men AND sacred heart

Gents,

Welcome.  I hope many of you are checking out this site for the first time following the Christmas Concert. Another great turnout of folks to what is a great semi-annual event.   I find the intro of MASH at the concert this evening a completion of a full circle.   To me, having attended many concerts in the past, and not really knowing anyone there was a huge part of the inspiration for MASH.  Prior to MASH, in attending the concert I recognized many men, shared a friendly head nod and maybe knew them as the husband of so and so, but really knew even the names of very few men.   I was simply a man AT sacred heart....

So, if you are just visiting our blog and seeing our events.. I would like to invite you to be more than just present AT your kids events or school but to be with your kids AND part of the Sacred Heart community.   There is no challenge greater than being a Dad.  The impact a father has on his children is incredible.   The men in MASH are seeking ways to become better men, better Dads and better spiritual leaders of our households.  We are simply trying to find ways to become more involved in our own kids lives and working together to do this Dad job a little better.

MASH is free, we don't require attendance and we try not to ask for money.  All we are really after is your time and your input.   We feel we can all become better Dad's AND a better community by fun,  fatih, and fellowship together.  

I would encourage you to get involved -- go from an AT to AND -- your kids will appreciate it and you will to.

On a personal note, I have had the great opportunity over the last 4 years to meet and get to know many Dad's at Sacred Heart via MASH.   I have a whole new perspective on the wonderful community we have at SHCS.  

We hope to see you soon.  Merry Christmas

Dads And Donuts Reminder

A reminder that Dads And Donuts encourages dads to carve out at least one day each week to take their children to school. Make it special by leaving early, sharing a donut with them or maybe hot chocolate or some other treat.

You'll strengthen your bond and create memories that will NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

After dropping your children off at school, you are welcome to join us in the Shae Room every Friday morning beginning at 7:50 AM to meet other SHCS dads and learn about whats going on at the school. Our Friday mornings are regular, informal, and very informational.

Comment to this posting or call 591-4108 if you have questions or need help finding the Shae Room.

Happy Advent, everyone!

Stewardship - Why give to the church?

When one contributes to their local church, synagogue or mosque they are supporting organizations which contribute nothing but positive elements to the community in which they are located.
A myriad of philanthropic programs are supported, some solely, by neighborhood religious organizations.
With little fanfare or public hype, these organizations quietly serve their communities largely through volunteer labor and efforts. Although to be truly effective and sustainable, funding is inevitably needed.
There are those who will readily donate money to non-religious charitable organizations but would never consider giving to an affiliated religious group on the grounds that they themselves are not actively religious.
I find this mentality to be consummately irrational as the services rendered by these entities are just as valuable and meaningful to the community as any other charity.
Perhaps more so as in the example of AA, Salvation Army and other “secular” organizations which include the involvement of a higher being in their ministry.
The particular denomination with which I am involved speaks of stewardship as the pro-offering of time, talent and treasure. I would submit that time and treasure would be enough. Firstly, because the element of “talent” is intimidating in that many people do not consider them selves “talented” enough to contribute something specific. And secondly because if one opts to contribute their time, they will naturally be drawn to those needs which take advantage of their particular strengths.
In conclusion, I declare that I for one am grateful for the organizational efforts of my local church to maintain outlets for me to make my community a better place. Without them my contributions of time and treasure would not have nearly the impact or focus otherwise.
I strongly encourage anyone who reads this to consider the benefits of having such well organized and well intentioned conduits available in our community and to find the inspiration and grace to contribute to these worthy and noble efforts.
Humbly submitted with heartfelt gratitude,
Marty Velas

Men's Night Out with Bishop Stika

Thanks to Bishop Stika and all the men who attend Men's Night Out last pm.
Another great evening of food, fun, fellowship and faith.

Bishop Stika told great stories about his life, his influences, how he became elected Bishop of Knoxville and his vision for the future of the diocese. It was a great evening and I would encourage everyone if they have the opportunity in the future to hear the Bishop speak, to do so.

I cannot re-cap all who said, or come close to his delivery so I won't try. But, I will share a very important message that he shared with us as fathers and men. He spoke about St. Joseph and the incredibly simple life that he led. He was nothing fancy, wasn't flashy, didn't speak alot, and we don't even now how he died. However, what we do know, is that he lived simply, trusted God and made loving his wife and his child the focus of his life. The Bishop encouraged us to do the same. Simply have faith, trust God and love your wife and children.

Is that your center? Is that your focus? If it was, how would your choices in this life change?

MONSTER MASH

Several MASH dads got dressed up in costume on Friday, October 30th to help with the morning drop-off lines at Sacred Heart. The smiles seen on the kids' and parents' faces made this a HUGE hit!

We're also happy to report that none of our kids got beat-up at school on Friday.

The school administration thanks Doug Jenkins, Mick Connors, Don Naab, Joey Ducote, Jim Tornstrom, Fred Freitag, and Marty Velas for starting the day off with a smile for Sacred Heart Cathedral School on Friday morning! Hopefully we'll have even more dads at next year's MONSTER MASH!!!

Building Better Families

Gentleman,

How would you like to build a better family? Hard to know where to begin? Are you doing that now?

I don't think there is any greater desire as a father, than to try to build the best family you possibly can. But, like so many, I often get lost in today's culture and wonder if I and my family are on the right path.

Matthew Kelly is a Catholic writer/speaker who has written a book on just this subject. It really is an eye opener... and begins with finding a purpose and vision for our family. He challenges us to seek to become "the best version of ourselves." And asks us to make choices in our lives, to help our children and families become the best version of themselves....

As part of Dad's and Donuts... MASH is going to discuss this book over the next several months... (we will discuss one Friday of each month) this week we will discuss Chapter One... where Mr. Kelly will also helps look at today's culture.. to see if it is helping or hurting our vision for our families.

We will meet this Friday in the Shea following drop off..... you may purchase the book or even easier you can simply listen to the podcast which is available for free at this link. Chapter One is covered in the first 40 minutes... Please join us, this will be great discussion and we can all work together to build better families....

Just click here for the podcast....

MASH OPEN HOUSE at Calhoun's

Gents please come out for an early evening get together. This event is purely social with an opportunity for you to meet fellow Dad’s and learn more about MASH.
We look forward to another great year and hope you will take the opportunity to become involved.

Monday, Oct 12th
5:30-7:00
Calhoun’s on Bearden Hill
Appetizers provided by MASH
Beverages will be available for purchase


Everyone is welcome, bring friends.
Come when you can, for as long as you can.
If you can’t make it, but want more info on MASH -- email mash.school@gmail.com

Dad's, Donuts and Discussion - re-cap

Gents,

Thanks to all those who attended this am... great discussion about forgiveness. For those of you unable to attend I would strongly encourage you to listen to the podcast we discussed.
Just click this link. Forgiveness

This podcast comes from the National Fellowship of Catholic Men which has a whole library of talks. I would encourage you to check out what they call Channel Two. You can listen online or you can also have these downloaded to itunes.... They also have Channel One which has a reflection on the Sunday readings..

We look forward to more discussion on the Fourth Fridays with Dads and Donuts. We will send out a link for the next podcast we will discuss, and also post it on the blog. These discussions are intended to be very laid back with the goal of simply becoming better Catholic men and fathers...
If you don't have time to listen, no problem, please come any way....

Hope we see you at the next discussion. Have a great week.

Men's Night Out -- Recap

Thanks to Dr. Rod Briggs for his wonderful presentation last night. I cannot begin to reproduce the message that Rod delivered but I can tell you that it was very eye-opening for all of us in attendance. When Rod speaks again, I would encourage everyone to go. He delivers a powerful message based on his daily experience with difficult ethical and moral issues.

The most striking portion of the discussion and one which is rarely discussed in our society, is the tremendous emotional impact an abortion has on the woman and the family. Divorce, depression, psychological scars remain with these woman and families forever.

Many statistics were covered but again the most striking to me was that of all the abortions
0.3% were related to rape, 0.03% related to incest and 0.2% were for medical issues. These percentages are from 4000 abortions that are performed daily in the US. Pretty amazing numbers when you consider the arguement of why abortion needs to remain a federal funded offering to protect "choice." Also, a study of Planned Parenthood, found that their "counseling" for woman resulted in 98% choosing abortion.

For those who couldn't make it, I would encourage you to watch the video link below from youtube. It is an amazing story of a family who carried a child they knew would die shortly after birth to term. They did not chose abortion... and their experience is worth watching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToNWquoXqJI

Rod also provided us with many websites for us to explore to gain more information. Be careful what organizations that you support as well, as many are supporters of Planned Parenthood and abortion agencies... The Komen foundation is one of these agencies and their are many others...
Do your own research and check these sites out... as Catholic men we need to be informed and to be active in this very important threat to our society...
http://www.liveaction.org/
http://www.fightpp.org/
http://www.priestsforlife.org/

I would also encourage you to check out the Planned Parenthood website. Read the information for yourself and draw your own conclusions. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/ and their site targeted to teens.. www.teenwire.com.
The slant on the information I believe you will find quite alarming... like "Ultimately, most women feel relief after an abortion."

Finally, Rod touched on our Pope Benedict's latest encyclical which calls for all us to not only be Catholic but act Catholic when it comes to abortion, social justice, and the deterioration of the global economy. The entire encyclical is on the Vatican website.

Thanks to Dr. Briggs and thanks to all those in attendance. Another great evening of food, fellowship and discussion.... If you want a great experience for you and your family... 40 days for Life starts this Wednesday. This is a peaceful and prayerful protest to end abortion in Knoxville and around the country.

Men's Night Out, September 21st

MASH Presents: Abortion: Truth, Myth and Morality
Monday, September 21st
6:30 PM Naples Restaurant

Dr. Rod Briggs, a high risk OB/GYN specialist, will lead us in discussion on this very important and timely topic which he faces on a frequent basis.

Dr. Briggs will help us understand the issues and “tell” like it is, show embryological development, and discuss the political, moral, and ethical situations that he faces not only with abortion, but with bio-ethics in general as it pertains to his specialty.

We're looking forward to seeing you for another great night of food, discussion, fellowship and growth.

Everyone is welcome, bring friends!

Dads and Donuts Kick-Off, 8/28

Join us for this year's Dads and Donuts kick-off!
We'll gather after drop-off in the Shea Room until 8:30 AM on Friday, 8/28.
This will be an informal opportunity to meet other SHCS dads and also hear about upcoming MASH events such as:
- 2009 Golf Outing
- Men's Night Out
- Wine Tasting
- Other events, too!
Send us an email if you have questions or aren't familiar with the Shea Room, MASH.School@gmail.com.
See you on Friday!

MASH Welcomes the New School Year!

We're excited about the start of the '09/'10 school year!
MASH will be planning several activities such as:
- Men's Night Out
- Dads and Donuts
- Wine Tasting
- Golf Outing
- Students' Ice Cream Social

Want to learn more? Send us an email at MASH.School@gmail.com

Feist Work Day

Thanks 

Thanks to all who participated in the work this Saturday through time, talent, treasure and prayer.  The Lord provided a wonderful day for our community to come together and assist the Feist family.   The family has and continues to be a wonderful inspiration to this Catholic community.   I am grateful that they allowed us to show our appreciation during such a difficult time for them.   This day also reinforced to me what a wonderful community we have in Sacred Heart.  I am also humbled by the overwhelming response of the Men of MASH and their families....  

Brewing Your Faith

I have pasted below the outline of the talk given to us by Deacon David and Marty Velas... it was a great talk that can only be appreciated in it's entirety and with reflection.. Thanks to Deacon David and Marty for putting this together and for allowing us to share it...... I thought about shortening or taking out excerpts but there really is just nothing here that is worthy of ending up on the "brewery" floor. ---------- Enjoy----------------

Introductory comments on faith
Two aspects of faith -- What/content (head) vs. who/person (heart)
a) what we believe is what our intellect/reason tells us, an intellectual assent to truths/concepts
b) who we believe in, faith in a person, Christ
Remember, who we believe in is much more important that what we believe. What we believe is important , but we have to remember that “what we believe” cannot save us. Rather, it is “who” we believe in, Christ, that is our savior.

So, faith is more than content or information, it is more than what we believe. It is faith in a person.

Faith is formational -- St. Theresa of Avila said “It is in the search for God that we can better discover who we are.” So, as we, through faith, come to know the person of Christ, as we, through faith, develop our personal relationship with Christ, it is through our faith that we find the truth of who we are called to be by God. In other words, a person without faith cannot find the truth of who they are, like a seed that falls on the path instead of the good soil.

But faith formation is not like learning a field of study, medicine, law, etc.
It is not about self-improvement or self-development.
It is not solely about gaining knowledge.
Rather, it is a process of uncovering, through faith, the truth of who God created me to be.

Introductory comments on brewing:
Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing likes to say that we as brewers do not make the
beer but rather we create an environment in which great beer can be made and the beer
then makes itself.

I feel (with all due reverence and respect for the subject matter) that when looking for analogies between brewing and faith that the yeast can be considered the “holy spirit” and the act of fermentation tantamount to the bestowal of grace and wisdom.
Not as a passive phenomenon but as an active process with both God and the individual
participating and striving to become closer.

This process cannot be synthesized but is predicated on forces beyond man-made manipulation.

If we are diligent in our efforts to create a sanitary (holy) environment then the
potential for a healthy, flavorful beer (life) is possible.

If we are distracted by self serving endeavors and allow sin (bad bacteria) to inhabit
our vessel (lives) then the result will not be good but will be cast out (sewered).


I have taken each step in the process of beer brewing and given it a connotation as it
pertains to the spiritual journey of an individual who is on good soil.

1 – Barley kernal is seed nurtured by sun and rain full of potential.
An innocent child.

2 – Grain is harvested and brought together with water and warmth.
A nurtured child raised in the loving environment of family and community.

3 – Grain yields hitherto unshared treasure of sweet wort contributed
to a noble end. The child grows and discovers its gifts and talents.

From The Shattered Lantern by Ronald Rolheiser, three cultural factors to overcome – Narcissism, Pragmatism, and Unbridled Restlessness:
A) Narcissism – excessive self-preoccupation, overly concerned with self-improvement and development, overly focused on heartaches and problems, trouble seeing any reality at all beyond myself, and excessive need for privacy, e.g. when I was a kid, being told “go to your room” was a punishment, isolating me from my family – today, with our kids having cell phones, IPODs, TVs, computers, and music in their rooms, our children may prefer it.

4 – Wort (good works) are boiled (tried) in a tempest of the cauldron (of the
world). The young person faces the realities of the world.

B) Pragmatism – deriving much of our meaning from our ability to produce, valuing what we do more than who we are, prioritizing tasks over people, looking at others as how they can be used, and due to the demands in our lives, there is no time or energy left to pray.

5 – The sweet goodness of the wort is tempered / balanced by the bitterness
of the hops (human nature or the human condition).

C) Unbridled restlessness – overly active and busy with an obsessive greed for experience (nothing is ever enough), impatient for experience, i.e. R-rated movies, pre-marital sex, little time if any spent on examining our lives and relationships. Father Henri Nouwen writes (page 49 of The Shattered Lantern):
“One of the most obvious characteristics of our daily lives is that we are busy. We experience our days as filled with things to do, people to meet, projects to finish, letters to write, calls to make, and appointments to keep. Our lives often seem like over-packed suitcases bursting at the seams. In fact, we are almost always aware of being behind schedule. There is a nagging sense that there are unfinished tasks, unfulfilled promises, unrealized proposals. There is always something else that we should have remembered, done or said. There are always people we did not speak to, write to, or visit. Thus, although we are very busy we have a lingering feeling of never really fulfilling our obligations… We have a deep sense of unfulfillment. While busy with and worried about many things, we seldom feel truly satisfied, at peace, at home. A gnawing sense of being unfulfilled underlies our filled lives.

6 – The bittered wort (worldly wise) is then introduced to the yeast. (God)

A deep sense of unfulfillment takes place, i.e. mid-life crisis, there may be a sense of emptiness in my relationship with God, with myself, my neighbor, and creation. I am, in a sense, disconnected to one or more of these four relationships. God is calling me to be who I truly am, so there is some sense that I am not fully responding, or responding at all, to the truths of who I am called to be.

7 – Maturation – A process of various components transforming and becoming
greater than the sum of the parts
Faith is made stronger through adversity and contemplation.
Wort brought to a higher stage of understanding, compassion and wisdom than had it been left alone. Wort becomes enlightened and transformed to a more spiritual state.

Begins with faith, a recognition that I am called and chosen by God, that this maturation process is one of uncovering the truth about myself, that I must discard of my false self(ves) or masks that I wear (these can be some image I portray, some other person I become around others, someone who hides their true view to fit in or be accepted). Through faith, I come to recognize that God is constantly nurturing and guiding me in this formation process, recognizing that I need to be open to Him: seeing through the eyes of faith with open eyes, listening with open ears and, most importantly, being receptive to his call with an open heart.

8 – Filtration – a clarification of Gods plan for us and how we can do our part.
The essence of the Holy Spirit is still present although the manifestation which
was required to lead to grace is no longer necessary. It dwells within.

From our Baptism, the Holy Spirit is within us. It is the love between the Father and His Beloved Son. It has always been there, even though we may not have realized it. As we begin to uncover the truth about ourselves, we begin to allow the Spirit to act through us. We become Christ to the other and, as importantly, we see Christ in the other. As our Bishop says, we become the Face of Jesus.

To do this, we have to make a conscious choice, a conscious act of faith that Jesus Christ is living within us and to invite him to take part in every thought, action and decision in our life. We also have to give up the hope for a full and meaningful life based on confidence in myself.

Secondly, we have to recognize our need to truly be a disciple or student of Christ, to learn the heart and mind of Christ, primarily through the study of Scripture. We need to follow Christ and give up the goals, the attitudes and the priorities of our culture, a culture that tends to define us by what we have, as opposed to who we are.






9 – Packaging and distribution to the masses. Ministry.
Dividing and sharing that which we have to offer and are compelled to exalt.
Leading to a venerable elixir of conviviality. With the power to gently break down the mask of device and relate honestly and deeply. To help, to support, to love.
Gifts and talents that can be used to do God’s work. To make the world a better place by following Jesus’ example.

Moving out of ourselves. Recognizing the baptismal calls of prophet, priest and king.
A) Prophet – to witness to the gospel values of Jesus Christ through our daily lives, i.e. being an example to others. Dying to a fear of standing alone,
B) Priest – to die to self, living totally for God and others in love. Loving God and neighbor, i.e. unconditionally loving the other (with Christ’s love within us). Dying to a fear of revealing my true self to others.
C) King – to transform the world as a steward in Christ’s kingdom, i.e. in our workplace, marriage, family life, etc. Dying to any sense of hopelessness about the effect I can have on the world. How is this possible? Because it is Christ acting through us.


Some final, personal thoughts:

Marty:
Being a brewer and a man of faith I have become acutely aware of the role of beer and brewers to civilization and particularly in some areas of the world and world history.
Many analogies can be drawn between the loving production of these beverages and the actions of men who seek to enlighten their fellows. Products that some deem evil and yet Jesus himself deigned good.

Such naturally occurring substances as fermented fruit or grain beverages could not have been accepted and revered by so many spiritual groups and individuals throughout the ages had there not been some redeeming even enlightening properties in them.

Like many pagan rituals, ceremonies and celebrations that were adapted through the years by those who sought to incorporate deeply rooted customs into the patterns of faith-based ideologies, so it was with the thoughtful use of beer and wine.

I am proud to be blessed in the ability to produce and share a product that has been and remains to be a unifying element in our society.

As with any potent force, be it guns, physical strength, political power, influence in the workplace or home, journalistic following etc., alcohol offers the opportunity for abuse.

It is up to the nature of the individual and their sense of responsibility and morality to respect the nature of the power to do harm as well as good of these aforementioned devices.

During our struggles, joys, failings and triumphs here on earth I believe that beer and wine have been provided us as a reminder that God loves us. When taken in the proper frame of mind, in the appropriate setting, and in moderation, these beverages have the ability to transform us to a state conducive to reflection and fellowship.


Deacon David:
In closing, my thoughts about faith were not primarily gained through reading. Rather, my thoughts are my experience of life – it is in fact, my faith story, my life story. I have come to recognize that without faith, I cannot experience the fullness of life, of love, and of relationships with God, myself, my neighbor and creation.

So, it’s important that we all understand that we do not simply develop our faith in our heads, rather, we experience it in our daily lives. It is a life-long process. Sometimes, we can only fully experience “the experience” by looking back, by reflecting, by first seeing God’s action in our lives.

Through this experience of faith, we will likely come to recognize that we will fail much of the time. But we need to keep trying, taking comfort in Blessed Mother Theresa’s words: “We are not called to be successful, rather, we are called to be faithful.”

Ice Cream Extravaganza

The annual ice cream extravaganza was another huge success. Thanks to John Patterson for once again getting this all together and to all the men who participated. The kids loved it and the best comment was the little girl and said "excuse me, but I wanted to tell you that this is the best ice cream I have ever had." Great fun

Pictured are MASH scoopers from left to right-- Najwan Natour, Robert Bryant, Stephen Wilson, Rick Davis, John Patterson, Mick Connors, Marty Velas, Ed Mackle, and Jeff Elliott... with just a small sample of the ice cream, syrup, m&m's and whip cream that was served.

Parish Council & School Board reps at Dads and Donuts

Reminder for all Sacred Heart fathers to join Dads And Donuts in the Shae Room this Friday morning from 7:45 - 8:30AM.

This week members of the School Board and Parish Council will discuss their organizations' roles and responsibilities at Sacred Heart. They'll also discuss Open Positions in Parish Council and School Board as well as a Facility Administrator opening.

Principal Prater & SHCS’s Academic Excellence

Dads and Donuts continues to have great participation and exceptional discussion. Mrs. Prater led the session on May 8th by discussing the school’s 2009 Iowa Test scores. Thanks to the dedicated teachers and staff at SHCS, our school and children consistently score in the top 10% of all children in each grade and discipline. This academic excellence is a result of many factors including constant evaluations and adjustments performed during the in-service days.

Mrs. Prater also expressed her sincere gratitude for Lend-A-Hand which reached its goal through the generosity of parishes throughout the Knoxville Diocese as well as Sacred Heart’s parents and parishioners.

The Dads learned many things that we were unaware of prior to Friday’s discussion. THANK YOU, Mrs. Prater, for spending your time with Dads and Donuts this week and for setting the standard so high for our children! We have a much higher appreciation for you and all of the SHCS teachers & staff!

Dads and Donuts will meet again on May 15th when we’ll hear from school board & parish council members. Then we’ll have a wrap up the school year on May 22nd. Take your students to school, create some special memories, then come to the Shae Room from 7:45 – 8:30 AM. God Bless.

Gene Stallings and Johnny

Gents,

I had the opportunity to attend the "Evening with Johnny" event last pm at KCHS.  This event and presentation was all about fatherhood and the unconditional love of a child and his father.  Several things Gene Stallings talked about really hit home with me and I'll do my best to share with you but to really capture the essence of this story please watch this 10 minute video, pretty amazing stuff...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUVez3kNcI&feature=related

A few highlights from the talk --

1.  He talked about he loved to focus on the guys that were 4th and 5th string.  The guys who would never play on Saturday but showed up every day with huge hearts and strength to not only be the best  but to make the starters the best.  He said these were the guys who really "got it" and made him realize that these are the folks we are called to focus our lives on... ie caring for everyone.

2.  He talked about the problems in today's society with fathers... he said the average father spends 40 hours/week working, 50 hours/week sleeping, 8 hours per week "grooming" to go places and on average 2.5 minutes per day speaking with his child...  

3.  He quoted 3 John 1:3  "It is always my greatest joy to hear that my children are living according to the truth."  Emphasizing how important it was for us to teach our children about faith in God and to seek his truth in their lives.

KCHS, based on the support of the Harris family (owners of Knoxville Wholesale Furniture)  have named the new training facility after Gene Stalling's son Johnny.  Mr. Harris gave a wonderful witness of how the Holy Spirit and called him to do this and his desire to teach future KCHS students, through Johnny's inspiration, that sports are not only being fiercely competitive but about character, respect, and honor.    There will be a plaque in the facility that will bring this message home.

Very powerful evening, that represented the impact that we can all have on people's lives.  As Coach Stallings said just imagine what you can do if his son who couldn't count to ten but had such a tremendous impact on so many people.  Simply living his life through the unconditional love of others and God.

Ice Cream Extravaganza

This Friday May 8th, is the 3rd Annual Ice Cream Extravaganza as we like to call it. This event has become a traditional way for us Dad's to help the kids celebrate the end of another school year.
From 1130-1pm we will be dishing up bowls of ice cream and "all the fixins" for all the kids following their scheduled lunch time. John Patterson has again graciously agreed to collect everything we need, now we just need Dads to join us and scoop, top and distribute ice cream to the kids. It is alot of fun and another great chance to participate with your child at school.

Hope to see lots of folks there, no better way to spend your lunch hour.

MASH Family Day -- This Sunday....

This Sunday the 26th at 1pm -- it's MASH Family Day at the UT Baseball game. The Vols are coming off some big wins off of #1 LSU this past weekend and the forecast is for amazing weather.

Sam Albritton and Don Naab have tickets and you can email them, buy them at Dad's and Donuts on Friday or at the Auction Saturday Night. Kids are FREE, and adults are $5. The kids also get a free hot dog and soda -- plus I think will get a chance to run the bases after the game and meet the team.

Hope to see you and your family there. The game is at UT's baseball stadium on campus.

The great amen - EASTER!

Have a blessed and joyous Easter, knowing that God’s mercy and love are there for all of us. Prepare for and experience the fullness of the season by participating in Reconciliation (there's still time!) and then by fully receiving the Holy Eucharist.

Dads and Donuts will resume after Holy Week and Spring Break.

God bless you this and every season.

FBI Meeting Recap & This Week's Mass

Last week at Dads and Donuts we had a special guest who informed us as parents about the dangers of today's technologies. She also entertained us with some terrific personal and professional stories. She recalled for us how her Dad and her Catholic up-bringing was so central to who she has become today. We are grateful to her and look forward to her return in the Fall.

This week is the First Friday, all school Mass, 8:05 AM!
Dads and Donuts will convene for a quick cup of coffee and then move over to the church for Mass. Hope to see you there!

FBI Agent presents at Dads and Donuts: Parent's Guide to Internet Safety

Dads and Donuts will have a special guest on Friday morning as an FBI Supervisory Special Agent comes to talk about things we need to know as dads and parents.

Our guest has a had distinguished career with the FBI and most recently supervised the White Collar Crime and Computer Crime special agents.

She will bring several items for us to take home from the FBI's resources.

She'll also share her story about how her dad has influenced her life's decisions as a Catholic and as a parent. She attributes her success to a strong, supportive, and ever-present father; she applauds each of you for being actively engaged in your sons'/daughters' education, faith, and life.

If my phone conversation with this Agent is any indication of how she'll present the materials to us, then I think we're in for a REAL treat on Friday morning!

Ask anyone at the school if you need help finding us in the Shae Room; we'll be there beginning at 7:45 and ending at 8:30.

Men’s Night Out – Technology and our kids….wrap-up

Thanks to all who attended, we had a great evening of discussion with all things related to internet and cell phones etc.. Below I have attached some links for those who want more info. I would encourage everyone to make comments and suggestions if you have something to add. I also had the opportunity to attend a similar session for KCHS parents last night. From these two evenings, I will pass on the top things I learned. Again, if you have additions or corrections please add your info to the comments section.

1. Computers are not going away and we all need to learn about what is out there on the internet, what are kids are being exposed to, and teaching them about what is “right and wrong” when it comes to using the computer. At KCHS, the presenters gave us a list of over 600 social networking type sites, from around the world. This number does not include other sites with chat rooms etc… these sites are not going away – they make money.

2. Keep the computer in a public place in your home. Even with software that blocks sites etc… kids can intentionally or unintentionally find themselves on sites which are inappropriate. Beware of laptops and of your kids quickly closing down sites as you enter the room.

3. Communicate with your kids. Just like all areas, we need to create/develop relationships with our children, so we can discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of cell phones and the computer. Kids need to be able to come to us to ask questions, report suspicious behavior and cyber-bullying. They also need discipline and oversight to see that they stay on the right path.

4. To spy or not to spy? This topic was of great interest on both evenings. The bottom line from both nights came down to staying informed. Parents need to stay informed on what your child is doing and where they are going on the net. One simple way is to occasionally check the history button on your computers. Another recommendation was to Google your kids on the internet and do this with them. See what information is out there about your child – you will be amazed. Also facebook and my space pages may come up if they have them.

5. Facebook – a great site, but full of potential problems. Facebook is a place for kids (and adults) to stay in touch, create and build friendships, be accepted, join groups and maybe overcome “shyness.” BUT, some other factors should be considered:
a. kids are eager to add friends, apparently higher #’s of friends is “cooler.”
b. only accepted friends can see your info, but they see all info on your site.
c. friends are able to instant message each other – so even if you “check” out your kids site, you won’t see these conversations or who they are with.
d. pictures can be placed on the site, but can also be copied by friends and put on their site. At the high school level, kids are figuring out how to “tunnel” onto sites which are not their friends and getting pictures/information.
e. You can make information available by different settings, but don’t put any info on your site they you don’t want shared or hacked into – ie phone numbers, addresses etc.. just leave them blank.
f. kids are making pages under other kids names and or making up aliases. Be aware.
g. Also, universities and potential employers are using these sites to gain information about candidates.

6. Chat rooms – many sites that are not social networks still have chat rooms. Pandora’s is a popular music site, but also has chat rooms. Chat rooms are a place where kids need to be careful about who they are talking to. These rooms are not screened, are not friends only, and people may not be who they say they are.

7. Cell phones - first, realize that many phones have internet access, your kids may be on facebook etc.. via their cell phone.

8. Texting – it is rampant, one person reported their child at KCHS having 30,000 texts in one month. This communication is also not going away, but you need to stay informed about who your kids are texting. Much debate on this but a few good ideas I picked up: a. consider having family phones, as opposed to individual cell phones – if your child “needs” a phone then they can take one. b. have a time that all cell phones are off, and one idea was to have them in a charger in the parents bedroom. c. check your kids texts – most parents felt the kids should know that the parents have full access to what they are texting. d. pictures/video have become a problem with cell phones. Kids are often sending pictures or posting video on youtube. Often times these contain inappropriate items – around the country kids are being arrested for sending “pornography” and bullying has occurred when one kids picture gets spread around the school/internet. Recently, a girl in Cincinnati committed suicide after her naked picture was posted after it was intended for her boyfriend.

9. “Best version of themselves.” I recently read a book by Matthew Kelly called Building Better Families… This is a great book and I would recommend it highly. Much of his theme is encourage us to help our kids become the best version of themselves. With this, we need to strongly consider how and if technology is making our children “the best version of themselves.” This decision is an individual one, but one we all need to consider as younger and younger children are getting cell phones, getting on the internet, texting etc…

10. What can MASH do? As a community I think we need to work together to keep each other informed on what is going on, what we are seeing on the internet and keeping our kids safe. I would hope that you would let me know if you saw my children involved in something of concern and know that I would do the same. Let's keep talking about all these issues....

Links: http://www.wiredkids.org/wiredkids_org.html -- tons of internet safety info
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm -- parent info
http://www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/safety2.htm -- k-5 info
http://www.fbi-sos.org/index.cfm?Page=Principal_Teacher -- 5-8 program
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090322/NEWS01/903220312/-1/TODAY -- this is the tragic story about “sexting”

School Board, Parish Council, & MASH

A big thanks to Brian Rhoades & Cory Bond for shedding new light on several topics for the guys during this past Friday's Dads & Donuts.

We had a really good dialog about the Parish's support of its primary ministry, our school, and how things look for the coming fiscal & academic year.

There are many great things ahead for our kids and now's the time for us to get involved with the school, our children, and the Sacred Heart parish community!

Remember to do something special with your SHCS student on Friday and then come over to the Shae Room near the Paraclete.

Questions? Contact me at dpnaab@charter.net.

See you on Friday!

Dads & Donuts: Board & Parish Council Members Discuss Budgets & SHCS Stewardship

Come join us this Friday, 3/20/09, in the Shae Room after drop-off from 7:45 - 8:30 AM.

MASH members who are also on the Parish Council and the SHCS School Board will discuss:

• The budget shortfall and what it could mean for SHCS families - upcoming town hall meeting and need for volunteers in the near future.
• SHCS Stewardship of tuition and parish/dioceses funds.

We'll have coffee & donuts for everyone.

We'll also discuss upcoming MASH events (Men's Night Out, UT Baseball game, & others)

If you have questions or want to get on our email distribution, send an email to Don Naab at dpnaab@charter.net.

Hope to see you on Friday!

We're building a stronger SHCS community!

Alot going on......

There are lots of events going on with MASH right now, so frequently check out the details at the bottom of this page. Here are the highlights of upcoming events.

Dads and Donuts -- don't forget, every Friday in the Shea room.

Mar 23rd -- Men's Night Out -- Naples in Bearden 6pm
Are your kids cooler online? This is a very timely topic as folks flock to facebook, myspace and are texting like crazy. This will be a laid back evening of discussion and fellowship.

April ___ Men's Night Out -- details to come, but Dr. Rod Briggs will give us an overview of what we should all be aware of when it comes to pro-life and pro-choice issues -- stem cells, partial birth abortion, FOCA will all be on the agenda. Should be a great event..

April 25th is the SHCS Auction -- Home and School should be getting the word out on this one.

April 26th -UT Baseball -- Sunday at 1pm. Join MASH for a great day at the ballpark. The UT baseball team will play Georgia in an SEC game. Thanks to our own Todd Raleigh, kids will have a unbelievable day -- get in free with a paid adult, free hot dog and drink, run the bases after the game and meet the team. Should be great family fun. Tickets will be available soon and will be available at Men's Night Out on the 23rd. Tickets are $5 for adults.

May 18th -- Men's Night Out -- Brewing Your Faith at Calhouns in Bearden. Marty Velas and Deacon David are brewing up a great night to learn about making beer and improving our faith. Should be another great night of fun and fellowship.

Golf Tourney -- never to early to mark your calendars. The annual SHCS golf tourney has been set for October 20th.

Lend a Hand?? -- an editorial

Likely you have received a letter related to this fund from Ms. Prater and if you have children at Catholic High you also received a letter from Mr. Sompyrac. If you are like me, these letters are combined with letters related to many other fundraisers and worthy causes which you have supported in the past. With these letters, bailout funds and the “stimulus” package, I must honestly admit it all seems a bit overwhelming. My initial reaction was frustration and a sense of exasperation. My frustration and exasperation were not for these families but came from my own worries of how all these things were going to impact me. Not very Christian, I know, but my initial reaction were thoughts of rising tuition, rising taxes, and more requests for bailout funds. Where is it going to end?
Then I spoke to Deacon David and emailed Sedonna Prater and began to reflect on the opportunity before us. Yes, a great opportunity that this “lend a hand fund” offers.

Deacon David and Ms. Prater relayed to me that there are many families in our parish and in our diocese who are going through tremendous financial struggles. These families have to make difficult choices and one of these difficulties is whether they can afford to keep their children in Catholic schools. This fund was developed rather quickly as many have realized the rather sudden financial crisis that faces our nation. Our community is not immune to these struggles. Deacon Dave informed me that this fund is an emergency fund that will go to families in our parish and in our diocese to help offset tuition costs. These funds will offer hope and assistance to those in most need.

Hence, being humbled by this reality, and putting aside my own issues, I began to reflect on several questions and see the great opportunity before us:

First and foremost, what is God calling us to do in our lives? Clearly, we are called to love God and love others. What greater love than to offer hope to those in need, especially to those in need in our very own community? I was listening to a reflection about the story of the paralytic man who was lowered through the roof and was healed by Jesus (Mark 2: 1-12). We often focus on the healing power of Jesus and this man’s faith. But this reflection challenged us to consider the four unnamed men who cut the hole in the roof and lowered this man in need down to be healed by Jesus? What an opportunity to ask ourselves if we can humbly offer to help others in time of need………….

Second, how important is Catholic education? Clearly, these families and their children could go elsewhere to learn reading, writing and arithmetic, so what is different about a Catholic education? What a great opportunity for us to reflect on why we send our children to SHCS. How important is it? What is the difference? Take some time and reflect on this question yourself. For me, I have to look no farther than last Friday when my eighth grade son invited me to attend Eucharistic Adoration with him. Every first Friday, the eighth grade students spend 20 minutes each in silent prayer and reflection before the Blessed Sacrament. Words could never describe, nor value assessed, on these 20 minutes I spent kneeling and praying with my son. What an opportunity to reflect on the true value of Catholic education….

Finally, can I afford to help? Everyone is worried about their own home value, mortgage payment and rising bills and I am no exception. However, we are called to place God and others first, again what a great opportunity for us. For me, I began to look at the funds I spend on my kids own extracurricular activities. Like so many, we are spending a tremendous amount of money on these privileges. I am humbled to think about the funds we spend on competitive sports with the fees, travel, dining out etc… Can I really say that I cannot afford to help those in need as we continue to fill our wants? What a great opportunity to reflect on what are our wants and what truly are others needs……….

I would encourage each and everyone of you to consider these questions. Humble yourself and recognize what a great opportunity this “Lend a Hand” fund holds for you to do what you can to help your community in need. Just think about what you can do. Thanks to Deacon David and Ms. Prater for their work on this very important endeavor and giving us this opportunity to help.

March Madness - Huge Success

Gentlemen,
Congratulations on a wonderful turnout for March Madness on Friday. The turnout was tremendous and the Mass Celebration was packed with so many fathers, that the choir loft was full and many were standing in the vestibule. The estimate was approximately 125 Dad's in attendance.
Thanks to all who participated and to Steve Plenzler for his once again superb organization of the entire day. Joe Champelli is pictured enjoying March Madness with his daughter Audrey.
Remember, our goal is to make first Fridays a day for Dads to attend mass with their children, it doesn't have to be just March. Also, for those unaware, during first Friday Mass, Fr. Al exposes the monstrance with the eucharist and the 8th grade class rotate students all day for Eucharistic Adoration. I had the great pleasure of praying for 20 minutes with my son on Friday. I was quite surprised and impressed to see how these students truly enjoy and appreciate the privelege of silent prayer. If you get a chance, I would highly encourage it for everyone.

Dads & Donuts continues to build!

Last week we saw new faces once again with great discussion about topics such as how internet & pop-culture issues (e.g., facebook, craigslist, myspace, DVRs) challenge us as dads & families. We're going to broach this specific topic again in more depth on March 27th.

Upcoming Fridays, 7:45 - 8:30 AM:

• Mar 6th - 1st Friday Mass @ 8:05 AM (no coffee & donuts)
• Mar 13th - SHCS Principal Sedonna Prater: questions, answers, discussion
• Mar 20th - SHCS School Board & Parich Council reps: Q/A/D
• Mar 27th - The Internet in our homes: security & parenting

Remember, Dads & Donuts is all about the Dads creating some extra-special time before school to have a donut (or some other treat) with their SHCS student(s) to build relationships and memories. After you've dropped them off, please come join us in the Shae Room (or Mass) for fellowship and information.

We'll be there every Friday from 7:45 - 8:30 AM, Shae Room or Mass. Come whenever you can as often as you can!

We're building a stronger SHCS community!!!

Dads & Donuts gets off to a GREAT start!

Thanks to everyone who came to the initial Dads & Donuts event!

There were about 25 Dads who took the opportunity to bring their kids to SHCS that day and then hang out with a few of the other Dads. Several of us got to introduce ourselves to the dads of our children's classmates.

We'll do it again this and every Friday ... hope to see you there!

P.S. Remember ... the donuts are for your KIDS! So leave your house a few minutes early with them, be together, do something special, and start building some memories! In the spirit of Lent, we won't provide donuts at this Friday's event.

Travel Boy Scouts

Ok, you have all heard or likely been involved in travel sports, but this past weekend I had a new experience of "travel" boy scouts. Sounds odd this day in age of ever increasing competitive sports etc.. But what a great weekend we had and educational and fun as well.


Thanks to Sacred Heart pack leader Dave Wells and Jackie Birdwell, the trip organizer... over 60 folks from Sacred Heart made the trek to Savannah, GA for Presidents weekend.

It was great family time, as evidenced by the Velas family in this picture (Dad is taking the picture). The trip included a bus tour of Savannah, tour of Ft. Jackson, trip to Tybee island marine center and lighthouse and ended with a moroccan dinner that for many was unforgettable.

The other highlight of the trip was a visit to the Eighth Air Force Museum. The scouts had the honor of meeting a WWII veteran named Ray, who told us of his experience being shot down over Germany. Ray was a navigator in a B-17 bomber at the age of 19. On his 13th mission, his plane ran into trouble. Trouble, as in being shot at by German warplanes and anti-aircraft guns from the ground. His plane had lost 3 of 4 engines and the order had been given to bailout. Unfortunately, Ray's escape hatch had frozen shut and wouldn't open. Why frozen? Well Ray informed us that the average temperature in the planes was about 20 below zero and this cold had an adverse effect on his bladder. He needed to urinate frequently and therefore kept a trusty bottle at his side. However, with the rough ride they were on in this mission, this cup had spilled over onto his escape hatch and had frozen. He and his partner tried for several minutes to open the hatch, while everyone else had already bailed out and the plane was on autopilot with single engine keeping it aloft. Finally, they decided to parachute from another hatch and did so successfully. Amazingly, the extra time turned out to be a huge blessing. He successfully parachuted into a friendly portion of France, while several of the other crew had been captured or killed while parachuting into Germany. Hard to believe that frozen urine would make such an impact on his life. Sounds like divine intervention perhaps?

Thanks to all who planned and organized this trip. Great weekend of family time with "travel" boyscouts... and I think we all came home victorious -- a few stories, good memories and time with our kids. Who needs a trophy??

Dads & Donuts starts THIS FRIDAY (2/20/09)

Who: ALL SACRED HEART DADS
What: Dads & Donuts
Where: Shea Room
When: 7:45-8:30 AM Every Friday

Dads, bring your kids to school on Fridays ... in fact, leave early and have a special weekly dad-session; that's sure to create memories that will last forever. But don't be late for school!

After you've had your special time, join MASH in the Shea Room. We'll bring the donuts, coffee, and name tags. Our goal is to connect with our kids, SHCS, and other dads.

Dads & Donuts will not have a formal agenda, but we'll have a featured guest from the school on most Fridays so we can hear about what's going on at Sacred Heart. We will also get to know each other so we'll have a clue about what our wives are talking about when they mention something about so-and-so's mother/father!

Monthly Schedule:

• 1st Fridays: All-School Mass ... what better way to support SHCS & our kids?!
• 2nd Fridays: Featured guest, SHCS Principal Sedonna Prater
• 3rd Fridays: Pending commitment ... stay tuned
• 4th Fridays: Open Session

Questions? Suggestions? Put 'em in the box ... or contact Don Naab!

Goal for Week 1: Try to accurately anticpate how many donuts we'll need.

MASH Website!!!

MASH now has it's very own webpage on the Sacred Heart website. Please check it out by hitting the MASH website in the left column of this page under Links. Thanks to Pam Rhoades and Robb Morris for their help in getting this page setup. Our hope is that this page will allow more men to discover MASH and get involved at SHCS.

Also, MASH was featured in Sacred Heart's Community Newsletter. If you didn't see it, you can click on the link under MASH News.

Thanks for the feedback on the blog. Hoping all these things will assist us men keep informed on all things related to our kids and SHCS. Feel free to leave comments on this blog -- near the bottom of each post, just click "comments."

Peace and Goodness to everyone and enjoy the school holidays this weekend.

Ice Bears

Thanks to all who attended the Ice Bears game on Friday night and to John Patterson for organizing. It was a great night of cotton candy, popcorn, weiner dog races and also a little bit of hockey. The kids all seemed to have a great time getting together and enjoyed watching their faces as the horn blew for another Ice Bears goal. Overall, we had about 70 people in our MASH group. Look forward to doing this again next year.

Men's Night Out -- Recap -- Dr. Jerry Punch

Men's Night Out last night was a great success based on feedback from those who had the opportunity to attend. For those unable to attend, here is a brief re-cap of the nights events.

Marty Velas graciously hosted the event at Calhoun's in Bearden. Marty also offered samples of his beverages and gave us an overview of the science behind beer making. Marty relies on his technical background as an aeronautical engineer to assist him in his passion. MASH is working with Marty and his generous offer to have another Men's Night Out related to the history and making of beer.

Jerry Punch led the group of over 30 MASH members in a discussion about sports. Jerry's focus was discussing the many often untold stories in sports. The stories were not focused on a great play or great athlete or on an athlete being arrested or using performing enhancing drugs. No, instead Jerry told many stories of people overcoming struggles, demonstrations of faith and courage, humility and the virtue of sports which is often lost in today's coverage. Jerry had great stories from the likes of June Jones, Lee Corso, Brian Piccolo and many others. These stories touched on the men behind the sport, what they stood for and how they demonstrated true faith in sport.

One great example Jerry discussed was the Rudy Awards. This award is given annually to recognize character, courage, contribution and committment in college football. This years winner was Drew Combs from TCU. Drew was born with a left arm that ended at the elbow and yet he started on special teams at TCU. His story and those of the other finalist can be found at http://www.rudyawards.com/. I would suggest you check this out.

After reflecting upon Jerry's discussion it really left me rather surprised. Surprised that so many stories that Jerry highlighted and remembered really had little to do with a great pass or play but rather with relationships, faith and character. As we are often swept away into the world of crazed fanatacism and frenzy related to wins and losses, I would encourage us all to reflect on the true virtue of sports and why we encourage our children to play sports. Is it to get to the next level, or is it to gain some insight and knowledge into the human spirit? Is it to win a championship, or to become a true champion in life? Is it to become the message, or simply be a messenger of God's word? Not only for our children, but we could also ask the same questions and reflect upon our own lives, our own business, and our spiritual life?

Fr. Al recommended a book to me that I shared last night and I would encourage you to check out. It is called "The Book of Sports Virtues: Portraits from the field of play" by Fritz Knapp. This book utilizes great athletes in the past and highlights the virtues that each represents. You can find it on Amazon or at the Paraclete I believe.

I would also recommend Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength. Tony talks about his Christian beliefs and how they helped him throughout his coaching and personal life. Tony also highlights some interesting NFL statistics that I shared last night such as;
***Sixty-five percent of NFL players leave the game with permanent injuries.
***Twenty-five percent of NFL players report financial difficulties within the first year of retirement.
***Fifty percent of failed NFL marriages occur in the first year after retirement.
***Seventy-eight percent of NFL players are unemployed, bankrupt, or divorced within two years of retirement.
***The suicide rate for retired NFL players is six times greater than the national average.

Pretty startling numbers....

So as we think of sports and our own children, I asked Jerry what he would recommend for Dad's today. Jerry's response, was simply to allow the kids to "have fun, enjoy sports, and stop pushing them so hard."

Thanks to all who attended and special thanks to Marty Velas and Dr. Jerry Punch.

March for Life

Today is March for Life in Washington DC. Here is a picture sent to me by my daughter who went with several buses of kids from Catholic High.

Her text message said,

"It's awesome."

Welcome and Tour

Gents,

Here is another tool to help us spread the work of MASH and to engage our fellow men in discussion related to anything and everything related to fatherhood, spirituality, sports, etc....

I hope you find this a helpful site and please feel free to send any good books, sites etc.. and we can add them to our links.

Here is a brief tour of this blog page.
First, this is the section where posts by hopefully a variety of authors will be posted. These posts will be topics with any and all relevance to being Christian men and fathers. If you have ideas or topics you would like to write or see please let us know.
Below the posts, you will see "comments." Just click this and a pop up will allow you to add and/or read comments.

To the left, we have our disclaimer, that we are here to inform, express opinions but they should be taken as our own. Below the disclaimer we have several addition items.
Links -- click on these and they will take you away from our page and to the websites listed. We will try to update this list as we come across new helpful sites. Check them out..
Recommended Reads -- we will try to change/add to this list frequently. Got a good back please send on.
News/Pray -- this is fed to the blog by Notre Dame with daily prayer/readings.
Add MASH Blog -- this will allow you to receive any new posts on your home page ie my yahoo. Not sure how that works but pretty cool.
Archive -- check out all old postings and comments.

Finally at the bottom of the page, you will see our upcoming events which we will keep updated. Also, you will see our mission statement to continually remind us not to veer off course.

I hope you find this blog helpful. I would love any comments or suggestions.

Peace and Goodness to you and your families

Mick Connors