ARIZONA

When Affiliates Al and Lorraine Pirc moved from Pueblo, Colorado, to Arizona, they went with a mandate from the Southern Colorado Affiliates to form an Affiliate group in Sun City and spread the Marianist Spirit! After Al's sudden death, Lorraine kept in touch with Pueblo friends and would attend Affiliate functions when she was visiting. When Fr. Al McMenamy visited Lorraine and her second husband, Jim Pojman, in January of 1995, Fr. "Mac" asked if she might invite some prospective members. Almost two dozen friends attended a "Come and See" gathering and that was the beginning of the Sun City Affiliates! Sixteen are still active and embrace Marianist spirituality. A contingency of Pueblo Affiliates visited the Sun City group shortly after they were formed to welcome them into the Family. Fr. McMenamy usually visits the group for mini-Retreats in Advent and Lent.

Colorado
The Marianist Associate Affiliates, Southern Colorado Chapter was formed in 1967 (41 years ago!!) when the Marianists staffed Roncalli High School for boys in Pueblo.  The Marianist Religious departed in 1971, but the Marianist Spirit still lives!  Various Brothers visited us for at least twice a year over the intervening years, until Fr. Al McMenamy was named our Moderator.  

Monthly meetings are held during the school year with a family picnic in the summer.  Fr. "Mac" visits us about 4 times a year.  On those weekends, we celebrate Eucharist on Friday evenings, followed by a social.  Saturdays and Sundays are busy from one o'clock in the afternoon with study, discussion and prayer; Mass at five o'clock, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.  When Fr. Mac is not with us, we meet in members' homes once a month for study, discussion and prayer.  We currently have approximately 30 active members.

We strive to work in whatever areas we are called to serve in the spirit of Mary's words at Cana, "Do whatever He tells you."   We encourage members to be active in parish work, community work, and volunteer work, with a Marianist spirit.  We donate regularly to the DECAMP project in Mexico and to the Day Care in East St. Louis where Bro. Norbert Karpfinger has been active. 

The primary purpose of our organization is to form members in the spirit of the Family of Mary according to the writings of Chaminade in order to intensify their Christian way of life.  An intrinsic element is the work of recruiting new members to share the Marianist spirit. Before new members are officially received, they are prepared during a formation period, usually for one to two years.            

Our biggest challenge is attracting younger members.  A new push is underway with Roncalli graduates who are encouraged to form their own group following their particular interests.  Bro. Jack Ventura and Fr. Al McMenamy are helping with this endeavor.

NEBRASKA

The first group of Omaha Lay Marianist Affiliates made their Consecration May 1, 1974. The Marianist priests and brothers were residing at Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School and the protocol was to invite the parents of a junior or senior student to join the lay group. The formation program followed for about six months before actual entry as a Marianist Affiliate.

Today, there are around 20 active members.  We meet monthly, with gatherings consisting of either a Holy Hour or a prayer service in the Chapel followed by a potluck dinner. Occasionally we go to Mass together and out to breakfast. When Father Al McMenamy comes to visit, (about 3-4 times a year) we spend much of a week-end together in prayer, discussion and sharing. Each summer we gather for a picnic with our extended families.

The Omaha Affiliates have a study group which meets weekly to pray and discuss selected topics. These range from books written by Marianists to the Renew books on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Several times a year the Affiliates prepare and serve meals at the Stephen Center, a shelter for the homeless and abused in the Omaha area. We assist with support to the DECAMP program for the economic improvement of people in deprived areas of Mexico.  We help with the major fund-raiser for Gross Catholic High School, Cele-Bration, by taking an ad in their program and attending the event itself. We have raised funds to purchase a statue of Our Blessed Mother for Gross' courtyard. Most recently, we raised money to assist the students of the LIFE program meet costs of travel to New Orleans where clean-up work will be carried out due to the devastation of the hurricane.

KANSAS
From Marceta Reilly (sister of Fr. David Fleming, S.M)

I am in Hoyt, KS, just north of Topeka, KS. I am in two MLCs.....a daily lectio online MLC called Our Lady of the Round Table (OLRT) and I have started a monthly telephone group called Harvest Women, comprised mostly of women in NE  Kansas. Joanne McCracken, NJ, coordinates the online group and I coordinate the telephone group.

There are no Marianist schools or vowed religious in KS that I know of. My involvement developed out of a Virtual Learning Community Course from Dayton. I took the course, met some great people in it, and we decided to form our online community. From that I started our Harvest Women's group for some of my local friends.  Harvest Women is a monthly tele-community of six women which has been meeting by phone for almost two years.  The mission of the group is to "harvest women" to deeper spirituality.   All but one of the women lives in Kansas.   The women meet monthly on a conference call, read common books and materials (like Things Marianist), and through the discussions, help deepen their own spiritual lives.   

[See article below concerning their second face to face meeting/retreat.]