52 Masses

My oldest son, Ian, completed most of his undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins University with the conclusion of the first semester. But now that he’s on the employment trail, he’s returning to Baltimore to begin the hopefully short interview process before landing his first job.

Thus, the Christmas holiday provided one last opportunity for a father-son travel adventure, the kind we both enjoy (one heavy on seeing historical and other sights, rather than things to do).

We used this chance to make our first real visit* to Vincennes, Indiana, the Hoosier State’s first city. Our chief destination was George Rogers Clark National Historic Park, a nifty little place on the shore of the Wabash River.

We thoroughly enjoyed our too-brief stay, even with the government shutdown that kept the inside of the impressive memorial closed to visitors (if you have way too much time on your hands, you can see our thoughts on the shutdown here, as we were interviewed by a Terre Haute news channel that was reporting on the local effects of the “Closed. Be Back in Who Knows How Many Minutes” signs on all of our federal buildings).

A delightful side benefit to the trip was the fact the Memorial sits side by side with the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Indiana’s first Catholic parish. Old Cathedral, as it’s also known, doesn’t necessarily wow you from the outside, but the interior was drop-dead gorgeous, which I hope is reflected in the photos Ian shot.

*I’d been to Vincennes twice 30 years prior to play in college soccer games, though the city’s charms didn’t register at the time. To be fair, I wasn’t looking.

As most of you already here know, I’ve spent the past few weeks reaching out to parish leaders across the country seeking possible churches to visit in 2021. And the responses I’ve gotten already have been truly inspirational.

Last week, just before Thanksgiving, I got a call from Lisa Landone, a member of the choir at Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel in Bridgeport, Conn. Nothing too unusual there, until you discover that the choir was founded after the tiny chapel was slated for closure due to membership numbers that had dropped down to unsustainable levels.  

But the existing members were determined to keep the tiny chapel alive. So they put together a message for Bishop Frank Joseph Caggiano, who graciously allowed them the opportunity to make their case.   

That they did, speaking passionately about the parish and the future they saw for it, capped by the presentation of the video here. And it worked. Bishop Caggiano agreed to allow the parish time to increase membership numbers and collections. And while the parish fell just short of the target numbers by the designated date, its progress and passion again convinced the bishop to let the small, but growing, parish continue its push.

That passion was so evident in our 20-minute conversation it thoroughly brightened my day. And it again reminded me why I’m doing this, and provided a glimpse of how wonderfully enriching the experience is going to be.

Since I’m still more than 2 years away from my trip, there isn’t as much to say now as there will be when I hit the road.

Nonetheless, I hope to keep this blog current with new links and messages, whether that’s some of the people I’m communicating with as I plow forward, links to worthwhile organizations (such as this one) or other items that fit in here (such as this review).

If you’d like to stay abreast of any new content that I post here, I encourage you to follow me. You can do so by clicking on the small follow icon that appears and disappears at the bottom of the page (at least that’s what it does for me).

 

Were I tempted to write about Thomas J. Scecina, the Catholic Priest who served as a POW in World War II, my good friend and Scecina High School graduate Chris Crabtree would have disabused me of that notion.

It’s not because Scecina is an unworthy subject for the words and sentences treatment. On the contrary. It’s only because Chris and Jeff Langholz have already delivered a portrait of Scecina so thorough that I wouldn’t dare try to follow.

Scecina is one of the central characters in their new book, Hold Strong. It’s a historical novel based on the mostly unexplored story of U.S. soldiers taken as prisoners of war in the Pacific Theater. The novel captures the story after the soldiers had endured the Bataan Death March, during their time on the Arisan Maru, a Japanese hellship for American POWs. It’s a harrowing tale that takes no shortcuts.

Through exhaustive research into materials unclassified 30 years after the war, combined with interviews they conducted, Chris and Jeff deliver a plausible explanation for some of the events surrounding the ships’ fates. I’ll spare you the details to allow you to discover the story on your own. But the novel digs into, and prompts meaningful questions about, the decisions made in combat, both at the strategic and individual levels, all the while keeping you riveted by the remarkable events as they transpire.

And for Catholics, the book does a marvelous job exploring Scecina’s commitment, and how he inspires the men around him in the face of horrific conditions. Chris and Jeff manage to do in this historical novel what I want to do with my project – present a compelling picture of our faith at work.

Hold Strong is currently available on Amazon, linked here. A print version will follow.

 

 

One of the things I truly appreciate about the Catholic school education my children have received is the expectation of service. At Andrean, where my oldest son and daughter attended, and Marquette, where my son is now a junior, the students must perform a few dozen hours each school of volunteer work. As far as I know, those obligations are standard practice in the parochial school system.

It was that system that brought Cormac and I to Duneland Community Church on Saturday morning. Cormac was there to move closer to his service-hour requirement. I wanted to learn about the program he was volunteering for, Free the Girls.

Free the Girls is a Chesterton-based organization designed to help young women who had been victims of human trafficking as they rebuild their lives. It’s active in three developing countries: Mozambique, El Salvador and Costa Rica. The organization was founded in 2010 by Dave Terpstra and his wife, who were simply looking for a way for ordinary people to help fight the global scourge that is human trafficking.

The organization is not engaged in extricating the women from captivity, or the immediate rehabilitation process. Instead, they are focused on the next step in the process. “That’s our niche: reintegration,” says Terpstra.

Free the Girls accomplishes it’s goal through a rather simple model. It collects gently used bras from all over the country, then ships them to the organization and partner organizations in the three countries. There, the freed women sell them into the active used clothing markets in those countries.

The women are charged, after sale, half-price for the first batch of bras, which goes up to full price after several cycles. After a year of selling only bras, the women must add a second product line that they can obtain from wholesalers to then sell in addition to the undergarment.

After the two years, they’re no longer eligible to sell the bras, but they have that additional product that they can continue to sell. “They know how to sell in the local market,” he explains. The idea is to leave them prepared to build a life after exiting the program.

The bras are collected in a variety of ways. The group has drop-off sites around the country. American Eagle’s Aerie brand also runs a drop-off site, with any donors receiving 15 percent off the purchase of a new bra. And some bras simply get sent in via the mail.

They all come to Chesterton, chosen as the site because its pastor is on the board of directors at Free the Girls and the church is housed in a former warehouse. It was the perfect location from which to operate such an enormous endeavor.

Once a month or so, volunteers such as the Marquette kids and the others there Saturday are brought in to spend a few hours sorting and packing the donations that came in for shipment to the three countries.

“We’re just asking for a couple of hours of time. Yes, we’d love money, but right now we’re just interested in people’s time,” says Pam Gumns, warehouse manager.

“My favorite part of Free the Girls is just seeing what the average person can do just by showing up. If these people didn’t show and pack boxes, then these women couldn’t improve their lives and get out of trafficking. There’s a very tangible collection,” says Terpstra, who spends most of his time in Mozambique.

If you’d like more information about Free the Girls or how to help, visit http://www.freethegirls.org. Gently used bras can be sent to Free The Girls, 1552 Pioneer Trail, Chesterton, IN 46304.