Mentors for young moms sought by Right to Life

The Dayton Right to Life Resource Center is inviting individuals to consider sharing parenting experiences with young moms. The organization is seeking volunteer mentors to support young parents ages 16-21 who have a toddler.

The next training session is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 10, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. A mentor commitment is weekly for a 10 month period, with the first 10 weeks held on Thursday evenings from 6:30-8:30 starting Jan. 15 in the Toddlers of Teens program. For more information and to register, you may call Elaine at 937-223-9227.

ARCHDIOCESE

Vocations programs planned for January and February

Mount St. Mary’s Seminary is hosting a Vocation Night for college age men and older to come and learn more about discerning their call to the priesthood. The event on Wednesday, Jan. 14 begins at 5:15 p.m., and includes Mass, dinner, social time and a talk on the priesthood. For more information, visit www.cincinnativocations.org and click on Upcoming Events.

St. Michael Prayer Warriors is hosting the second "Call of the King Conference" on Jan. 18 at St. Mary Church in Piqua from 7-8:30 pm with a holy hour for vocations starting at 6 p.m. This event features a keynote address by Father Earl Fernandes, and two of our seminarians will present on the effects of prayer on their vocation. For more information visit www.cincinnativocations.org and click on Prayer Warriors.

"Cast Your Nets," the event that challenges high school students and young adults in the archdiocese to live their Catholic faith, is coming to Cincinnati on Feb. 22, at Good Shepherd from 5:30-9 p.m. The event features Mass, and includes live music, guest speaker, snacks, an interactive game and the sacrament of Reconciliation. For more information visit www.catholiccincinnati.org/youthmin/CYN.

On Feb. 16, the Pontifical College Josephinum is hosting "College Day." This is an opportunity for all high school men who are thinking about the priesthood to visit the college seminary to further discern their vocation. For more information visit www.cincinnativocations. org and click on Upcoming Events.

CATHEDRAL DEANERY

Service to promote immigration reform

Fountain Square will be the site of an Interfaith Prayer Service for Immigration Reform from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. The service will consist of a reading from an interfaith immigration platform signed last month by a number of major Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It will be followed by prayers led by area religious leaders.

All are invited to attend.

The Catholic Church in the United States observes Jan. 4-10 as National Migration Week, celebrating the theme "Renewing Hope, Seeking Justice." The Catholic Bishops of the United States established National Migration Week more than 25 years ago to spotlight the wide diversity of the church and the ministries serving them.

CATHEDRAL DEANERY

SVDP collects thousands of coats for winter

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and WLWT Channel 5 collected 5,352 new and gently-used coats during the eighth annual coat drive that ended in early December. With the help of collection partner Gold Star Chili, City Dash and fire departments in Cincinnati, the total collection surpassed the goal by more than 30 percent.

St. Vincent de Paul supplies coats to its own clients, as well as to other agencies that also work directly with those in need.

"Thanks to the generous community support and our corporate partners, we are able to provide coats to help our neighbors in need —and a large number of children in need —to help them stay warm this winter," said Liz Carter, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul.

For more information about donating or getting involved, please call St. Vincent de Paul at 513-562-8841, ext. 225, or visit www.svdpcincinnati.org.

ST. LAWRENCE DEANERY

Mount announces date of inauguration

The inauguration of Anthony J. Aretz as the sixth president of the College of Mount St. Joseph will be held Thursday, March 19, a date that is significant to the new president. March 19 is the feast day of St. Joseph, patron saint of the college, and the groundbreaking for the present campus happened on this date in 1960. The year 2009 will also be the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Charity by Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton in Emmitsburg, Md.

"Since I first arrived at the Mount, I have been impressed by the remarkable heritage of this college and its significant role as Catholic institution of excellence established by the Sisters of Charity," said Dr. Aretz. Inauguration day events will include a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, Coadjutor Archbishop of Cincinnati, and an investiture ceremony conducted by the board of trustees and the Sisters of Charity. Mount students, faculty, administration and staff are planning the inaugural events.

Dr. Aretz took office as the Mount’s sixth president last July 1 after serving as academic vice president of Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.

ST. ANDREW DEANERY

MND students make Christmas brighter for needy

The Mount Notre Dame High School community was able to make this Christmas a little brighter for 25 families in Northside.

For the 15th year MND students, faculty and staff partnered with CAIN (Churches Active in Northside) for their annual Christmas family project. Toys, gift cards and clothing were donated, gathered and shared with families who haven’t been able to weather these difficult financial times as well as some of us.

"Helping the people that CAIN supports is very fulfilling. The Christmas Family Project gives the students at MND a real sense of what it’s like to help those in need," says moderator Denise Scharf of Mount Notre Dame’s art department.
Melissa McCormick, a senior at MND, will miss this particular outreach opportunity when she graduates this spring. "This project is very meaningful to me," she said. "It is my gift to know that I am able to help families less fortunate than me, especially to be able to give children Christmas gifts."

Junior Amy Flynn loves that everyone in the MND family gives all they can to make Christmas more special for those in need. "The entire school is rich with generosity and has made Christmas truly the happiest time of the year for everyone," she said.

COURTESY PHOTO

Mount Notre Dame students bring gifts to the loading dock to be taken to Churches Active in Northside (CAIN) and distributed to needy families.