For the eighth consecutive
year, the Diocese of Steubenville is sponsoring the Men's Day of Renewal on Saturday, March 18 from 9 am to 3:30 pm
at St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell
off of I-77 Exit 25. The patron of the
Conference is St. Joseph, a model of a true man of God, to whose intercession
we count upon for its success.
Prior to the official start of the conference there will be an optional
half hour of prayer………specifically the Rosary and the Divine Chaplet at 8:30
am.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the men of
our 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 and particularly our diocese, now and in the future.
It is also critical for nurturing vocations.
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 for
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 and deal with people in a
business environment. The participants
will discover how they can apply mercy, forgiveness, faith, and trust to their
daily lives as sources of strength in difficult times and a means to grow in
holiness. Capt. Gruters is a 4th
Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
 |
| A Prison of War Camp in North Vietnam |
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. 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.
The fact, that travel time may
be long and distance may be far for many, gives the conference a pilgrimage
flavor. Lent, of course, is all about
sacrifice and spiritual growth. Since
St. Stephen Church in Caldwell is in the geographic center of our far flung
diocese, the Steering Committee is hopeful that the men of Steubenville in the
north and the men of Ironton and Chesapeake in the south will be able to participate. Regardless of distance, this mini-pilgrimage
is a Lenten sacrifice of early rising and a long trip with great fellowship in
a van or bus as the men pray together, discuss the talks and other events of
the Conference, and deepen friendships. A
bag lunch is provided.
It should be a great day of enjoyable fellowship and
spiritual invigoration. In each of
the last seven years men returned reinvigorated, enthusiastic, and spiritually
refreshed. Expect the same this year. It is awesome to hear the men lift up their
voices in song and be moved by the beauty and power of the faith. But mostly, through God’s grace, we will have
more good spiritually strong men for the kingdom of God as well as for the
battle against secularism and other evils that plague our society. We will have
more men who put Christ into their professions. We will have men who will
become more knowledgeable in their faith and better prepared for a joyful
Easter and an eternal closeness to God. The
Men's Day of Renewal has grown into an annual event in our diocese, thus
fulfilling a great need.
Promotional Help Needed. Many if not most men will hardly notice the bulletin
announcements, posters, and brochures, although they are indeed important and
helpful. What they can’t miss is the
one-on-one personal selling by their peers, i.e., talking it up. The most effective form of advertising or
promotion is word of mouth. Most
effective is the witness of men who have gone to a previous Conference,
especially the parish representative that we are asking the pastor to appoint
or accept as a volunteer.
Thus one or two men are urgently needed in each parish
to assure the success of this
event. To ease the burden on our pastors, we are depending upon our men to
offer their assistance as parish representatives to mobilize
the men with good one on one personal selling, register them, and organize van
pools. Word-of-mouth advertising is essential to maximize
the promotion of the Men’s Day of Renewal throughout each parish. We ask participants
of past years to tell their friends about this awesome opportunity for
spiritual renewal. If there is no parish
representative in your parish, please consider volunteering by informing your
pastor and by e-mail “Don Coen - Chair Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal”
<donandmargcoen@yahoo.com>.
Equally important, women can be most valuable in
encouraging their husbands, sons (including teens), fathers, fiancés, etc., to
attend. This is a very important part of the new evangelization.”
Father and son can make this day an unforgettable
shared experience in which they become closer to each other. If the pastor accompanies the men, he would
have an opportunity to know the men better and thus solidify the parish. The Men’s Day of Renewal needs confessors.
The local Knights
of Columbus council can be most valuable since the spiritual formation
of their men is part of their mission.
They are asked to mobilize their men to attend and organize a van
pool. Traveling together can build
friendships, solidify the Council, and provide opportunities to tell about the
Knights, thus making the Conference a recruiting tool. .
Each prospective parish representative is
asked to make his availability and contact information known to the Chair of
the Steering Committee, Don Coen at (740)264-0155, (740)632-1565, or donandmargcoen@yahoo.com. Men may register individually or the parish
representative may collect the registration forms with payment and send them as
a package to Roger Huck; %Men’s Day of
Renewal, P.O. Box 54; Beverly, OH 45715.
This would save considerable time waiting at the door. Checks for the Registration cost of $25.00 per person are to be made payable to
the Diocese of Steubenville with “Men's Day of Renewal” written on the
memo line of the check.
Transportation Needs. A carpool, vanpool, or bus saves on fuel costs and gives
an opportunity for fellowship while traveling to and from the event—especially
for those traveling greater distances. Please invite other men and assist with
the organization of transportation for those attending in your parish.
Donations Needed. It is very expensive to put on a conference of this magnitude and
feature nationally known top speakers.
While the Steering Committee does its best to minimize the cost for each
participant, we are seeking donations from businesses, parish organizations,
the Knights of Columbus, and individuals. Please send donations to Roger Huck
as shown above.
Ads in the Program
Brochure. Details on placing the ad for a business or community
organization, or Knights of Columbus Council are in the Conference Blog or call
Roger Huck at 740-984-2234 or 740-336-9128.
More information is available from your pastor, from Don Coen
above, or Paul Sebastian at (740) 245-9404 or paulrsebastian@yahoo.com. The
latter will provide the address to the Men's Conference Blog, which has
a wealth of promotional materials for use at the parish level…….1) Overview
& Poster, 2) Ad Form, 3) Press Releases, 4) Possible Bulletin Blurbs, 5) Pulpit
Announcements, 6) Promotional Ideas, 7) Functions of the Parish Rep, 8) Sign-Up
Sheet, 9) Sample Bulletin Insert, and 10) a Possible Talk By One of the Men
after Mass. There are also interesting
articles on men’s spirituality, past conference highlights, etc. After the Conference and throughout the year,
articles will be added to help the men keep in good spiritual shape. Clergy, Religious, and knowledgeable layman
are invited to submit articles.
Please submit your registration as soon as possible. Registration will be accepted at the door; however,
doing so in advance makes our planning more efficient and also helps to
minimize waiting at the conference entrance.
BENEFIT SUMMARY OF WHAT THE
MEN'S CONFERENCE CAN DO FOR YOU:
Get you into good spiritual shape
Have a great day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual invigoration with
fellow parishioners and participants at the conference, resulting in deeper
friendships and parish cohesion
Develop
ourselves as men of character and spiritual strength as we obtain the
graces to cope with problems and conquer problematic issues that trouble our
society
Be
an effective spiritual leader to your family as a better husband and
father
Prepare
our hearts for the great feast of Easter as we become closer to God
Become
more knowledgeable about our Catholic faith and grow in Christian
maturity
Become a more effective
soldier of Christ, and help strengthen His kingdom on earth
Links to Articles & Videos on Capt. Guy Gruters
www.abcnews.go.com › US
www.amazon.com/s?...27%3ACapt%20Guy%20D.%20Gru... –
to obtain his book.
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