Welcome
to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that
you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to
the Grapevine Editor, Marie Antunes, at marieantunes@christendom.edu.
The editor reserves the right to include or exclude any information
submitted for publication in The Grapevine.
The
Grapevine Online is uploaded on the First Friday of every
month. It will have a couple of sections (when information
is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information
on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events,
and Links to various
recent stories about Christendom College and/or the Alumni
of Christendom.
October
2009 edition of The Grapevine
Online
Class
Notes / Calendar of Events / Links
to Stories / Prior
issues
Class
notes
David
and Elizabeth (Rice) Wallace ('05) and their son Augustine
spent a wonderful, relaxing week at the Outer Banks with fellow
alumni: Mike and Heather Hambleton, David and Mary Hambleton,
Steve and Angela Hambleton,Thomas and Mary Hambleton, Nick
and Heidi Oligny and Jimmy Blankenship. It was a wonderful
time to relax as they anticipate the arrival of baby boy #2
around Christmas. Augustine enjoyed the ocean and all the
14 other children under 4 who partied with him. They returned
the night of Homecoming so they were sorry to have missed
you all.
Megan
Von Ehr ('08)
has had many changes in the last year. As of last Fall
she was working for Hertz Car Rental in Winchester, but recently
that has changed (drastically). Last Spring she began to realize
that she didn't particularly like the job, and that God must
have something better in mind for her. The long story short:
she accepted a position at a Catholic camp in east Texas (called
The Pines) as a ministry staff member. She's been there since
late August and will stay through May 2010, with colleagues
that have a wide range of backgrounds - a theology major from
steubenville, a photo-journalism major, an aeronautical engineering
major and a business/computer science major. During the school
year The Pines holds Confirmation retreats, leadership retreats,
middle school "Awakenings" (spiritual retreats),
and environmental education. The Pines is a solid Catholic
establishment, and all the people there are on fire with love
for God and their Faith. To check out this organization, go
to http://www.thepines.org
After
a long hiatus with nothing significant to report, Gabriel
Young ('01) returns to the limelight with something Grapevine
"newsworthy!" Over 8 years
have flown by since leaving Christendom, and in that time
he has graduated Ave Maria Law School ('04), celebrated 5
years in the US Air Force JAG Corps, been sent around the
world - Germany, Jersey, Iraq, and most recently S. Korea
where he met and on August 1st married the woman of his dreams,
MoonKyung (Jen). Above are a couple of wedding pictures, one
from the wedding ceremony in Oregon and one from the traditional
Korean tea ceremony in Korea. They are so grateful for all
the family and friends from all over the world who travelled
to help them celebrate their special day. They are looking
forward to wherever the Air Force sends them for their next
assignment in July, 2010 - they hope to be close to some of
Gabriel's fellow alumni.
Angela
Von Ehr ('07) and Stephen (Bobby) Murphy were united in
the Sacrament of Matrimony on August 22, 2009, the Feast of
the Queenship of Mary. Among the bride's attendants were Christendom
alumni Megan Von Ehr ('08), Adrienne Stravitsch ('07) and
Sylvia Smith ('07). The bride and groom were blessed by
a truly beautiful nuptail Mass at the bride's parish of St.
Anthony's in Schenectady, NY. The Luau reception was a great
success and the couple was happy that so many family and friends
could join them for this special day. The Murphys immensly
enjoyed their honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii and are now settling
into their home in Philadelphia. Bobby is a Program Director
for the Archdiocesan Vocations Office and Angela is working
as an intern at the Theology of the Body Institute in Exton,
PA. Check out the website at http://www.tobinstitute.com.
Thanks so much to all the Christendom grads who helped make
our wedding day special!
Nate
and Jessica (Ciesla) Schuetz ('06) are doing well. They
have been enjoying their time in their brand new house that
they purchased just this past May. There are many new and
exciting adventures to be had when you are a homeowner. They
have been keeping themselves pretty busy lately as well -
Jessica spent a month and a half with family in Duluth, MN,
adn was fortunate enough to spend a lot of time with her Grandpa
Clifford Johnson before he passed away. Any prayers anyone
could spare for his soul would be greatly appreciated, he
was a good and generous man. Nate joined Jessica in Duluth
a week or so later and spent some time with the family. They
then traveled to Lakeville, CT where their good friends Bridget
and Dom Sayler were married (about time!). They have just
gone to their first Circus in Augusta, GA which was great,
and also went for their second time to Helen, GA for Oktoberfest.
They highly reccomend this little town to anyone looking to
get away for a fun weekend. Nate and Jessica camped out instead
of getting a hotel, a first, got rained on and still had a
blast. The beer tent, as always, was awesome. Their latest
accomplishment however is in the trip to the Atlanta Coke
Factory - they were able to sample 64 flavors of coke products
from around the world! A very cool experience.
The
Stewart Family (Collin and Andrea (Flagg) '92) are
doing well out in Kentucky. Just this year they helped start
an affiliate of Kentucky Right to Life in Western KY (http://www.wkrtl.org),
and they spent the summer going to different events and getting
their family's picture taken with various politicians. In
the picture on the left they are standing with Rand Paul at
their parish picnic. He, like others, will be receiving a
signed copy of the picture reminding him to vote pro-life!
The kids are all getting older: Evelynne just turned 14 this
year and Georganne just turned 2. Collin has been working
hard on his voice-over business and has finished his new website,
complete with demos (including a TV commercial!). You can
take a look at http://www.thatguysvoice.com.
The Stewarts miss Virginia very much and hope to return again
soon!
On
July 24th, Megan Mead ('06) and Luke Reetz were united
in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony at our Lady of Victory
Basilica in Buffalo, NY. The happy couple met as teammates
in FOCUS - The Fellowship of Catholic University Students.
They are now living in Loveland, Colorado (perfect for newlyweds!)
and continuing to work for FOCUS. Megan works as the Program
Manager for Collegiate Outreach at the Denver Headquarters
and Luke is working on campus at the University of Northen
Colorado, Greeley. They are loving being close to the mountains
and Luke's family but also miss the beauty and people in the
East! For more information about FOCUS or to support our ministry
of evangelization on college campuses, please visit our website
at: http://www.focusonline.org.
James
M. Berry ('03) is working as the Executive Director of
The Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., Archive and Guild, in St. Louis,
MO. The hope is to see The Servant of God, Fr. John Hardon
S.J. beatified and, eventually, canonized. James works closely
with Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, the Prefect of the Supreme
Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and Archbishop Emeritus
of St. Louis. Archbishop Burke initiated the cause a couple
of years back and is still very much involved in the project,
despite having been assigned to the Vatican last summer. For
his part, James has been in St. Louis since 2007 and is overseeing
the diocesan-level phase of the cause. Check out the Archive
and Guild's website and learn more about the cause and how
to support it. http://www.hardonsj.org
Jaime
(Berger) ('03) &
Ryan Gorman are pleased to announce the birth of Finian
Robert on Friday, 18 September 2009. He was born at home in
Irving, TX, just a month after Jaime completed her MA in literature
at the University of Dallas. Both momma and baby are doing
well. Jaime's email is gipsyjaime@gmail.com.
2ndLt
Joseph (Ambrose) Mazzara graduated from Artillery Officer's
Basic Course, and will head out to Camp Lejeune the first
week of September. He is assigned to 10th Marines, one of
the three active duty marine artillery regiments in the Marine
Corps. His wife Jennifer has been there a month or so, preparing
the home for both his return, and the upcoming birth of their
baby in October.
2LT Paul Provencher has finished up Infantry Officer's
Basic Course, and jump school. Having survived leaping out
of a plane, he will be heading back to Germany (he grew up
there) after taking leave to visit family in the wild west
of Colorado.
Mrs.
Rachel Friemoth sends this news regarding her daughter, Ida
Friemoth ('05), now Sister Mary Jordan of the Holy
Family, O.P., shown in the photos above: "Posuit
signum super faciem meum, ut nullam, sed eum, amatorem admittam,"
sang the nuns, as the newly professed Sister received the
black veil marking her consecration to Christ. "He has
set a seal on my brow, that I may admit no other lover but
Him." On August 8th, the feast of St. Dominic, Sister
Mary Jordan of the Holy Family, O.P., made her First Profession
as a Dominican nun at the Dominican Monastery of St. Jude
in Marbury, Alabama. When Ida first visited the Dominican
Monastery of St. Jude during the summer after her graduation,
she was immediately drawn by the joy of the Sisters, by their
Eucharistic Adoration and consecration to Our Lady, and by
the Latin chants used in the Divine Office. Could God be calling
her there? When she realized that her dream of restoring Catholic
culture could be carried out even more effectively by embracing
God's call to the hidden apostolate of prayer and penance,
Ida became radiantly joyful and open about the discernment
she had previously kept under wraps. She entered the monastery
a year later, in the late summer of 2006. The past three years
of separation from the world and of formation in a totally
God-centered life have helped Sister Mary Jordan appreciate
the great value of her education at Christendom and the great
privilege of the contemplative vocation. As she keeps all
the faculty, staff and benefactors, students and alumni of
Christendom in her prayers, she also asks your prayers for
her continued perseverance in responding to Jesus' call to
belong to Him alone. The monastery website can be viewed at
www.stjudemonastery.org.
Ava
Rhea Menke was born on July 21, 2009 to Phillip ('01)
and Erin Menke. She joins her brothers Edward (3) and
Leo (1 1/2). On the left is a
recent photo of Ava.
The
Fathers of Mercy are pleased to announce that their General
Chapter of
2009 has elected the following Christendom alumni as Officers
of their religious community: Fr. David Wilton ('89)-
Superior General. Fr. Ben Cameron ('91) - Assistant
General. Fr. Bill Casey ('87) - Councillor. Fr.
Tony Stephens ('99) - Councillor. Fr. Louis Caporiccio
('92) - Secretary General. They ask for the prayerful
support of all of their fellow alumni of Christendom College!
Michael
and Bunny (Martell) Cerny, ('04) are checking in from
Kansas City, MO. This picture was taken at Easter 2009, so
it's a little outdated, but one of the better family pictures
they have at the moment. Meg was 2 months and Gerard was 15
months. They are now 7 months and 20 months. They are also
happy to announce that they are expecting number 3, due in
April. Life is busy, but good. They hope and pray that all
of the alumni are doing well!
Maria
Bissex and Amy McNeill did the cultured thing and
made the European Tour in June. Flying into Munich, they took
a bike tour of the city and enjoyed brats and beer in the
famous English Gardens while staying in a charming little
town outside the city. A visit to Dachau concentration camp
was a solemn part of the journey. Traveling by train, they
visited Salzburg (birthplace of Mozart and a favorite stop
on the self-arranged tour), Vienna (delicious wienerschnitzel
with a table companion who gave us holy medals as a parting
gift!), Venice (unimpressive in the rain but magnificent in
the sunshine!) and finally, of course, home to Rome, where
they met up with the Prudlos for an evening dinner on the
veranda and visited lots and lots of churches. They ended
the adventure with a visit to St. Paul's Outside the Walls
on his feast day, where, as you can see from the picture,
they were showered with graces, and flew out of Rome in time
to start summer jobs and classes. The culture and history
and ingrained Catholicism of Europe are something everyone
should experience at least once. The main question we had
when it was over was: where will we go next year?!
Calendar of events
October
17-24, 2009: Fall Break
October
14, 2009: Home Game - Men's Soccer
October
27, 2009: Theology Dept. Lecture Series: "On Marriage,
Part 3"
November
20-22, 2009: Fall Play
Press
Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml
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