September 2020 Newsletter
Single to Married Seminar Recap
Over 25 young professional men gathered at a Wisconsin lake house recently to mark the end of the summer with camaraderie, outdoor activities, and a commitment to becoming better men. Hosted by Midtown Cultural Center, the Single to Married Seminar sought to help participants consider and prepare for a happy Christian marriage. In between speedboat rides, barbecues, and late-night bonding around a campfire, participants heard from a variety of speakers about what single men can do now to prepare for life as a husband and father.
With a combined 100+ years of marriage between them, the speakers at the the Single to Married seminar provided attendants with profound insights to Christian marriage. Through life experiences, they delved into what keeps marriages together and shed light on why marriages fall apart. They offered insight to relationships, dating and marriage that came with experience.
A licensed marriage and family therapist, Doug Hinderer kicked off the seminar by pulling from experiences from the couples he’s worked with in the past. For young men preparing for marriage, Doug spoke of the importance of entering marriage with the correct expectations. In marriage, a man’s responsibility is for his wife and children.
Pulling more from his personal experiences, John Kestler shared wisdom as if teaching his grandsons valuable life lessons. He spoke of the importance of being a man for others – not only with a few people, but living selflessly in every interaction. A male cannot enter a relationship with a female expecting it to change him into a caring and loving person. He must understand that this love is not about him; it’s about who receives it. Just because someone is “in love” does not mean they are loving.
Since most of those in attendance are still dating, as opposed to being in a steady relationship, Bob Barder shed light on how to date with intention. It’s easy to fall into the dating game passively which is the reason dates would be fruitless, no matter how many you went on. Not only does dating with intention give the man an idea of where to go with a date, but it’s also attractive to a woman because they know the man is genuinely invested in her. A man must be trustworthy, strong and take initiative.
The final session featured three women who shared insights only a woman can. Mother of four and immigrant from Spain Maria Keller provided a perspective not only of being from another country and culture but of how her husband, Joe, keeps her grounded and composed during moments of stress. Full time mother of two, Patsy Carter offered insight to how she and her husband Sam are able to communicate effectively while caring for their children. Single Chicagoan Monica Hinderer gave the perspective of what goes in the mind of a woman when on a date and what most would look for in a man.
Aside from marriage, all these talks, including the women’s panel, was about what it is to be a man. Selfless, kind, trustworthy, strong, were all words constantly repeated by speakers, including the women’s panel. This is a journey every male needs to embark upon, not for the sake of helping himself, but for the sake of helping others. Before he can be married and a man to himself, he must first be a man for others.
Pioneers Club Breaks Camp in September
The Pioneers Club, an activity for dads and their sons in grades 1 – 4, will have its first session on Sunday, September 13. Pioneers will meet monthly with each session featuring virtue talks for both the sons and their fathers, as well as sports, and fun activities. The activities have a purpose beyond going out to play on a Sunday afternoon. They each have been designed to foster lessons around teamwork, listening, and valuing the gifts of others. Another primary aim for Pioneers is to enhance the father/son relationship. As a starting point dads will spend an afternoon with their son and join them in sports and the fun activities. Even more the club will help dads to be more proactive about fostering good character by focusing on their sons’ acquisition of virtue. Every father wants their children to mature into good and responsible persons. In every Pioneers session dads will participate in a presentation and follow-up discussion about specific age-appropriate virtues that they can then help their sons to acquire. In our October newsletter we will share news about the first gathering of the Pioneers!
Book Review: Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
As Hamilton: An American Musical begins, the first lines we hear form a hip-hop modulated question:
How does a bastard, orphan, (…) and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
spot in the Caribbean by Providence impoverished in squalor
grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
And a few verses later, we hear this young orphan proclaim:
My name is Alexander Hamilton.
And there's a million things I haven't done.
But just you wait, just you, wait.
For the next two hours, the musical treats us to a hurricane of activity as we follow Hamilton from the Caribbean to New York. We are swept up along with him through the American Revolution and the crucial years that marked the foundations of our nation’s governmental and financial institutions, into the turmoil of the Reynold’s affair, and on to his fateful duel with Aaron Burr. There’s just so much in Hamilton’s story, and we are only barely able to catch a glimpse of the complexities of the historical events and persons involved as the musical sweeps us from scene to scene in a cascade of rhythmic artistry and song.
For those wishing to enter more deeply into the intricacies Hamilton’s story, there is no better way than to take up a copy of Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography, Alexander Hamilton. Yes, this is the book that inspired the famous musical. But, why bother with the book if you’ve already seen the musical? The answer lies with its author. Chernow, who later published biographies of Washington and Grant, has a knack for painting historical portraits in prose that are no less engaging than characters on a musical stage. The result is that after a bit more than eight hundred pages of biography, the reader is left with the distinct sense of actually having spent time with Hamilton, of having gotten to know him personally, of having, in some wonderful way, entered into his story and into the story of the founding years of our nation. While the musical does a masterful job outlining Hamilton’s achievements, a musical, no matter how brilliant a job it does with distilling the Jefferson-Hamilton debates about the role of the federal government into a rap face-off can only do so much. If we truly want to enter into Hamilton’s narrative and the intricacies of the issues debated, we need more time, we need more detail, we need more nuance. We need to hear more of Alexander Hamilton’s story. And Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton does precisely that.
Pope Francis on Prayer: The Breath of Faith
Earlier this summer, on June 24th, Pope Francis wrapped up a series of weekly Wednesday Audiences on the theme of prayer. In short, it was a catechesis on prayer. The Pope began the series on May 6th during which he described prayer as the “breath of faith,” as faith’s most proper expression. Pope Francis drew from Holy Scripture for examples of faith expressed in prayer, beginning with the blind man Bartimeus, but then continuing to follow the thread of prayer through the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham up through David, the focus of the last Audience. With his characteristic insightfulness, Pope Francis offers all of us encouragement to persevere in our prayer, knowing that “prayer leaves us in God’s hands” (General Audience, 24 June 2020). To find and read the complete series, please click here.
October Day-Retreat
Please join us for a day-retreat for men hosted by Midtown Cultural Center at St. Mary of the Angels Parish.
Begins with Mass at St. Mary of the Angels Parish, 8:00am and concludes at 4:00pm
Includes meditations by a priest, talk by layman, Rosary, spiritual reading, opportunity for Confession, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Lunch is included
Cost: $15.00 payable upon arrival (cash or check)
Registration is requested; please click here to complete the form.
Men’s Recollection at St. Mary of the Angels
For the foreseeable future, there will only be one Evening of Recollection in English at Midtown. It will be held on the second Monday of each month from 7:00-9:00pm. St. Mary of the Angels is hosting the Recollections. We meet in the main Church, which allows ample room for social distancing.
Support Midtown Cultural Center
You can now make tax-deductible donations online at our secure site. Thank you for your generosity!
“Your work must become a conversation with Our Father in heaven.”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá