Sacred Heart Alums gather in Naples, Florida

February 25, 2012 ~  What a beautiful day it was in Naples, Florida where sixty-four Sacred Heart alums gathered for lunch and fellowship.  The venue was the Imperial Golf Club, which has now become an annual gathering spot for alums living and traveling to the Southwest part of Florida. After luncheon expenses are paid all extra monies will be sent to the Society of the Sacred Heart for the RSCJ retirement fund.  

The day started at 11:30 am and for about thirty or so minutes everyone enjoyed time to socialize and meet. A delicious lunch was served and then as we were enjoying our desert a microphone was passed from table to table so that all in the room could introduce themselves and give a brief history of the schools they attended and what they were doing now. The attendees included a very diverse group of women and one very comfortable man! Many spoke of their current jobs or what types of volunteer activities are keeping them busy. A few proudly mentioned having grandchildren in a Sacred Heart school. One alum who graduated from our school in Dublin said that her grandchildren will be the 5th generation in her family to receive a Sacred Heart education! The youngest alum in the room was a 2008 graduate of Bloomfield Hills with a passion for baking.  And, the lone man in attendance was Michael Dougherty, Head of Josephinum Academy (Chicago, IL), the newest member of our Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the United States.  

Co-chairs Carla Grieve and Lynn Shunk are to be congratulated for organizing this luncheon every year and told us to mark our calendars for February 23, 2013.  I plan to be there and hope to see you too!

   

Passport to Gouter...photos from the event

Martha Curry, RSCJ and students from the Jo

A terrific evening last week.  To view the photos I took, click on the photo to the right.  The best shots of the event can be viewed on the Josphenium Facebook page, click here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Josephinum-Academy/179933602041680

Sally Furay, RSCJ - opening prayer at BEF board meeting

Front entrance of Josephinum Academy also home to the
Barat Education Foundation offices

Well it was a very busy and full weekend for me to say the least!  Saturday morning started with a BEF (Barat Education Foundation) board meeting and ended with a dinner hosted at the Glen View Club to celebrate Josephinum's Full Membership in the Sacred Heart Network of Schools.  

So my day started with the following prayer which was read by fellow board member Sally Furay, RSCJ who was home in San Diego, California recuperating from a recent surgery on her ankle.  I asked that she forward it to me as it seemed most appropriate for all the changes that have taken place this past week and will continue as we adapt to a world of growth and prosperity.  I will post more about the terrific evening at the Glen View Club along with a few photos to describe the event entitled: Passport to Gouter tomorrow.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the prayer below as much as I did when Sally read it.

PRAYER  OF  BLESSING

Lord and Source of All Gifts,

                  we rejoice in the fullness of Your generosity,

                  in the life to which you have called each of us.

We thank You now for the gift of change,

                  for the gifts of beginning and newness,

                  which can open doors.

We bless You and thank You as well

                  for that which is stable and unchanging,                 

                  for the ancient and traditional

                  which give meaning to the present and future.

We thank You for the capacity for change in our lives,

                  for without change, there can be no real growth

                  and no deepening of the life to which You have called us.

We are grateful, in this prayer, for those people

                  who, through their gifts of dream and adventure,

                  have taught us not to fear change, not to resist the new.

We are thankful for Jesus Whom we follow

                  who spoke to us of new wine for new wine skins

                  and who calls us daily to a new kingdom and to a new promise.

May our hearts be ever-changing, ever in growth,

                  as we continue on our journey to You, our Mysterious Source,

                  You who are forever fresh and new

                  yet forever the same.

May we walk with one another,

                  in trust and forgiveness and hope,

                  daily seeking to be there for one another,

                  ready to stay at the table and walk the journey always.

Blessed are You, Lord our God

                  Who gives spice to life with change.   Amen