Mission - Second Year .. Sep 2008 -- Aug 2009

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

Autumn 2008: The Family Religious Education resumed in September 2008 with more than 55 students and over 30 families enrolled. A well rounded list of speakers is lined up for the Adult Sessions. Topics will include faith formation, parenting issues, learning about suffering from a Christian perspective, and outreach for immigrants and refugees.

Winter 2009: The Community lost our dear friend, Frances Bannon who died on January 23 at age 94. We all have fond memories of her contributions to the community. The memorial mass was con-celebrated at St. Mary’s of the Assumption in Lancaster with Father Paul Steller and Father Richard "Duke" Zajac.  

May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  .... "And let us pray for all travellers."



Special Recognition: Patty Haberman DDS from our community received a special award from the National Federation for Just Communities. Several community members attended the luncheon in Buffalo in January where Patty was recognized for her great work at Harvest House - Good Neighbors Health Center as the primary dental service provider and coordinator.

Sister Suzanne Rodriguez, SSJ passed away in February after her intense battle with cancer. Her funeral mass was celebrated by Father Jim Croglio at the Sisters’ of St. Joseph Chapel. He began the service by expressing his thanks to the Sisters of St. Joseph for inviting him into the chapel and out of the tent. We are very grateful to Sister Suzanne for being our advocate for the outdoor masses since the Newman Center was closed by the diocese.   May her soul and souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Spring 2009: Our community met for the Ash Wednesday Soup and Bread Supper at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Amherst with Father "Duke" Zajac celebrating the mass with us. We had the largest group ever (nearly 100) as the night coincided with the Family Religious Ed program, and all were invited to attend.

The Seder Meal on Holy Thursday evening was celebrated by Father Paul with a full house. Again, we are thankful for the Unitarian Universalist Church for making their dining room available for our community.

On May 29, 2009, we had a get-together to honor Father Paul Steller for his 70th birthday and his 44th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. The community gathered at a cozy place called Cabernet’s Wine Café in Williamsville. Catherine Bloom closed her place to the public for that evening, and along with the attendees waists expanding from all the homemade appetizers, friendships were deepened and many laughs shared.

Summer 2009: In June 2009, the JNMC assembled a team of riders for the Ride for Roswell. The team’s captain was Melissa Brady and 10 riders enjoyed a beautiful ride on June 28, 2009. The team’s bright green jersey included the statement: "Team Newman – We have a Mission to Ride for Roswell".
A very noteworthy team member was Bill McLaughlin. His fundraising efforts reached over $14,000 and the remainder of the team raised over $3,000. In total the team’s total put it in the top 5 for non-corporate riding teams. The Ride for Roswell raised over $2.2 million for cancer research.

In July 2009, we returned to our outdoor mass location at the property of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Clarence. We were pleased to be invited again to celebrate mass with the good Sisters. We learned of their project to build a rock garden in memory of the victims of the crash of Continental Flight 3407. Many people helped by donating beautiful plants, which the Sisters planted with great care. The community also donated funds whereby Frank Mischler delivered over 70 plants from his nursery to the large garden. The garden was dedicated on August 13, 2009, the six-month anniversary of the tragedy. Dozens of family members of victims, and community first responders attended a prayer service that evening.

Memorial rock garden gets new addition (article from Clarence Bee)
Sisters Monica Krupinski, left, Marg Manzella and Carol Morgan, creators and caretakers of a Flight 3407 Memorial Garden at Sisters of Saint Joseph, stand near a stone marker recently donated by Dengler Funeral Homes and crafted by Stone Art Memorial Company Inc. Photo by Jim Smerecak Purchase color photos at www.BeeNews.comThe Sisters of Saint Joseph at the Clarence Residence created a Memorial Garden for the six-month anniversary of the crash of Flight 3407 and had a dedication ceremony on Aug. 13 for the family and friends of the victims.
This spring, the garden received a new addition, a stone marker donated by Dengler Funeral Homes and crafted by Stone Art Memorial Company Inc.
Perennial plants were donated for the garden by Mischler’s Florist and members of the  John Newman Mission Community.

                                                                                                                                                            Sister Margy, Sister Carol, Sister Madelline, and Sister Monica

Throughout August 2009, our confirmation candidates helped pack boxes of the clothing and other donations for the Nicaragua Mission Project.

Our annual picnic was held on August 23 in the Clarence - Sunset Park Pavilion. Despite a drenching rain storm from 3 til 4:30 PM, the 75 attendees had a good time, and when the catered food arrived, the rain stopped as if on cue.

_ Sacraments
Confirmation Candidates completed a two-year preparation cycle. The date for confirmation was November 19, 2008 at St. Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster. Bishop Kmiec presided at the sacrament for eleven confirmands. A new group of sixteen candidates began their preparation in November 2008.

On May 3, 2009 we welcomed five first communicants to the Lord’s Table. The mass was celebrated by Father Paul Steller. The five young people celebrating their first Holy Communion were Gabrielle Andzel, Jacob Hammer, James Riexinger, Kristen Swiat, and Dylan Taton.

John Newman Mission’s Support of Our Missions with the Greatest Need
The board followed the community’s recommendations to support those missions nominated by the community. In accordance with this recommendation the following fund-raising has been an essential part of the community. 　


September 2008: The community donated $1,635 to the Cornerstone Manor, which is associated with the City Mission in downtown Buffalo. Dr. Lora Warkentin, the Director of Cornerstone, attended mass in early September to describe the mission of Cornerstone Manor — sheltering women and children in recovery –- and providing education and counseling for healthy life decisions.

The Board also approved a donation of $2,000 from the treasury for hurricane relief for the victims of four hurricanes in Haiti this past month. The donation was directed to Cross International Catholic Outreach, and Father Bernie Olsewski.

October 2008: The annual pancake breakfast in support of Timau Mission in Kenya was held on October 19, 2008 with Sr. Joanne and Sr. Fran our guests. Over 140 people enjoyed the pancakes and side dishes prepared by Chefs John, Tom, Steve, Al and Drew. The menu expanded to include blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes along with the traditional flapjacks, sausages, fruit and juices. A summary shows that we will donate $3,350 to Sr. Joanne. The pancake breakfast raised over $2000 and the balance came from the weekly collections. Thanks to Leon Colucci for making arrangements for the use of the Getzville Fire Hall reception hall.   Our contributions have made it possible for many men and women to receive scholarships for their education.

Photos include the Timau Mission Church and the new water tower, funded in part by the JNMC donation. Also, a woman in the sewing school, and a man in the carpentry school in Timau.
  

In late October, eight community members joined the truck loading crew at the Nicaragua Mission work center on Transit Road. Hundreds of boxes were packed and a 40 foot long truck was loaded with donations from Western New York churches including our donation in September.

November 2008: The fund-raising for St. Augustine and St. Monica Scholars was initiated by a presentation during mass by Mrs. Nancy Langer, President of the facilities. These two Catholic middle schools are dedicated to help boys and girls prepare more effectively in character and academics for high school, college and their careers. Our community donated $1525 to the schools, which will be used to fund the Sister Karen Klimczak scholarship. This will be used to help three students, who have lost their fathers due to violence in Buffalo.

December 2008: The community raised funds to support Vive La Casa, the refugee center in Buffalo that houses upwards of 65 people in a safe environment while they wait for their clearance to enter Canada. Brian Brown-Cashdollar, Executive Director spoke to our community in early December, and the total donation to Vive La Casa was $1625. A visit to the facility is being planned so more people can help in other ways.

Vive La Casa on Wyoming Ave.

Also, during the month, our annual Christmas gift collection was organized by Bill McLaughlin and Pam Lawless. More than 40 children and needy parents were recipients of gifts from our community. These were distributed to ECC North and to the Response to Love Center. On the day of the gift presentation at ECC North, we were presented with seven more children, whose names were mis-filed at an office on campus. Without hesitation, a small group including Tom and Mary Stoddard handled the situation including shopping, wrapping and distributing the gifts on campus. The ECC President was very thankful for the effort, and he authorized reimbursement of the amount spent on those last-minute gifts.
The Board of the JNMC authorized a special donation to three soup kitchens and pantries in the city of Buffalo in time for the Christmas season. $1000 was sent to the Food Bank of Western
New York, which helps many local soup kitchens. $500 was sent to the St. Simon’s pantry in South Buffalo at the suggestion of volunteers at Harvest House. And $500 was sent to Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen in honor of the hard work of Marion McLaughlin.
The Board also approved a $700 donation to the Sisters of St. Joseph in Clarence, specifically for their retirement fund. This donation was made in conjunction with the Retirement Fund for the Religious. We learned that Sister Suzanne Rodriguez is seriously ill. She was instrumental in helping us set up our outdoor masses during the summer of 2008. She remains in our prayers.

January 2009: Fund-raising has begun for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. A very compelling presentation was made by Mr. Mark Zirnheld early in the month about the thousands of people in Buffalo who are helped in so many ways by the many volunteers. The JNMC Board approved a donation of $2,000 to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. As long as the JNMC cash reserve will allow it, our community will donate $2,000 minimum for each of the charities that we support.

A team of six JNMC members also visited Vive La Casa on a service project. The team thoroughly cleaned two large dormitories that were being prepared for new bed frames. Photos and a nice note about us were printed in the Vive news letter, including Al Naish’s witty comment about the JNMC Janitorial Services being ready to serve!

The JNMC Janitorial Service Team

"Happy Al" -- Always ready to serve with a smile!

February 2009: Fund-raising for this month was directed to Journey’s End – a local refugee support organization. Ms. Molly Short visited our community to explain how Journey’s End
helps refugees establish homes in Buffalo and the surrounding area. Our donation to Journey’s End in early March was $2,000.

The annual Souper Bowl of Caring in support of the Food Bank of WNY was held on Super Bowl weekend, and the community donated $274 after Sunday mass. The JNMC Board matched the amount, plus added $100 from another source of funds, allowing our total donation to the Food Bank to be $648.

The Religious Education community donated a large quantity of personal hygiene items that are needed by Vive La Casa. This included soap, tooth paste, lotion, shampoo and children’s socks, baby diapers etc. Over 200 items were delivered to the facility.

A special collection was received during the Ash Wednesday Soup and Bread dinner, and the amount was matched by the JNMC Board. In total, a donation of $770 was made to OXFAM International in support of food for the needy in the countries suffering severe poverty.

March 2009: Our community sponsored support for Sister Celeste and the South Buffalo Food Table. This soup kitchen helps feed hundreds of needy people every week and they rely totally on donations for their funding. Sister Celeste spoke at mass and the community was very supportive. Our donation of $2000 was delivered by Ginny Everett in early April.

The JNMC Board approved a one-time donation to Catholic Radio in the amount of $500. This donation is to coincide with their annual fund raising drive.

April 2009: The mission for April was TRY Program (Teaching and Restoring Youth).

Sister Janet came and spoke to us about her efforts to help the young women in residence to regain their self respect and return to a life style they can be proud of. Our community responded with a donation of $1575 plus personal health care items for their residence. In addition, people from the community donated gift cards to Target and to Regal Movie Theaters. The donations were delivered by Ginny Hanley and Ginny Everett in early May.

May 2009: Our mission for this month comes from one of our parish members. Dr. Shauna Zorich has initiated at clinic within the confines of The Response to Love Center on the East Side of Buffalo. This clinic will help the needy with more than their immediate health matters. The volunteers will educate people as to the importance of taking their meds and avoiding risky behavior which is detrimental to their health. The clinic will be opened this summer and is fully dependent upon grant money and private donations for their funding. We wish Shauna well and will contribute more of our time and talents to help the Sister’s Care Center Health Clinic. Our collections for the month allowed the JNMC to donate $1,785 to the clinic.
A team of workers from the Confirmation class, some of their parents/sponsors, and members of the JNMC community gave their time to load and unload three large trucks of clothing, furniture, toys and household items from the Harris Hill School garage sale. These items were donated to the Nicaragua Mission Project and St. Vincent de Paul. The collection was immense, and Ann Marie Zon called all her packers to help prepare the items for shipment to Nicaragua.

June 2009: Our mission for June is the Massachusetts Avenue Project, and inner-city farm and service organization that grows and produces marketable products for neighbors in the west side of Buffalo. Our speaker, Diane Picard, explained the many benefits to young workers and their parents as they maintain this urban agriculture program for home-grown produce. A natural outgrowth of MAP is the ever important social change education for the local youth members. The JNMC contributed $1,580 to this organization.

The inner-city gardens and year-round greenhouse have been supported by our community.

July 2009: Our mission for July is Little Portion Friary, a half-way house for homeless men and women in recovery programs who need a place to stay and food to eat while they find their way to healthy living and a permanent place of residence. The guests are allowed to stay for up to thirty days, during which time they are required to demonstrate their daily efforts to help themselves in their recovery program. Funding for Little Portion Friary is totally from voluntary sources, not from the diocese or other larger organizations.
Little Portion Friary’s vision statement is for all homeless individuals to find and live in affordable housing as contributing members of society with hope for their future and respect for themselves and others.

At the end of July, a team of workers from JNMC visited the Little Portion Friary to help clean the facility in preparation for a special mass for the dozens of volunteers to be celebrated by Bishop Kmiec. We presented a check for $1,725 to Cathy Gainey, the principal director of operations.

August 2009: Our mission for August is Harvest House Ministries. Gary and Linda Tatu brought us up to date on their latest projects to help the needy in Buffalo and surrounding areas with the Baby Ministry, the New Hope Education Facility and the Good Neighbors Health Clinic. Our community donated $2,375 to Harvest House in the Sunday collections. In addition, many community members continue to donate cash in "Bottles for Babies" and large volumes of clothing and baby articles for the baby ministry. The Bottles for Babies throughout the year have added more than $500 to the Harvest House collection.