June '08 First Friday - Dr. David Lodes - Catholic Schools & the Faith in Our Future program

Our speaker this month will be Dr. David Lodes, the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Dr. Lodes will speak to us about the Strategic Plan for Faith in Our Future the Office of Schools and the impact of the program on that Plan.

The Faith in Our Future program is a campaign drive to attain $105 million to support the needs of the Archdiocese. A minimum of $6.85 million is for schools to fund development of best practices and strengthened accreditation standards, to enhance academic performance and professional development for teachers, the expansion of marketing/development services and grants for facility and technology needs.

Dr. Lodes has masters degrees in science (UW-Oshkosh) and education administration (UW-Milwaukee); and a PH.D from Marquette (Strategic Planning). Dr. Lodes began his education career as a science teacher (Chemistry, Physics, etc.). After serving as assistant principal and principal, he became superintendent of the Arrowhead School District, a position he maintained for fourteen years. During his tenure, the district grew from 800 to over 2300 students. In October, 2007, Dr. Lodes was named the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

May '08 First Friday - Fr. Harak - MU Center for Peacemaking

The speaker for our discussion group will be Fr. Simon Harak, S.J. Fr. Harak is the director of the recently created Marquette University Center for Peacemaking. Fr. Harak will speak about the Center and related issues.

An interview with Fr. Harak which appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in November, 2007 may also be of interest.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

April '08 First Friday - St. Anthony's School and School Choice

Our speaker this month is Terry Brown, who is the President of St. Anthony's School and will speak to us about the school and about the state of the school choice program in Milwaukee. With 1,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Anthony's is the largest grade school in Milwaukee -- including MPS schools. It is the largest school in the voucher program, and one of the largest Catholic grade schools in the country.

For more information, see the recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story on Terry Brown's stewardship of St. Anthony's School.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

Midwest Regional Biomedical Ethics Conference - April 26, 2008

On Saturday, April 26, 2008, our friends at the Milwaukee Medical Guild are sponsoring the Fourth Annual Midwest Regional Bioethics Conference in Madison. The Guild has put together an outstanding faculty for this event. In addition, the Guild has applied for 3.5 hours of CLE credit with the State Bar. The brochure for the event is attached as a pdf Document. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Chris Zainer by email - at czainermd at wi dot rr dot com

March '08 First Friday - Kevin O'Brien - Men of Christ Catholic Conference

We are pleased to announce that our First Friday speaker this month is Kevin O'Brien. Kevin is the founder and president of the Men of Christ Catholic Conference, Inc. (Website link) which is the organization that sponsored last weekend's Men of Christ Conference for 3000 men at State Fair Park. Kevin is a former NFL linebacker who refound his faith after he left professional football. Drawing on his experience in organizing a men's conference in Massachusetts, Kevin and a small group of friends hosted the first Men of Christ Conference in February of 2007. The organization has grown since the first conference and is presently reaching out to assist groups presenting men's programs in other locations. Kevin is passionate about this ministry and is an engaging speaker.

An article describing Kevin and his vision for the Men of Christ mission appeared in the Catholic Herald on February 21, 2008. The February 28, 2008 issue of the Catholic Herald contains an article reporting on the 2008 conference (Weblink).

See also, 2/23/08 JSOnlne Article; and, the Men of Christ website.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

February '08 First Friday - Fr. Nathan Reeseman - "Catechism and Coffee"

On December 7, 2007 our First Friday gathering will again meet - Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

Our guest celebrant and speaker for February is Fr. Nathan Reesman. Fr. Reesman serves as the Associate Pastor of St. Mary's Visitation Parish in Elm Grove. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Fr. Reesman was ordained in May, 2006, and is the youngest priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Fr. Reesman developed the highly successful "Catechism and Cocktails" program at St. Mary's this summer. For the First Friday discussion, Fr. Reesman will speak on vocations and will reprise the Q&A format of "Catechism and Cocktails" -- call it "Catechism and Coffee". Fr. Reesman will be ready to field any questions you ever wanted to ask a priest.

STMLS White Paper - Abuse Case Statute of Limitations

From the Executive Committee:

- January 23, 2008 -

To the Members of STMLS:

Greetings. We are providing as a PDF attachment to this email an advance copy of a white paper that was authorized by the Board of Directors at its last meeting. The paper addresses proposed legislation that would prospectively abolish the statute of limitations for child sex abuse crimes in Wisconsin and create a window during which claims now barred by the statute of limitations could be revived. Depending on one’s perspective, the legislation is referred to as “window”, “look-back”, or “reviver” legislation. The white paper speaks for itself. It was authorized by a unanimous vote of those present at the most recent Board meeting and later reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee. The paper is being circulated to members of the appropriate Senate and Assembly committees.

As you may know, Archbishop Dolan testified against this proposed legislation last week. A copy of his testimony along with a position paper submitted by the Catholic Conference are posted on the archdiocesan website.

We have taken this step after much prayer and reflection. It is not often that the Society ventures into the policy realm, but we feel that speaking out about this important issue is appropriate and in keeping with the example of our patron, perhaps especially because our position will not be uniformly popular or accepted.

Lastly, we thank those of you who volunteered to work on this project. Due to the legislative calendar, we had to get something out the door quickly, if at all, and there was not time to seek input or assistance from all those who volunteered. In the event this legislation becomes law, there will likely be a case testing its constitutionality. At that time, it may be appropriate for the Society to consider filing an amicus brief with a more extended analysis of the legal and constitutional issues presented.

Yours in Christ,

THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jonathan Koenig, President

James Carrig, Past President

Tom Hruz, President-Elect

Bruce Arnold, Secretary

Justin Longley, Treasurer

January '08 First Friday (Hiatus)

There will be no First Friday gathering for January 2008.

Be sure to plan to join us in February!