Newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Preparing for arrival of the ‘age wave’
17A
The Catholic Spirit
February 17, 2011
Archdiocesan annual report
B-Section TheCatholicSpirit.com
News with a Catholic heart
What’s cooking? Parish dinner parties By Julie Pfitzinger For The Catholic Spirit
Parishioners at the Church of St. Joseph in West St. Paul who attend monthly “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” events often find themselves sitting around a dinner table with people they may have seen many times before, but have never met. Perhaps they attend the same Mass each week, even sit on the same side of the church, but have never had the opportunity to say more than a casual “hello.” Every second Saturday of the month, a group of six to 12 parishioners who have registered for the dinner program gather at one of five host homes to simply enjoy a meal and good conversation. what WORKS With close to 100 parishioners now participating in the program, launched in May 2010 by Patty Flynn and her husband, Bill, each month offers an opportunity to meet a different set of familiar faces and, even more important, the chance to build community. At a recent dinner gathering at the Flynns’ home in Mendota Heights, the group of four couples included Jim and Patty Rosno, members of the parish for seven years; Chris and Jo Burr, members for eight years, and Patrick and Ellen Poquette, who just joined St. Joseph in August. The Flynns have been parishioners for 16 years. “When we found out about ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?’ at the parish stewardship fair in December, we were very intrigued by the idea,” said Ellen, who added that she and Patrick attended their first dinner last month. “We saw it as a way to meet people. We like to know who we are in church with every week.”
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Passing along a good idea Patty Flynn credits her son, Billy, now living in Milwaukee, with introducing the dinner idea to his parents. While visiting a college friend in the Kansas City area, Billy attended a dinner and was anxious to tell Patty about the experience. “The next day, he called me and said, ‘This is the greatest thing — you have to start it at St. Joe’s,’” she
Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit
From left, Bill and Patty Flynn serve lasagna to Jo Burr and her husband, Chris, during a dinner the Flynns hosted Feb. 12 as part of a program at St. Joseph in West St. Paul called “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Parishioners volunteer to host dinner parties for other parishioners, with people rotating to different homes throughout the year in order to get to know more people in the parish. Also attending dinner at the Flynns were Patty and Jim Rosno and Ellen and Patrick Poquette.
said. “I thought it sounded like a really good idea, so I contacted the woman at St. Therese in Parkville, Mo., who has been organizing their dinner program for the last six years — they’ve actually had it in their parish for 26 years.” Flynn voluntarily coordinates the gatherings each month and puts together a list of guests for each host site. Participants can offer to host, but that’s not a requirement. Parishioners can join the program at any time but
are not obligated to attend a dinner every month. With the variety of schedules people have, Flynn said for now that five host homes are enough to handle the monthly demand, although she said that could change as the program grows. An e-mail reminder is sent a few days before the dinner with the address of the hosts’ home, and because the meals are all potluck, a request is made for each PLEASE TURN TO PARISHIONERS ON PAGE 4A
iPhone confession app ‘no substitute’ for sacrament By John Thavis Catholic News Service
A Vatican official said a new iPhone application can help Catholics prepare for confession, but cannot substitute for the sacramental encounter between a penitent and a priest. “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch was recently released as a way for Catholics to prepare for and participate in the sacrament of penance. Some recent press reports, however, have suggested that the application could replace in-person confession. “It’s essential to understand that the sacrament of penance requires a personal dialogue between the penitent and the
confessor, and absolution by the confessor who is present,” Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, told
reporters. “This is something that cannot be replaced by any application. One cannot speak of a ‘confession via iPhone,’” he said. Father Lombardi said the new application could be useful in helping people make an examination of conscience. In the past, he noted, Catholics would sometimes use written questions and answers to prepare for confession, and that’s something that could be done today with the aid of a digital device. The application, developed by a small firm in Indiana, is based on the Ten Commandments. It was designed in part for people who have been away from the church and want the opportunity to go to confession.