Year: 2009

It all began with a trip to Mexico last summer. For Notre Dame High School senior Connor Sheagren, it was a truly eye-opening experience.

 “I was stunned by the homelessness and the amount of suffering I observed and felt determined to do something in my own community to solve these problems,” he said. The poverty and suffering he saw affected him deeply.

The 17-year-old’s experience came about last summer through the “Youth in Mission” program sponsored by his ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) church group. Only 25 students from across the country were selected for the trip. Applicants had to write a 1,000-word essay on “Serving Christ in the World” and submit letters of recommendation. Once Connor was chosen for the program, he found his life would never be the same.

Connor’s decision to take action led to his organizing “Hands and Feet,” a service club comprised of 15 high school students at Notre Dame with the goal of completing a service project at least once a month. Thus far the group has participated in the UNICEF project in October, which raised $467.30 that would go to needy parents and children in Third World countries. 

In November, the students sponsored a door-to-door canned food drive and collected 405 items for St. Vincent de Paul’s food pantry in Burlington. Currently the group is working on “Toys for Tots,” along with local postal carriers, to collect toys for needy kids in the area.

The name of Connor’s club, “Hands and Feet,” is derived from the concept that “We are the hands and feet of God,” the idea that it is every person’s responsibility to help those less fortunate. Notre Dame’s school board officially sanctioned the group as part of the school’s extracurricular offerings, and Principal Ron Glasgow agreed to sponsor the students.

“Connor set himself apart when he organized his group, set objectives and a plan of action,” he said. “Then his group executed the plan. It is now a part of Notre Dame and I hope we can continue this group after Connor graduates.”

Connor is no stranger to service. He earned his Eagle Scout honors last March and has more than 575 hours of community service throughout his high school years at Notre Dame.

Connor, a Lutheran, is among the 12 percent of non-Catholic students who attend Notre Dame. He aspires to become a pastor in the Lutheran church, and being at ND has helped him along this path. “Attending Notre Dame has challenged me and opened my eyes to possibilities in my life. I could really feel the Holy Sprit working through me here, especially in religion class,” Connor said.

Connor has many other ideas for his group’s service projects in 2010. The students would like to paint murals over graffiti in the downtown areas of Burlington, organize clean-up efforts near the river and around the highways. He is also anxious to seek solutions for social problems, such as exploring preventative measures for teen suicides.

The Hands and Feet effort will not end with Connor’s graduation next May. Sophomore Hannah Ebbing is anxious to lead the program for the next two years and grow the group even more among the upcoming grades.

Connor lives by the philosophy of Mohandas Gandhi, who wrote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” He adds, “Those who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.”

No doubt Connor will be one of those “crazy” ones, and thank God for him.

LITURGY/PRAYER

Colfax — A Mass honoring Mary, mother of God, will be celebrated Dec. 31 at 4:30 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church.

Davenport — The Sisters of Humility invite the general public to pray with them at 11:40 a.m. Wednesdays during a special Mass for peace. It will be celebrated in the Magnificat Chapel at the Humility of Mary Center, 820 W. Central Park Ave.

Iowa City — People meet to pray the rosary and receive Communion at 1 p.m. Wednesdays at Melrose Meadows Retirement Community. All Catholics are welcome.

Iowa City — Centering Prayer groups meet from 7-8 p.m. Mondays at the Mercy Hospital chapel, and from 9-11:30 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month at a member’s home. For more information, call Maureen Kelley at (319) 338-8284.

Melrose — The Knights of Columbus of Albia sponsor a 24-hour adoration the first Friday of the month at St. Patrick Church in Melrose. Mass begins at 8 a.m., followed by 24 hours of adoration, and closes with benediction at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday. For more information or to sign up for an hour, call Tony Humeston at (641) 932-7709.

Newton — A Mass for Mary, mother of God, will be celebrated Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church.

MEETINGS

Davenport — A Catholic Single Mothers Support Group invites new members for prayer and discussion on positive parenting and balancing life’s demands. Mothers will meet and hear a different speaker monthly in an informal setting. To take part, call Joan at (563) 323-0175.

Davenport — A group meets for Ignatian Lightworks exercises on Mondays from 7-8:30 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1-2:30 p.m. at 2803 McKinley Ave. For more information, call (563) 324-7263.

Moline, Ill. — The secular discalced Carmelite community of St. Joseph’s and the prophet Elijah meets the second Sunday of each month from 1-3:30 p.m. in the basement of St. Mary Church. For more information, call Leslie Schadt, OCDS, at (563) 370-3559.

Rock Island, Ill. — The secular Franciscans meet at 2 p.m. the second Sunday of each month at the Jardine Auditorium at Trinity Medical Center West Campus, 2701 17th St. For more information, call Kent Ferris in Muscatine at (563) 264-0120.

By Anne Marie Amacher

DAVENPORT — When President Barack Obama signed the Omnibus spending package for the government’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget, it included funds for St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

A grant of $600,000 is expected to be released to the university around July, said Linda Wastyn, associate vice president for advancement. The money is earmarked for the Health Sciences Education Center, which is being built on Genesis Medical Center’s west campus in Davenport.

Wastyn said this is the third grant St. Ambrose has received with help from Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley and Representative Bruce Braley of Iowa.

Because of the growing need for additional health care professionals in eastern Iowa and throughout the United States, St. Ambrose collaborated with Genesis to build the center to provide education opportunities for that purpose.

The $11.1 million, 40,000-square-foot center is expected to be dedicated Aug. 26, 2010. So far, $9.8 million has been raised. Of that, $1.6 million has come from the three government grants. The funds are filtered through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which is part of Health and Human Services.

“Over the next few months HRSA will notify us to apply for the grant funding. Once we fill out the paperwork we should have access to the funds in July or August,” Wastyn said.

The remainder of funds should be raised by the time of the August dedication, she added.

“Over the next few months HRSA will notify us to apply for the grant funding. Once we fill out the paperwork we should have access to the funds in July or August,” Wastyn said.

The remainder of funds should be raised by the time of the August dedication, she added.

4-11 OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Region IX Bishop’s Retreat, Prince of Peace Abbey

21 DAVENPORT — Kahl Home, anniversary Mass of births and deaths of Carmelite Sisters

21 DAVENPORT — St. Ambrose University Board of Directors reception

22 DAVENPORT — St. Ambrose University, Board of Directors

24 BETTENDORF — Capital Campaign kickoff Masses, Our Lady of Lourdes, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

26 DAVENPORT — Humility of Mary Convent, Mass

26 DAVENPORT — All-school Mass, John F. Kennedy School

26 DAVENPORT — Presbyteral Council, St. Vincent Center

27 DAVENPORT — Priests’ Personnel Board, St. Vincent Center

27 IOWA CITY — Confirmation, St. Patrick, 7 p.m.

31 FAIRFIELD — St. Mary, dedication of new church, 2 p.m.

Our local Pax Christi USA chapter, activated in the Quad-Cities by Ollie and Bert Finn in 2004, has been among the approximately 150 discussion groups that responded to the call for defining what peace and nonviolence mean at the grassroots level.

This call came from the national Pax Christi USA group, in response to an invitation of the American bishops in 2003 to better live out the beatitude: “Blessed are the Peacemakers.”

Using the directives of the national group, entitled the “People’s Peace Initiative: Called to Something New,” local members over the past six months discussed the difference between the peace Jesus offered at the Last Supper and the peace that the world gives. This required a deep look at our own experiences in living and becoming peace on a daily basis and the challenges it entails not only in our personal life, but in our families, neighborhoods, communities, parishes, nations and the whole world.

Our discussions concluded by sending a report to the National Office of Pax Christi USA. The report centered on one main question requested for all groups to answer: “What is essential for the Church to understand and cultivate peace in the twenty-first century?” Our local group made five recommendations.

Our local group is eager to share this report. If anyone wishes to receive a copy or eventually join a peace-sharing group, please call Roberta Moran (facilitator) at (563) 359-0867 or mail your request to 510 Grant St., Bettendorf, Ia., 52722. To read the national report got to www.paxchristiusa.org and click on “The People’s Initiative: Called to Something New.”

Roberta Moran

Bettendorf

This is a public thanksgiving prayer for Father Bill Kneemiller’s faithful works. Reading his postcard from Afghanistan, I am moved beyond words.

Thank you God for Fr. Kneemiller. Thank you for his flint-like face that shines your love and glory in the midst of extreme challenge. Thank you for his simplicity and artfulness as he spreads your love and joy in and out of a chaplain’s day.

Thank you for what he reminds us — of what is important. Thank you for what we have that Father and other thousands of human lives lay down for the sake of our own. Amen.

All of us would benefit to keep our prayers for soldiers on our daily front burners. Keeping a visual reminder in our kitchens would help serve that purpose.

Julie Davenport

Davenport

w has been added to the retreat schedule at The Canticle, home of the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton: a New Year’s Eve Retreat.

According to Sister Mary Smith, OSF, retreat minister at The Canticle, the overnight program will be “a prayerful pause at year’s end/beginning and a time to contemplate life’s blessings, looking lovingly at the real and praying, ‘For all that has been, thanks! and for all that will be, yes!’”

Check in time for the retreat will be Thursday, Dec. 31, at 4 p.m. with dinner at 5 p.m. 

The retreat will include presentations as well as sharing silence and story and music.

“We will conclude at 10 p.m. with refreshments and early welcoming of the New Year,” Sr. Smith noted. The retreat will close with a prayer service on New Year’s morning.

“What if life isn’t about what you chase, but about resting in God’s grace?” asked Sr. Smith in her letter to participants. “What if life isn’t about pushing yourself to the limit, but embracing every minute? Our evening will include brief presentations on the gift of stillness that creates love, and on the movement that creates life.  On the brink of a new year rich in possibilities, we will experience the power of pause — for the ‘rest’ of our life.”

To register, call Sr. Smith at The Canticle: (563) 242-7903, ext. 1369. Cost is $20.  “Scholarships are available,” stated Sr. Smith, “but call soon: there is limited space!”

For more information and driving directions to The Canticle, see www.clintonfranciscans.com  or call (563) 242-7611.