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Mardi Gras party, Mass celebrate lay ministers
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published February 27, 2009
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
John Thorne, coordinator of Black Catholic Ministry for the archdiocese, speaks to the crowd about sharing their gifts. |
Detroit — John Thorne joked about his first days in parish ministry to a crowd of hundreds Tuesday morning: "I thought I had a sign on my back that said 'fresh meat,'" he said.
"Anything that went wrong — I was there. I thought, is there anyone else in the church?"
Thorne, director of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was speaking to those being certified or re-certified in lay ministry, and those there to support the lay ministers, for their annual Mardi Gras celebration. The troubleshooting he found himself doing in those early days, he said, was a result of people seeing the gifts he had to give the Church.
Thorne, who said several times he was a "nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save your soul," asked the crowd to think about the gifts they might have that they are keeping "swaddled" from others, like the infant Jesus was swaddled laying in the manger.
"As I look at my own life, I see unswaddled gifts," he said, acknowledging that he has more than his music to give the Church. "Realizing those gifts is the first step to unswaddling," he said.
That people share those gifts to minister to the Church is why the group comes together annually "celebrating those of us who are privileged to serve the Church in God's name," said Jim Kiefer, archdiocesan director of Parish Life. All the ministries come together to celebrate before Lent, before readying for spring and the Resurrection. The day also includes a liturgy that recognizes them; this year it was celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Flores.
"A good kickoff to that is to reconnect with people," Kiefer said. "It's a day about recognizing and affirming one another's calls."
Deacon Mark Springer, who serves at St. Alexander Parish in Farmington Hills, said he enjoys the morning of giving and receiving mutual support, as well seeing what others are doing. "Keeping connected is so important in youth ministry," he said.
Flor Rangel, pastoral minister at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Farmington, knows about such connections — among the programs at her parish is School of Faith, an adult faith formation program that prepares adults to help out at other parishes, she explained.
"We see a lot of each other, but never in this environment," she said of the Tuesday gathering. "It's a great opportunity for us to get together as family."
Geri and Brian Finn attended to support their daughter, Tara, newly certified in youth ministry for St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish, Sterling Heights.
"It's a good celebration of the people you worked alongside to get here," Tara Finn said. "People who've mentored you, people you're hoping to inspire — they're all here together."
Newly Certified
Business Managers
- Carol Chupka, , St. Columban, Birmingham
- Carlton Johnson, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Plymouth
- Dorothy Kushnir, St. Pius X, Southgate
- Tyrone Mack, St. Charles Borromeo, Detroit
- Sharon Myers, Church of the Transfiguration, Southfield
- Joanna Saady, St. Philomena, Detroit
- Kathleen Szalay, Christ the Good Shepherd, Lincoln Park
Christian Service/Social Ministry
- Jene Baughman, St. William, Walled Lake
- Marylou Enneking, St. Daniel, Clarkston
Directors of Religious Education
- Jaclyn Allor, St. Therese of Lisieux, Shelby Township
- Julie Althaver
- Armando Bravo, St. Stephen/Mary Mother of the Church, Detroit
- David Conrad, St. Aidan, Livonia
- Patricia Eisenhauer, St. Joseph, Maybee
- Suzanne Gordon, St. Vincent Ferrer, Madison Heights
- Anita Houghton, St. Sylvester, Warren
- Roxanne Hundsrucker, St. Regis, Bloomfield Hills
- Joseph Kuligowski, St. Kieran, Shelby Township
- Melissa Pace, St. Clare of Montefalco, Grosse Pointe Park
- Marcella Solis, Holy Redeemer, Detroit
- Priscilla Steenburg, St. Kenneth, Plymouth
- Kathleen Thompson, St. Gertrude, St. Clair Shores
Pastoral Musician
- Mario Amore, Our Lady of the Woods, Woodhaven
Pastoral Ministry
- Mario Amore, Our Lady of the Woods, Woodhaven
- Maria Charria, St. Vincent de Paul, Pontiac
- Beverly Clark, St. Augustine, Richmond
- Judith Griggs-Dennis, St. James the Greater, Novi
- Carrie Orlando, St. Michael, Sterling Heights
- Tim Stokes, St. Roch, Flat Rock
- Elaine Young, St. Therese of Lisieux, Shelby Township
Youth Ministry
- Jaclyn Allor, St. Therese of Lisieux, Shelby Township
- Patricia Breen, St. Gerald, Farmington
- Timothy Faremouth, St. Alfred, Taylor
- Tara Finn, St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Sterling Heights
- Crystal Howard
- Linda Jarvi, St. Hubert, Harrison Township
- Michelle Koehler, St. Mary/McCormick Academy, Columbus
- Joseph Kuligowski, St. Lucy, St. Clair Shores
- Karen Anne Mitchell, Divine Child, Dearborn
- Paul Pyrkosz, St. Aidan, Livonia
- Joseph Sturza, St. Francis of Assisi/St. Maximilian Kolbe, Ray
Renewed Certification
Directors of Religious Education
- Barbara Bacci-Yugovich, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Troy
- Bernadine Biske, St. Edmund, Warren
- Michelle Brock-Hackett
- Carol Buboi, St. Athanasius, Roseville
- Patricia Butler
- Christine Cabe, St. Martin de Porres, Warren
- Susan Campbell, St. Sebastian, Dearborn Heights
- Margaret Casing, St. Mary of the Hills, Rochester Hills
- Suzanne Cornelius, St. Joan of Arc, St. Clair Shores
- Janice Doederlein, St. Patrick, Carleton
- Alice Doppel, St. Blase, Sterling Heights
- Kathleen DuBay, St. Michael, Monroe
- Mary Dumm, St. Blase, Sterling Heights
- Susan Finley, Holy Family, Memphis
- Suzanne Fredenberg, St. Owen, Bloomfield Hills
- Jacqueline Gere, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Temperanc
- Elizabeth Haley, St. Patrick, White Lake
- Fran Helner, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
- Sr. Angela Hibbard, IHM, Gesu, Detroit
- Susan Juliano, St. Therese of Lisieux, Shelby Township
- Mary Therese Lemanek
- Alice Mastin, St. Ronald, Clinton Township
- Dr. Michael Meyer, Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills
- Marianne Muehmel, St. Thomas More, Troy
- Paula Nemeth, Our Lady of Victory, Northville
- Maureen O'Reilly, Archdiocese of Detroit
- Mary Paonessa, St. Lawrence, Utica
- Jillian Peck, Holy Spirit, Highland
- Barbara Rumschlag, St. Anne, Monroe
- Amelia Sledz, St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Clair Shores
- Sr. Therese Sonnenfeld, St. Mary Burnside, North Branch
- Celia St. Charles, St. Fabian, Farmington Hills
- Tim Stokes, St. Roch, Flat Rock
- Michelle Szczepanski, St. Andrew, Rochester
- Lisa Verellen, SS. Peter & Paul, North Branch
- Christine Wagberg, St. Dennis, Royal Oak
- Sharon Williams, St. Michael, Livonia
- Julie Wieleba-Milkie, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
- Elaine Young, St. Therese of Lisieux, Shelby Township
Liturgical Ministry
- Fran Helner, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
- Julie Wieleba-Milkie, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
Pastoral Ministry
- Fran Helner, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
- Flor Rangel, Our Lady of Sorrows, Farmington
- Celia St. Charles, St. Fabian, Farmington Hills
- Sharon Williams, St. Michael, Livonia
- Julie Wieleba-Milkie, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
Youth Ministry
- Cathy Ghrist, St. Sabina, Dearborn Heights
- Jeanne Martin, St. William, Walled Lake
- Sandra Rigsby
- Marjorie Shackett, St. William, Walled Lake
- Therese Tardiff, St. Frances Cabrini, Allen Park
- Marilyn Trumper-Samra, St. Lawrence, Utica
- Julie Wieleba-Milkie, Sacred Heart, Dearborn
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