2020-Spring-Newsletter-Electronic-copy

JOY — EVANGELIZATION — SACRAMENT — UNITY — SERVICE SPRING 2020 The Piatt Press Association of Catholic Tech Students Newsletter Christ-Centered, Student-Led — Be Yourself With their eyes and hearts fixed on Christ, ACTS members nominated 33 students to consider being the next student leaders starting in the spring quarter of 2020 After a two-hour discernment process, 19 members were discerned to lead ACTS for the next year The discernment process for leaders led the team to choose five executive officers and eleven committee chairs The executive branch is responsible for the overall function of the team and its communication The president is the liaison to Tech, and the VP is a voting member of St Thomas Aquinas’ pastoral council The executive officers are Matthew Aguillard, Treasurer; Emily Hahn, Secretary; Ben Meleton, VP; Matthew Lemoine, Student Chaplain; and Chris Tullier, President All these members are serving their first term as an executive officer for ACTS Not wasting any time, the executive team met at the friary for a brunch meeting to set the tone for their leadership style After, Chris suggested a follow-up lunch meeting At this meeting, they discussed what aspects of leadership they should work on and improve this upcoming year They discussed different ways to communicate better in the leadership team setting, with the members of ACTS, and through the social media, and emails ACTS sends out They also created personal and individual goals for their new roles in ACTS They agreed to hold each other accountable and support each other in achieving these A Great Response! A huge thank you to all of those who responded to our Fall 2019 Newsletter Because of your generosity, ACTS received $14,533 This was the second-highest amount collected since 2011 surpassing our goal of $10,000 With such loving support, we were able to increase the budget for our events and make improvements around the E Donn Piatt Catholic Student Center We were able to re-carpet the entire back office area, update the furniture in the library and refurbish the cabinets in the kitchen goals In addition to individual goals, they formed group goals for the executive team and the Big Leadership Team with all the committee chairs The 2020-2021 team is striving to improve their relationships within the ACTS community, perform their role as good leaders of Christian service, and help ACTS to grow as an organization President Chris Tullier sums it all up well by saying, “Be yourself, because that is who everyone loves.” Thanks to Emily Hahn for her contribution to this article A candlelight “Passing on the Wisdom” ritual was held in the E Donn Piatt Catholic Center to commemorate the transition to the new 2020-21 Leadership Team Each outgoing and incoming officer or committee chair shared a candle and a prayer as ACTS moves forward with a new team DOLLARS AND CENTS ACTS and the E Donn Piatt (EDP) Catholic Student Center publish two newsletters each school year Each mailing needs to generate $10,000 to meet our budget Here are the results from our Fall 2019 Newsletter The $60,000 operating budget for the E Donn Piatt Catholic Student Center and ACTS is nearly evenly distributed among three sources of income: grants, general support, and our newsletters Our general support fund is at Parents ………………… $ 6,590.00 $8,759.00 These are funds Alumni …………… … $ 5.035.00 donated separately from the Parishioners …….…… $ 1,945.00 newsletters that include monthly Friends …………….…… $ 965.00 gifts Grants are channeled Total …………………… $ 14,533.00 through the diocese You! k n a h T PAGE A MESSAGE FROM FR TONY POSADAS, OFM, PASTOR OF ST THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH The Seven Sacraments convey to us a life of grace in Christ They are the jumping-off point to see the entire world, and us imperfect human beings as being sacramental, that this world and our willingness to see and understand creation’s mysterious invisible knots is to God’s work Catholic Christians believe that the wine and bread, water and oil, the very words we say become for us the real communication of the Divine, the Mystery of God to us In the Eucharist we share in the Body and Blood of Christ It is in the waters of baptism, that we are reborn to a life in Christ and united to the family of God The words of marriage vows become holy bonds, not small talk, words of faith depending on, and of God There are sacraments with a smaller “s” that transmit the invisible to us all I see this in our student center on a daily basis Study groups make the invisible knowledge real, enfleshed in the minds of the students Laptops hold within them the work of knowledge, science, and technology Music, singing, and laughter tell me that our students are not just concerned about studies, but also about the rest of life that is joyful and is concerned about the beautiful Shared food, impromptu basketball games, preparing meals in the kitchen make higher education not just a means to an end, ‘the magic piece of paper”, but a sacrament for life in the fullest Friendships and acquaintances, fellow cast members, musicians in a church band and, team members in projects are sacramental in that young people learn the lessons of collaboration and friendship Thank you for donating in response to this newsletter, it is the financial vehicle by which we provide our young people with the tools necessary to be “Catholic Fr Tony has been pastor since May of 2018 at Tech” ACTS pool sharks enjoy the new pool table made possible by generous donors FRESHMEN CROSSING ADDRESSES STUDENTS’ NEEDS Freshmen Crossing, ACTS’ freshmen peer ministry program, is designed to offer a welcoming environment to help freshmen transition into successful and faithful college students Freshmen Crossing achieves its goal by focusing on faith, food, and fellowship Typically, the upperclassmen offer to be “companions” to the new students, offering an opportunity to help ease the stress of college life for our new bulldog Catholics This year, the program was coordinated by seniors Adam Ramachandran and Tristen Kramer A spin-off of Freshmen Crossing has been the ACTS Freshmen Council These students take on leadership roles during the winter quarter to coordinate activities catering to the current needs of our students Thanks to freshmen Matthew Lemoine and Emma Montgomery for heading up this year’s group! They called themselves “F.I.S.H.” (Freshmen Intrigued by Service and Holiness) Every year Freshmen Crossing sponsors “Pumpkin Crossing” in October and “Gingerbread Crossing” in December Both are highly anticipated events that include prizes and lots of laughter “CROSS TALKS” Thanks to the Faith Formation Chair, Jody Bachus for initiating a new speaker series for ACTS called “Cross Talks.” On a monthly basis, ACTS will invite various speakers from various walks of life to speak about their personal faith experiences as a Catholic Thanks to Br Paul Montero of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart for being our first speaker sharing his experience of being a religious brother for 60 years Br Mike shared his experience of the San Damiano Crucifix as a tool for prayer and pilgrimage Parishioner Dr Tom Bishop offered his take on faith and science working in a secular institution As Dr Bishop stated, “In the end, it’s all mystery.” Thanks to Dr Tom Bishop for participating in ACTS “Cross Talks.” ACTS MISSION STATEMENT We, the Association of Catholic Tech Students of Louisiana Tech University, encourage the development of well-rounded Catholics through the sharing of the joy we have found in Christ and the Sacraments, evangelizing our campus and community, and by being examples of Christian fellowship and loving service To meet our budget, this newsletter needs to generate $10,000 in donations Thank you! PAGE ACTS HEADS TO “A SIMPLE HOUSE” Over the very short quarter break this year, fourteen ACTS members drove to Kansas City to minister to the inner-city poor with the staff of “A Simple House” and ACTS alum Brendon Doran This was the tenth trip ACTS has made to be with this evangelizing community that lives the Gospel by living with the poor Miles Maheu ’20 lead the group this year Visit www.asimplehouse.org for more information ATHLETIC ACTS Thanks to Kayla Babin for coordinating our intramural teams Nearly 40 ACTS members compete in sports BEING CATHOLIC AT TECH AND BEYOND HUNGRY ACTS Whether it’s our quarterly pancake dinners, potluck dinners, the annual spaghetti dinner, or the parish’s Dollar Lunch, no one leaves the Catholic Student Center hungry SOCIAL ACTS Because of your support, ACTS can sponsor safe, healthy, and fun events nearly every Friday and Saturday STUDY ACTS The Catholic Center has been become a great place to meet great friends and a great place to work on class projects together GUYS/GIRLS RETREAT Every January, the men and women of ACTS hold a retreat that focuses on gender specific issues so our young people can learn to be Catholic men and women WOMEN’S GUILD TEA PARTY Another great tea party was thrown this year by the Women’s Guild Thank you to the Women’s Guild again and again OPERATION HELP In its 9th year, this ACTS original ministry collected food, clothing, and paper goods for needy families in the NELA area LITURGICAL ACTS ACTS members are responsible for all the Sunday and Wednesday evening Masses at St Thomas Church ACTS supplies nearly 50 liturgical ministers RETREATS Both the Fall Retreat and the Leadership Retreat were held at the OWL Center Your donations allow us to have retreats a year MARCHING IN MONROE ACTS members joined resident parishioners in the Right to Life March held in Monroe This was the second time such a march was held in Monroe PAGE E Donn Piatt Catholic Student Center 600 Thornton St Ruston, LA 71270 Non-Profit Org U.S Postage -PaidRuston, LA Permit No 191 Freshmen Emma Montgomery and Matt Lemoine go to great heights to hang the ACTS yearly theme poster in the E Donn Piatt Catholic Student Center Use the enclosed envelope to mail your donation, or donate online at www.stac-acts.com Please consider registering to become a monthly donor! We need you in order to make our $10,000 goal! Thank you! “Being Catholic at Tech” and Beyond One of the most enjoyable aspects of being the campus minister at St Thomas Catholic Church and Student Center for the past eight years has been the relationships that I have formed with the young people I serve I am very adamant that while at Tech I am NOT their friend Rather, I am a mentor, spiritual director, and pastoral supporter Friendships are possible after graduation A blessing for me is when these friends return to Tech and check in on me and the goings-on at the Catholic Student Center This year, nearly 40 alumni visited us during Homecoming Weekend and a dozen alumni came to our door on New Year’s Day The Homecoming crowd donated $250 to help defray the costs of a new pool table The other friends became the choir for the Holy Day Mass on January first On both occasions, their presence was very much appreciated Thank you for your presence and your support in so many ways! ACTS is counting on you to support us so others can have a great experience of “Being Catholic at Tech” and beyond www.stac-acts.com ACTS alumni visit on New Year’s Day and Homecoming PAGE PAGE E Donn Piatt Catholic Student Center Non-Profit Org U.S Postage -PaidRuston, LA Permit No 191 600 Thornton St Ruston, LA 71270 Headline news in 1963 Christ-Centered, Student-Led With our eyes and heart set on Christ, ACTS members nominated 40 students to consider being the next student leaders starting in the spring quarter of 2018 After a two hour discernment process, 11 members were selected to lead the organization for the next year What is unique about ACTS as a campus ministry organization is that in order to be a viable entity, it must be led by students At the present time, St Thomas Church and the Diocese of Shreveport not have the necessary resources to fund a program that is staffed with a program director and interns who plan events for the students Our present model gives our students the opportunity to lead themselves in a manner that is centered on Gospel values and exemplified by the life of Jesus Hence, given their gifts and talents now, ACTS members themselves determine how best to serve one another, the church, and the local community What is quite remarkable is that our students are just that, students The discernment process for leaders led the team to choose four executive officers and seven committee chairs The executive brach is responsible for the overall function of the team and its communication The president will be the liaison to Tech and the VP will be a voting member of St Thomas Aquinas’ pastoral council The four “ACTSxcutive” officers are Allie Hill, Treasurer; Abby Morgan, Secretary; Elizabeth Talbot, VP; and Andre Aguillard, President Continue reading the newsletter to lean more about what “Being at Catholic at Tech” involves www.stac-acts.com PAGE