WTC

A WEEKLY WRAP-UP OF NEWS AROUND THE DIOCESE AND PARISHES IN THE MEMPHIS AND JACKSON DEANERIES.

Attention all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts

The Diocesan Ministry for Mental Illness is sponsoring a FREE NAMI Memphis course and support group

CBU to Host Open House for PA Program

Diversity Memphis Announces 2012 Humanitarian Award Honorees

Germantown Knights of Columbus Gifts Top $140,500!

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Awards Grant to Help the Needy in Memphis

Attention all Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts

Mark your calendars for this year’s Catholic Scouting Retreat. This year’s theme is “Jesus the Adventurer”. It will be held November 9~11, 2012 at Camp Currier in Eudora MS. All Scouts as well as family are encouraged to attend. The cost for the event is $15.00 per registrant with a maximum of $60.00 per scouting family. This includes an event patch and two hot meals; lunch and dinner. As always mass will be held before dinner. There will be activities for all ages. More information will be available soon. Follow us on Facebook at Diocese of Memphis Catholic.

The Diocesan Ministry for Mental Illness is sponsoring a FREE NAMI Memphis course and support group

“Beginnings” is a course for families with children under the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Classes will meet from 9 a.m.-Noon, May 8-25 at the Church of the Incarnation, 360 Bray Station Rd, Collierville, TN in the Parish Social Ministry Building. Call Sandra Armstrong at (901) 725-0305 for details/registration.

For family members, friends and caregivers of mental health consumers, the Diocesan Ministry for Mental Illness also offers an ongoing support group for families affected by mental illness. The “WHIM” Support Group with Hope in Mind meets on Thursdays, 10 a.m.-noon at Church of the Holy Spirit, 2300 Hickory Crest Dr, Memphis, TN in Room 105.

CBU to Host Open House for PA Program

    Christian Brothers University (CBU) is holding an Open House for the Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) program Thursday, May 17, 4:30-7:00 p.m. in Montesi Executive Center, Buckman Hall. There will be tours and light refreshments.

    CBU’s Physician Assistant program is the first and only PA program in Memphis. Its inaugural class began in January 2012 with 32 students who will be able to earn a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies within 27 months (seven continuous semesters). One new cohort is accepted each year.

    Applications are currently being accepted for the next cohort that will begin January 2013. For admission requirements and to learn more about CBU’s PA program and this Open House, visit www.cbu.edu/PAS or contact the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies at pas@cbu.edu or call (901) 321-3388.

Diversity Memphis Announces 2012 Humanitarian Award Honorees

    Diversity Memphis has announced the recipients of the 2012 Humanitarian Award are Bob Bernstein, Dr. Manoj Jain, Modeane Thompson, David Waters and David Wedaman. They will be honored at the Seventh Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner scheduled for 7 p.m., May 17th, at the Ridgeway Country Club. Individuals chosen to receive this award exemplify personal integrity and community leadership, and reflect the dynamic goals of the organization.

    Of this year’s recipients, many Catholics in the Memphis Diocese will be familiar with David Wedaman. He is the President and CEO of ReTrans, a multimodal, full-service transportation and logistics management company. Using pioneering technology ReTrans moves and tracks large and small shipments around the world, whether by truck, rail, ship or plane, or a series of varied types of transportation, ReTrans takes responsibility for pick up and final delivery of their customer’s freight. Using the same passionate attention to detail, Wedaman gives back to the community. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Lifeblood Foundation, Youth Villages and CMUST, the Catholic Memphis Urban School Trust, the Financial Board that was established to fund the Jubilee Schools. He also serves on the board of the Bluestreak Scholarship Fund, the Advisory Board for Catholic High, and the Education That Works Program, sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. Wedaman, who graduated from what was then Memphis State University, served as the 2011 Executive in Residence for University of Memphis engineering and business students.

    Diversity Memphis, founded in 2005, is a human relations organization dedicated to bringing people together regardless of their cultural, religious or racial differences. It promotes tolerance and respect for all, with the hope that greater understanding and acceptance of one another will make each of us stronger and lead our city in becoming a better place for everyone. Diversity Memphis strives to bring together people from all walks of life to help them appreciate their differences and recognize how much they have in common. With that goal in mind, individuals honored each year come from a variety of backgrounds.

    For more information regarding Tables, Tickets or Ads for this event contact Diversity Memphis at 246-8770 or office@diversitymemphis.org. Tickets for the dinner begin at $150. For more information about Diversity Memphis and this year’s dinner, go to www.diversitymemphis.org

“Voices of St. Augustine"

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with song. Know ye that the Lord He is God”. Psalm 100: 1-3

    The “Voices of St. Augustine” known also as St. Augustine Gospel Choir, will celebrate their Annual Choir Day on Sunday, May 20, 2012 in commemoration with months of celebration leading up to the 75th Anniversary of St. Augustine Catholic Church in August of this year. It is free and open to public.

    Choir Day is at 3:00 p.m. at St. Augustine Catholic Church, 1169 Kerr Ave., Memphis. Rev. Robert Cary, C.S.P., is the Pastor. Robert Clayborne is Choir Director and musician. Sheila Branch, Doris Elmore and Carla Wells are members of the choir and also serve as choir directors.

    The theme for Choir Day is “To God Be the Glory.” A part of the program will be favorite selections submitted by the congregation. St. Augustine Hymnal Choir will sing. St. Augustine Liturgical Dancers will perform.

    The “Voices of St. Augustine,” steeped in the culture of African American traditional Spiritual and Gospel music, views every invitation to sing as an opportunity to evangelize. Their musical influence is evident all over Memphis and the Mid-South. They have performed in concerts in Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois and Washington, DC.

Germantown Knights of Columbus Gifts Top $140,500!

    Frank P. Lamanna, Sr., Scholarship Chairman, and Chris Cambre, Grand Knight of Germantown Council 7449, present checks totaling $12,000 to Dr. Mary C. McDonald, Superintendent of Catholic Schools. These checks were presented in honor of Jim Arnold, a deceased Brother Knight of the Council who was instrumental in the raising of these funds over the years.

    The Germantown Knights of Columbus Council 7449 have donated more than $140,500 in scholarship funds to various Catholic schools in Memphis over the last 16 years.

    Schools that are recipients of these funds in 2012, as designated by the Diocese Superintendent’s Office are: Our Lady of Sorrows Elementary School, St. Anne (Highland) Elementary School, St. Michael Elementary School, and St. Paul Elementary School.

    All monies go into the schools’ scholarship endowment funds and are earmarked for students that require assistance based on financial need as determined by the pastor or school administration.

    The Knights are committed to the ideals of Catholic education.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Awards Grant to Help the Needy in Memphis

The National Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) has awarded a $2,500 grant to help the needy in the Memphis area, including food and emergency assistance for people facing eviction or termination of their utility services.

The money is part of the SVdP’s Friends of the Poor® grant program, and will be disbursed by the Society’s conference (chapter) at St. Anne Catholic Church in Memphis. SVdP this year will distribute $80,000 in grants through the program around the country. Grant applications are reviewed and awarded on a regional basis. Funding comes from the general public and the Society’s 172,000 members in the United States, and is targeted to specific needs in each community that are above and beyond those available to the organization’s conferences.

“Unfortunately, the cost of food continues to rise. These extra funds will assist us greatly as we strive to serve those who come to us for help,” said Marcia Casey, the president of the conference. (Mary Alice Welsh, a member of the St. Anne conference, wrote the grant application.)

The largest social assistance organization in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (www.svdpusa.org) is an international, nonprofit Catholic lay organization of approximately 700,000 men and women who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually and offer person-to-person service to the needy and people living in poverty in 142 countries on five continents. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and utility costs, care for the elderly and medicine.