May
2009
5/26/09
A Festival of Fun!
On Thursday, May 21st, our parish, St.
Scholastica Church in Detroit, opened the gates to our Annual Spring
Festival. Over the five days of the event, parishioners as well
as others from the community came to enjoy the festivities. There
were activities for people of all ages to enjoy. Young children
and teenagers had the thrill of going on the Ferris Wheel, “Zipper”,
swinging Pirate’s Ship, “Tilt-A-World” and many other rides.
Adults were entertained by music and a car show (with over 50 vehicles
displayed). Of course, everyone delighted in the great food that
was offered! This year’s successful event was blessed with good
weather and the cheerful spirits of people coming together to have fun!
5/19/09
On Tuesday, May 19th a group of students from St. Scholastica Grade School ranging 5th to 8th grade came to our retreat house in Oxford for a day of prayer and reflection. The one-day retreat was facilitated by Br. Gregory-David Jones, Br. Antony Maldonado and Br. Jacob Orcutt with the help of teachers Mrs. Debby Bradford and Mrs. Lenora Gardella. The meditations, the activities of the day and the Mass (presided by Fr. Michael Green) were directed at helping the students prepare for the challenges and opportunities their Catholic faith brings to their lives. For all the students, this was the first time they had been at our property in Oxford. All of them were fascinated with the natural beauty of the surrounding the property and the climate of prayer that the chapel and the retreat house offers.
Transitional Time for Subiaco
Subiaco Retreat House (our facility that
ministers to youth of the Archdiocese of Detroit) will undergo its
usual annual transition. As the school semester comes to a close,
our youth retreat “season” will end within the next few weeks.
From the fall to the early summer, the retreat house is constantly
occupied by thousands of young people preparing for the sacrament of
Confirmation, to youth groups seeking spiritual renewal. In place
of these during the summer months, there will be a number of apostolate
focused youth programs from different parishes and youth groups aimed
at giving teenagers an experience of ministering to those who are less
fortunate. In the evening to the early morning the teenagers will
be “headquartered” at Subiaco where they will pray, rest, recreate and
have their meals. In the morning they will head out to various
sites throughout the area to minister to the less fortunate until the
evening.
Subiaco has a history of being a place in
which young people grow in their relationship with the Lord and deepen
their understanding of their faith in Him. For more information
about the retreat house please visit its website:
www.subiacoretreathouse.com.
Spring Storm Knocks Out Power
The loss of power affected both the monks and the ninety young people and their leaders who were scheduled to make retreats at our Subiaco Retreat House that weekend. The Sunday community Mass went on, though without the usual organ accompaniment. But the youth retreats had to be cut short, principally due to the lack of water supply caused when power was cut to the water pump.
Despite the inconvenience, the community is thankful that electricity was restored in a relatively short period of time and that no one at the monastery or in the area was injured. However, several community members did express interest in considering the purchase of a generator in order to keep things running smoothly in the future!