St. John the Baptist School in Kenmore celebrated its 88th graduating class on June 16. Festivities began with the awarding of diplomas during a reverse parade at the entrance of the parish church followed by an evening celebration at the Transit Drive-In. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in the March closure of […]
Last year, I was knocked to the ground and pinned down by an assailant who held his hand over my mouth. I cried out, “I can’t breathe!” About 30 long seconds later he finally let me go. As I reflect on the heartbreaking deadly scene of a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee into George […]
Three middle school students were awarded this year’s Mary E. Kirwan Catholic Education Scholarship at St. John the Baptist School in Kenmore. Established in 2014, this scholarship honors Ken-Ton resident Mary Kirwan, who founded the school’s Annual Scholarship Dinner…and Golf Outing. This unique scholarship is awarded to middle school students at St. John’s Kenmore who emulate Kirwan’s commitment […]
Every woman needs a good purse. That notion led a local graphic designer on a mission to make sure women in transition had the proper handbag. “It was just a thought,” Susan Riley said, thinking back to last Thanksgiving. “I was thinking how thankful I am for my life and what can I do that […]
For most people, the pandemic of the last several months turned the world upside down. Emerging from a state of emergency has brought about lifestyle changes that are referred to as the new normal. The steps we take now in order to move forward are a resurrection moment for all of us. In the sacred […]
Russell “Rusty” Browning is finally going home after 101 days of hospitalization and quite the tour of Catholic Health’s facilities. First diagnosed with COVID-19 in late March at Mercy Hospital, he survived 67 days on a ventilator at the Catholic Health Covid-19 Treatment Facility at St. Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga. Browning spent the longest time […]
You might have heard that in early June, Pope Francis called Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso. It’s not unusual for the pope to speak to bishops, of course, but this phone call created some news because Pope Francis called Bishop Seitz shortly after the bishop and a number of priests in his diocese participated […]
The Sunday Gospel readings this July contain several of Jesus’ parables. In teaching with parables, Jesus is clearly using a technique from his Jewish background since these short narratives are found in the Old Testament and later rabbinic literature. What is a parable? It is a brief story using something familiar to the reader/hearer to […]
Race riots and civil unrest date back to Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion in 1931. Buffalo was the spot of one of 159 riots that swept cities during the “Long Hot Summer of 1967,” when a group of African-American teens, frustrated by mistreatment by white government and police forces, broke car and store windows through William […]
Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger has appointed Father Kevin Creagh, CM, to the newly created position of vicar for Evangelization and Ministerial Formation. Father Creagh, who has served as president/rector of Christ the King Seminary for the past year, has a long history in education and formation. “Father Kevin’s zeal for cultivating and nurturing the call […]
