AMDG
I sent the following
introduction and press release to secular newspapers within a 200 mile or 3
hour radius of Caldwell, OH, our Men's Conference site. Thus I included secular newspapers in
Gallipolis, Athens, Marietta, Parkersburg-WV, Zanesville, Cambridge, St.
Clairsville, Wheeling, Steubenville, and as very long shots Columbus,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.
The addresses were easy to obtain by googling
the internet. Essentially, I sent the
press release by e-mail all at once to the entire list. My philosophy was if only one or two of the 14
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. In 2011 and 2013 the Gallipolis Daily Tribune
published the entire article. The
Steubenville Herald Star picked up the press release in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. There may have been others.
“Beth Sergent – Editor Gallipolis Daily Tribune
- Pomeroy Daily Sentinel - Point Pleasant Daily Register” <bsergent@aimmediamidwest.com>,
“Gallipolis Daily Tribune” <gdtnews@aimmediamidwest.com>,
“Carrie
Gloeckner Editor Meigs Independent Press” <meigsindypress@gmail.com>,
“Carrie Gloeckner Editor Gallia Hometown Herald”
<galliaherald@gmail.com>,
“Jackie Denuit - Community Editor Jackson Times Journal”
<jdenuit@timesjournal.com>,
“Steubenville Herald Star Executive Editor”
<rgallabrese@heraldstaronline.com>, “City Editor”
<jpowers@heraldstaronline.com>, “Janice Kiaski – Editor Community Page”
<jkiaski@heraldstaronline.com>,
“Wheeling Intelligencer”
<myer@news-register.net>,
“St. Clairsville
Times Leader Managing Editor” <bkapral@timesleaderonline.com>, “Area
Editor” <timesleader@timesleaderonline.com>, “Lifestyles Editor”
<sdunder@timesleaderonline.com>,
“Jennifer
Compston-Strough - Managing Editor” <jcompston@timesleaderonline.com>,
“Cambridge Daily Jeffersonian Publisher – “Ray Booth - Managing
Editor” <rbooth@daily-jeff.com>, “? Dan Davis – Reporter” <ddavis@daily-jeff.com>,
“Zanesville Times Recorder - Managing Editor”
<psjames@nncogannett.com>, “Local Desk Editor” <tshipley@nncogannett.com>,
“Marietta Times News Editor”
<kyork@mariettatimes.com>,
“Columbus Dispatch”
<storyideas@dispatch.com>, “Danny Goodwin - News Editor”
<dgoodwin@dispatch.com>, “Danae King – Religion Reporter”
<dking@dispatch.com>,
“? Cleveland Plain Dealer Metro Editor”
<kturner@plaind.com>, “? Deputy Managing Editor”
<dkannber@plaind.com>,
“Cincinnati Enquirer Community Editors” <jkey@communitypress.com>,
“Athens Messenger”
<jhiggins@athensmessenger.com>,
“Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jerry Micco -
Assistant Managing Editor NewsSlide” <jmicco@post-gazette.com>,
<localnews@post-gazette.com>,
“Parkersburg News & Sentinel” <editorial@newsandsentinel.com>, “Executive Editor - Christina Myer”
<cmyer@newsandsentinel.com>, “Paul
LaPann – Managing Editor” <plapann@newsandsentinel.com>, “Jesse Mancini – City Editor” <jmancini@newsandsentinel.com>,
“Joanie Nash” <jnash@ogdennews.com>,
March 18,
2019
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 press release for your News, Events, or Religion sections.
The Men's Conference described in the press
release below is open to men of all faiths and it's good for the people of
different denominations to know what other churches are doing. For those who do not attend, the press
release also gives a taste of the speaker's message, which challenges the men
to recognize that inevitable suffering can be very productive and can help us
to become saints.
Feel
free to edit and condense it as you see fit.
If space is lacking, please at least consider the short announcement
below for your Events section or Church Calendar. You may contact me at 740-245-9404. Photos of the main speaker, Mark Nehrbas, are
attached as well as the Conference brochure and other information.
Thank you for your
consideration and God bless.
PRESS RELEASE
 |
| Mark Nehrbas, the main speaker. |
CANCER SURVIVOR TO SHOW HOW SUFFERING CAN MAKE
YOU A SAINT AT 2019 MEN’S DAY
Sooner or later every
person will have to suffer. That’s the
human condition. Will we be able to
confront it when it’s our turn? At this year’s Men’s Conference at
St. Stephen’s Church in Caldwell on March 23 (9 am to 4 pm) we have Mark Nehrbas, who has
given talks all over the country and will speak from his own personal
experience. He has fought a six year
battle against an aggressive form of stomach cancer. He went to Lourdes and was healed! Nehrbas will give his testimony of what he
went through. He will give tips on how
to cope with suffering when our time comes.
He will show how suffering can make us saints. By uniting our cross with the Lord’s cross
and offering it up to God as a dynamic prayer for our intentions, suffering can
be very productive. It will be a great
day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual invigoration. Fathers are encouraged to bring their teen
aged sons for a shared experience.
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 and a Steubenville native likes to point out, “The children
love Mom, but tend to follow Dad.”
This
demonstrates the importance of the Diocesan
Men’s Day of Renewal to be held on Saturday March 23 from 9 am to 4 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 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
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.
The theme is “The
Cross as a Source of Strength and Path to Ultimate Victory Over All Adversity”
with St. Joseph, model of a true man of
God, as the Conference’s patron. Through the power of faith men must 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
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, 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 goal of the Men's Day of Renewal is to focus on the spiritual development of the men. 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 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. There’s also a recent article on another
blog, “A Little Bit for God and His People” at paulrsebastianphd.blogspot.com (#217). One may also contact paulrsebastian@yahoo.com
or call 740-245-9404. Attached are the
Conference brochure and photos.
A great day of enjoyable fellowship and spiritual
reinvigoration is expected. But most of all, the organizers
hope 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.
AS A
SHORT ANNOUNCEMENT IN THE EVENTS SECTION OR CHURCH CALENDAR
 |
| Mark & Carol Nehrbas at Lourdes, France where he was healed. |
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