Archdiocesan News Briefs

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Bound for Neverland

Members of the Assumption Parish Youth Group rehearsed for their upcoming performance of "Peter Pan, " to be held at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 18-19, and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at Assumption School, 113 W. Third St. in O'Fallon. Tickets are $10 for adults and teens, $5 children 12 and under, family of 5 or more $30. For tickets call Chris Howell, 636-978-1941, or go online to assumptionbvm.org. All proceeds benefit the Assumption Youth Ministries and their 2012 mission trip.

Centennial year

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis is kicking off its 100th anniversary with a Centennial Celebration gala on Saturday evening, Nov. 19, in the Starlight Room of the Chase Park Plaza, Kingshighway and Lindell boulevards in the Central West End. The black-tie event will begin with a general reception at 6 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by a presentation and oral auction, dinner and piano bar. An archbishop's sponsor reception will be held at 5:15 p.m. The gala will include the premier of the centennial video, which chronicles the many ways that Catholic Charities has been a vital part of the Archdiocese of St. Louis since 1911. Tickets to the gala are $200 each, and sponsorships begin at $500. For more information, contact John Cleary at (314) 367-5500, ext. 1133, or email jcleary@ccstl.org. For more information on Catholic Charities, go to their newly redesigned website, ccstl.org.

Christmas is coming

Don't look now, but Christmas is only two months away. It's time for Catholic agencies, parishes and other organizations that have Christmas cards for sale to contact the Review for possible inclusion in an upcoming article. Please email information and a high-resolution jpg attachment of the card to bwatkins@archstl.org; or mail the information and a copy of the card to Barb Watkins, St. Louis Review, 20 Archbishop May Drive, St. Louis, MO 63119. Cards and information are due by Monday, Nov. 14.

Food shortage

Donations of food have dropped dramatically at a time when a record number of struggling families are seeking help at Circle Of Concern, a Valley Park-based charity. Needed are boxed dinners, canned corn, meat items and pasta with meat, rice and tuna as well as breakfast cereal, salad dressing and condiments, and canned fruit. Circle Of Concern also shares personal hygiene products with families. Demand has been tracking about 15 percent ahead of 2010's rate, depleting Circle's food reserves. This year Circle will feed more almost twice as many people as the charity helped in 2007. Other pantries report similar food shortages, Circle of Concern's Glenn Koenen stated. For more information, see circleofconcern.org.

Fill those bags

Be on the lookout this weekend when local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, many from Catholic parishes, leave empty plastic bags on your front door knob. It's time once again for Scouting for Food, the 27th annual drive to help fill more than 500 area food pantries. Scouts will leave the bags Saturday, Nov. 12, and pick them up -- hopefully filled with nutritious, nonperishable food items -- on Saturday, Nov. 19. For more information, go to stlbsa.org.

New board members

Two new members have been elected to the board of the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation. They are Joseph Conran, co-chairman of Husch Blackwell LLP law firm and former board president of Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, and Craig Fowler, managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Capital Access Funds. Today and Tomorrow provides needs-based tuition assistance scholarships to low-income children throughout the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Eagle Scouts

Two Scouts at St. Angela Merici Parish in Florissant recently completed their Eagle Scout projects. Austin Smith, a junior at St. Louis University High School, organized a 35-foot by 14-foot patio overlooking the athletic fields at St. Angela. The patio is surrounded by two retaining walls, and serves as an area to sit and enjoy outdoor events at the parish. Mike Kremer, a senior at DeSmet Jesuit High School, created a three-tiered stadium seating area on the athletic fields. The 35-foot long area has three-foot walls and has corrected a once-existing erosion problem on the grounds. Each project generated almost 1,000 hours of service. The two projects also received the support of parishioners.

Good Scouts

The members of the fifth-grade Girl Scout Junior Troop 2984 of St. Cletus School in St. Charles have earned the Bronze Award, the highest award a Junior Troop can achieve, by completing a service project for Room at the Inn. The Scouts spent 280 hours planning, cooking for and entertaining families served by Room at the Inn, a 24-hour, temporary, emergency shelter for homeless women and children sponsored by the Sisters of Divine Providence. St. Cletus is part of a network of interfaith congregations that host Room at the Inn guests monthly. To earn the Bronze Award, girls must choose a project that shows they understand and live by the Girl Scout Promise and Law. The Bronze Awardees include Jane Arbuthnot, Carly Bloomfield, Julia Chamberlain, Abbie Chruma, Jacquelyn Danter, Jill Joeckel, Sara Kleeschulte, Anna Keinrath, Brenna Larkin, Rachel Payne, Sarah Pokorny, Shayla Ralls, Emily Schroeder, Gillian Sheils, Amanda Tippett, and Brooke Wilson. Troop Leaders are Colleen Chruma, Lorie Tippett and Jennifer Wilson.

Weekend retreat

Our Sorrowful Mother's Ministry in Vandalia, Ill., is sponsoring a retreat this weekend, Nov. 11-13, focused on "The Great Mystic of the 20th Century, Maria Esperanza." The retreat will be at Mother of Dolors Parish Center, 705 W. St. Clair St. in Vandalia, will include members of Maria Esperanza's family and Father Timothy Byerly of the Diocese of Camden, N.J., vice-postulator for the cause of beatification and canonization of Maria Esperanza. It will feature the Betania Choir of Caracas, Venezuela, which was founded by Maria Esperanza. For information go online to osmm.org or call (618) 292-8039.

Art exhibit

An exhibit of the artwork of Father Gary M. Meier, pastor of Sts. Teresa and Bridget Parish in north St. Louis, will be on display through Sunday, Nov. 13, at the 10th St. Gallery, 419 N. 10th St. on the northside (one block south of Washington). The closing reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 13. Artwork of Solomon Thurman will also be featured. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Sts. Teresa and Bridget Parish and North Grand Neighborhood Services. To view some of Father Meier's work, go online to gmmgallery.com.

Youth choir

Applications are being accepted through March 19, for the National Catholic Youth Choir's 13th season camp June 12-27 at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn. The choir is sponsored by St. John's University School of Theology Seminary. Each year up to 45 high school students nationwide are selected to participate in the choir based on written applications, formal recommendations, and recorded auditions. For information and application and audition forms, go online to www.CatholicYouthChoir.org.

Essay contest

St. Patrick Center, the Catholic Charities agency that works to end homelessness, is sponsoring its ninth annual eighth-grade essay contest. This year's theme is: How would you make a positive change in the lives of the homeless? Essays should be 300 words or less, typed or computer generated and must be accompanied by the student entry form available online at stpatrickcenter.org. Entries are due Wednesday, Nov. 23. First prize is $150; second prize is $100; third prize is $75. Send entries to St. Patrick Center, Attn: Christian Niswonger, 800 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63101. For information go online or call Niswonger at (314) 802-5489.

Diversity conference

Fourteen Catholic high schools took part in the 10th annual diversity conference hosted by the Ursuline Academy Leadership for Diversity Team on Nov. 2. Sessions included a panel of four high school students shared the basic beliefs of their faiths (Catholic, Pentecostal, Muslim and Jewish) and sharing personal experiences about working in Cambodia and Vietnam with victims of sex trafficking. Participating schools included Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, Chaminade College Preparatory School, Christian Brothers College High School, DeSmet Jesuit High School, Incarnate Word Academy, John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Nerinx Hall High School, Rosati-Kain High School, St. Joseph's Academy, St. Louis University High School, St. Mary's High School, Ursuline Academy, Villa Duchesne and Visitation Academy.

Take your place

"A Place at the Table," a public meeting of Metropolitan Congregations United, will be held from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, at St. Pius V Parish, 3310 S. Grand Blvd. in south St. Louis. Topics to be discussed include proposed legislation in both the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County on mandatory foreclosure mediation, payday lending reform and access to health care.

Mental health program

A Children's Mental Health Workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at Christ Light of the Nations School, 1650 Redman Road in north St. Louis County. The program is for parents, teachers, grandparents, guardians, caregivers and anyone who works with children. Sponsored by the health and wellness committee of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in north county, the program will include a speaker from SSM Behavioral Health and a vendor fair with representatives from many local social service and health care agencies. A blood drive will be conducted at adjacent Our Lady of the Rosary Parish. For more information on the mental health program, call Buffy Modde, Holy Name of Jesus parish nurse, at (314) 868-2310, ext. 11. Child care will be available by reservation.