July 23, 2015  


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CALENDAR

Provincial Council

June 23 - 25


Jubilee
New York

Aug. 1

From Fr. Marty Solma
      

  

 

Dear Brothers:

 

The General Leadership Assembly ended on Sunday with the celebration of the Eucharist and a very festive pranzo. There were 29 of us gathered, including the members of the General Administration and three translators.  

 

The group accomplished significant work in preparation for the General Chapter of 2018, including:
  • A finalized plan for restructuring the Zones of the Society of Mary (decision delegated to the GLA by the last General Chapter)
  • A document from the General Office of Education on the Marianist identity of apostolic works
  • A decision that slightly alters each Unit's financial support of the General Administration
  • A general outline for the work of the next General Chapter

The 15 days we spent together were productive and fraternal. The evaluation of the meeting was quite positive, and everyone applauded the General Council's good preparatory work. Fr. Manuel Cort�s will communicate more about this meeting in due time.

Please keep Bro. Mike McAward in your prayers. He is scheduled for knee replacement on July 27 and will be in rehab for some weeks. Thanks to Mike for the many details of the meeting that he attended to with such generosity. 

  

Chaminade Center

 

Work on the Chaminade Center is progressing well, with an expected completion date of Dec. 10. Thanks to the planning committee and to 

Bro. Jack Somerville for his competent assistance with this project. 

  

Completion of concrete block for the restroom storm shelter
View looking south at the east section of the building

Bro. Bernie Hartman

 

Bro. Bernie Hartman will be sentenced tomorrow (July 24) in Melbourne, Australia. Please pray for him. I will share with you information about the sentencing as soon as I receive it. There is likely to be media coverage in the next few days.

 

New Provincial Council 

 

The newly installed Provincial Council will begin its work this week. We have planning meetings scheduled for August and will share with you our goals and hopes for the next three years of our service. Thank you for your prayerful support.

 

Let's continue to pray for each other and for our brothers in the health care communities.  

 

Fraternally,

  

 

From Bro. Joe Kamis

 
Dear Brothers:

Praesidium accreditation

The Province of the United States recently received word that we have successfully completed the Praesidium accreditation process and are fully accredited for five years.

Under the 2012 standards, however, we are still required to submit a yearly compliance summary. I am grateful to the directors of communities where Praesidium visited, the brothers who were interviewed, and the work of our vocation and formation people who assisted in those interviews.

The cooperation of community directors regarding the Praesidium educational component has been very helpful. Thanks to all who helped us earn this five-year accreditation.

Fraternally,




From Fr. Bill Meyer


Dear Brothers:

Laudato Si'

As we continue our summer reading and begin to think about community gathering and planning sessions, I'd like to suggest the Readers' Guide to Laudato Si', by Fr. Thomas Reese, SJ. This guide, produced by the National Catholic Reporter, will be helpful in your own prayerful reading of the encyclical, practical planning for community discussion and general use of this important document.

Good reads

You may wish to read "Three Moments of the Day: Praying with the Heart of Jesus" by Fr. Christopher Collins, SJ, from Ave Maria Press. The author is a professor of theology and the new assistant to the president for mission of Saint Louis University.

Prayers, please

Let us keep in our personal and community prayer those who are making the Spirit of Saragossa retreat:
  • Bro. Brandon Alana, in preparation for the profession of his perpetual vows
  • Bro. Victor Forlani, who is taking a minisabbatical
  • Bro. Tom Redmond, who is directing the retreat
With fraternal affection,


From Bro. Ron Overman
 

Dear Brothers,

Reports, budgets and banks

For last year:

If your community has not yet submitted an end-of-the-year financial report for the 2015 fiscal year (which ended June 30), please send it to me by Aug. 1.

The finance office needs this information for our Province audit. The report needs to include:
  • Income and expenditures
  • The bank statement for the end of June
  • The balance sheet for the community
All three items are important for the auditor's review of Province finances. Thanks to the communities that have completed this task.

For this year:
  • By Aug. 1: Please submit a first draft of community budgets for the new fiscal year (July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016)
  • By Sept. 15: Submit the final draft, if one is needed. Please also finalize the Province calculator and send with the budget.
Thanks to the communities that have already completed the budget process.

Banking

The community director, business manager and I should be named and authorized to sign checks. Your community may designate other community members as authorized signers.

Please make sure you have the correct bank resolution and signature cards for all community accounts -- checking and savings. Complete as much of the forms as you can locally, then send them to the finance office for final processing.

Please let me know if your bank needs my information, such as a copy of my driver's license and Social Security Number.

Thanks for your help.

Fraternally,

   

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