ANOTHER JUBILEE: 50 YEARS OF PRISON RODEO

When the Brothers met in September to discuss calendar and housekeeping details, Bob suggested we each plan two or three community outings to enjoy together.  He planned our first outing for Sunday, October 12:  to Angola Prison, a two and a quarter hour ride north of New Orleans.  The prison is near St. Francisville, set in a 20,000 acre farm that supplies beef, fruits and vegetables to all state prisons.  They also breed and raise Percheron draft horses descended from Belgian imports.  We were going to see the 50^th Angola Prison Rodeo.  This was certainly a new experience for each of us.

After running the ethics and implications of our attendance by a Sister who ministers in the system, the Brothers decided to go.  The prison describes the purpose and history of the event as follows:

“It is assumed that the Angola Prison Rodeo was initially established to provide a source of recreation for the inmate population as well as to provide a source of entertainment for employees of the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the immediate surrounding community. Eventually, this was expanded to include spectators from the general public.

Recognizing the potential for the growth of this unique event, since the 1995 rodeo season the Angola Prison Rodeo Committee has strived to provide a professional rodeo production which would prove beneficial to the internal inmate economy, but would also be beneficial to the Parish of West Feliciana tourism industry. Soliciting help and cooperation from the inmate population provided an important mechanism to protect and improve the quality of the Angola Prison Rodeo—both economically and environmentally.

At the conclusion of a hugely successful 2001 rodeo season, the Angola Prison Rodeo Committee demonstrated its commitment to promote a primary goal of the Louisiana State Penitentiary—rehabilitation. Accepting the prison’s strategy to enhance rehabilitative efforts by providing inmates housed at Louisiana State Penitentiary with an environment that enables positive behavior changes, the Rodeo Committee voted to dedicate proceeds (after expenses) from the 2001 rodeo to the construction of an interfaith chapel at Angola’s Camp-D housing unit.

The objective of the Angola Prison Rodeo remains to provide the prison population at Louisiana State Penitentiary with an opportunity for positive behavior changes.

Scope

The Angola Prison Rodeo Committee is committed to further develop the Angola Prison Rodeo event, taking into consideration the efficient and responsible use of resources. Proceeds shall be used to further develop the arena facilities to provide a safe environment for the inmates and spectators. Any additional rodeo fund proceeds will be dedicated to the future construction of chapels at Louisiana State Penitentiary and other Louisiana state prisons. Additional funds may also be donated to other worthy causes, including the Inmate Welfare Fund at Louisiana State Penitentiary.”

We arrived at Angola, after a long, did I say long, drive and went in search of food. After grabbing something to drink, we waited in hot sun for plates of delicious shrimp pasta with a lovely broccoli and golden raisin salad and a generous piece of garlic bread.  Lemonade and iced tea kept us hydrated.  Our seats were in the top tier of a 7,500 seat stadium, shaded by a vast roof, open to a constant cooling breeze.  We said prayers, saluted the flag, listened to interminable introductions and then were treated to the professionally produced rodeo.  It was fascinating fun, the crowd roared at appropriate times, and a few unusual acts appeared, including Capuchin monkeys riding sheep dogs—herding sheep!  Bob got us back early enough to enjoy a dinner outside at “Dat Dog” a unique hot dog restaurant/bar/young adult hang out.  All together it was another unique Southern experience.

Later that same Sunday evening, John stayed up to watch a beautifully produced program on Dumfries, a Scottish mansion at the heart of a 2,000 acres estate, housing a unique collection of Chippendale furniture designed for the house some 200 years ago.  The program focused on the efforts of the Prince of Wales to train young people in traditional crafts and to make the estate, now owned by a charitable trust, a resource for the area, an engine for jobs, tourism, art and craftsmanship.  

Both experiences spoke about the values of the people involved, if you paid attention.  At the rodeo, folks quickly cleared spaces at table when you got your food and searched for a spot to sit down.  They stood with hands over their hearts during the National Anthem.  They cheered all the inmate cowboys. 

At Dumfries, young adults spoke of the Prince’s personal interest [“He speaks to everyone,”] and of their pleasure in what is now their project.  They were involved and enthusiastic about possibility.

There is much goodness and cause for gratitude—if we are aware.

On Thursday evening, Adam Fuselier had returned with his vocation discernment group of high school  boys; Fr. Kurt Young, Vocation Director for the Archdiocese dropped in.  It was his first visit here and served to inform him that there are two “Christian Brother” orders.  He works with the De La Salle Christian Brothers at Archbishop Rummel High School.

That same evening, Br. Bob attended a reception given by “City Year” which places a large number of young people in volunteer programs in New Orleans.  He made a few contacts and chatted up Mayor Landrieu!

REFLECTION

“Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect?  Let me

                

          keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

                astonished.”

From MESSENGER, a poem by Mary Oliver

BLOG 10.13.14

AUTUMN BEGINS -- 2014

While Bob Koppes, as Director of the Lay Volunteer Program, has begun making contacts with folks on the Catholic Volunteer Network’s website, as well as working at St. Joe’s Parish on Tulane Avenue in the Business Office, he also found time for repairs to our home so we now have lights in all areas, the air-conditioning hums along and it appears our internet set-up is functioning.  Br. Charles continues his work as post man at Lantern Light Ministries where he notes increasing amounts of paperwork being sent to indigent homeless people asking for payment for medical expenses.

Kevin Bernard, Bill Casey, John reading from Kevin's poems!

Meanwhile, John flew to New Rochelle, New York on September 18^th to be part of Kevin Bernard’s Golden Jubilee celebration at 21 Pryer Terrace, the All Saints Community.  Kevin and John’s families both lived in Dumont, NJ when they joined, and 50 years ago John’s sister and brother stayed at the same convent as the Bernards did during visiting days in South Kortright, NY.  The celebration became a bit of a reunion!

Bernards and Caseys with the Jubilarian

 During the next week, John was based in New Rochelle.  He had a chance to visit with folks in the New York area that he has known for years, like the Keane’s from St. Philip Neri Parish in the Bronx.  Marita, a student at Manhattan College, initiated their visits to the Brothers’ Community in New Orleans two years ago.  Sr. Mary Frances Taymans, SND, came up from Washington to visit.  

Bill Casey, John, Br. Kevin Cawley, Mary Casey

Br. Bob McGovern and Patricia Casey at Kevin's Jubilee

During John’s sojourn in the Northeast, Br. Jim Quinn, from Australia by way of the Philippines, came to visit New Orleans; Bob and Charles hosted him at their worksites and toured him around the city.  He also got to spend a day at Cabrini High School through the good offices of Sr. Regina Petersen, MSC.

Marita Keane and Br. John at Rory Dolan's in the Bronx.  Talk about Irish , , ,

John was back to join Bob, Charles and Br. Jim for the 60^th Anniversary celebrations at St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Gentilly and the luncheon afterwards at the University of New Orleans where Sr. Regina and Holy Faith Sisters Maura O’Donovan, Nancy Hale and Pauline O’Reilly kept the conversation lively for our Australian guest.  Jim headed for a renewal program he is attending in the West on Monday, the 29^th. 

John treated himself to oral surgery on the 29^th but thrived on a diet of oatmeal and ice cream for a day or two.  On the evening of the 30^th John attended the executive committee of the Burning Bush group that strives to support initiatives for peace amidst the gun violence plaguing the city.

On the October 2^nd, we hosted a meeting of IGNITE.  It describes itself as follows:

Ignite is a mentor-based formation program for young men who want help discerning and pursuing their Vocation.

Convinced that good formation fosters good discernment, this program is focused on human and spiritual formation, fraternity, and intentional mentoring.

“Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear…” (Gaudium et Spes 22). Following the themes in this statement by the Second Vatican Council, the specific areas of formation we concentrate on are prayer, identity, and virtue (principally charity & chastity).

Adam Fuselier is the mentor for the group; he works with Dumb Ox Ministries, a lay organization that is dedicated to youth and young adult formation.  We hope to partner with them as we seek lay volunteers who may be interested sharing community life with us for a time.  We figure the best way is to have folks come here, meet us and see what the place looks like.  It was good, also, to see Adam working with the young men who came with him for the evening.  We hope they continue to use this place for meetings, and to become more familiar with us.

The weekend of October 4^th and 5^th was cool and dry; lots of pruning and fresh air.  On Saturday evening “Arts on Magazine” saw crowds on the street and lots of cars in the neighborhood—good for business—hooray.  And on Sunday, the Saints won—in overtime—but a win is a win.

Sadly, on October 3^rd we learned of the sudden death of Travis Wain’s father, John H. Wain, at the age of 67 in Schenectady, NY.  Travis was a volunteer here for 18 months and has continued to live in New Orleans where he works as a case manager for newly housed formerly homeless.

REFLECTION 

“How good it would be if we could learn that God is easy to live with. . . God is the sum of all patience and the essence of kindly good will.  We please Him most, not by frantically trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all our imperfections, and believing that he understands everything and loves us still.”  THE ROOT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, A. W. Tozer

BLOG 10.06.14

DISCERNMENT

We had our initial formal community meeting to discuss our goals and objectives for the coming year, and to assign responsibilities among the three of us.  Bob Koppes has agreed to be the Community Contact Person as we continue as a community of Shared Responsibility.  Charles Avendano has been good enough to take this on for the last several years, but feels it is time for a change.  We have added on to our previous stated commitments our plan to reassess our volunteer program and how the process for recruitment and retention can be modified to better suit participants needs.

John, Charles and Bob at Lantern Light-- as happy as if they were normal.

As we discern the future of the volunteer program here in New Orleans, we have received wonderful input from Caitlyn DeCastro and Catherine Drennan in response to an invitation to critique a draft overview statement. We are also speaking with young adults who have had an experience of adult faith formation, especially as it concerns community life.  This is an effort to avoid talking to ourselves or limit our discernment to our generation or religious with similar background and training.  We wish to open ourselves beyond our boundaries, pre-conceived notions, and to invite new insights and possibilities.  One of the ways is to invite young adults in to dinner to meet us, to see the facilities we share with volunteers, and to listen to their experiences and expectations.

Kristin, Br. Charles, Courtney and Katie on the balcony, St. Henry's Church behind them.

Kristen Niedbala was joined by two friends, Courtney Robert and Katie Sanders, and they came to dinner on Wednesday, the 10^th.  Kristen has met with Br. John a number of times to discuss our experience of volunteer community and our literature and processes.  Katie was a full time missionary with FOCUS [Faith on Campus US] and she and Courtney now work full time with Dumb Ox Ministries.  It is “a Catholic non-profit organization which illuminates the truth and beauty of God’s love. Through authentic relationships, we form teens, young adults, and families into people open to receive and respond to God’s unique plan for their lives.”  [Quoting their website.]

After dinner and Evening Prayer on the 10^th  Br. Bob gave our visitors a tour of the house and we sat and talked a bit about our program and answered their questions.  We hope in the near future to welcome some of the young men in leadership at Dumb Ox Ministry to a meal, shared prayer and conversation.

Recent days have been very hot and humid; downpours in the late afternoon are common.  The weather broke on Saturday, it was fairly dry and only in the mid-80’s—so the vines did not have a chance and we now have a grotto in the wall of Confederate jasmine with an antique cast concrete angel holy water stoup—we think that is what it was.  Anyway, it closes the vista looking toward Constance Street from the side garden.

Caitlyn, Kyle and Vincent planted the Confederate jasmine six years ago.

On Sunday, the 15^th Br. Bob was at St. Gabriel’s to check out with a sister involved in prison ministry what she thought about the Angola Prison Rodeo.  She thought it a good idea to support it, so that will be a ‘community outing.’  Br. Charles was at St. Joseph’s on Tulane  [which hosts Lantern Light Ministries] for a Mass celebrating many branches of the Vincentian religious communities and services that they support.  Br. John was at the Marianite Sisters of the Holy Cross [MSC] in the Marigny for a Mass and the Transfer of Vows of Sr. Kathleen Mary Nealon from the Congregation of the Redeemer to the Marianites.  John worked with Sr. Kathleen on a committee; she is from Rhode Island, and her Dad went to Bishop Hendricken, before our Brothers went there.  Sr. Kathleen heads to a Marianite mission in Haiti next week.

Being present as Brother to the many groups with which we serve stretches us; but can be tiring!!!!  However, being invisible or staying home hardly seem strategies for inviting vocations.  We figure it is worth the effort to collaborate, support, listen, and learn from others—and share a good meal and hospitality!  Who wants to join a group whose motto is: “Join us and be tired.”

REFLECTION

“For Henri Nouwen, discernment is hearing a deeper sound beneath the noise of ordinary life and recognizing the interconnectedness of all things to gain a vision of “how things hold together” (theorik physike) in our lives and in the world. “Discernment is a life of listening to a deeper sound and marching to a different beat, a life in which we become ‘all ears’.”  [ Michael J. Christiansen - See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/201308/henri-nouwen-prayer-and-discernment]

BLOG 09.15.14

SEPTEMBER BEGINS: MIXED BLESSINGS

At 'Moon' Landrieu's [on the left].  He was Mayor and Secretary of HEW in Carter administration.

Labor Day 2014 was hot, humid and wet.  Amidst the downpours, John went to Theo’s for pizza with Sr. Kathleen Colmer, OSU and Sr. Regina Marie Fronmuller, OSU to reflect on a very successful Ursuline UK visit to the US.  Sr. Kathleen, the Province Leader for the Ursulines in the United Kingdom, has seen the program continue to expand and be replicated in the USA.

Br Charles made a steak and potatoes dinner for our Labor Day dinner—a good thing!  Bob is still struggling with a persistent, aching cough although he has seen his doctor again and notes slow improvement.  He is in to work daily, but the cough makes attending meetings impossible right now. 

On Wednesday, Charles and John went to a convocation of 200 religious women and men as part of the process for gathering input from the people of the Archdiocese for the Archdiocesan Synod.  Over 1600 people have participated in the sessions, meeting at round tables and discussing what is positive, needs attention and might be a new challenge for the Church of New Orleans.  Archbishop Gregory Aymond attends, makes brief opening remarks and then listens, notepad in hand!  The process will continue with a series of meetings of different committees through March to discuss what has been heard and to make recommendations.  John is on the Committee on Vocations, one of seven that will be meeting.

As part of this local volunteer community’s effort to attract young adults, John has been meeting with a person involved in young adult formation in the area, with experience in the UK and other places in the United States.  She is helping us look at our written materials, [input from Caitlyn De Castro and Catherine Drennan has been a blessing], and is helping us make connections here in our area.  She and John met for several hours on Friday.  Bob and Charles will meet Kristin Niedbala and some of her colleagues on Wednesday, September 10^th when they come for dinner and a conversation with us.

On Saturday, John worked on pruning anything that did not move; rose bushes, ground cover, vines and a few errant tree branches.  It reminded him that our yard hosted a wonderful parish celebration in July on the Feast of St. Henry.  Instead of a hot parking lot, cool grass was underfoot, a stage was put on the parking pad where the community cars normally sit, and the first floor of the Blessed Pauline Center was a cooling station in the summer heat.  Pictures tell the story!

On Sunday, September 7, the New Orleans Saints lost, in overtime, 34-31 to the Atlantic Falcons.  It seems a poor defence can ruin a good offense.  Just saying...

ST. HENRY'S PARISH REUNION  IN JULY

Looking from Milan Street back toward the house.

Anthony and Colleen LaRocca

 

Food and fotos--it's a reunion!

 

Msgr. Nalty, on the right!

Robert Morton, Alden Hagardorn and Msgr. Nalty together on our stage.

REFLECTION

Even as we revise our materials for the Volunteer Program, and reflect on what has worked, and what we have failed to do, we know that the lived experience of community is what we aim to share with the volunteers; it is central to our life.

Our first group: Vincent, Br. Joe, Br. Tom, Caitlyn and Br. John

Following is an excerpt from a homily given by Most. Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin at the European Province Chapter in Dublin, Ireland on August 23, 2013.

 

“You can only be a Christian Brother of today if you follow where you came from, if you follow in the footsteps of Edmund Rice. You must, through the way you live and witness, attract young men and women to the person of Jesus Christ through witnessing what Jesus means to you in your own life.   There is a sense in which the history of the Christian Brothers and of the charism of Edmund Rice will never really be written by professional historians, but by how you live his charism day by day in the different worlds and cultures you may find yourself.

There is no catechetical programme that can replace the authentic witness of someone who really believes in Jesus and shows that faith in Jesus changes the way we live, and brings meaning and hope to our lives, mixed up and sinful though they may be.”

BLOG 09.08.14