April

Knights of Columbus convene in Deer Lodge
The 2009 Montana State Knights of Columbus convention will take place April 16-19 in Hamilton. General Sessions will be held at the Bedford Building. Registration will be held at the St. Francis Parish Pastoral Life Center.

This year’s convention will include special events for the ladies, a golf outing and a guided fishing float on the Bitterroot River. The banquet on Saturday night will feature a speaker from the Supreme Council office in New Haven, Conn., and presentation of the Montana Knight and Family of the Year awards.

Missoula schools’ BASH auction set April 24-25
“Reach for the Magic” and “Take Home a Treasure” by planning to attend the Missoula Catholic Schools’ annual benefit auction, BASH, Building A Scholastic Heritage. BASH 2009 will be held April 24-25, at the Sister Rita Mudd Activity Center, 1040 S. First St. in Missoula. Silent and oral auctions are scheduled Friday, April 24; doors will open at 5 p.m. with free admission. On Saturday, April 25, a gala dinner will precede silent and oral auctions; reservations are required. For more information, call the LSH Foundation office at 728-2367 or visit the website: www.missoulacatholicschools.org

May

27th Holy Spirit Conference May 1-3 in Helena
The Helena Diocese’s 27th Holy Spirit Conference on May 1-3 will feature a line-up of speakers, music and children’s and youth ministry. Mark your calendar, spread the word, invite a friend and come to experience the healing power of Jesus. For more information or to register, visit www.diocesehelena.org.

Latin Mass continues at Frenchtown parish
Sunday, May 3, is the next date for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy of the Mass (according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal and as permitted by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum) at St. John the Baptist Church in Frenchtown. Mass will begin at 11 a.m. Confessions are scheduled at 10 a.m. and the rosary will be prayed at 10:30 a.m.

Carroll offers programs for parish nurses, ministers
Carroll College’s Department of Nursing is preparing two programs for parish nurses – a Health Minister Basic Preparation course May 14-17, and a retreat for parish nurses and health ministers May 16-17, both at the Helena campus. Registration deadline is May 1. For more information, call 406-447-5494 or e-mail cgustafs@carroll.edu

CSSM golf tournament planned for May 15
The 10th annual Catholic Social Services of Montana golf tournament, “Spring Back to Life,” will be held May 15 at Helena’s Green Meadow Country Club, with a scramble start at 12:30 p.m. A barbeque will follow. Prizes and games are planned. A team can have up to five golfers. Cost is $300 per team, $60 per person. Registration is available online at www.cssmt.org or by calling 1-800-222-9383. Proceeds will benefit individuals served by CSSM.

A raffle is planned, with the drawing at the tournament. The prize is a trip to Maui, with airfare for two, 5 nights in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, beach front condo, and $200 cash. Raffle tickets are $15 for one, 2 for $25, 5 for $50, or 12 for $100. They are available by calling 1-800-222-9383 and also at many churches throughout the diocese.

Nurses banquet, celebration coming up in Butte
The annual St. James School of Nursing banquet and celebration weekend will be held May 15, 16 and 17 at the War Bonnet Hotel in Butte. No-host receptions are scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday, and 6-7 p.m. Saturday, followed by a banquet honoring the St. James class of 1959. For more information, call Claire Holman at 406-723-4258, or Deanna Thomas, 406-782-4435. Mass will be at 9 a.m. Sunday at Holy Spirit Parish; brunch will follow at the War Bonnet. All nurses are welcome. May 11 is the deadline for banquet reservations. Call Claire Holman at 723-4258 or Deanna Thomas at 782-4435.

Free retreat planned at Missoula parish
St. Francis Xavier Retreat Ministries of Missoula is offering a free three-day directed retreat May 29-31, based on St. Ignatius Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises. The schedule will be 5-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, all at St, Francis church. For an application, call Ann at the parish office, 406-542-0321 ext. 106, or go to the office at 420 W. Pine. Deadline for applying is May 22. Space is limited.

June

Engaged Encounter offers four weekend programs
Engaged Encounter, a marriage preparation program for engaged couples, is planning four more weekends for engaged couples throughout this year. Coming weekends include June 5-7 in Great Falls, Sept. 18-20 in Kalispell, Oct. 2-4 in Butte and Oct. 16-18 in Great Falls. For information and registration, couples should contact a registration couple in the area where they wish to attend: Jerry and Maureen LaChere, 594-1780 in Butte; Bob and Vickie Williamson, 727-5507 in Great Falls, and Stan and Margie Smith, 756-5848 in Kalispell.

Couples are encouraged to make a weekend one to six months before their wedding date. Non-Catholics are welcome. Engaged Encounter helps them to communicate effectively in marriage and to prepare for marriage, not just a wedding celebration.

Daughters of Isabella convention set in June
The 70th Daughters of Isabella state convention, hosted by Our Lady of Victory Circle 512, will be held June 12-14 at St. Ann’s Parish Hall, 2100 Farragut St. in Butte. The theme is “Christ Our Hope – in Christ We Are Saved.” The agenda includes civic and business sessions, a Memorial Mass, Hawaiian buffet, a tour of the Butte Mining Museum, a Saturday banquet and Sunday Mass.

For registration, call Linda Heard at 406-723-4258, or contact her at 1950 Howard Ave., Butte, MT 59701.

Catholic Women through the Generations
The Helena Diocese Council of Catholic Women will hold their 2009 convention in Kalispell this June 26, 27 and 28. The HDCCW is blessed to have two very special speakers. Karen Hurley, the keynote speaker, is president of the World Union of Catholic Women, and Mary Frances Thompson is director of the Portland (Oregon) Province; the Helena Diocese is a part of it.

The convention will begin Friday evening, June 26. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and women are asked to dress in a costume of their favorite era. Saturday will begin with a continental breakfast. The evening will end with a banquet.

All Catholic women are encouraged to attend. This is a great opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones. Consider sharing your faith and beliefs with other Catholic women.

Spend a week with Benedictine Sisters
Could God be calling you to the monastic way of life? Single Catholic women ages 21-45 are invited to spend a week with the Benedictine Sisters of Duluth, Minn., in June, July or August. Celebrate the Eucharist and pray the Liturgy of the Hours with the Sisters. Share meals, work and leisure with them, and spend time in discernment. Room and board are provided at no cost or obligation. They will work with individual schedules. Contact Sister Mary Catherine, OSB (218) 723-6646; St. Scholastica Monastery, 1001 Kenwood Ave., Duluth MN 55811; e-mail mcshambour@duluthosb.org Visit our website at www.duluthbenedictines.org

August

Alumni needed at Catholic school reunion
St. Rose of Lima Catholic School in Ephrata, Wash., will celebrate its 50th anniversary Aug. 1. Organizers are looking for alumni, parents, faculty and staff from the last five decades. Please contact Natalie Claussen at 509-754-9457, or send e-mail to claussen@donobi.net. More information is available on the school website, www.saintroseschool.org.

Father Corapi to speak in Buffalo, N.Y.
Father John Corapi, SOLT will be presenting a full day of sermons at the Catholic conference, “The Person and the Power of the Holy Spirit - The Lord and Giver of Life” on Aug. 15 in Buffalo/Niagara, N.Y.

Eternal Word Television Network’s Raymond Arroyo is also scheduled to speak at the conference.

Organizers said this will be Father Corapi’s first conference in two years and his only appearance in 2009, and that Father Corapi has stated he anticipates this to be his most powerful conference ever.

Tickets are limited and cost $35 or $45; for tickets call 888-223-6000 or visit www.fathercorapilive.com

Ongoing

Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites
St. Joseph, Guardian of the Redeemer, is a local group of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) located in Butte. Presently, members come from Helena, Bozeman, Belgrade and Butte. Secular Carmelites are called to make prayer penetrate their whole existence. Like all vocations within the Church, the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites is a call from God, an invitation. If you desire to learn to pray in a way that fosters a deep friendship with Jesus Christ in faithfulness to his Church, the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites may be worth investigating. The group meets at St. Joseph’s Church, Butte, the third Sunday of the month. For more information, call Melldie Freeman, group leader, 406-494-7949, or Becky Hyle, formation director, 406-494-3892.

Secular Franciscans meet in Missoula
People who want a deeper experience of Christ and knowledge of the humble and peace-loving traditions of St. Francis of Assisi may contact the Secular Franciscan Order in Missoula. It is a group of Missoula-area married, single and divorced lay people who meet every month in fraternity. A two-year discernment period is required. Meetings begin at 10 a.m. the second Saturday of each month in the Loyola Chapel behind St. Anthony’s parish center. For more information, contact Joe Korona at 549-4239.


Published in The Montana Catholic, Vol. 25, No. 4, April 17, 2009.