HUNTERSVILLE — Close to 500 men attended the seventh annual Catholic Men’s Conference, “Men on a Mission,” at St. Mark Church March 4.
The conference was an opportunity for the men of the Diocese of Charlotte to live their Catholic faith, and lead their families and others to God by the example of their lives.
This year it featured three dynamic Catholic speakers with very different delivery styles, including former Carolina Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein. Bishop Peter J. Jugis also celebrated Mass for the men. The day-long conference also featured Adoration and Benediction, with a Lenten reflection by Father Cory Catron, parochial vicar at St. Mark Church.
Soft-spoken Catholic speaker Robert Rogers, from Mighty in the Land Ministries, shared his testimony of how his wife Melissa and his four children were tragically killed during a flash flood in Kansas in August 2003. “The flood washed us off the freeway… I was in that flood as well. How I survived, only God knows,” Rogers recounted.
“The core of my message is to know God deeply, intimately, personally, and to live a life of no regrets,” he said.
Beuerlein followed Rogers’ poignant testimony. The former NFL quarterback told football stories about his college years as quarterback for the University of Notre Dame. Buerlein also shared with the men how central his Catholic faith has been since he was young.
“My Catholic faith is really at the core and center of who I am,” Beuerlein said. “It’s always been that way. I was born into an incredibly strong Catholic family… The example they set for us at a very young age is kind of the example I strive to live by myself now.”
Preaching on the Gospel of Luke 5:27-32, the calling of Levi, the tax collector, Bishop Jugis encouraged the men gathered to follow Christ.
“It’s an invitation that’s made, not just to Levi, but to each one of us here this morning, who has heard those words from Jesus, spoken to each one of us: ‘Follow me.’ Follow Him. Get up right away and start on the journey,” Bishop Jugis encouraged the men.
Father Bill Casey, superior general of the Fathers of Mercy, was the final speaker of the day. A former U.S. Army officer, Father Casey used a fiery tone to encourage the men to think about the things of above. Quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, the priest described heaven this way: “Heaven is the place where every good thing you have ever known or needed, and did not have; searched for, and could not find;…and everything that has eluded you, will be yours.”
Joe Warwick, a parishioner at St. Ann Church in Charlotte who has attended all seven men’s conferences, said he was thankful to have been at this year’s event, as he was deeply touched by Rogers’ testimony.
“I saw one of the greatest, if not the greatest, personal testimony of one man’s faith I’ve seen or heard today at the seventh annual Charlotte Catholic Men’s Conference. His faith is intact, but his soul continues to cry out,” Warwick said, “Robert Rogers has raised the bar higher than any lay person I’ve seen regarding being a husband and father through his witness as head of the domestic church.”
Sergio Miranda, core-organizing team leader, said he received great feedback from the participants, “I personally believe the Holy Spirit was with us that day. We were electrified and recharged with an energy that can only be experienced from men gathering, sharing and praying together.”
— Rico De Silva, Hispanic Communications Reporter
HUNTERSVILLE — St. Mark Church now has more than 5,500 registered families, making it the second-largest parish in the Diocese of Charlotte after St. Matthew.
Father John T. Putnam, pastor of the Huntersville parish, knew that many parishioners could feel overwhelmed by so many people. So he asked the parish’s stewardship committee to look for a program designed to make them feel more a part of the parish family. The result was “SmallGroups.”
“The mission of SmallGroups is to connect people and create friendships within our large church while growing in faith together,” said Beth Zuhosky, the parish’s stewardship director. “It is for every member of our church and community to grow in an intimate relationship with God through prayer, hospitality, formation and service.”
Similar to the “Why Catholic” program held at the church 10 years ago, SmallGroups seeks to help parishioners connect with others and grow closer to God. It includes various groups so members can feel a common bond with other members of their individual group along with sharing the Catholic faith.
For instance, there are groups for empty nesters, couples, singles, singles with children, first-time parents, interfaith marriages, all men, all women. Or people can choose a co-ed group of various ages or a specific age group. There is even a group for high schoolers.
Laura Hogan is chairwoman and one of the leaders of the steering committee for the program. “I was the chair of the Adult Education Commission at St. Mark when the pastor asked me to implement the ‘Why Catholic’ program,” she said. “I love helping people go deeper into their Catholic faith! Fast forward 10 years and I was the chair of the Education Commission again and heard that our Stewardship Commission was looking to start SmallGroups at our parish. I immediately felt drawn to it again. I prayed about it for a little while and then I asked our director of stewardship if I could step down from the Education Commission and instead lead the SmallGroups movement. Now it is eight months later, and registration for our first study just closed with more than 560 in 53 small groups.”
“It’s a huge movement,” Hogan said. “Many parishes have small groups but call it different things and run them completely different. Ours is unique to us.”
While the format for each group can be tailored, typically a group of up to 12 people gather in a parishioner’s home. They meet for eight weeks, usually in the spring and again in the fall, to do engaging studies together. St. Mark’s first session focuses on prayer using a program called “Oremus, a Catholic Prayer Study.” Members watch a video and then discuss questions.
Between studies they gather once each month to perform service together, socialize or participate in events going on at St. Mark or at other local parishes such as lectures, religious movies and prayer services.
The current program began the week of Feb. 26.
— Diana Patulak Ross, Correspondent