Newsletter: Divine Mercy Region Secular Franciscan Order

Lower Michigan and Toledo, Ohio June 2017

From Our Regional Minister

In this edition:

From Our Regional

Minister

From Br. Loren

Congratulations, Br.

Loren!

Spring Gathering

2017

Formation Update

News from Our

Spiritual Assistant

Training Program

2017 Regional

Gatherings

Around the Region

The Secular

Franciscan Seminar

Venerate the Relics of

St. Padre Pio

Nomination for the

NAFRA JPIC Award

Contact Us!

Sisters and Brothers,

Greetings from Assisi!

The Lord has blessed me with a last minute opportunity to take a

month and travel. I am spending 10 days in Assisi and La Verna on

a personal pilgrimage to the places Franciscans hold dear and

sacred. This is my second full day in Assisi.

What can I say? It is like stepping back in time 800 years. The city

has taken great pains to keep the look and feel of how the city

would have looked in the time of Francis and Clare. I have to

admit, being from flat Michigan, I was not ready for the steep

inclines and hundreds upon hundreds of steps required to navigate

my way around Assisi. It is a small city and does not take very long

to get acquainted with the layout.

Know that I take all of you in the Divine Mercy Region with me in

my heart and prayers. One nice thing about coming on one's own

and not being a part of a group is the ability to move where the

Spirit leads and to be able to take the time to really experience the

place one came to venerate. I was able to spend 2 hours in silent

prayer in the Chapel of San Damiano, and also at the Basilica of St.

Francis and St. Clare. They have provided side chapels for quiet

prayer and I am taking advantage of getting out of the way of the

crowds.

I have also discovered that we live in a very small world. I met a

woman from Canton, Michigan. She now lives in Assisi. She got

here because she married a man from Assisi, who she was

introduced to by a mutual friend from Ireland.

I also heard some English speaking women on the street and

introduced myself. They were with a group on pilgrimage from Our

Continued on page 3 ...

"... I beg you in the Lord

to praise the Lord by your

very life..."

St. Clare of Assisi,

from her third letter to St.

Agnes of Prague

2

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

All powerful, most holy, most high, supreme God:

all good, supreme good, totally good,

You who alone are good,

may we give you all praise, all glory, all thanks,

all honor, all blessing, and all good.

So be it! Amen!

Saint Francis composed that prayer toward the

end of his life. It expresses many of my feelings

as I approach the fiftieth anniversary of my

profession of solemn vows in the Order of Friars

Minor. I am very much aware of God’s

overwhelming goodness to me. I have been so

blessed, first of all by my parents and family. I

am blessed to be a Franciscan friar—I cannot

imagine being anything else! I have been blessed

by good, good people, messed up sinners just like

me, in Cincinnati, Fort Wayne, Lafayette,

Columbus, Houston, Houma, Dayton, and Detroit.

Marriage Encounter, the LGBT community, Al-

anon, the Secular Franciscan Order—I am grateful

for them all.

I cannot pretend that my life has been without

pain, confusion, injustice, or struggle—some of it

self-inflicted, some of it from persons whom I

trusted, some of it from fellow Franciscans, some

of it just there. But God was there too; and when

I stopped struggling, God lifted me up. I would

not want to go back and change any of it, even the

shameful or hurtful stuff, lest I not arrive at the

joy that I have now.

Does that reflect your experience as well? Isn’t

God good, bringing goodness out of our sinful

mess? O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam,

as we sang at the Easter Vigil! Thanks to each

one of you for being the voice and face of God to

me.

Peace and Every Blessing,

Loren, OFM

Br. Loren Connell OFM made his Profession of

Solemn Vows on August 16, 1967 at St. Anthony

Chapel, Duns Scotus College, Southfield,

Michigan. He was ordained on November 20,

1976 at St. Patrick Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Br. Loren's Anniversaries were celebrated with

Mass on May 7, 2017, the 4th Sunday of Easter at

St. Aloysius Parish. St. Aloysius is "Everyone's

Church in Downtown Detroit," where he is Pastor.

A picnic reception followed immediately

afterward.

Paul DeWeese OFS, who attended the

Anniversary Celebration, has written:

On Sunday May 7, I had the privilege of attending

the 50th Anniversary Celebration and Mass to

commemorate Br. Loren's vows as a Franciscan

friar. The setting was St. Aloysius Church, which

is located downtown in the heart of Detroit. The

church is stunningly beautiful with inspirational

art and ornate glass windows which spoke of our

ancient faith based on Christ and the Apostles. St.

Aloysius is the home to a widely diverse group of

people which spoke to me of the universality of

God's love which excludes no one. The church

family is not wealthy from a financial perspective,

but those who gathered demonstrated to me that

the wealth of the Church is defined by the

faithfulness and love of its members.

From Br. Loren

Congratulations on Your 50th

Anniversary of Profession and

40th Anniversary of Ordination,

Br. Loren!

3

It was inspirational to reflect on Br. Loren's years

of faithful service to God, his fellow brothers and

to the broader community. He exuded an obvious

joy and love for both his calling as a Franciscan

friar and his parish community. I was reminded

of the importance of my Franciscan community

and how Br. Loren and so many others have

helped to re-ignite my faith commitment.

Thank you, Br. Loren, for your faithful service.

Thank you for enriching all of our lives. Thank

you for reminding each of us to aspire to a life

worthy of our Franciscan calling.

Paul DeWeese OFS

Regional Councilor

From Our Regional Minister, continued from

page 1...

Lady of Good Counsel, Plymouth, MI. How

wonderful that the Lord put these others from

Michigan in my path. Another encounter I am

enjoying is running into Steve and Lillian White.

Steve is the regional minister in Southern Ohio

and Indiana. I have had the opportunity to get to

know them at the NAFRA chapter gatherings.

How funny that I had to travel all the way to

Assisi to see my friends from just down the road

in Ohio. That was a nice surprise for all of us.

I am blessed to be staying in the convent guest

house, St. Anthony, run by the Franciscan Sisters

of Atonement. They are English speaking sisters

from Canada, so that is a blessing. My view out

of my window is the bell tower of the Basilica of

St. Clare.

Tomorrow I leave for La Verna where I will

spend two full days and three nights at the

Monastery.

The Bell Tower of the Basilica of St. Clare in Assisi

So other than that, I have no real news or

reflection to share. I am sad that I will miss the

anniversary celebration for Br. Loren and will not

be in attendance at St. Bonaventure’s 130

anniversary celebration. All are in my prayers.

Your lesser brother in Francis, following Christ,

David Seitz OFS

Regional Minister

Relic and Drawing of St. Francis of Assisi

From all of your Brothers and Sisters in Divine

Mercy Region, with love:

Thank you, Br. Loren for your wise, gentle

and loving service to Divine Mercy Region

and the Secular Franciscan Order.

4

All Secular Franciscans (and those in formation) are invited to Regional Gatherings. Please ask

your local Minister for registration forms if you'd like to attend!

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April 22nd, Center for Ministry, Saginaw, Michigan

Picking up the theme from the morning session on Deepening Our Commitment to

JPIC, Cami Mann OFS took us farther into understanding JPIC. She described how

Our Mother of Sorrows Fraternity in Grand Rapids has spent the previous year

actively discerning their mission to live in fraternity and community. One outcome

of the discernment process will be an apostolate, but one that fits the community and

the fraternity, one to which the Lord is leading them.

Ray Boisvenue OFS led us in a model Franciscan Wake Service and distributed copies

of a text that can be used. (This is one that's used by Our Mother of Sorrows Fraternity

in Grand Rapids. For a copy, see the Divine Mercy Region website.

Celebration of Mass brought a close to this wonderful day of

sharing and learning. Our celebrant was Br. Loren Connell OFM.

Instructions from our Regional Treasurer, Fran Walker OFS, on

how to set up and manage our Tax, Banking Information and

Audits followed. (See the Divine Mercy Region website for the

latest information from this presentation.)

JPIC, Deepening Our Commitment, began at 9:15, led by Michelle Bryk

OFS and Amy Oatley OFS. As Michelle said, "JPIC is not just a thing."

This was a meditation on the Beatitudes, featuring an exploration of

discernment. We are called to discern where the Lord leads us.

The presentation was followed by the assembly of hygiene kits for the

poor, to be distributed by Franciscan Ministries.

A break-out session was held for all the Spiritual Assistants in the Region,

plus all those in the Spiritual Assistant Training Program.

After lunch, certificates were presented to Spiritual Assistants, Spiritual

Assistant Trainees and those who had completed the classroom portion of the

program, as follows:

Certified Spiritual Assistant: Mary Bittner OFS

Spiritual Assistant Trainees: Margo Dean OFS, Ray Boisvenue OFS

Classroom Completion: June McCrae OFS, Jan Kaeding OFS

The day began with coffee, registration and a warm welcome from

David Seitz OFS, our Regional Minister.

5

Sometimes God follows me around. Does he do

this to you? I would argue yes! My recent

experience has involved the Beatitudes. While

planning together, Amy Oatley and I decided we

would use the Beatitudes as the basis for the

prayer we would lead at our Regional Ministers

Meeting in April. We wanted to use this lens to

begin the conversation about Justice, Peace and

Integrity of Creation—JPIC. From the moment

we started talking about doing this I started to

see/hear the Beatitudes everywhere—in an NPR

story, in a daily meditation I was sent, in a

conversation at work, and in books I was reading.

Whenever I experience this in my life I start to

pay close attention to what God is saying. I pray

and ask God what it is that I am supposed to be

learning from the messages I am receiving.

Last week I received a quote in the Tau-Daily

meditation from John Paul II's address to the

Secular Franciscan Order and it all came together

for me. I was particularly struck by the line: If

you are truly driven by the Spirit to reach the

perfection of charity in your secular state, “it

would be a contradiction to settle for a life of

mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a

shallow religiosity." I don't know about you, but I

don't want a life of mediocrity. I want a life

fueled and filled by God. I might say: a life fueled

and guided by the Beatitudes. And there it is—the

connection I was waiting for.

In Franciscan formation, we owe it to our

Fraternities and to those in formation to make sure

that people are ready to join us. Hopefully, as

professed Franciscans, we all understand that

profession is an act of the fraternity. When we

read the quote from John Paul II, he is calling us

as fraternities to live this way—to make a

difference in our communities and in our Church.

How do we choose to do this? Can we embrace

this as our call as Franciscans? I know this is not

easy for everyone. We are comfortable and that is

a hard place to want to leave.

I heard a homily recently that spoke about the fact

that God expects us each to do our part, so that

collectively we can change the world. It isn't my

job to do that alone. It is my job to do my part as

a member of my fraternity and the Church. We

all have a role to play and that is different for each

of us. If we look at all the healing that needs to

occur, or all the changes that need to happen in

the world, the task is radically overwhelming. If

we look at all that is needed in our community, it

is still more than we can hope to impact.

However, if we are brave enough and trusting

enough to ask God each day to show us clearly

what is in front of us that we can impact, then we

can join with our brothers and sisters all around

the world to begin to bring healing and change to

all with whom we come into contact. If we can do

this faithfully, we will live lives driven by the

Spirit and be living examples of the Beatitudes in

action.

Michelle Bryk OFS

Regional Formation Minister

The new classes for Spiritual Assistant Training

started in March 2017. I am so excited to

announce that we have seven people who have

answered the call to participate in the program. I

ask that everyone please hold them in your

prayers as they go through their journey. They

are:

As you know this is a three-year program,

consisting of two years of instruction and one year

of internship. Currently, we have five people who

have completed the program, and are serving in

their internship. I would also like to take this

opportunity to congratulate Mary Bittner, OFS,

who has become the first person within our region

to be fully certified as a Spiritual Assistant.

If you are interested in the program, you may

contact me at lms_48101@yahoo.com or 313-

506-9868.

Linda Solis OFS

Regional Spiritual Assistant Training Coordinator

Formation Update

News From Our Spiritual

Assistant Training Program

Beth Price OFS

Marianne Danks OFS

Mike Carsten OFS

Kathleen Carsten OFS

Marilyn Webb OFS

Beth Brown OFS

Mary Angeles OFS

6

2017 Regional Gatherings

Annual Ministers' Gathering August 4-6, 2017 St. Francis Retreat Center

DeWitt, Michigan

Annual Day of Formation October 28, 2017 The Center for Ministry

Saginaw, Michigan

Around the Region The St. Bonaventure Secular Franciscan Fraternity cordially invites you to attend our fraternity picnic on

Sunday, July 16th from 12:00 noon to 4:00 PM, at Shelter #2 on Belle Isle. If your fraternity members

plan to attend the picnic, please RSVP at 313-579-2100, extension 136, with the following information:

name, number of individuals planning to attend and phone number.

The Secular Franciscan Seminar The OFS Seminar is held yearly at St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. This year's seminar

will be held July 6th-9th. The topic is "Multiculturalism and Diversity: Who is My Neighbor?" Basic

information is on the next two pages of this newsletter. More details, including information about

speakers, directions to St. Francis University, and items to bring are online at the following Internet

address: https://my.francis.edu/sfubus/ICFL/Seminar%20flyer%202017.pdf

Venerate the Relics of St. Padre Pio On Friday, September 29, 2017, relics of St. Padre Pio will be at the Cathedral of Mary of the

Assumption, Saginaw, Michigan. Please contact the Cathedral for more information and a schedule.

Phone: 989-752-8119.

Nominations for the NAFRA JPIC Award Do you know someone who you'd like to nominate for the NAFRA JPIC Award? There is a nomination

form on the last page of this newsletter. Send your responses either on the form, or in an email with the

requested information, to Carolyn Townes OFS, NAFRA JPIC Coordinator, at ctownes26@hotmail.com.

Please place the word "AWARD" in the subject line of your email.

Contact Us! The Divine Mercy Region Executive Council David Seitz OFS Regional Minister dmrofsdavid@gmail.com

Jim Graczyk OFS Regional Vice Minister cjcag64@aol.com

Theresa Brown OFS Regional Secretary divinemercy.region@gmail.com

Fran Walker OFS Regional Treasurer fpwofs2015@gmail.com

Michelle Bryk OFS Regional Formation Minister michellebsfo@iserv.net

Linda Solis OFS Spiritual Assistant Program

Coordinator lms_48101@yahoo.com

Amy Oatley OFS JPIC Coordinator

Regional Councilor aoatleyofs@gmail.com

Paul DeWeese OFS Regional Councilor pdeweesemd@gmail.com

Dawn Pulcer OFS Regional Councilor dawn.pulcer@dfcufinancial.com

Jan Kaeding OFS Newsletter & Website Editor

Regional Councilor divineprovidencefraternity@gmail.com

Br. Loren Connell OFM Regional Spiritual Assistant brolocon@gmail.com

Divine Mercy Regional Website: https://divinemercyregion.com/ for News, Updates on Events, Registration Forms and Other Helpful Information

The website is updated frequently, so watch for new items!

Nomination Form for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Award

The United States Secular Franciscan Order established the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

Award to recognize those Franciscans who are dedicated to promoting peace, social justice and care

for creation by the testimony of their human lives. Through their courageous initiatives, they work to

animate compassion and nonviolence in the world.

If you know someone from the Franciscan Family in your community or in the world who promotes

peace in a significant way, please think about nominating him or her for the JPIC Award.

Name of Nominee ________________________________________________

Nominee is which branch of the Franciscan Family?

____ Friar / Province: _____________________________________________

____ Poor Clare / Congregation: ____________________________________

____ Religious Sister / Congregation: ________________________________

____ Secular / Region: ____________________________________________

____ Ecumenical Clergy: __________________________________________

____ Ecumenical Lay: _____________________________________________

Why are you nominating this person for the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

Award? (250 words)

What are some of the works, projects, and/or notable characteristics about this person that

exemplifies his/her peace efforts? (250 words)

How may we contact the nominee?

o Phone _________________________________________________

o Email _____________________________________________________

o Street Address ______________________________________________________

Using this form (or this basic format to write your email), please send your nominations to

Carolyn Townes OFS, NAFRA JPIC Coordinator, at ctownes26@hotmail.com. Please place

the word "AWARD" in the subject line of your email.