Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Washington

From the

Official News Magazine of the Diocese of Spokane

(From the Aug. 19, 2010 edition of the Inland Register)

Two conferences in the coming months will highlight spirituality for men.

First, the Northwest Catholic Men’s conference will be held in Dillon Hall at St. Joseph parish, Kennewick, on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 24-25.

The conference will focus especially on the life of St. Joseph in his various roles – as husband, foster father, guardian of the Church, and patron saint of workers.

Among the speakers will be Father Rory Pitstick, a priest of the Spokane Diocese now teaching at Mount Angel Seminary, St. Benedict, Ore.

Father Pitstick presently teaches Scripture, Latin, and Hebrew at Mount Angel Seminary. He was ordained a priest of the Spokane Diocese in 1994.

Also speaking will be Bishop Robert Vasa, bishop of the Eastern Oregon diocese of Baker, and Jesse Romero, a California-based lay evangelist.

Bishop Vasa was named to the Baker Diocese in 1999. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., in May 1976.

Jesse Romero, a former competitive kickboxer, retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and now serves as a bilingual Catholic lay evangelist .

The conference begins with check-in at 5 p.m. on Friday and concludes with a finale blessing at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

Cost is $30 per person. Registration is available from the conference’s web site: http://nwcatholicmenke.com/registration.htm

The 13th annual Inland Northwest Catholic Men’s Retreat, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus of Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls, Idaho, will be held Friday-Sunday, Oct. 29-31 at Camp N-Sid-Sen on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Cost is $85 per person before Sept. 1, and $95 per person after.

This year’s theme is “A Catholic Man’s Journey with Christ in Today’s World.”

Leading the retreat is Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers of Portland, Ore., described as “a Christian evangelization and apologetics organizer.” He is also the host of EWTN TV’s Behold the Man: Spirituality for Men and Made in His Image: Family Life Today.

Registration forms are available by calling any of several numbers in the 208 area code: 659-2127, 664-1498, 699-4250, 773-8833, 682-2312, 924-4499, 772-3262, or 818-6211; or (509) 226-3816.