November 3, 2015 // Uncategorized

Around the Diocese: November 8, 2015

Todays Catholic

‘Christmas in the Park’ sponsored by the Christ Child Festival to be held

FORT WAYNE — “Christmas in the Park,” sponsored by the Christ Child Festival, will be held at Franke Park, Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This fun, family friendly event with a focus on the Christ of Christmas is free to the public. For more information contact Judi Hapke, Christ Child Festival board member, at [email protected] or visit www.ChristChildFest.org or www.Facebook.com/CCFestival.

Second Annual International Crèche Display to be held at ND

SOUTH BEND — The Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame will sponsor the Second Annual International Crèche Display at the University of Notre Dame from Nov. 18 to Jan. 31, 2016, entitled “Love Incarnate With Us Dwells.”

This annual event contemplates the tenderness of God revealed in the Nativity sets on display as a way of inviting families to celebrate the seasons of Advent and Christmas. The 33 visual representations from 19 countries are exhibited at five locations on the Notre Dame campus: Eck Visitors Center, Morris Inn, Coleman-Morse, Geddes Hall and the Main Building. Booklets and QRs for self-guided tours are available at each of these stations.

An opening lecture will be held on Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Eck Visitor Center to kick off the International Crèche Display. Timothy P. O’Malley, Ph.D., director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy and associate professional specialist, will offer a vision of what it means to live the mystery of the Nativity in family life, drawing on the rich tradition of the Church. Titled, “Dwelling with Love Incarnate: Living the Mystery of the Nativity in Family Life,” the lecture is free and open to the public.

For more details, contact [email protected] or 574-631-6109.

Sisters to host feast of Our Lady of Providence

SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS  — The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods will celebrate the feast day of Our Lady of Providence with Mass at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, Nov. 14, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, located 10 minutes northwest of downtown Terre Haute.

Mass is open to the public and people of all faith traditions are encouraged to attend.

In May 1925, the Sisters of Providence established the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence, and in 2014, the shrine was rededicated in the vestibule of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

The Sisters of Providence and others gather at the shrine to pray for the many intentions sent to the shrine. Special prayers are offered for the needs of all families, asking for the protection and intercession of Our Lady of Providence as Queen of the Home.

A feast day in the Catholic faith tradition is a day set aside to commemorate the life of an individual or a specific event. Our Lady of Providence is a reference to Mary, mother of Jesus.

This year, the feast will coincide with the commitment ceremony of the new Providence Associates.

For more information, call 812-535-2946 or email [email protected].

USF to host math competition for middle school students

FORT WAYNE — The University of Saint Francis will host Indiana’s American Mathematics Competition, AMC 8, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Doermer Family Center for Health Science Education on the USF campus, 2701 Spring St.

The AMC 8 is a 40-minute, 25-question, multiple-choice contest open to middle school students. The material comes from a middle school mathematics curriculum, and none of the problems require the use of algebra or a calculator. The student’s score is the number of problems correctly solved.

The evening begins with check-in and refreshments, with the test following. A program will be available to parents during the test, and the event will end with awards.

Approximately three weeks after the contest, AMC scores the tests, compiles and emails results back to the university. A written report follows, accompanied by any awards for the school. Students who score 20 or better on the AMC 8 are invited to take the next set of contests, the AMC 10/12.

USF is offering an optional one-hour AMC preparatory session on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. in the Doermer Family Center. To register for the competition, contact Carolyn Exner at [email protected] or 260-399-8067.

First administered in 1950, the AMC is designed to increase interest in mathematics and develop problem-solving ability through a series of friendly mathematics competitions for students in grades 5-8, up to the age of 14 ½.

For more information about the AMC, contact USF mathematics professor Dr. Victor Kutsenok at 260-399-7700, ext. 8237.

Outstanding Distinguished Knight recipients honored

FORT WAYNE — Bishop Luers High School has announced the 2015 Distinguished Knight Recipients. These awards, presented through the Office of Institutional Advancement at Luers, honor an alum and an honorary alum who contributed outstanding and distinguished service to his or her chosen profession and community. These individuals live out the mission of Bishop Luers High School in their everyday lives and contribute outstanding dedication, support and service to Bishop Luers. These recipients also demonstrate an ongoing commitment to the Catholic Church and its principles.

Bishop Luers Principal Tiffany Albertson recognized Sister Janet Gildea, class of 1974 as Bishop Luers 2015 Outstanding Alumna. Sister Gildea first began her commitment to serve the needy while a student at Bishop Luers, volunteering at Lutheran Hospital and Matthew 25 Clinic before attending The College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati.

After graduating from Indiana University School of Medicine, Sister Gildea entered the Sisters of Charity congregation. Her desire to serve God’s needy took her to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she worked at La Familia Medical Center and San Vincente Clinic. Sister Gildea then answered God’s call and founded La Clinica Guadalupana, a medical clinic in the desert east of El Paso, Texas. The clinic offers medical care, wellness clinics, educational seminars, and spiritual support to uninsured, desperate and needy families. In 2001, the sisters extended their mission across the border to establish The Santo Nino Project in Anapra, Mexico. Several times a week, she and the sisters minister to children with severe handicaps and their families.

The Outstanding Honorary Alumna for 2015 is Mary Keefer. The Bishop Luers’ mission statement declares, “We are the Light of the World,” and Keefer, exemplifies this statement in both word and action. Her passion for her work, her faith, her devotion to family, as well as her daily examples of true Christianity, are only a few of the ways she has made an enormous impact on Luers’ students, staff and community.

Keefer began her own Catholic education at Cathedral Grade School, after which she made the short trek to Central Catholic High School, graduating in 1966. She continued on with her education at St. Francis and then to Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (IPFW) where she received her bachelors, masters and administration degrees. She had a dedication to her profession — really “her calling” and served children with unrivaled passion.

Keefer spent 18 years around the “ranch” as she always called Bishop Luer’s campus.  She loved being at Luers and it showed in her interactions with everyone she encountered.

Pregnancy and parenting support program going statewide

INDIANAPOLIS — Over the past year, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence funded a $1 million pilot program known as the Indiana Pregnancy and Parenting Support Services Program. The program served 8,737 women at 17,445 visits from 29 counties.

Real Alternatives, Inc. was selected to administer the program that assists women in unexpected or crisis pregnancies with counseling and other support services, during the pregnancy and through 12 months after the birth of their baby.

The Indiana Catholic Conference commended Gov. Pence for bringing this life-affirming program to Indiana women in need.

Women experiencing an unexpected pregnancy are encouraged to call the statewide hotline number, 1-888-LIFE-AID to be connected for help.

TV Mass needs volunteers

The TV Mass in Fort Wayne is seeking volunteers to work behind the scenes producing a televised Mass for the homebound. Experience in operating cameras and technical equipment is a plus. Contact the diocesan Office of Communications at 260-744-0012.