Vol. 5, No. 2, April, 2000

Community News & Upcoming Events

At Home

Parish Missions

During the months of September and October, 1999, Sr. Brigid and Sr. Jan returned to the Wichita, Kansas area to give the Parish Mission, "Healing Life's Hurts" at the following parishes:

September 27, 28	Holy Savior, Wichita, KS
September 29, 30	St. Michael Archangel, Mulvane, KS
October 4, 5	St. Teresa's, Hutchinson, KS
October 6, 7	St. Joseph's, McPherson, KS
October 12, 13	St. Mary's, Newton, KS
October 14, 15	Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Wichita, KS
October 18, 19	Our Lady of Guadalupe, S. Hutchinson, KS
October 20, 21	St. Joseph's, Wichita, KS

Testimonies to the Lord's healing love during the Missions:

• The mission was very helpful in adjusting my religious perspective and thus my perspective on life. NK, 16

• The mission has brought me closer to God in ways that I never knew possible. It also showed me how to pray for what I need and the needs of others. I also have learned that if I want to get something done in my life (both spiritually and physically) I need to pray to him all of the time and constantly. I can see a little bit better and my heart has become lighter. 15

• It saved my eternal life by being part of this mission. LM, 46

• My back was totally healed the first night. On the next morning, for the first time in 20 years I arose without back pain. PC, 61

• This mission has indeed helped me to forgive someone that has hurt me and my family for years. I have been bitter and now understand that we can't feel better if we can't forgive. I love God and will amend my life. TL, 76

Parish Missions

During the month of March, 2000, Sr. Brigid and Sr. Jan traveled further east into Kansas to the Topeka area to give the Parish Mission, "Healing Life's Hurts", at the following parishes:

March 13, 14	Sacred Heart, Topeka, KS
March 15, 16	Holy Name, Topeka, KS
March 20, 21	St. Andrew's, Abilene, KS
March 22, 23	St. Michael's, Chapman, KS
March 27, 28	St. Francis Xavier, Junction City, KS
March 30, 31	Our Lady of Guadalupe, Topeka, KS

Testimonies to the Lord's healing love during the Missions:

• This mission restored a great deal of peace to my heart. MB, 50<

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• During the mission I felt a lot of love for my God. Today for the first time in such a long time I told my wife I loved her. RG, 72

• I feel more at peace with myself, my faith was strengthened, and I also participated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation after 12 years. SG, 36

• This parish mission has strengthened my faith and confirmed that the church is right for me. The Catholic Church is so rich and fulfilling. EB, 46

• I have had a rash on my hands since last June. During the two days of the mission the rash is much improved. RO, 41

• I had been looking for a job since July. After praying to find a job last night, I received a job offer and accepted it this morning. LA, 59

Upcoming Events

A "Christian Maturity Retreat Weekend" will be offered the weekend of May 5 to 7, 2000 at the Knights of Columbus Building, 2911 W. 104th Ave., Westminister, Colorado. All who have attended the "Life in the Spirit Retreat Weekend" are welcome.

Another "Christian Maturity Retreat Weekend" will also be offered the weekend of November 3 to 4, 2000 at the Knights of Columbus Building, 2911 W. 104th Ave., Westminster, Colorado. All who have attended the "Life in the Spirit Retreat Weekend" are welcome.

A "Life in the Spirit Retreat Weekend" will be offered for "Young Adults" the weekend of January 26 to 29, 2001 at the Knights of Columbus Building, 2911 W. 104th Ave., Westminster, Colorado.

Abroad

Poland

Sr. Angeline and Sr. Jan left for Poland on July 29, 1999 and arrived in Warsaw on July 30. They were met by Peter Slojkowski and his friend Kryzysztof and were taken to the Ursuline Convent for their stay in Warsaw. The Sisters were fortunate this time to have some time of rest in Warsaw before beginning their journey to Gdynia. Sr. Angeline was not feeling well and so having the time for some rest was timely. They left for Gdynia on August 5 with Peter by train.

Association of the New Covenant.

On August 6 and 7, time was again given over to reading through the corrected Statutes of the Community of the New Covenant followed by discussion.

Annual Follow-Up Leadership Formation Training.

Fifty coordinators and pastoral leaders of the ACTS II Process attended the Annual Follow-Up Leadership Formation Training which took place from August 8 to 12. Two fun nights took place. St. John the Baptist Parish from Gdynia was responsible for the first night and the Parishes of St. Alexander and Our Lady of Mercy from Suwalki planned the second night. The Polish people are very uniquely gifted in planning evenings of fun. Everyone had a hilarious time participating in games, refreshments, dancing, and a "male leg beauty contest" -- can you imagine what this was like? It was something to behold.

ACTS II Board of Directors Meeting.

The ACTS II Board of Directors Meeting began on August 15 and ended on August 17. The reports of the Directors were given out to all present and reviewed. Evaluations were given, suggestions for improvements made, and strategies of how to bring the Association and the ACTS II Process into parishes were discussed.

At the end of the ACTS II Board of Directors Meeting, a reception ceremony led by Fr. Wojciech, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, took place and twenty-four new members were received into the Association, fifteen from Suwalki and nine from Gdynia.

Conclusion.

On August 18, Sr. Angeline and Sr. Jan had a late breakfast and were to get ready to leave for Warsaw. About eight people came bearing gifts: two heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, a special Polish cake, and a bag of fruit for their return trip to Warsaw. Ela and Dorota, the translators, gave them a Polish/English dictionary.

Joanna Polmanska came with another surprise and informed them that she had done her dissertation on the ACTS II Process. She had the manuscript bound in a burgandy hard cover which gave a very nice appearance. Fr. Wojciech had encouraged her in this project and since she had no other copy but her own, Fr. Wojciech gave us his copy of the dissertation which, of course, is in Polish. Her professors at Lublin University were very interested in the Process and said she should have it published. However, it would need to be brought up to date and there are a number of corrections that need to be made before this could happen. This certainly was a great surprise for the Sisters.

The trip back to Warsaw was very quiet and relaxing until the last ten minutes when the train did not continue to the Warsaw central station. It started up from the last stop and went in the opposite direction. Peter and the Sisters had gotten on the wrong train in Gdynia. So, instead of arriving in Warsaw at the scheduled time of 8:40 p.m., they arrived around 11:00 p.m.

Additional meetings were held with Jadwiga concerning corrections to the Statutes and the Community Handbook on August 19 to 21. The Sisters finally left Warsaw on August 23 for Denver.

Malta

Sr. Angeline and Sr. Brigid left for Malta on February 11, 2000 and arrived there on February 12. They were met by Albert Galea and taken to the Sisters of St. Joseph Convent just outside of Attard where they lived during their stay in Malta. The purpose of this trip was to learn about the well-being of the ACTS II Process and to begin the Association of the New Covenant in Malta. For the past several years, the On-the-Way Companions had begun looking towards the establishment of the Association.

Meetings.

The various meetings that took place were with Albert Galea, Director of the ACTS II Process at Attard; the Coordinators at Attard; the Rector of the Seminary; Pastoral Leaders, their Assistants, and the Area Leaders at Attard; Coordinators and the Trained Evangelizers at Paola, the Parish Council at Attard; Trained Evangelizers at Attard; Coordinators, Pastoral Leaders, and those in the Small Groups at Paola; the Seminarians; the General Assembly of the Parish Small Group System at Attard; and additional meetings at Paola.

The highlight of these meetings was the meeting of the Sisters and Albert Galea with Archbishop Mercieca of Malta to present him with the Statutes of the Association of the Community of the New Covenant. Fr. Anton Portelli was present at this meeting as well.

Association of the New Covenant.

On February 20, a reception ceremony took place in which twenty-four members were received into the Association of the Community of the New Covenant and of these twenty-four members, there are eleven couples.

Conclusion.

On February 24, the Sisters left Malta for Denver.