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| Capt. Guy Gruters |
I sent the following
introduction and press release to the Catholic newspapers within a 200 mile or 3
hour radius of Caldwell, OH, our Men's Conference site. Thus I included the diocesan newspapers of
Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Parma (Byzantine), Pittsburgh, Wheeling-Charleston WV, and Steubenville Ohio.
Any press release should be sent a month prior to the Conference because
Catholic newspapers are published only once a week or every other week. Thus deadlines are easily missed. It can be adapted to the Catholic
reader.
The addresses were easy to obtain by googling
the internet. I sent the press release by e-mail all at once to the entire
list. My philosophy was that the e-mail addresses one or two of the 9 newspaper
pick up the release and print at least part of it, the effort is worthwhile. Even if the reader does not attend the
Conference, at least s/he receives the message behind the Conference.
AMDG
“Steubenville Catholic
Register - Patricia DeFrancis - Editor” <pdefrancis@diosteub.org>,
<register@diosteub.org>,
“Youngstown Catholic
Exponent” <exponent@youngstowndiocese.org>,
“Cleveland
Catholic Universe Bulletin Editor - Carol Kovach” <ckovach@dioceseofcleveland.org>, ,
“Columbus Catholic Times News Editor”
<dgarick@colsdioc.org>,
<dgarick@columbuscatholic.org>,
<dgarick@columbuscatholic.org>,
“Pittsburgh Catholic News Editor”
<pzezza@pittsburghcatholic.org>,
“Parma Byzantine Eparchy Horizons Editor - Lory Nemeth”
<viscom@parma.org>, <lorynemeth@ameritech.net>,
"Pittsburgh Eparchy Byzantine Catholic World”
<archpitt@aol.com>, <bcw@archpitt.org>,
“West Virginia Catholic Spirit Director of Public
Information & Marketing Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston - Tina High”
<thigh@dwc.org>, “Colleen Rowan – Editor” <crowan@dwc.org>, <tbishop@dwc.org>,
March 9, 2017
As
the person responsible for publicity on the Steering Committee for the
Steubenville Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal, I am submitting for your
consideration the following article for your News, Events, or Religion sections.
For those who do not attend, the article
also gives a taste of the speaker's message, which challenges the men to become
better spiritual leaders in the home, the parish, the community, and on the job. Too many men are relegating that
responsibility to their wives.
Feel
free to edit and condense it as you see fit.
If space is lacking, please at least consider the short announcement at
the end for your Events section or Church Calendar. You may contact me at 740-245-9404. A photo of the main speaker, Capt. Guy
Gruters, is attached and also the Conference brochure.
Thank
you for your consideration and God bless.
PRESS RELEASE
STEUBENVILLE DIOCESAN MEN’S DAY OF RENEWAL SATURDAY MARCH 18
If the mother takes the
spiritual lead in the family, the probability that the children will remain
faithful to the Church as adults is about 40%.
If the father takes the spiritual lead, that probability doubles to 80%. This is crucial because we are losing our
youth. As Danny Abramowicz of “Crossing
the Goal” on EWTN likes to point out, “The children love Mom, but tend to
follow Dad.” Thus the participants in
the Diocesan Men’s Day of Renewal
will be held on Saturday March 18 from 9 am to 3:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Church
in Caldwell off of Exit 25 of I-77. The men are challenged to become true men of God........dynamic Catholic leaders
who will change the world, beginning with their families, their parishes, their
communities, and the marketplace through their jobs.
To
complement the Mass presided by Bishop Monforton and Penance Service the
featured speaker is Capt. Guy Gruters (USAF).
After graduation from the Air Force Academy with a B.S. in Engineering
Science, Capt. Gruters flew more than 400 combat missions in Vietnam and
received over 30 combat medals and awards.
He was shot down twice and captured the second time in 1967. After leaving the Air Force, he captained
DC-9s and Boeing 727s for Eastern Airlines until retiring in 1991. Later Capt. Gruters was an account rep. for
IBM and President of PC Software Systems.
In
his morning talk Guy Gruters will reveal how his faith and trust in God carried
him through the ordeal as a Prisoner of War in the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” and
other camps in Vietnam for over five years.
Since bitterness is self-destructing, he will share in the afternoon
talk how he learned to show mercy and forgive his brutal captors who tortured
him. The participants will discover how
they can apply the lessons learned by Capt. Gruters to their daily lives. He is a 4th Degree member of the Knights of
Columbus.
Drawing
from his diverse experience and being a father of seven children, he will also
touch on “Leadership and Teamwork in the Family, Church, and the
Community”. An excellent and dynamic
speaker, Mr. Gruters gives talks all over the country and is the author of the
book, “Locked Up With God”.
This
background puts Capt. Gruters in a position to speak on the theme of this
year’s Diocese of Steubenville Men’s Conference, “Mercy and Forgiveness, Faith and
Trust……..Means of Developing Strength
and Holiness in Difficult Times” and apply it to our daily
lives. That is through the power of
faith rise up to be the spiritual leaders of their families, to do their part
in renewing their parishes, be servant leaders in the community, and to make a
difference for Christ by applying the social teachings of the Church to their
professions.
Since Capt. Guy Gruters
exhibits the spirit of sacrifice that veterans have made, the Conference will
briefly honor all veterans present. The
MC will thank the veterans and ask them to stand.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual
development of the men of the diocese. Having spiritually strong men of faith
and character translates into more solid families, more dynamic parishes, and
better communities. This is crucial to the Church, now and in the future. It is
also critical for nurturing vocations.
It involves sacrificing most of a Saturday with some travel, but Lent is all about sacrifice and the quest for
holiness. That gives a pilgrimage
flavor. During the middle ages, pilgrims
would travel for days by foot or horseback.
The men will see how the participants are moved by the beauty and
power of the faith. The experience of seeing
so many men enthusiastically participating and lifting up their voices in song
is uplifting. There will be a Holy Hour
of Eucharistic Adoration and optional Lenten Confession. The Conference is open to teens so this can also be a father and son event, a shared
experience. Non-Catholics are also welcome. In the past the men have returned spiritually
refreshed, reinvigorated, and enthusiastic. Registration will be taken at the door.
There’s
more information on the home page of the diocesan website, www.diosteub.org and the Conference Blog, “Becoming
a True Man of God” at diosteubmen.blogspot.com
which is also devoted to articles to keep men in spiritual shape after the
Conference. For a greater variety, go to
“A Little Bit for God and His People” at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com. One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com
or call 740-245-9404.
It should be a great day of enjoyable fellowship and
spiritual reinvigoration. But most of all, the organizers
expect that through grace there will be a few more good spiritually strong men
for the kingdom of God in the battle against secularism and other evils and
problems that our troubled society must confront.......men --not spiritual
weaklings and wimps-- who will put Christ into their professions. Finally, the men will become more
knowledgeable, firmer in their faith, and better prepared for a more joyful
Easter, not to mention a greater closeness to God and eternity which life on
earth is all about. The Men's Day of
Renewal is growing into an annual event in the Diocese of Steubenville, thus
fulfilling a great need.
*********************************************************************************
St. Joseph, model of a true man of God, pray for us and for
the success of the Men's Conference.
*********************************************************************************
AS A
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE EVENTS SECTION OR CHURCH CALENDAR
Diocesan
Men's Day of Renewal Saturday, March 18 from 9 am – 3:30 pm at St.
Stephen’s Church in Caldwell off of Exit 25 of I-77. The theme is “Mercy and
Forgiveness, Faith and Trust……..Means of Developing Strength and Holiness in Difficult Times”. The main speaker is Capt. Guy Gruters. Dynamic and captivating, this nationally
known author and speaker will show how his faith carried him through over five
years as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam and how he learned to show mercy
by forgiving his captors who tortured him.
The home page of diosteub.org gives a link to the brochure, additional
information, and the Conference Blog.
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