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The event will feature English and Spanish language presentations. Christopher Bell, a national leader in the pro-life movement and the co-founder and executive director of Good Counsel Homes, will serve as the English language keynote speaker for the event. Father John J. Galeano, the pastor of Saint Francis de Sales, Lodi, will serve as the keynote speaker for the forum's Spanish track.
Carla L. Repollet is the executive director, Office of Development and Stewardship, which sponsors the annual gathering. The conference targets clergy, parish stewardship committees and interested parishioners, providing information and resources to help increase their understanding of stewardship.
Repollet said the concept of spiritual stewardship carries an additional sense of urgency today, given that many are struggling to make ends meet because of the ongoing recession. Stewardship, she explained, involves people of faith giving their time, talent and treasure as gifts of gratitude to celebrate the many blessings from God.
"Material possessions can be gone in a second, but our relationship with Christ is everlasting," she said. "Stewardship is all about that journey. Stewardship deepens our relationship with Christ. Today we all need a little extra motivation to help others."
Contact Lynn Gully, associate director of stewardship, by phone at (973) 497-4589, or via e-mail at gullylyn@rcan.org for details on Stewardship Day. Admission is free and open to the public, but online registration (www.rcan.org/stewardship) is requested to assist with event planning. Registration includes a free continental breakfast, which will be served 8-8:45 a.m.
Bell's presentation, "Stewardship-One Person's Journey," will describe his work with Good Counsel, a nonprofit private Catholic agency dedicated to helping homeless pregnant women by providing them with secure shelter and a compassionate environment.
Good Counsel, based in Hoboken, was launched 24 years ago by Bell and popular Franciscan priest and author, Father Benedict Groeschel, who appears on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). Good Counsel has grown to five homes in the New York greater metropolitan area. The group maintains a pregnancy crisis hotline (800-723-8331) that operates 24 hours a day. Since 1985, more than 3,500 women and children have received residential help at Good Counsel. Bell currently manages four homes in the Bronx, Staten Island, Spring Valley, and Harrison, New York. (Web site: www.goodcounselhomes.org).
Fr. Galeano, since December 2004, has served as the spiritual director for the Archdiocese of Newark's Hispanic Cursillo movement. Founded in Spain during the 1940s, the Cursillo movement took root in the United States four decades ago. The word, in Spanish, means "short course." Carla Repollet The movement involves retreats to help people discover the love of God. In addition, Fr. Galeano established the Juan Miguel Foundation five years ago, an organization dedicated to providing education, medical and dental services to 180 children and families in need.
Born in Itagui Antioquia, Colombia on Nov. 19, 1966, Fr. Galeano graduated from Seton Hall University, South Orange, in 1991, with bachelor's degrees in Philosophy and the History of the Universal Church. He went on to study at Immaculate Conception Seminary, where he received a Masters in Divinity in Pastoral Ministry, and a master's degree in Systematic Theology He was ordained on May 25, 2002 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark.
Along with Bell, other speakers slated for the English segment of the Stewardship Day program include Deacon Nick DeLucca, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Ridgewood ("The Successful Parish Stewardship Journey"); Father Larry Evans II, the chaplain of Paramus Catholic Regional High School ("The Lost Years: Engaging Teenagers and Young Adults"); Rev. Msgr. Charles Gusmer, pastor emeritus, Saint Catherine of Siena Parish, Cedar Grove ("The Stewardship Spiritual Journey"); Sister Marilyn Minter, recently installed as the associate director of parish outreach and training at the Archdiocesan Youth Retreat Center, Kearny ("Why Stewardship Makes Sense"); William Scarpone, senior manager, Graham-Pelton Consulting Inc., Summit ("Increasing Offering Giving"); and Don Blaesser, deputy executive director of the Newark chapter of Habitat for Humanity ("Building Stewardship").
The Spanish language track for Stewardship Day, in addition to Fr. Galeano's keynote address, will feature presentations by Father William J. Halbing, the pastor of Saint Antoninus Parish, Newark, and Liliana Soto-Cabrera, coordinator of the archdiocesan Office of Evangelization.
