Much to be Thankful

Thanksgiving gatherings for the Glenmary students has been a long tradition. As the new vocation director this year it was my first turn to cook the Turkeys. I am not usually not a morning person but I did enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn on Thursday in order to get the birds ready to go in the oven. By 5:30am I was drinking my third cup of coffee and the birds were roasting away.

Guests started arriving at all hours; students aspirants, prospects, Glenmarians, and more. A couple of students who drove through the night from their mission assignment in North Carolina arrived just before I put the birds in the oven. Others trickled in all morning long and bringing different foods to contribute to the table. This year's meal included traditional American dishes as well as foods from other cultures.

Mass was celebrated at 11:00am which included music led by the seminarians and preaching by Fr. Jerry Dorn. Afterwards we all sat down to enjoy our turkey supper. The afternoon was dominated by sharing stories from the missions, songs and jokes. A multicultural talent show for the thirty five to forty people gathered there.

Looking around the room at the group I was thankful that the turkey came out just right and even more thankful for the group of young men present around the tables. Glenmary has received a blessing in each one of them who have said "yes" to being a missioner and we are thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Too Many Turkeys

The Glenmary Thanksgiving student gathering tradition continues. Some might say it is too far to travel, others might worry about all their school assignments, others all their work in the missions but we are family and it is important for us to be together and find support in our prayer and in the sharing of our time with one another. Folks will be driving in from all points, St Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa as well as from every state Glenmary has a mission. In addition we will be welcome a number of prospects a number of Glenmarians and other invited guests.

Should be a great weekend as long as there is enough turkey and that it isn't too dry! (I'm the Cook!)

Glenmary Farm and Wild Woman

The Glenmary Farm does not grow food but has been "Growing People" for nearly forty years. "The Farm," connected with the Glenmary Mission in Lewis County Kentucky, is a small piece of land in an isolated part of the country but it has received volunteer visitors from all over the world. It is a Volunteer program where thousands of young people have been able to meet a Glenmary Priest or Brother and to serve in the Home Missions.

Some of the residents of Lewis County who have gotten to know the "Farm Volunteers" have been known to say, "Them Catholics sure do a lot of good work." One person in particular in Lewis County who has been affected by Glenmary's presence is Edith Smith, AKA "Wild Woman." She received a house built by People's Self Help Housing which was constructed with the help of Glenmarian, Brother Virgil Siefker and many of Glenmary Farm Volunteers. After her new home was completed, she started to receive visitors from the Farm Volunteer Program and hasn't stopped since. She has been dedicated to sharing her story, her new home and the culture of Lewis County Kentucky with all her visitors. In the last 20 years she has received over 10,000 first time visitors to her humble home back in the hollow on Lewis Lane. Because of her many years of welcoming so many young people into her home and her dedication to educating them when they come to visit, The Commonwealth of Kentucky has recognized her as an important ambassador of the commonwealth and bestowed upon her the honorary title of "Kentucky Colonel."


For more information about joining Glenmary, request a free copy of our latest DVD watch the trailer here.

El Salvador and the SOA

One year ago today Fr. John Rausch and I were fortunate enough to accompany the members of CrisPaz to El Salvador for the 20th anniversary of the deaths of the six Jesuits, their cook and her daughter. In addition to going to the University of Central America for the 20th anniversary mass of the Jesuits, our pilgrimage also included visits to the Holy Ground where the four church women were slain and the chapel were Archbishop Romero was murdered.

Visiting those holy places was a powerful and moving experience for me and all of the people who were with us. The trip was important to me as well because I was able to visit with many families of the people who live in our mission areas. It was an opportunity for me to build bridges with their families in their homeland and remind me how interconnected we all are in this global village. In my conversations with so many people I was saddened by the constant fear of violence which hangs over their beautiful country. One man I met two days before I flew back to the U.S., whose sister lives in a Glenmary mission, was brutally gunned down by gang violence the next day. A violence that exists and is all too common amongst a generation of people who were born in the midst of the civil war and grew up seeing their mothers and fathers slaughtered in the streets.

This year I am not able to be present in El Salvador but I will be attending the gathering outside the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia to participate in the vigil to close the School of Americas. A way that I can be "Presente" to the people of our missions, their families in El Salvador and all the places where the violence continues to cause grief and suffering.

St. Meinrad

Glenmarians and office staff from our headquarters recently enjoyed a day trip to St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. Lots of anticipation and excitement as we all piled on the bus in the early morning. Plenty of snacks and DVDs made the three hour trip pass quickly. One highlight of the trip was the back-stage tour provided by Glenmary's world renown tour guide, Fr. Vic Subb. Another highlight was the opportunity to have lunch with the Glenmary seminarians and hear about their experience in the seminary. Looking forward to more trips like this one in the future in order to visit the missions and other Glenmary areas.

If you are interested in learning more about Glenmary or visiting the missions send me an email or leave a comment.

Happy 95th Birthday Fr. Frank!!!

Glenmarian Fr. Frank Schenk celebrated his 95th birthday today! He is the first Glenmarian to reach that milestone! Fr. Frank has served throughout our missions including Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Arkansas just to name a few. And he was one of the first Glenmarians to study Spanish. It has been an honor for all of us here at our headquarters to spend this evening celebrating his life and and his dedication to God, Glenmary and the people in our missions. He has long been an inspiration to me and to all the people he has touched in his witness and ministry. An extra treat for all of us here at headquarters is the wonderful home-made bread he continues to bake a couple of times a week. Thank you Frank and may God continue to bless you.

You can read more about Fr. Frank and other Glenmarians at the following link: glenmary.org

Who is Glenmary?

I like to think that everyone knows who Glenmary is but recently people have been asking me; Who is Glenmary? What do you do? Two years ago Glenmarians gathered for our Chapter and drafted the following document describing who we are as a Community of Missioners:

The Glenmary Home Missioners of America is a covenanted community of Catholic Missioners - priests, brothers - together with students and co-missioners, who with enthusiasm, proclaim the Reign of God by bringing the presence of the Catholic Church to the Rural, mission areas of the United States of America.

As a community of Missioners we desire to learn, to model and to teach the love of Jesus by working in collaboration with other Christians.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit and nourished by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Eucharist, we minister through Word, Sacrament, prayer and service.

Our mission is to witness, as well as expereince, love, justice, unity, reconciliation and hope with all people we serve.

Our commitment to God, to mission and to one another is the foundation, which calls, forms, unites and sends us.

Lost but Not Forgotten

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, "Your God is King!" (Isaiah 52:7)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit our mission parish in Ripley, Mississippi for Sunday mass. There were only about twelve people in attendance at the English mass. Not a huge crowd but thanks to Glenmary the sacraments are available to the people in the mission areas of the U.S. If it were not for Glenmary’s presence in Ripley, those twelve people would not have a community or a home to celebrate and would have not been able to receive the Eucharist.

Many times when a young person thinks about becoming a priest or religious, they envision themselves serving in the large city parishes, and not that that is a bad thing… But Glenmary Home Missioners goes out to the rural areas of the U.S. in order to look for the one and to bring him back. If you feel called to serve in the rural neglected areas of the U.S., consider becoming a Glenmary priest, brother or sister.

"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'” (Luke 15: 4-6)