The Bishop’s Corner December 20, 2008
In the first place, I would like to extend to all the Faithful of the Diocese my personal best wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a grace-filled New Year of 2009—the eventful year of Bermuda’s 400th Anniversary of settlement. Be assured of my prayers for you and your families at the Masses I will celebrate at St. Theresa’s Cathedral throughout the Christmas season.
I am very pleased to invite you to join me in welcoming Brother Edward Benson, C.R. to Bermuda. Brother Ed will be arriving in mid-December to serve as our Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry. He will reside at St. Theresa’s Cathedral Rectory.
Bro. Ed was born in Louisville, Kentucky on October 20, 1944. He professed religious vows in the Congregation of the Resurrection, Ontario-Kentucky Province, on February 15, 1964. He comes to Bermuda with over 35 years of experience in dealing with young people as a teacher, guidance counselor, and coach. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Education. He also has earned a master’s degree in Educational Administration. Most recently, he has completed a Master’s degree in Pastoral Studies at Loyola University in New Orleans where he was able to devote time to special studies in the area of small Faith Communities and Parish life as well as Youth Ministry. Bro. Ed’s last assignment was that of Director of Resurrection Center, the Congregation of the Resurrection’s Center for the formation of lay ecclesial ministers in Waterloo, Ontario.
I have great hope for Bro. Ed’s ministry in Bermuda. I know he is a man who will build on all the good that has been accomplished by the Youth Ministers and the many adult volunteers who have preceded him in ministering to our young people in the Diocese. I also believe that we are truly fortunate to have secured the assistance of a Religious Brother with his qualifications to direct of Youth Ministry Program.
I have met with Bro. Ed several times and he knows that his mandate is to coordinate, animate and facilitate youth ministry in our parishes. He is to do this primarily by concentrating on the professional and spiritual formation of adult volunteer youth ministers in each of our parishes. Therefore, the basic operational principle in the Diocesan Youth Ministry Program is that it is to be parish-based with occasional Diocese-wide events. The immediate focus of the program will be the young people who were Confirmed on Pentecost Sunday, 2008, and then, all the youth of our parishes and Mount Saint Agnes Academy, our one and only Catholic School.
It is our hope that Bro. Ed will work himself out of a job in three year’s time because a member of our Diocese will be prepared to replace him. Rest assured, you will be hearing more about Youth Ministry in Bermuda in the New Year!
Bishop Robert Kurtz, C.R.
St. Theresa's Cathedral Hall Project
As the first phase of the renovations for St. Theresa’s Hall draws to completion, it was thought timely for a report on this project to be given to everyone in the Diocese.
Sincere thanks to everyone throughout Bermuda who assisted in any way in supporting the Cathedral Hall Renovations Project: the Pastors and their parish and finance councils for their donations out of parish surplus funds; the individuals who supported the car raffle, (especially those who sold the raffle tickets); the parishioners of St. Theresa’s who answered the appeal and continue to organize and support the parish fundraising events and the social groups who made individual donations. Just as the parishes could not survive without their parishioners practicing stewardship toward their pastor and church, neither could the Diocese survive without the parishes practicing stewardship toward their Diocese and hence their Cathedral. Demographically, the parishioner base of St. Theresa’s Parish is a transient one. Individuals and families move into the parish, stay for two or three years and then either move into other church parishes or leave the Island completely. The St. Theresa’s parishioners are generous in providing for the month-to-month, year-to-year operational support of the Cathedral complex and are loyal and hardworking in their support of the initiatives that are put forward. However, it takes the support of everyone, for the major projects, as these are over and above the abilities of the Cathedral parishioners only.
The Cathedral of St. Theresa of Lisieux and its accompanying Hall is the seat of our Roman Catholic Diocese and belongs to every Roman Catholic in Bermuda. Bishop Robert J. Kurtz, CR, the Pastor and Rev. Joseph Palubeski, CR, the Rector work tirelessly to keep the Cathedral complex in as good condition and repair as possible. The maintenance of a complex this size is a mammoth job and takes a large number of people, many man-hours and much funding to keep its physical plant in good condition and working order. Sitting at the top of Cedar Avenue silhouetted against the blue skyline, the Cathedral presents a commanding view that every Roman Catholic living in or visiting the Island can be proud of and it is necessary for the Diocese, as a whole, to come to the assistance of St. Theresa’s Cathedral Parish on occasion for this to continue to be a reality.
See Important Dates page for on-going fund-raising events.
Hamilton Princess, Bermuda
By Susan Patschak
The theme of my talk today is “Respect in the Workplace”.
RESPECT as St. Matthew writes in his gospel:
“In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you.”
And Webster defines the word as:
“A feeling of appreciative often deferential regard; esteem.”
When I was a young consultant at Tillinghast, I had given an assignment to one of our computer analysts. She was a hard worker, but by everyone’s account she was not the “brightest light in the chandelier”. When she had finished the project and gave it to me, it was all wrong. I lost my temper really bad and yelled at her. I remember feeling horrible the rest of the day and told my husband Chuck about it that night at dinner. Chuck’s comment to me was – “Susan, yelling at Sarah is like kicking a dog.”
Those words have stuck with me all these years and today, I am very conscious of being respectful of my fellow workers. It has become a “mantra” for me.
The different letters in the word RESPECT reflect how I think we should conduct ourselves in the workplace.
The first letter R – not only stands for Respect but also RESPONSIBILITY. Taking responsibility for one’s own actions is critically important. Mistakes happen and none of us are perfect. Being able to own up to them is key. Saying “Yes, I made a mistake. I will fix the problem, and I will do everything in my power not to let it happen again.” This is a sign of integrity and a sign of an honest person.
The first E in the word Respect stands for ENTHUSIASM. In Ephesians, Chapter 6 we read:
“Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
So many people dislike their jobs! The reasons they point to are their boss, their fellow colleagues or the work they do. No one ever looks in the mirror to recognize that the culprit in many cases is our self and our attitude. If our attitude is right, nothing can stop us doing what we like to do. Attitude is important for all of us! And remember, if you are someone always moaning and groaning maybe there is a reason no one wants to go to lunch with you!
S stands for SUPERVISORS and SUBORDINATES. In Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 6, Verse 40 he writes:
“No disciple is superior to the teacher but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.”
Treat your bosses the same way you treat your subordinates. We always hear “he/she manages well upwards” but never do we hear “he/she manages well downwards.” This is equally as important and valuable. You never know when the subordinate you treated shabbily will one day be your boss. People have long memories and do not forget being treated poorly.
Supervisors: Surround yourselves with the brightest, best people you can. They will only make you look better. Do not surround yourself with “yes” people because they will only tell you what you want to hear and not the truth about what is really going on in your company. In addition, you never want your boss to come and tell you they would like to promote you but there is no one to replace you in your current role.
Staff members: Have confidence in yourself and your abilities to stand up for what is right. It is not easy to do but it is important to be honest with yourself and be honest with those around you.
P is for PEOPLE. Remember, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I have been involved in many employee surveys and while compensation level is important to get right, the next biggest factor affecting why people leave a company is feeling valued. People want to have a voice, they want to be asked their opinion and they want to feel comfortable giving their opinion in their work environment. A great metric to measure morale in a workplace is to track each year the number of staff out of the total staff that attends your office Christmas party. If this ratio decreases year on year, it is a telltale sign that morale is not good.
Walking around the office and getting to know people’s names and what they are working on is an excellent way for management to keep tabs on what is happening in the company. It’s a good practice for staff members as well. It is much easier to ask for a favor of your fellow colleague if you know and are interested in them.
The second E stands for EGO. Paul writes in his 1st letter to the Corinthians:
“Whoever boasts should boast in the Lord.”
We all have egos. Having a healthy ego is good and it is good to be self confident. However, you need to keep it in check. Being ambitious is not a bad thing either but you need to watch that you do not develop hidden agendas. Be wary of those around you who are. Our workplaces are full of political animals. Take care of who you trust. When you are down on your luck look around to see who is there to help. Many people only call when you can help them. Keep a list of those you heard from when you were “out” and then keep a new list of calls when you are back on your feet. These two lists will separate your “true friends” from those that are only “contacts”.
Psalm 140 reads:
“Save me, O Lord from the hands of the wicked who plan to trip up my feet – the proud who have hidden a trap for me.”
Take care and be mindful of them!!
C stands for CHILDREN. In St. Mark’s Gospel Jesus said:
“Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Shortly after I joined ACE back in 2002, my husband had a doctor’s appointment and brought Erin (who was 2 ½ at the time) to my office to watch her while he went to the doctors.
Erin had fun with all of her coloring books and Winnie the Pooh books. While she was playing, Mr. Don Kramer (Vice Chairman of ACE Limited at the time) came into my office. He introduced himself to Erin and proceeded to sit on my couch, put Erin on his lap and start reading her a Pooh story. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Brian Duperreault (Chairman and CEO of ACE at the time) came into my office as well. He also introduced himself to Erin and then asks me if I had a quick minute. After making sure Don was fine I followed Brian out of my office. As we were walking to his office, he put his arm around me and said: “The day we stop being able to do that” (as he points a finger back to my office) “… is the day we should close our doors.”
No one in this room today would question the fact that both Don Kramer and Brian Duperreault are very successful business people. They have a heart, and they care about their people. They are excellent role models and show us how business people should conduct themselves.
T stands for TONE OF VOICE. Remember it is not what we say, but how we say it. In the 1st letter of Peter he says about Christ:
“He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth – when he was insulted he returned no insult and when he suffered he did not threaten.”
There is no room for anger in our workplaces!! The majority of us are not in jobs where we are dealing with life or death situations. The sun will come up tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.
To sum up, there are 5 golden rules I live by at work:
1) Work hard but work smart
2) Be honest – be honest with yourself and be honest with others
3) Pay attention to detail
4) Respect your fellow colleagues and
5) Have fun!
And last but not least, I will leave you with my favorite sermon (it also happens to be the shortest sermon I have ever heard):
“Those of you out there who are sinning – STOP IT! Those of you out there that are not, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
Thank you for listening.