Fish Fries and Porch Crawls

Matt Beben and Travis Wain captured by the Cecil Beaton of NOLA, Br. Bob

We begin at the end of last week. Matt Beben [in scrubs] and Travis Wain [in hard hat] were in costume, volunteering at the "Miid-City Porch Crawl" a fund-raiser for the Mid-City Neighborhood Association on Friday, October 19th.  They entered into the spirit "Trick or Treatin' Mid-City Style"--Matt was a porch host, while Travis led a tour in a neighborhood that he had never encountered before.  He was ranked as one of the best guides--only  in New Orleans.  

That same day, due to great newspaper coverage, Lantern Light  Ministries had a great fish fry--sold out early!  We enjoyed the dinners we purchased.


During the week, Travis was in Braithwaite, Matt led a crew from California in New Orleans, and John Petrullo oversaw a fund-raiser for Cafe Reconcile at Zephyr Field, where the Saints practice and the local minor league baseball team plays.  

John Petrullo headed for New York on Saturday; he will represent our community at a volunteer symposium at Iona College on Tuesday, the 24th.  Matt and Travis spent most of Saturday at an Americorps service program in Center City.  Br. John tackled painting the windows in the "Map Room" that is slowly taking shape.

On Sunday, Grace, an Americorps volunteer like Matt and Travis, was at our house working on a fireplace cover for a non-functional fireplace in the "Map Room."  She stayed for 'Crawfish Monica" that Matt prepared.  

At a recent community meeting we reorganized cooking duties with Matt, Travis and John taking days along with Brs. Charles, Bob and John.  Travis has also taken on food shopping responsibilities. 

We are gearing up for visitors.  Catherine Drennan and her friend Jenn are expected Oct. 25th and Br. Steven Casey on October 30th.  

Br. Charles celebrates his 87th with a mid-day gathering on October 28th that lasts until the Saints game starts. 

A reflection in changing times:

God knows.  His will
is best.  The stretch of our years
which wind ahead, so dim
to our imperfect vision,
are clear to God.  Our fears
are premature:  in Him
all time hath full provision.

M. Louise Haskins,[1875-1957]

October 22, 2012

SPOTLIGHT ON LANTERN LIGHT

In an article titled HOPE FOR THE HOMELESS, Sheila Stroup highlights the work of the Presentation Sisters at Lantern Light Ministries where Br. Charles works every morning sorting and handing out mail to the many homeless who have no other home address.  Lantern Light is one of two programs which provide many different services; the article is a worthwhile read and very true to our experience these last five years.  There is a great picture of Sr. Vera Butler, PBVM with a local chef, Matt Murphy, who met Sr. Vera at his restaurant, The Irish House.  Matt Murphy has promised to help with an upcoming fundraiser; did we mention Sr. Vera and Matt are both Irish-born. 

http://www.nola.com/dining/index.ssf/2012/10/matt_murphy_and_other_chopped.html#incart_flyout_living

Br. Bob has completed setting up a workshop on the first floor, and is now repairing an outside door that was wrenched off its hinges during hurricane Isaac.  Renovations to the “Map Room” are on hold.

On Columbus Day, Travis Wain came back from a family wedding in the Albany, NY area; John Petrullo returned from a visit to his folks in Staten Island.  While John had alerted his father, he surprised his mother.  Tears [of joy we presume] ensued.  Matt Beben was in charge of the 3^rd floor for the weekend.

John was in Henderson, Nevada for the week participating in a School Leaders Retreat for 18 school presidents and principals.  The retreat was titled: “At the Service of the Happenings of Grace,” based on a talk given by Fr. Timothy Radcliffe in 2004 in London Colney, England to province leadership teams from the US, UK, Eire, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

In John’s work with secondary schools aiming to better serve students, [Discovery Walks], the primary attention is on how students are educated.  Students are now much less likely to be treated as sponges, or lectured in a one-size fits all mode.  Individual and small group approaches are made easier by technology, and have always been the goal of good teachers.  Students retain more when they do the work moderated by an alert and well educated teacher serving as mentor to them.  Reynolds Price in ARDENT SPIRITS, [Scribner, 2009] a wonderful reflection on his years at Oxford and first years at Duke University, wrote about one of his teachers: “But he had the born teacher’s gift for identifying ability and authentic passion in a student and for zeroing in on those incipient qualities to produce ultimate results.” p. 157

BLOG 10.14.12

AUTUMN ARRIVES IN NOLA

Friday evening, at 'Ignatius':  John, Tavis and Matt at one end of the table!

 We have had 65 degree temperatures at night in New Orleans—we call that “chilly.”  The days recently have been dry and sunny and the tourists are out and about!

On September 18^th, Sr. Monica Gundler, SC came to facilitate our community meeting; she will accompany us on four occasions during the year, though we meet every other week.

On September 20, Br. John attended the 50^th anniversary celebrations at Tampa Catholic High School and carried greetings from the Province Leadership Team to the students and faculty.  A number of administrators and faculty from John’s time there [1984-87] attended the Mass and reception.  Tampa Catholic has adopted Blessed Edmund Rice as their official school patron and is revitalizing the service program as part of their anniversary celebrations.

Br. Kevin Bernard spent the week of September 23^rd with us; he and John went to the same elementary school and joined the Brothers together in 1964.  Kevin is taking up new responsibilities in Cochabamba, Bolivia working with recovering addicts as well as responsibilities on the Latin American Regions’ Leadership Team.

Friday evening at 'Ignatius':  Charles, Bob, Br. Kevin Bernard and John at the other end of the table

On October 1, we had another community meeting to catch up and plan our calendars. 

Matt Beben, working with United Saints, has done a lot of clearing of empty lots which harbor unwelcome rodent populations and sometimes criminal behaviors.  Travis Wain, with Helping Hands, has been gutting homes and doing some rehabilitation work.  Travis and Matt have volunteered on several Saturdays to work in LaPlace and Braithwaite cleaning up after Hurricane Isaac.  John Petrullo is working on development projects for Café Reconcile which is undergoing extensive renovations which may be finished by December.

Bob continues at St. Joe’s on Tulane in the parish office, and also helping wind down Operation Helping Hands.  He and the three volunteers also have made great progress in the rehabilitation of the first floor of the Blessed Pauline Center.  Charles spends the mornings each week at Lantern Light. John continues to work with Catholic high schools through the Discovery Walk program.

The week of October 1 brought the terribly sad news of the death of Br. Robert Bellarmine Durning who Br. John knew well, as did John Petrullo and Travis Wain when they studied at Iona College.  Due to previous travel plans, Travis and John Petrullo both got to the wake for Br. Durning.  A day later came word of the death of Br. Paul Crowley after a long illness.  He was in Br. John’s ‘group’, having joined the same year.

On Saturday, October 6, Anthony and Colleen LaRocca dropped off three gently used bikes donated by folks down here for the volunteers use.  Generous donors also gave $150 for refurbishment of the bicycles.

On Sunday, October 7, Br. John left for Henderson, Nevada to participate in the School Leaders Retreat for Edmund Rice Christian Brothers schools in North America.