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BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — The nuns of Christ the Bridegroom Monastery raised a record amount at their annual benefit dinner, the Bridegroom’s Banquet, Oct. 19, at St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church.
The funds will go toward the interior renovations of the monastery chapel, as well as the general operating expenses of the monastery.
A portion of the funds from last year’s banquet were used this past summer for the exterior renovations of the chapel.
At or before the event, $104,845 was donated or pledged toward the $120,000 matching-funds opportunity that was offered by generous donors. Additional donations received before the end of the year will be matched until the $120,000 mark is reached.
The event, attended by 215 people from six states, included Vespers, celebrated by retired Bishop John Kudrick of Parma, who serves as the nun’s spiritual advisor, a dinner, a program and appeal, and entertainment by magician Mark Cook.
The program and appeal included personal stories from the event’s emcee, Father Ryan Mann of St. John Neumann Parish in Strongsville, Ohio, and two videos filmed and edited by David Bratnick, Horizons videographer and parishioner of St. Mary Parish in Whiting, Indiana.
The first, a 16-minute video titled “Spiritual Motherhood,” opens with one of the nuns ringing the bells outside the chapel, the other nuns arriving in silence for Matins, and the nuns praying the Jesus Prayer in the dark chapel. It continues with reflections about spiritual motherhood by four of the nuns, as well as reflections by laywoman Sarah Fetsko of Holy Resurrection Parish in Euclid, Ohio, and Father Andrew Summerson, administrator of St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Parish in Whiting about the ways that the nuns’ spiritual motherhood impacted their lives.
“Being around (the nuns), experiencing the love they have towards me, especially as my spiritual mothers, has awakened in my own heart a greater love for others,” said Fetsko in the video. “I’ve been moved to initiate a group at my own parish for women to come and meet once a month to pray for the priests and for them to grow in holiness and in unity with each other as they strive to build the Church.”
This video is expected to air on EWTN, though a date has not yet been announced.
The second video includes a message for the guests from Bishop Milan Lach, SJ, of Parma, as well as footage from the monastery’s canonical establishment, Sept. 30, and the announcement of the forthcoming chapel-renovation project.
To donate toward the matching funds, go to christthebridegroom.org and click on the “Bridegroom’s Banquet” tab.
Caption: Mother Iliana Lonchya is joined at table with two seminarians and Cleveland-area young adults during the Bridegroom’s Banquet in Brecksville Oct. 19. (Photo: Darlene Hritz)
As published in Horizons, Nov. 17, 2019.
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