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| Mark and Carol Nehrbas in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France. After a six year battle with cancer, Mark was healed there. |
For the tenth consecutive year, the Diocese of Steubenville
is sponsoring a Men's Day of Renewal on Saturday, March 23 from 9 am to 4 pm (optional Rosary and Chaplet of Divine
Mercy at 8:30 am) at St. Stephen’s
Church, 1036 Belford St., Caldwell off of Exit 25 on I-77. The patron of the Conference is St. Joseph,
a model of a true man of God, whose intercession we count upon for its success.
The goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the men of
our diocese. That includes helping the men to take the right path before having
to face the four last things.......Death, Judgment, Heaven or Hell. 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 Holy Hour, the Penance Service, and Mass presided by Bishop
Monforton, the featured speaker is Mark
Nehrbas. As director of Christian
Outreach at the Franciscan University of Steubenville for 13 years, he directed
and developed the Summer Conferences to national prominence, now attracting
50,000 participants each year in Steubenville and at different branches. A dynamic speaker, he has given talks at conferences
all over the country.
The theme of the Conference is
“The Cross as a Source of Strength and Path to Ultimate Victory Over All
Adversity”.
This is not abstract theological theory.
Mark Nehrbas lived it. He will be
speaking from his heart, from his personal experience.
The morning talk, “Victory of the Cross in My Battle With
Cancer” will be his personal testimony of
what he went through since 2012, a six year journey…….the anxiety, the fear,
the pain, and the frustration over two separate bouts of an aggressive form of
stomach cancer……two major surgeries, countless days with painful chemo,
repeated doses of radiation. Through all this, his prayer life became more
intense; his faith and trust in God deepened.
Mark Nehrbas tried every path except one. Providentially and unexpectantly, a generous
friend, a Knight of Malta, offered to sponsor him and his wife, Carol for a
pilgrimage to the great Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Before leaving in May of last year, his
doctor indicated that his cancer had come back and would have to resume
aggressive treatments after the pilgrimage.
At the time Nehrbas was unaware that his tumor marker count shot up to
over 300. He was reexamined upon his
return and the tumor count was normal with no trace of cancer! The Muslim doctor was baffled! Mark knew that it’s a miracle!
In the afternoon talk, “Victory Over Suffering: Lessons Learned
From the Cross”.
Mark Nehrbas will explore the mystery of suffering, why God permits it,
how he confronted it, how he grew from it, the lessons he learned, how it can
be very productive, and how it can make you a saint. The most important of all is that sooner or
later every one of us will have to suffer.
We can choose to be miserable or we can choose to unite our suffering
with the cross and offer it all up as a dynamic prayer for the conversion of
sinners as Mary requested at Fatima, for our Church in deep crisis, for the
souls in Purgatory, for the world, and for our loved ones. Such Redemptive Suffering by many people can
ultimately save the world.
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Carol and Mark Nehrbas
at the creek in Lourdes, France along which St. Bernadette and her friends tended sheep.
Sacrifice. 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 eight 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, brothers,
boyfriends, 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. Furthermore, we do not
charge men who are unable to pay so that no man is excluded.
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 Men's
Conference Blog at diosteubmen.blogspot.com 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.
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