Summer Camp and Care for Creation News!

It's been a little while since the last post and this is largely due to my having been in "travel mode" as of two weeks ago. For the last two weeks I've been visiting our retreat center in Orlando (San Pedro Center) helping out with Scripture Camp. This camp was established in 1980 and has been going strong for the last 29 years! (with the exception of a brief, two year lay off a couple years ago due to damage from a hurricane). The camp is basically an opportunity for young people to explore their faith at a deeper level with peers in a fun, relaxing, and casual environment. The staff this year has done a marvelous job creating a theme (Jesus, Our Hero) based on the recent plethora of movies focusing on famous super heros (Superman, Batman, X-Men, etc....). The daily teachings examine the correlation between the underlying values espoused by these movies (faith, respect, forgiveness, service, and love) and how we understand these values as expressed through the ultimate "hero" Jesus Christ. It was quite a clever and relevant theme and one that the staff and campers have had a lot of fun with (and also learned a lot from!)

Though I've been here in Florida, I've also been quite active in communications regarding the goings on with our Care for Creation (C4C) initiative at our Monastery in Hollidaysburg, PA. I'm happy to report that we have had two very successful events and are preparing for a third. This past Monday, Fr. Bernie Tickerhoof, T.O.R., presented on his passion of birding. The talk was entitled, "A Spiritual Approach to Birding, On a Wing and a Prayer." 29 people attended this talk at the Care for Creation Center next to the community gardens. This talk was the fifth installment of a series of eight presentations on a spiritual and practical approach to caring for creation that we have had at the Monastery this summer. Yesterday we had our first major "harvest" and nearly all of the produce and flowers that we have grown were given to volunteers, a local food kitchen serving the poor, and a local nursing home. I'm also happy to report that we will be replanting the area where our tomatoes were growing with a cole crop (we lost them due to a late season blight). Finally, preparations have been ongoing and are being "ramped up" for the first festival of the season. Our Summer Bounty Festival will be on Saturday, August 1st from 12-4 pm and will include live music, food, activities for adults and kids, and a tour of the garden to promote what we are doing and what we hope to do in the future concerning community gardening and caring for creation. One thing I'm looking forward to is the "fire pit" roasted corn that we will be having....yum!!! (thanks for the great suggestion, Fr. Christopher!!) We hope that you'll be able to join us, but, if not, please pray for good weather! Peace, Fr. Pat, TOR

Mass on the Day of Independence: To Be Blessed and to Bless!

On this day in which we celebrate our nation's independence and all that we've been blessed with, the readings for Mass (Saturday of the 13th week in Ordinary Time, Genesis, 27:1-5, 15-29 and Matthew 9:14-17) invite a reflection on the theology of blessing. Several days ago I met the mother of a vocation prospect who shared with me her conviction that we live in a country that has been greatly blessed. What makes this insight so valuable is that she has lived in a number of countries throughout her life (Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Italy and S. Africa). This insight gave me pause to think about what constitutes a scripturally solid theology of blessing and more precisely in what way America can truly be "blessed."

One example of blessing can be seen in today's first reading. When Isaac blesses Jacob with his final act of blessing, he passed on his patriarchy to him: inheritance rights, "favored son" status, etc... This act of blessing, unlike a blessing before meals, was no simple, pious gesture but one laden with tremendous implications regarding Jacob's future. Furthermore, given the wholly or mostly undeveloped appreciation for eternal life at the time of this event, the act of blessing perhaps also constituted the final gesture of love and outpouring of one's self on the part of Isaac. His "life" and patriarchy would now continue on in Jacob. The important point here with regard to a sound theology of blessing is that Isaac, no doubt richly blessed by God throughout his life, passes this blessing on to his son. In other words, in order for a blessing to remain a blessing, it must be shared with another.

The Hebrew Scriptures reinforce this point through the prophets who castigated the materially wealthy and "blessed" persons of their day. On more than one occasion, God through the prophets referred to the wealth of the well-to-do as a curse or as tarnished by their misdeeds, injustice, and selfishness. What this clearly indicates is that a blessing can become a curse if it is not used to bless others.

In this morning's homily I remarked that a theology of blessing that doesn't include a dynamic awareness of the moral and ethical implications of being blessed cannot help but arrive at the "Gospel of Prosperity." Basically, this age-old "heresy" holds that if one "checks the blocks" in one's relationship with God, one will receive material blessing and even wealth. This also implies that the "terminal point" in our relationship with God is to receive blessing. As a country that has been so abundantly blessed with resources and opportunity, we would do well to recall the example of St. Francis who never ceased throughout his life to be not only an instrument of peace, but one of blessing - perhaps knowing that the terminal point in the life of faith isn't to merely be blessed, but to bless. Pat, TOR

"Home Grown" Vocation Prospect Visits PA Region

This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Eric Folio, a vocation prospect who contacted me two weeks ago seeking to possibly discern with our community. Eric was a parishioner at Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Stonewood, WV, and remembers with great fondness several of our community members who were assigned there. Eric's visit went very well and we are planning on arranging several more over the course of the next year. Please keep Eric and our other vocation prospects (we have eight at the moment) in prayer as they continue their discernment with us. Peace and good! Pat, TOR

Pictures of C4C Garden and C4C Center

In addition to the organization that has recently taken place regarding the C4C project, the garden itself is growing beautifully! We have had a nice mix of rain, sun, and warmth in recent days; hopefully this will be what is needed for the tomato and pepper fruit to begin to show! Finally, thanks to our maintenance personnel, Al and Chris, the old Print Shop has been partially renovated to accommodate the C4C presentations that we have had this summer (we still have five presentations left). We are now referring to this area of the Print Shop as the "C4C Center." You might notice that at present it is quite barren. The plan is to solicit ideas, resources (books, DVD's, etc....), and artwork from the C4C volunteers to begin giving it more character and color. Enjoy the pictures! Pat, TOR

Care for Creation "Pilot Project" Initiative Getting Organized!

This past week the Care for Creation project (C4C) being held at St. Bernardine's in Hollidaysburg (see recent blog entries) entered a new phase of organization and development. We held the "first round" of four committee meetings covering various areas of responsibility related to this initiative. The committees are the following: Communications Committee (mainly responsible for promoting the initiative to the larger community), Festival Committee (responsible for planning and holding two festivals related to the rhythms of the growing season; on August 1st we will have a "Summer Bounty Festival" and on October 24th we will host a "Fall Harvest Festival." These festivals will be the primary way of promoting the C4C project to the larger community), C4C Committee (responsible for laying the spiritual foundation of the C4C project, drawing mainly from scripture, Christian social teaching regarding stewardship of the earth, and the Franciscan heritage of Care for Creation), and the Budget Committee (responsible for making sure we don't spend too much ;)

Beyond the need for organization, the rationale for forming committees (besides the fun of having meetings....I'm sure our Br. John Kerr, a "meeting-aholic", is green with envy ;) is to build collaborative relationships that will empower leadership and build community. Additionally, if (and hopefully when) the C4C "Pilot Project" transitions to a Community Supported Agriculture garden (cared for full-time by a farmer and not volunteers), these committees will be instrumental in animating the project with relational, communal, and spiritual values. Another important aspect of a successful CSA is to have an advisory board comprised of volunteers with the requisite skills needed to oversee a CSA. In anticipation of forming such a leadership board to run a future CSA, we have formed a C4C Advisory Board consisting of 5 directors (a team of friars and a local Master Gardener who is also a Secular Franciscan), one Garden Team Captain (who oversees four gardening teams), and a chair from each committee. At each of these committee meetings I shared with those in attendance my conviction that this project has exceeded my expectations and we have an "embarrassment of riches" to be thankful for. We are anticipating a wonderful harvest of both produce and relational, communal, and spiritual fruits! Pat, TOR

Care for Creation Presentation

On Monday evening, June 15th, twenty persons gathered at the Care for Creation Center next to the community gardens located on the property of St. Bernardine's Monastery. The presentation was the second in a summer series of talks dedicated to exploring the theme of caring for creation in practical and spiritual terms. This talk was more practical in nature and dealt with learning the basics of how to can, freeze, and dehydrate food. The presentation was given by Sharon MacDonald, a nutrition and food expert who works out of the Blair County Farm Extension office that is a part of the Penn State University Altoona campus. All present learned a great deal about food preservation and took away a number of helpful resources to aid them in their future efforts to preserve the harvest.

As a side note, an interesting question was posed by one one of the attendees. She asked me what the word "creation" meant. Basically, creation is a scriptural term that conveys the Judeo-Christian belief that God is the ultimate source of all that exists. However, this belief goes much further. The term creation also connotes a special mode of relationship between God and all creatures. It implies that as Creator, God maintains at all times a special interest and intimacy toward creation and every creature. God's concern is conveyed throughout the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures and is embodied especially in the covenants that God made with Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. One concrete example of God's concern for creation is God's prescriptions regarding the Sabbath and Jubilee years (c.f., Leviticus 25:1-55). The Sabbath Year was to be observed by the ancient Israelites every 7th year and the Jubilee every 50th year. During these years, the land was to lie fallow, slaves were to be set free, and the debts of the indebted were to be canceled. So powerful and compelling was the vision of universal justice and God's righteousness embodied in the Jubilee year that Jesus himself identified his own ministry as a type of Jubilee event (Lk. 4:18-19). As Christians, we are invited and called to continue announcing and enacting "the year of the Lord's favor" for all creation, especially those creatures, both human and non-human, who are trodden underfoot, marginalized, dispossessed of their daily bread or dignity, or otherwise oppressed. Peace and good! Pat, TOR

St. Anthony's in Windber, PA, Turns 100!

Yesterday, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, St. Anthony's Parish in Windber, PA, celebrated it's 100th anniversary with a Jubilee Mass in honor of the occasion and a dinner afterwards. Bishop Joseph Ademac congratulated the parish for reaching this milestone and exhorted the community to continue becoming more and more a "Eucharistic people." The parish of St. Anthony's has been staffed by members of the Franciscans, Third Order Regular (T.O.R.), Immaculate Conception Province since 1925. A number of friars who served at the parish were gathered for this occasion and many remarked at how grateful they are for the graciousness, hospitality, and support they received from the people of St. Anthony's. May God continue to bless St. Anthony's as richly as they have blessed our community, Windber, and the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

Care for Creation (C4C) Garden Flourishing!

On a humid, Central Pennsylvania afternoon in June, myself, two recently professed novices from the community (Matthew and Christopher), and four other gardeners spent time weeding the newly launched community vegetable and flower garden. The gardens are growing beautifully! Thanks to an "embarrassment of riches" with regard to enthusiasm, energy, and expertise (we have four or five master gardeners helping us!) the Care for Creation Initiative is flourishing! You may ask yourself what the term care for creation refers to. The way that I would begin defining the phrase is to compare it with another concept that has emerged in the Catholic Social teaching tradition of the last twenty years or so concerning the environment (mainly promulgated by Pope John Paul II) entitled, "preserving the integrity of creation." The latter phrase connotes perhaps the most popular Christian and Catholic approach to how we are called to relate to creation, namely as "stewards." The concept implies that we are to live on the earth in such a manner that the "strands" (i.e., species, "bioregions", and "ecosystems") which make up the "web of life" (i.e., all the systems of life considered in relationship to one another) are strengthened. Care for Creation also implies preserving the integrity of creation but goes further. It implies a disposition and orientation of care, compassion, and concern for all of earth's creatures, great and small. The notion is a very Franciscan one in that it has it's roots in the regard that Francis showed to all creatures, referring to them as "sister" and "brother." In other words, in addition to being stewards who are called to strengthen the strands of the web of life, we are also called to value each creature for its own sake and for the manner that it reveals God's abiding love, beauty, and truth. You might say that while "preserving the integrity of creation" focuses on the "forest", the concept of "care for creation" urges us to not lose sight of the trees! Two great Franciscans of the 13th and 14th century, St. Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns Scotus carried this tradition of caring for creation on through their theology of creation. St. Bonaventure referred to creation as a "book" and "mirror" which reflects God's Triune presence in our midst. Bl. John Duns Scotus wrote of the need to consider a creature's intrinsic worth as an important step in reverencing the creation entrusted to us by God. As a Franciscan community we hope to carry on this legacy of caring for creation by responding to the signs of the times concerning climate change. Our Care for Creation initiative is one concrete way in which we are doing so. We welcome your thoughts on this ministry and your suggestions on how we can better "care for creation."

Profession of First Vows

Br. Jeffrey Wilson, T.O.R., took his first vows for our community on Saturday, May 30th. He was accompanied byBr. David Sheehan, T.O.R., who took vows from the Sacred Heart Province. In attendance were Br. Jeffrey's Father, Ken, and many friars and friends from around the area. The celebration was very well done and both Jeff and David are wonderful additions to both communities. May God bring to completion the great work he has begun in them!

Investiture Ceremony

On Friday, May 30th, 2009, Christopher Szarke and Matthew Hillman from our community were joyously received into the Novitiate. For those not familiar with this year, it is the first "official" year of membership in the community. It is a fairly intense period of prayer, discernment, spiritual direction and learning about the Franciscan heritage as well as the vowed life. Both of them bring many life experiences to the community and lively personalities which will no doubt make for a wonderful novitiate year. The friars of St. Bridget's in Minneapolis enjoyed spending the previous year with Christopher and Matthew and will miss the both of them. May God shower down upon them many blessings! Pat, TOR

Blessing of Community Garden

On Thursday, 5/28, Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR, led a blessing service for the community garden and community supported garden at St. Bernardine's Monastery. Our Provincial, Fr. Anthony, Fr. Eugene, and our Development Director, Tim Beresnyak were also on hand to represent the community. The service and blessing was well-received and the persons in attendance kept going on and on about the blessing that our property has been for so many in the area. It is quite apparent that our community is making quite a positive impact on the local community through these gardens. Attached to this update are some pictures of the volunteers working the community supported garden. The volunteers pictured and a number of others have done a tremendous job of planning the garden and planting it. We have a couple more plantings to do and than comes the fun part: watering and weeding! However, with so many volunteers and so much enthusiasm, the work promises to be made easier and even delightful. If you have a chance, come out and visit us this summer! Peace and good! Pat, TOR

A Walk in the Park

Peace and good! We've had some really beautiful days here in Minnesota as of late. Part of what is so great about living in Minnesota are the many parks, trails, and nature preserves. The city of Minneapolis is truly a green city with a great deal of natural habitat set aside for outdoor recreation. I've posted some photos of a nearby nature preserve - it's one of my favorite places to escape for a bit of R&R and to contemplate God's beauty as revealed in and through the natural world. Enjoy! Fr. Pat, TOR

Community Supported Garden Springing Forward!!

Peace and good!

Sorry it's been a little while since the last entry....I've been playing "catch up" here in the office and resonding to a number of NEW vocation inquiries! There are two in particular that seem rather promising so please say a prayer of thanksgiving for those young men who are responding to the stirrings of the Spirit in their life. You may be interested to know that our Care for Creation initiative (which has been labeled "C4C") is off and running! We currently have a roster of 75 persons who attended the March 31st and May 2nd meetings or who have come on board by contacting us directly. Out of this 75, we have around 38 gardeners! This is a good deal more than what we originally hoped for (24). There has certainly been a tremendous response to our initial foray into the organic gardening and care for creation field. I say "initial foray" very deliberately because we are still in the "pilot project" phase of this proposal. Basically, we are beginning to develop community, leadership, and programming around the model of a community supported garden. For the next two summers, we will work with volunteers from the local community to raise organic produce, to build community, and, above all, to communicate practical and spiritual values concerning the need to care for creation in an age of ecological crises. Only after we have developed the support within our community and in the larger community, we have a team of friar(s) and others (likely Secular Franciscans) who will shepherd the project according to Franciscan values, we have an advisory board well established with the "know how" to manage the garden, will we take the next step of looking for a farmer and moving from Community Supported Gardening to a Community Supported Agriculture model. It's important to know that it will take a little time to work all of this out but the initial response on the part of the larger community has surpassed our expectations! Please keep this initiative in prayer. Attached to this email are some pics of some of the volunteers with more to come this summer! If you get a chance to see what we are up to this summer and live close by, please come on out! Blessings, Fr. Pat, TOR

Hope Springs Eternal (Vocation Office Update)

Recently a vocation prospect named David Brickman (pictured) visited our friars in PA and WV. David had an excellent visit and wanted me to relay his thanks to all the friars who received him with such graciousness and hospitality. Please keep David in your prayers. Regarding the "goings on" in the vocation office, I am currently processing the applications of Corey Smoot and Bob Haw. They are making application for postulancy in the fall. Additionally, we have invited three persons to join our aspirancy program (two others are interested and may be invited depending on how their initial visits go in May and September). The names of those who are interested are Gerry, Daniel, Pierre, Octavio, and Jason. Please keep them in prayer as well. Hope "springs" eternal! (pun intended). Thanks to all the friars once again in PA and WV for making such a good impression on David! Blessings, Fr. Pat

April Showers....

Hi Everyone!

It's been a little while since the last blog entry.....sorry 'bout that! I just got into town about four days ago after over a month of being gone and am playing a bit of catch up! Here are some flowers that recently sprung alongside our parish in Altoona, PA (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel). It's really quite beautiful in central PA right now! (though I hear they haven't been getting much sun). Pat, TOR

Franciscan Charism Alive, Well, and More Relevant Than Ever!

I hope that the pictures that I recently posted on the occasion of the 8th centenary chapter celebration of the Franciscan movement held in Assisi communicates to some degree the fact that the Franciscan charism is alive, well, and more relevant than ever. I experienced this not only through the unprecedented gathering of nearly 2,000 friars but through the talks that were given during the celebration and in the context of two conversations that I had during the trip. The opening keynote talks of the chapter urged attendees to rediscover the original "bulb" (to use a springtime metaphor) of the Franciscan spirit from which has grown the wonderful and awe-inspiring "blossom" of Franciscanism. To do this, speakers urged a renewed emphasis on evangelization according to the itinerant lifestyle of Francis. This would involve shifting our focus from ministries centered on "preaching/ministering to the choir" and engaging a world that has become far more skeptical, secularized, diverse, and challanging regarding "preaching" the Good News in a way that is compelling and relevant. If the Franciscan spirit is to remain a vital force in such a world, creativity, ambition, and imagination are the "new wineskins" that the Spirit will pour the new vintage of a Franciscan charism deliberately adapted to the contemporary signs of the times. I had two very unique opportunities to discuss some of the above notions with persons very much engaged with the signs of the times. During the Mass celebrated in the piazza next to the Basilica of St. Francis (during which I was perched above the gathering of friars taking pictures), I met the producer of the Religion and Ethics programming for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) who happens to be an Anglican Priest. We talked about how engaging the signs of the times through a Franciscan lifestyle means diverting our energy from the often times obsessive focus on the minutiae of what divides us (i.e., ideology, political affiliation, worshipping style) to what unites us (i.e., Christ, Spirit, and fraternity). On the plane ride home, I happened to sit next to a Deputy Director at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who was on his way home from a meeting of environmental ministers from the G8. The meeting he participated in pertained to working on the next major climate change treaty (the replacement for the Kyoto Protocal). We spoke at some length on the necessity of a spiritual and Franciscan approach to the signs of the times concerning global warming. It didn't take long for him to see the relevance and value of approaching the ecological crises not only through a political lens but also through the spiritual. The talks that were given at the chapter, the conversations that I had with the above persons who are in the trenches of engaging the "signs of the times" and even our own recent attempts to "renew the fire" of our Franciscan charism through our strategic planning process and the activities that have ensued convince me of the relevance of what we have to offer. As a matter of fact, the world hungers and thirsts for a taste of the fraternity, unity, and solidarity that binds us as Franciscans, as diverse as we are. Now all we need do is creatively and boldly imagine how we can give them a taste! Pat, TOR

Home From Rome!

On April 25th the remaining members of the US Franciscan Friar TOR delegation arrived back home from Rome, Italy. What a wonderful trip and time we had! Given that I wasn't able to post pictures during the trip, I'd like to take the opportunity to now do so. Enjoy! Pat, TOR

Pictures of 8th Centenary Celebration of Conversion of St. Francis and Friars Being "Friars" ;)