We Are Graymoor: January 2024

WE ARE GRAYMOOR Inside The Issue Latest Graymoor Happenings 125TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FRIAR UPDATES 2024 WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY AND GEII CHRISTMAS WISHES FROM ST. CHRISTOPHERS INN

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Hearts in Harmony: Celebrating 125 years at St. Patrick’s Cathedral On December 15th, St. Patrick's Cathedral became a beacon of unity as the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement marked 125 years of their extraordinary journey.

Filled with gratitude and the spirit of "At-One-Ment," we commemorated a legacy born in 1898, when Servant of God Father Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White embarked on a mission to bridge divides and heal hearts.

read more on pages 2-4 jan. 2024 | Issue #2

FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE ATONEMENT CELEBRATED 125TH ANNIVERSARY Thank you to everyone who joined the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement for the 125 Anniversary Celebration, Liturgy of Thanksgiving, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday, December 15, 2023. Since our founding, the Society of the Atonement has stood at the forefront of promoting dialogue, unity and compassion in a world often marked by division.

In 1898, Servant of God Father Paul Wattson, SA, and Mother Lurana White, SA, founded the Society of the Atonement to help bring about “At-One-Ment” – the reconciliation of Christians and their churches and unity in fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer “that all may be one.” We offer our immense gratitude and appreciation to the Principal Celebrant, Most Reverend Edmund J. Whalen, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and Homilist, the Very Reverend Brian F. Terry, SA, Minister General as well as all the Friars and Sisters who helped celebrate our anniversary Mass.

Sr. Diane Bernier led the First Reading (Isaiah 58:9b-14) followed by the Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5). Fr. Dennis led the Second Reading (Romans 5:5b-11).

Deacon Jan Janoszka, SA led the Gospel (John 17:20-26) and Very Rev. Fr. Brian F. Terry, SA, led the Homily.

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125TH ANNIVERSARY MINISTERS OF THE LITURGY With every hymn sung, every hand raised in prayer, we reaffirmed our commitment to fostering dialogue, understanding, and compassion in a world that often yearns for connection.

Principal Celebrant Most Reverend Edmund J. Whalen Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of NY Homilist Very Reverend Brian F. Terry, SA Minister General, Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Concelebrants Very Reverend Brian F. Terry, SA Fr. James Loughran, SA Fr. Daniel Callahan, SA Fr. Tom Orians, SA Fr. Emil Tomaskovic, SA Fr. John Anderson, SA Fr. Tom Lutz, SA Processional Members of the Society of the Atonement

Deacon Deacon Jan Janoszka, SA Lectors Sr. Diane Bernier, SA Minister General, Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement Fr. Dennis Polanco, SA General Intercessions Sr. Lucinda May Patterson, SA Presentation of Gifts Members of the Society of the Atonement Organist Mark R. Pacoe 3

125TH ANNIVERSARY MASS AT ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL IN NEW YORK CITY! Thank you to everyone who joined our 125 Anniversary Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral last month.

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LUNCH & LEARN A LOOK BACK AT GRAYMOOR’S 2023 LUNCH & LEARN SERIES!

WRITTEN BY PAUL LIPOWSKI Stay tuned for the schedule of upcoming Lunch & Learns! As we look ahead at 2024, our Lunch & Learns will dive deeper into the Franciscan life with Lunch & Learns on prayer, poverty, and minority in the Franciscan tradition.

The 2023 Lunch & Learn series focused on building up to the kickoff of the 125th anniversary celebration of the Society of the Atonement.

The series began with Lunch & Learns focused on Mother Lurana, Fr. Paul, and the humble beginnings of the Society of the Atonement. It is amazing how God’s plan for the Society of the Atonement has unfolded!

We experienced the Chapel where Fr. Paul and Mother Lurana, as well as other dedicated and faithful servants, made their vows and dedicated themselves to advancing At-One-Ment to all.

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Where the humble beginnings at the bottom of the mountain, grew in its mission and impact to be taller than the mountain itself!

How these two saintly people were able to do so much to bring At-One-Ment to the world. We also explored the early foundations of the Friars at Graymoor and a tour of the St. Francis Chapel.

We saw how Fr. Paul’s deep faith and spirituality inspired so many men to bring hope, healing, and harmony to a world so desperately in need of it.

We also explored Fr. Paul’s vision for unity and how the core mission of Fr. Paul and the Society of the Atonement impacts our ministry today.

The final Lunch & Learn of the year was a presentation on the life of Fr. Paul and the three characteristics that marked his life: courage, determination, and faith as well as how we all can be inspired and emulate those characteristics in our own ministry with the Society of the Atonement. As we look ahead at 2024, our Lunch & Learns will dive deeper into the Franciscan life with Lunch & Learns on prayer, poverty, and minority in the Franciscan tradition.

In addition, we will have Lunch & Learns on all the ministry that takes place at the Holy Mountain, looking at how each of our departments play integral roles in making hope, healing, and harmony a reality! So, stay tuned for the schedule of upcoming Lunch & Learns!

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2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Please join the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, and the Interchurch Center Committee on Ecumenical, Interfaith, and Community Concerns for an Ecumenical Service of the Word (in person or online) in observation of the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Wednesday, January 24 12:00 - 1:00 pm (EST) Interchurch Center Chapel (Located at 61 Claremont Avenue in Manhattan) **Free and open to the public; the service will remain available online for later viewing.** The 2024 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is from Luke 10:27, in which Jesus summarizes the entire Law of the covenant with Israel, before illustrating the teaching with his parable of the Good Samaritan.

This year’s theme comes through the combined efforts of the Pontifical Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the World Council of Churches and the Christian churches of Burkina Faso. Much of the coordination of this ecumenical project was done by the community of Chemin Neuf, a French Catholic and ecumenical community of vowed and lay people, particularly through their local community in Burkina Faso.

Preaching at the Interchurch Center's 2024 service will be the Very Rev. Patrick Malloy, Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, where Chemin Neuf has recently established an intentional ecumenical community of young people living, working, and praying together (Community at the Crossing).

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The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was first observed in January, 1908. Known then as the Church Unity Octave, it was celebrated in the chapel of a small Atonement Franciscan Convent of the Protestant Episcopal Church, on a remote hillside fifty miles from New York City. This new prayer movement soon caught the imagination of others beyond the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement, becoming an energetic movement that gradually blossomed into a worldwide observance involving many nations and millions of people.

After the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we have additional programs and events planned for the first half of 2024 at the nexus of the church, the academy, and the interfaith field, in collaboration with our colleagues in the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network.

February 1, 2024 (5:00 - 6:30 pm): Join us online for an ecumenical conversation with Kwok Pui-lan (Dean’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University) about Prof. Kwok's new book, The Anglican Tradition from a Postcolonial Perspective. This event will be presented in collaboration with the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network. For more information contact Aaron Hollander at ahollander@geii.org.

June 26-28, 2024 (More information coming soon): The 15th International Ecclesiological Investigations Conference will be held at the Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL. The theme of the conference is "Embodying Ecclesial Diversity." Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute is one of the sponsors of this conference, and we will again be offering Graymoor Scholarships to support the participation of promising, emerging voices in theology, ecclesiology, and ecumenics.

For more information contact Aaron Hollander at ahollander@geii.org.

Minister General, Rev. Brian F. Terry, SA, was interviewed for the November/December 2023 issue of Ecumenical Trends, a quarterly newsletter written, produced and published by GEII. In the latest issue, Fr. Brian reflects on the 125th Anniversary and discusses the past, present and future of the Atonement Friars with Dr. Aaron Hollander. You can read the entire 8 conversation on our website: www.atonementfriars.org/celebrating-125-years.

2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Submitted by Br. Fabrizio Szymanski, SA

Below are events inherent in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in which our two Atonement fraternities in Italy will be involved: ASSISI Our community of Assisi, in the persons of the members Br. Paolo Nicosia SA (Procurator General of the Congregation and local Guardian) and Br. Fabrizio Szymanski SA - as well as of Sr. Susan Morissette SA (Superior of the Assisi Convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement) - is part of the Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of the Diocese of Assisi - Nocera Umbra - Gualdo Tadino, which takes care of all ecumenical/interreligious events and relations in the area. In honor of the WPCU, there will be daily celebrations also in union with the "sister" Diocese of Foligno (united in persona episcopi with our one).

• 1/18 Santuario della Spogliazione (Assisi) • 1/18 Pro-Cattedrale di S. Agostino (Foligno) - presided over by Bishop Domenico Sorrentino • 1/19 Basilica di S. Francesco (Assisi) • 1/20 Basilica di S. Maria degli Angeli (Assisi) • 1/21 Basilica di S. Chiara (Assisi) • 1/22 Chiesa di S. Maria sopra Minerva (Assisi) - organized specifically by the Society of the Atonement, the TOR Friars and the Anglican Church of Assisi: it will be chaired by the Anglican Pastor • 1/23 Monastero di S. Masseo (Assisi) - Ecumenical Monastic Community of Bose • 1/24 Chiesa Nuova (Assisi) • 1/25 Cattedrale di S. Rufino (Assisi) - presided over by Bishop Domenico Sorrentino.

ROMA The Centro Pro Unione - a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Italy - has organized an afternoon of prayer and reflection entitled "Synodality at Hand" for 01/18, followed by a Taizé prayer led by The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas. Among others in attendance will be: Fr. Timothy MacDonald SA (Acting Director of the Centro Pro Unione; Guardian and Rector of the Convent and Church of S. Onofrio al Gianicolo in Rome) Dr. Prof. Teresa Rossi (Associate Director of the Centro Pro Unione; Professor at the Pontifical University "Angelicum" in Rome) Dr. Prof. Tamara Grdzelidze (Professor at Ilia State University of Tbilisi; former Ambassador of Georgia to the Holy See) Dr. Rev. Maurizio Mirilli (Chaplain at the Policlinico Tor Vergata in Rome; former Head of Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Rome) Dr. Rev. Vanessa Bayha (Director of the Centro Melantone in Rome).

SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO The local Capuchin friars, rectors of the shrine where the body of St. Pio of Pietrelcina rests, have asked for and obtained this year the collaboration of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement of Assisi, who will be present on site throughout the Ecumenical Week of Prayer. For this reason, Br. Paolo Nicosia SA will offer his daily reflection the first half of the WPCU in San Giovanni Rotondo; then, he will be followed by Fr. Vitaliy Perih NSA, who will do the same in the second half of the week. The closing of local initiatives on Thursday (1/25) will be presided over by Archbishop Franco Moscone. It will also be attended by representatives of other Christian denominations 9 present in the region.

January Birthdays Bonnie Brodie Bart Coviello Timothy Dolan John Donovan Betty Hammond Francisco Hermida John Kissane Donald Kovalsky Michael McNamee Imtiaz Mohammed-Baraichi Robert Poole Cindy Weinstein Haemrajie Wilser

January Work Anniversaries Phyllis Dalton - 2009 Mary Anne Fielding - 2007 John Gannon - 2016 Janet Karpisz - 2013 Louis Lombardo - 1987 Courtney Robertson - 2020 Stephen Shapiro - 2015 Peter Terralavoro - 2019 Donald Vitek - 2023 Olivia Weyant - 2019 10

Coming Soon…

In the weeks ahead, we’ll be sharing details about some fun events and opportunities, this includes celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and… Mardis Gras!

And in February, we’ll be hosting another blood drive. We'll also be announcing special 125th anniversary events and exhibits!

31 Days.

31 inspired to give.

In December, the local Stop & Shop in Peekskill selected St. Christopher’s Inn as their community partner for the ‘Give Back’ program involving the sales of reusable grocery bags.

We’re pleased to share that for each day of the month, a customer was inspired and touched by the work we do to help men through their recovery journey and purchased a ‘Give Back’ bag!

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Updates from Friars IN PERU...

Fr. Jose received a well-deserved award for his tireless efforts in evangelization, his dedication inspiring countless souls.

Meanwhile, the Tertiaries prepare for a journey to Lima, aiming to bring healing and support through a much-needed clinic.

And to top it off, Franciscan University announces a unique spring break experience as students join forces for service within the vibrant tapestry of Peruvian life. These developments promise a season brimming with God's grace and the Franciscan spirit of compassion in the heart of South America.

Coming Up: In the February issue of "We Are Graymoor," we'll be sharing a communications update sharing 2023 news from Peru!

Franciscan Friars are committed to working for a more just and equitable world, where all people are treated with respect and dignity.

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IN ITALY...

Frati Francescani dell 'Atonement welcomes Giuseppe Rinaldi, new tertiary postulant of the congregation, the first in Italy to become part of this branch of our religious family. During the new year, Giuseppe will reconcile community commitments in the fraternity of Assisi -- to which he has been entrusted -- with his professional activity as a veterinarian in Bari and with the socio-cultural service of managing a charity bookstore in San Chirico Raparo (PZ), his home country.

Please, therefore, join us in wishing the new applicant all the best as he officially begins his training journey with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement Tertiary, as he prepares to make ever growing commitment to embracing the lifestyle of the Gospel to be proclaimed to the world, following the testimony of St. Francis of Assisi and our founders Father Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White.

In the words of our Brothers, may this new year allow us to grow in virtue and in a spirit of peace, boldly embracing the challenges of each day, aware of being accompanied along the way by the reassuring presence of the Lord taking us by the hand. He who, alone, can give us the real joy of the heart: true love.

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IN NEW YORK… Coming up: January 20: TSA Profession Mass. (11:00am) January 21: Ordination to the Priesthood of Deacon Jan Janoszka, SA and Deacon Alexander Reed, SA. Bishop Gerardo J. Colacicco presiding. (11:00am) Fr. Tom Orians, SA, was a participant and speaker during Monday's “The New Year Interfaith Prayer for World Peace." The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement were founding members of the Day and have participated in this annual service for 20 years. Held at the Great Buddha Hall, representatives and leaders from religious communities included all faiths: Buddhism, Catholic, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Bahai, as well as guests which included local government officials.

During Christmas, Fr. Dan Callahan visited the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton, Massachusetts, and took this photograph.

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The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement joyfully announce that Br. Ronald Robert Davis Br. Eugene Andrew Hanover Br. Carmine Gabriele D'Orsi Br. Joseph René D'Amour Br. Roberto Anthony Ruvio Br. Robert John Taylor have been accepted as

Tertiaries of the Society of the Atonement We cordially invite you to attend a Mass and Profession Ceremony

Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 11 am Our Lady of the Atonement Chapel at Graymoor 40 Franciscan Way, Garrison, NY 10524 Luncheon immediately following in the 5th Floor Dining Room.

Please RSVP to Linda Herrera by January 13th.

LHerrera@atonementfriars.org or call 845-690-1080.

“Everywhere and in each place, and in every season and each day, the brothers and sisters are to have a true and humble faith. From the depths of their inner life let them love, honor, adore, serve, praise, bless and glorify our most high and eternal God who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. With all that they are, let them adore God because ‘we should pray always and not lose heart…this is what God desires.’”

Rule and Life of the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis

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125TH CELEBRATIONS FROM OUR SISTERS AND FRIARS IN ASSISI:

BROTHER JOHN JOSEPH OHARA PRESENTS AT MARYKNOLL Brother John visited Maryknoll for a special event and presentation centered on “Expression of One’s Spirituality Through the Photographic Process” 16

CHRISTMAS WISHES FROM ST. CHRISTOPHER’S INN

Eric Sterbenz, Transitional House Manager at SCI shared these photos of the San Damiano Christmas tree.

Here’s a closer look at our Life-Saving tree.

Brothers Christopher White Plains re-integration residence.

2ND ANNUAL HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR It was wonderful having so many vendors and shoppers with us during the 2nd annual Holiday Craft Fair held at the Holy Mountain Franciscan Retreat Center on Saturday, December 17!

Thank you to the incredible members of the Ossining Elks Lodge 1486 for making this past Christmas even brighter (once again!) for our Brothers Christopher. They made special visit and delivery to SCI and brought with them more than 100 stocking filled to the brim.

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mark your calendars:

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