April 2011Father Bernie’s funeral
Today Fr Bernie Gilgun, priest and Catholic Worker, was buried in the cemetery in front of Saint Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury.
It was a beautiful service with wonderful music.
Bernard E. Gilgun: Worcester’s Catholic Worker Priest
Father Bernie Gilgun, at age 84, quietly breathed his earthly last in the company of family and friends at the Grenon ICU Center of the University of Massachusetts Hospital in Worcester in the early afternoon of Easter Monday, April 25, 2011. Father Gilgun was widely known for his holiness, his preaching, and his love of the poor. His loss is acutely felt by his followers who viewed him as wise priest, expert leader in prayer, and teacher.
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Father Bernard Gilgun, RIP
Just got word that Father Bernie Gilgun, Catholic Worker and priest, has died. He had suffered a stroke over the weekend.
Here’s a remembrance from Michael Boover. There are many older Pie and Coffee items about him.
Father Bernie prepares for mass, 2006
Update: The wake will be on Thursday, April 28, 2011 from 3:00-7:00 PM, and the Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, April 29, 2011 at 11:00 AM, both at Saint Anne’s Church in Shrewsbury.
Elsewhere:
Holy Week church-hopping and other items
The day before Holy Week began, I attended a wedding at St. Columba’s United Reformed Church in Oxford, UK. St. Columba’s is down an alley near some of the Oxford colleges. It’s a normal sort of church inside, with a vestibule and facade that make it look like an office building.
Most churches stand out. St. Columba’s is hidden. Attending church there was like going to a house mass—nobody walking past suspects you’re going to a sacred gathering.
(Best wishes to the bride and groom—your lovely wedding is an auspicious start to your lives together.)
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508 #152: I Will Teach Worcester to Be Rich
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s guest is Brendan Melican.
Audio: mp3 link, other formats, feed
Video: Downloads and other formats
You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.
Lenten update
So far, so good. Sticking with about 70% of my Lent plans, which is much better than most years.
One unexpected and helpful addition to my Lenten prayer schedule has been Susan Stabile’s series of daily meditations, with a weekly podcast of her remarks to students who are doing this “Lenten retreat in daily life” as well. Worth checking out if you need to jump-start your final week of Lenten prayers.
The best thing I’ve read about Lent this year is a brief essay by Jacob Berendes in his monthly newspaper Mothers News. It’s not at all religious, but it’s funny and a great piece of writing. In exchange for being able to quote me saying “The best thing I’ve read about Lent this year,” Jacob graciously agreed to let me reprint it, below.
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508 #151: Papers
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panelist is Brendan Melican.
Audio: mp3 link, other formats, feed
Video: Downloads and other formats
You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.
“Beloved Community” at St. Peter’s and other items
But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. The type of love that I stress here is not eros, a sort of esthetic or romantic love; not philia, a sort of reciprocal love between personal friends; but it is agape which is understanding goodwill for all men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
Deborah Plummer, Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Equal Opportunity at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will be speaking on “The Beloved Community” at St. Peter’s Church in Worcester, Monday, April 11, 6:30pm.
The church is at 929 Main Street in Worcester, across from Clark University.
Worth noting that not only does Dr. Plummer specialize in the issues surrounding “diversity,” she was a nun for 13 years.
Happiness Pony
Asa Needle, Sarah Assefa, and I have published the first issue of a new newspaper for Worcester, Happiness Pony. We’re still figuring out distribution stuff–if you have a suggestion of a place you want to be able to find it, please post a comment.
And yes, we’ve talked about this title before.
508 #150: Stone Soup, ctd.
508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel is Clifford Reiss and Brendan Melican. NOTE: There is more profanity than usual near the end of this week’s show.
Audio: mp3 link, other formats, feed
Video: Downloads and other formats
You can watch 508 Fridays at 7pm on WCCA TV13.
