystical Body works. The seeds of "service to others" were sown within me as a child by the example of my mom and dad and further cultivated by the Benedictine nuns at St. Patrick’s Grade School and Regis High School. It was back then that the first thoughts of mission work in Africa came to me. But it wasn’t until about 10 years into our marriage that Yvonne and I decided to go to work in Nigeria, West Africa, with our 3 children. This turned out to be just another "brilliant" decision on my part. [That’s a little touch of Don’s dry sense of humor.] Actually it was a harrowing experience. We ended up in the middle of a coup, where the military was attempting a takeover of the government. We were held at gun point, all 5 of us. But with the help of some agents at the airport in Lagos, which was surrounded by the military, we were able to board a plane and get out of Africa.

It was disappointing to not be able to fulfill our work there, but we were grateful to get out with our skin still on. Although back in the states, we still had to deal with the trauma of the experience. In time we settled into making a living and raising our family, never anticipating a return to Africa.

Then almost 30 years later we had an opportunity to do some humanitarian work with Tom and Mary Pat Roovers who coordinate activities of "Helping Hands" through St. Mathew’s Parish in Wausau, Wisconsin. This included construction projects, home visits and a teacher in-service in Jamaica. It was in Jamaica that Romey Wagner and I first met. (Romey and Don are co-leaders of the Kenya Water Projects.)

Maasai tribe in Kenya, East Africa: Through the extraordinary work of Tom and Mary Pat, we did return to Africa, this time to do humanitarian work in Kenya, East Africa. Initially we worked among the Kikuyu tribe but we also had an opportunity to learn about the Maasai tribe and visit one of their villages. The Maasai live in the semi-arid, Great Rift Valley. Here they rely primarily upon their livestock for food and infrequent rain falls for water.

Six months after returning from this trip to Kenya, we learned about the serious drought that was impacting the Maasai people. The women and young girls would, in some cases, travel up to 15 miles one-way to carry back water from stagnate water holes that were used by wild animals as well as their own livestock. The men and young boys would leave for extended time periods, consequently disrupting family life, in search of water for their livestock. Lack of good, clean water was resulting in transmission of waterborne diseases and death to infants, the elderly and the sick. Learning about this situation required a response. Romey Wagner stepped forward and he and I became co-leaders of the effort that has become known as the Kenya Water Projects.

Through the efforts and support of many, many people, our Maasai sisters and brothers, to date are now drawing good, clean, safe, life-giving water from two wells. And this is making all the difference in the world --- for them it means life! Because of you and others, the infant mortality rate in this area is improving; basic hygiene is improving; general health among the Maasai is improving; their education is improving because children can stay in school rather than searching for water with their parents; their diets will become more balanced as they apply drip-irrigation techniques for growing fruits and vegetables; and we are encouraging them to plant trees, which they can now water, in an effort to re-claim some of the semi-arid land of the Rift Valley and live in balance with the environment.

As my co-leader, Romey Wagner, puts it, "We will always be drilling a well." So any others interested in helping to bring life-giving water to the Maasai can make a contribution online through the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, at www.cfoncw.org.

Hispanics in California: Work among our Hispanic sisters and brothers in California was with the Good News Center, operated by Sr. Kenneth. This involved a soup kitchen serving a noon meal 5 days a week and on special holidays, and a thrift shop providing second-hand clothes to those in most need. Medical and dental services were provided by volunteer doctors. A very exciting aspect of this center was the new family housing on site, where an entire family could come and live for a specified time. This not only provided a safe haven but also training in basic skills, including the English language, enabling them to then transition into main stream society.

Men in our prison system: This consisted of conducting workshops for selected prisoners, using the book "The Inside Story." After reading the book, prisoners discussed specific questions in small groups, sharing their perspectives with each other. Then the group as a whole came together to learn from the group intelligence and harvest their collective wisdom --- realizing there is goodness in all people no matter what has happened in the past. I encouraged them to make a plan for how they wanted to spend the rest of their life --- even if they were locked up, they could still be free --- it is their choice.

And now for the transition, the transformation...

We all know the story of St. Francis being instructed to "Rebuild my church, as you can see it is falling apart." At first, Francis took this literally and began collecting stones and materials and physically began to rebuild the little church of San Damiano in 1205. As Francis was transformed, he came to "see" with the eyes of a mystic and realized it was the Kingdom he was helping to build. And is this not the same with us? Do we not often start out with projects from a literal perspective and are we not eventually transformed through them and begin to see with the eyes of a mystic? Does this not lead to Unity?

So let’s begin to connect the dots...

What starts out with silent prayer --- being and listening --- opens us to our "yes" response, which leads us to action. Through our action, our everyday activities, we are transformed, and through this transformation we realize our unity. It all happens not only to us but through us. We are all One. We are already there --- here --- now! And it’s always been this way.

Working people in our communities
As circumstances unfolded and I found myself facing a different but similar situation, I realized that, not unlike the Maasai, others are thirsting too --- thirsting for peace. In an effort to help improve the work environment I began discussions with various work groups. This led to me helping them in their efforts to identify those core values that they all wanted to live by within the work environment. This included all employees; front line workers, management, and the board/council. These people not only identified core values but they asked themselves what these values look like in the work place. Consequently, they listed the corresponding behaviors for their values. (To see a list of these core values and related behaviors, visit www.ci.wausau.wi.us. Under "Visit" click on "Mission & Core Values".) What this highlights is the goodness that lies within all people. As all parties are given an opportunity to express themselves, and as they all listen to each other, they discover the things we all have in common. By focusing on the things we have in common rather than on what divides us, we begin to experience more peace. And in a spirit of peace we are able to better discover together solutions to our joint challenges. One work group has chosen as their focus the caption, "FOR THE GOOD OF ALL."

Connect the dots...

So whoever we are and wherever we are, we can make a difference. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Let us celebrate......Peace

Don with woman at the well.

Elders enjoying a drink of water with their cattle

Romey and Don planting tree with the Maasai (the Chief is in blue)