Are you living for the praise of His glory? This was the question asked to a group of 400 college students at the 2011 Kairos Winter Conference in Columbus, Ohio. A number of brothers attended the conference, Brs. Ken Apuzzo, Jason Zink, Brandon Frank, Stephen Quense and Parker Jordan, bringing with them students from the campus outreaches at BU, RU and FSU. Katrina Erikson, a student from Boston University, said this about the Conference, “It was like attending a much needed family reunion, being with people you've known for so long, but also being with people you've never met before yet feel so familiar with, and at the same time, rejoicing together in the glory of Jesus Christ.”
Even as the East Coast was rapidly becoming buried in snow, Brs. Patrick Reilly and Adam Neri made it safely out of Boston on one of the last planes to leave Logan Airport. The brothers were flying to Agua Prieta, Mexico to meet up with a group of six college men. These men gathered from the campus ministries at BU, FSU and RU, sacrificing a week of their Christmas vacation to serve the poor. The men prayed together, ate together, built a house together, served together at a clinic for those suffering from addictions, and celebrated New Year’s together. In the words of Br. Patrick, “To sum up the trip: we prayed, we served and we loved with all our hearts!”
The Serra Club in Vero Beach FL invited the Brotherhood's Superior, Br. Rahl Bunsa, to speak on the topic of vocations. Their former president heard that the Brothers have cultivated about 60 priestly and religious vocations from campus work over the years, and they wanted to hear more. After the event, a guest named Sherry sent this email: "What an inspiration you were last night! There is so much negative news around - it is wonderful to hear such a "hope-filled" story. How do you brothers do it? The Holy Spirit does result in a geometric progression of talent and gifts - the Brotherhood of Hope is living proof!!"
To a group of over 75 Religious gathered from around the country for an Institute for Religious Life regional meeting, Fr. Philip Merdinger spoke on "New Ways for Evangelizing for Religious". Fr. Philip took time during the talk to explore some relevant, possible strategies in the areas of campus ministry, care for the elderly and family relations.