Western Region Update

Mission Education & Promotion 

September 4, 2008
In This Issue...
Fr. Steve Booth Joins Our Team
Faith and Politics
What's Happening in the Holy Land
Join the Affiliates
Mass for Vocations
Reorganized Mission Presence
Quick Links

Directions

Have a Maryknoller Visit Your Parish

 
 

Fr. Steve Booth Joins Our Western Region Team
Fr. Steve Booth, Associate Regional Director, Seattle
Please join us in welcoming Fr. Steve Booth as the Associate Regional Director.  Fr. Steve will live in our Seattle House.
 
Fr. Steve is a native of Huntington, West Virginia who entered the Maryknoll Fathers in 1979.   Prior to entering Maryknoll he served as an active-duty Army officer and helicopter pilot for four years followed by law school at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and employment as an attorney in Japan and Seattle.  He was ordained by Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen at the Maryknoll Seminary in 1986. 
 
Fr. Booth worked as a missioner in the Republic of Korea for six years before being assigned to the Air Force Chaplaincy. As a chaplain he served both in the U.S. and in Japan, Germany, Korea, Bosnia, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, and Albania. 
He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2005 and then spent five months studying Spanish at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba, Bolivia before being assigned to the Maryknoll Development House in Seattle, Washington in June, 2006. 
 
As a developer he has been engaged in fund raising and vocation work for Maryknoll for the Pacific Northwest Region (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska).  Additionally he works as a chaplain with Providence Hospice of Seattle three days a week and with the Seattle Engaged Encounter Movement as a presenter on Engaged Encounter weekends.
On September 1, 2008 Fr. Booth was appointed as the administrator of the Maryknoll Development House in Seattle and as the Associate Regional Director of Maryknoll's newly-formed Western Region.


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Greetings!

Autumn is upon us and our Maryknoll Affiliates Pat and Ilona Helmholz and Michele and George Otte will soon be on their way back to Maryknoll, New York for orientation before they head to their mission assignments in Africa after the first of the new year.  Please keep them in your prayers.  They promise to keep us updated and we'll pass on the news as we get it.
 
As you'll see below, we are doing some reorganization and we're welcoming two new Associate Directors to our team:  Fr. Steve Booth, who will live in Seattle and Fr. Joe Donovan, who will be in LA.  We're introducing Fr. Steve in our sidebar article this month and will do the same for Fr. Joe next month.
 
As the political drama and excitement continue to build toward the November elections, we'll be welcoming Kathy McNeely from our Washington DC Office for Global Concerns to our Mission Forum next week, on Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 7:30 pm at the Mission Center.  There are a lot of great resources out there for helping us to vote our conscience.  To that discussion, Kathy will invite us to consider some of the issues that have a global impact, such as the environment, global economy, immigration, HIV/AIDS, and peace and sustainable security.  Join us for a spirited discussion.
 
And mark your calendars, Fr. Pete Ruggere will be with us on October 14th at 7:30 pm to talk about "What's Happening in the Holy Land?"
 
Wishing you Christ's peace,
Matt and the Regional Team 
 
 
 Mission Forum:  Voting for the Common Good in a Shrinking World
 
Tuesday, Sept. 9th at 7:30 pm
Where: Maryknoll Center 
 
 
2008 Elections Guide from MaryknollKathy McNeely of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns will join us for a discussion on how our faith shapes our politics...

Globalization makes us keenly aware that we are citizens of a shrinking world. Decisions and actions taken here in the U.S. have tremendous impact on people and the environment in every corner of the planet. Our Catholic social tradition stresses the call to "love our neighbors as ourselves" and to work for the common good. This means balancing our own self interest with our commitment to the greater common good. Voting responsibly means studying the candidates' statements and platforms and making decisions based on who might bring about the best policy for everyone.
 
McNeely will talk about the platform for the common good developed at the July Convention for the Common Good and the Maryknoll voter reflection guide, "Loving Our Neighbor in a Shrinking World" as two of the tools that can be used to help Catholics use their faith to inform their decisions in 2008 U.S. general elections.
Mission Forum:  What's Happening in the Holy Land?
 
Fr. Peter Ruggere
Tuesday, October 14th at 7:30 pm
 
Where: Maryknoll Mission Center
 
Maryknoll Fatyherr. Pete Ruggere who has lived in the Holy Land and has studied extensively the situation and issues impacting Palestine will give us an update on what is happening there.  He will just be returning from a trip to the Holy Land to accompany a group from Catholic Relief Services.
 
Fr. Pete went to Lima, Peru in 1968 after ordination. Following doctoral studies in Paris in 1974 and teaching at the Maryknoll Seminary in New York, he returned to Lima Peru and taught for ten years. From 1993 to 1996 he worked with the Catholic Church's Caritas (Catholic Charities) program in Cairo, Palestine and North Africa, with outreach to both Christian and Muslim poor. In 1996, he was assigned to the Maryknoll Office of Global Concern in Washington, D.C. with responsibility for the Middle East and Asia.  Most recently he was Mission Director for the San Diego Diocese.
 
Maryknoll Affiliates
 
Eastbay Affiliates: 
Fourth Tuesday of the Month at 7 pm.  Next gathering: September 23rd
 
Join the Eastbay Maryknoll Affiliates for their monthly gathering of a potluck dinner, faith sharing and meeting.  Learn more.
 
Where: Maryknoll Center San Leandro
 
Contact:  Mary Ellen Waite
 
San Francisco Affiliates: 
Fourth Saturday of the Month from 11 am to 1 pm.  Next gathering: Sept. 27th

Where: St. Ignatius Church at USF in the Pedro Arrupe Room.

Contact:  Rich Younkin ryounkin@sbcglobal.net

Mass for Missionary Vocations


Third Tuesday of the Month at 10 am.  Next gathering:
  • September 16th
Join us for Mass followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet and fellowship to pray for the church's mission efforts and for missionary vocations.  
 
Maryknoll Reorganizes Mission Education & Promotion Efforts in the Western U.S.

 

In order to better serve the local church in promoting mission and more efficiently use our resources, we're reorganizing our mission education and promotion efforts in the West.  Beginning September 1st, we will work as a Regional Team to promote mission in the Western U.S. 
 
Our efforts will be coordinated primarily from our Regional Center in the SF Bay Area with Mission Center Offices in Seattle and Los Angeles.  We also plan to have a Maryknoll presence in Honolulu and Denver.
 
The team will be led by Deacon Matt Dulka as Regional Director in the Bay Area and Fathers Steve Booth in Seattle and Joe Donovan in Los Angeles as Associate Regional Directors.
 
For more information, visit our local website at www.maryknoll.us