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Past Events

St. Augustine's 5^th Annual Reunion

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

October 12-14, 2001

Call to Reunion: The St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association
by Charles Prejean (Bay St. Louis '58/Miramar 1958-59)

        Thanks to the urgings of Fr. Clifton Labbe, SVD, Provincial of the Southern Province, the superlative efforts of Fr. Bob Kelly, SVD, and Fr. Joseph Simon, SVD, there is now a St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association. Though still an evolving entity, it is nonetheless a credible reality.

        The Rector of St. Augustine, Fr. Raymond Lennon, SVD, has made each year's reunion a comfortable experience. We are always humbled and inspired to no end to see Fr. Rector in the kitchen preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning floors, and more to insure that the reunion weekend realizes its optimum possibilities. We appreciate you so much Fr. Rector--thanks for reminding us of the essential principal of Christian leadership, servant-leadership. We also offer our gratitude to Fr. Steve Schuler, SVD and Brother James Heeb, SVD for extending to us so genuine a welcome, and for their outstanding contributions to the success of the five reunions.

        Most importantly, it should be noted that there would not be a St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association had it not been for the persistence of Fr. Bob. When the history of the St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association is written, we must reserve for him the title of "Principal Founder." He gathered the names and addresses of the alumni, sent out the "Call To Reunion," executed all logistical arrangements, prepared timely and informative correspondence. He has also prepared an alumni directory, which he updates annually. He has done all that was necessary, and much more, to get the alumni association started and to sustain it over the passed five years. You have our sincerest gratitude. Though we wish to lighten your burden by becoming more involved, we need your continued involvement for many years to come. We pray that your superiors appreciate the value of your contributions, as we do, and will allow you to continue this very important work.

        Since 1997, the St. Augustine Seminary Alumni have been meeting on a regular basis. The participation has been noteworthy. What has been particularly amazing to many of us is the number of alumni who responded to the first "Call to Reunion" and the core number who return each year, with enhanced fervor for the preservation of the heritage of our Alma Mater and continuation of its apostolic mission. Each year new faces join the celebration. Though many of us are meeting for the first time, there are no strangers among us. The whole keeps getting larger, bringing together a pool of diversified talents and resources, all anxious to benefit the St. Augustine heritage. If our recollections are correct, the first reunion invitations were sent out several months before the reunion date, to which 155 alumni responded. Though this number included some spouses, the majority were lay and religious members who had matriculated at St. Augustine Seminary between 1930s and the 1980s. In subsequent years there have been between 50 to 60 alumni members present.

        Certainly, there are many reasons why people choose to attend reunions on a regular basis. However, there is no need to speculate about this with the St. Augustine Alumni. The specific reasons for reunion were established at our first gathering and restated over the following four years. The experience of good fellowship was emphasized as an important reason to return, and so was the new joy we felt as we contemplated sustaining our relationship with St. Augustine. Visiting with old friends and meeting others who shared a common experience enlivened a unique excitement about life. It was as if a good that had been dormant had awakened and joined itself to a good that was new, a veritable communion of the past and present, joining together to find expression in a common future.

        Why was the "Call to Reunion" made, and why has the response been so enthusiastic? Was the "Call to Reunion" made earlier and we just did not hear it? Was there something about the St. Augustine formation that had to await that right moment in time? Was it meant to give new direction to the human journey to God? We certainly don't know the answer to these questions. In fact, we don't even know if these are the best questions to ask. Answers to these questions are to be found in prayerful discernment. With God's help, we will discover what He is calling us to do and how best to do it.

        Given these unanswered questions, we might think it a bit precipitous to propose legal incorporation, a direction some members of the St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association are proposing. Precipitous or not, the issue of incorporation, is worthy of discussion, given the unfinished business of finalizing the nature, purpose, and membership responsibilities of the alumni association. The call is for discussion for a good purpose. As it now stands, there is little to insure the permanency of the alumni association. Furthermore, given the presence of so much talent and commitment to St. Augustine, it seems imperative to find a way to organize these lay resources so they will benefit the St. Augustine mission, as that mission is defined by the religious leadership of the Southern Province. Structure would help to define responsibilities and chart the courses necessary to pursue these systematically.

        We welcome the comments of our SVD alumni confreres from other seminaries. We would like to know how you may be addressing similar issues, and your thoughts relative to how we are proceeding with the organization of the St. Augustine Seminary Alumni Association. May God continue to bless you and your reunion efforts abundantly.

Attendees: