A Call for Peace and Tolerance

Recent events in Muslim world, violence which has exploded against the West and in particular the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya which killed the U.S. Ambassador, an IT engineer, and two former U.S. Seals which has been brought to light by modern media.

The U.S. experienced a horrific experience itself not too long ago in a small town in Wisconsin against members of a Sikh Temple.  As a result, our presiding Archbishop wrote a call for peace.

I thought at this time, it might be appropriate to share again Archbishop William Johnson, D.D., Metropolitan and presiding Archbishop for the American Catholic Church in the United States, the Catholic community in which I hope to become a priest one day.

Here is Archbishop Johnson's message:

Archbishop Johnson's remarks could easily be applied to the filmmaker of this horrific film which defile a religion's leader.

In light of recent events of the riots in the Muslim world over a terrible and undeserving film created by one individual, it seemed appropriate to call along with Archbishop Johnson for Peace and Tolerance among all religions.  There is a book written by an Episcopal Priest, Matthew Fox, entitled, "One River, Many Wells".

In chapter 1 of his book, Fr Fox quotes author Howard Thurman, author of Creative Encounter.

"It is my believe that in the Presence of God, there is neither male, nor female, white nor black, Gentile nor Jew, Protestant nor Catholic, Hindu, Buddhist, nor Moslem [sic], but a human spirit stripped to the literal substance of itself before God"

Fr Fox throughout this book looks through each of the religions listed above and reminds us that though all have their own leader, own style, own liturgy, own practice, they are but many wells leading to One River - God.

As a seminarian I have had the opportunity to read many books, and been exposed to many theological ideas, Catholic and others, and I too must pray that God of all of us will bring peace to the hearts of all those suffering, those feeling insulted by one man's incorrect view of a great religious leader, those feeling angered by the callus approach one man's vision in a small insignificant film.

I pray that those who feel anger will remember their great religious leader and find peace.  Fr Fox may be right (along with Howard Thurman), that we really are many wells leading to One River and when we insult another's religion, we really insult not only his, but ours as well.

Peace
Bro Jeff

Sadness and Joy for ACCUS

The last week has been a difficult time for all members and ACCUS (The American Catholic Church in the United States).  Our Presiding Archbishop, Founder of ACCUS, and the person responsible for bringing me to ACCUS returned to Our Lord (see ACCUS Facebook Page for details).

This past Sunday was the funeral mass in Frederick, Maryland and yesterday was the service for his internment. His Grace launched ACCUS on May 23, 1999 in Frederick Maryland. From the time the church began until now, there are dozens of ACCUS parishes throughout the use (see ACCUS Locations Map).

The many locations throughout the US and Worldwide is the legacy which His Grace, Archbishop Emeritus Harms, D.D., left to the current church and the world.   His mission was simple - "Serve All With Love".

This legacy was passed onto our new Presiding Archbishop, Most Rev William Johnson, D.D. personally by His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Harms, D.D. before his return to Our Lord.

I would ask for prayers for our new Presiding Archbishop that he will continue the mission and vision of ACCUS and especially I would ask for your prayers for Archbishop Harms personal Secretary and friend for over 20 year, Rev Vincent Robinson as well as the entire Harms family.

As a result, classes for seminary were canceled last week.  Classes will resume sometime this week.

When I made first contact with His Grace,Archbishop Harms, almost 5 year ago via telephone, that started an ongoing dialogue which led me to St John XXIII Theological Institute, applying to seminary, becoming a religious brother, certified candidate for Holy Orders and Eucharistic Minister and now a 2nd year seminarian.   

Right before I submitted my application to seminary I had a phone conversation with Archbishop Emeritus Harms.  He asked me where I saw my calling.  I explained to him my experience with the HIV Community in Indianapolis over the previous several years.  I also explained that after talking with the Director of Indiana State Board of Health's HIV/STD division (which manages the Ryan White Funds for Indiana), he (the Director) said he wished there were more "faith-based" care coordination centers (a care coordination center is a location were all services necessary for those with HIV are centralized and where those with HIV go to receive free Health care, medicines, financial assistance etc.).

Archbishop Harms told me on the call right before applying to seminary, "Why don't you keep that as your primary focus for your ministry".  Ever since I have done just that. 

So Archbishop Emeritus Harms legacy expands even into the HIV Community in the creation of The Kristen Center here in Indianapolis, a soon to be Not for Profit focused on delivering services and programs to those with HIV (sponsored in part through the ministry of St John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center (ACCUS parish) here in Indianapolis).

May God be with both Archbishop Emeritus Harms and with Presiding Archbishop Johnson as ACCUS continues to grow and go forward to "Serve All With Love".

Peace, 
Br Jeff 

2012/04/23 Spring Semester 2nd Year & The Kristen Center

Well, once again I am a little more than 1/2 way through my spring semester of my 2nd year in seminary.  I can't believe it!  Time has really flown by.  This semester has been probably one of the most difficult semesters of seminary.  I have 15 credit hours (5 courses).  To give you an idea, most colleges and universities consider 12 hours a full semester.   So I have been really busy once again.

This semester I am taking the following courses:

• Ecclesiology
• Reform and Modern Church History
• Moral Theology
• Christology
• Synoptic Gospels

I am in the middle of my mid-term papers.  I just finished two papers.  The first one was for Christology.  My paper assignment was to compare, contrast, and explain the differences between the Christologies of Fr Karl Rahner, OFM and John Dominic Crossan.  The 2nd was for R/M Church History.  I had to basically cover the history of the church from the 12th - 16th centuries.  I still have two exegetical papers due for my Synoptics class and a basically a book report on the book "Communion Ecclesiology" by Dennis Doyle, professor of Theology at University of Dayton.  I also completed a paper for Moral Theology.

One reason this semester has been more difficult than other has been the subject matter.  Pretty heady stuff.  The other has to do with the amount of required reading this semester.  Just for one class alone I had over 12 different required texts!  And that was one class.  For me this has been quite a challenge as I am not the fastest reader (No Evelyn Wood Speed Reading courses here).  But, with the thanks and help of God and Jesus and Mary, and a supporting family, I am making it!

I have also been for the last two to three months been busy in preparing to launch a new "faith-based" HIV Community organization.  I received word early this year that I had an individual wanting to donate a home for our HIV Support Groups.   So I have been busy planning the transition of all the HIV ministries from St John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center to the new faith-based community service organization (The Kristen Center - see http://www.thekristencenter.com).  The website is still in development and not yet complete, but it will give you an idea.  The goal is to complete the transition and launch the Support Groups this year.  The goal is by fall of 2013 to launch a faith-based Care Coordination Center through The Kristen Center (a Care Coordination Center is a central location where those with HIV may go to receive a myriad of services for those with HIV and those who care for them).

Well that is about it for now.  I had to papers left and a lot of ground to cover.  But I did want to provide an update since it has been a while.

Peace,
br jeff

2011/11/20 Fall Semester of Seminary & St John XXIII POC Ministries

Dear Friends:

I can't believe that I am more than 1/2 way through my Fall Semester (2011) of Seminary!  This fall I am taking the following Courses:


     *Early & Medieval Church History
     *Foundational Theology
     *Pentateuch
     *Pastoral Counseling
     *Supervised Ministry I

Course work seems to be going well.  According to my official transcript, so far I am making Straight A's!  That in itself is a miracle (smirk).  I pray that I do well this semester and keep my A's streak.

I finally received confirmation back from the Registrar of St John XXIII Theological Seminary.  Years ago I been called to ministry and at that time it was in the United Methodist Church.  Yes it is quite a bit different to be a Catholic! That in itself is another story and I will save it for a future blog update.

Anyway, as a result back then I was serving as a Licensed Student Local Pastor and had taken some seminary courses as well as extra course during my B.A. degree at IU.  Long story short, I was able to receive 22 hours credit for previous courses after official transcripts were reviewed by the Registrar.  That cuts nearly 1/3 of my 3 year degree program (Master of Divinity).  Bottom line, if I continue to do well, take full loads through next year, then I pray that January of 2013 I will be eligible for Holy Orders.   At this end of this semester I will be eligible for Deacon's Orders.  Whether I am called or not to Deacon's Orders is at the discretion of my Bishop and the Archbishop.
 

As far as the new parish here in Indianapolis, St John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center, I have been extremely busy getting ready to launch four (4) new HIV Support Groups for the HIV Community here in Indianapolis.  St John XXIII POC's outreach ministry is to the HIV/AIDS Community in Indianapolis.  Prior to my calling, I served this community for the past several years as a volunteer.  IN 2009 I served as Co-Chair for the Ryan White Part B Program Advisory Council.  This is a group of about 80 professional, para-professional and volunteers as well as clients who all focus on serving the HIV Community either as Physicians, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Case Managers, and volunteers.  This group, by law, is responsible for drafting recommendations to the Ryan White Act Program Funding Officer each year, stating how federal funds from the Ryan White Care Act, will be used in Indiana.  

Currently I am searching out volunteers to join our HIV Support Group Facilitator Teams.  This group will be volunteers which will be trained as Support Group Facilitators and then manage and run the support groups launching in January 2012.  I have one confirmed volunteer and several applicants.  Right now we will have four (4) different support groups, which though there are support groups for HIV/AIDS clients in Indianapolis, none are faith-based nor are they targeted for specific segments of this community. St John XXIII POC will offer the following support groups starting in January 2012:


     *New Diagnosed
     *Long Term Survivors
     *Family Members & Care Givers
     *Women & HIV

To learn more about the programs we are currently offering, go to our parish website at http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me, Rev. Brother Jeff Wolfe by calling the parish office at 317-238-9393 or sending me an email at rev_jwolfe@stjohnxxiiipoc.org.  Volunteer Facilitators will receive personalized training before joining one of the Facilitation Teams.  All Training is paid for by St John XXIII POC and all training materials for volunteers are free.

The other portion of the HIV/AIDS ministry that St John XXIII POC will be launching sometime in 2012 or 2013 will be a Not for Profit Care Coordination Program which will be faith-based.  Care Coordination Programs are the programs through which individuals with HIV and/or AIDS receive free access to all medicines, financial assistance, etc, in order to learn how to live with this now "chronically manageable disease". 

As a result, the first step was filing St John XXIII POC as a DBA of ACCUS.  The next step in which I am currently involved, is pitching the program to power Business persons (CEOs and CFOs) of major companies based in Indianapolis.  The purpose is to reach out the business community for support.  Right now I am meeting with CEOs and CFOs of various businesses which I worked with when I was a Project Manager for IBM and Xerox for the last 18 years.  These individuals will hopefully volunteer to form the first Board of Directors for a NEW Not for Profit Charity Corporation which will oversee the operation and grant funding of the faith-based Care Coordination Program which St John XXIII POC will eventually launch in 2012-2013 time frame.

If you are interested in this program and volunteering, please again contact me at the contact information I provided above or the contact information below.

I am so excited as I continue to move through seminary, learning all I can as I prepare myself to soon be ordained a Catholic Priest and officially be able offer Masses as an Independent Catholic parish in Indianapolis.  We will be one of the only Independent Catholic parishes in Indianapolis and there is a great need for such a parish.

That is all for now.  Please continue to pray for the ministry, pray for me and pray for the HIV Community of Indianapolis and also I ask a special prayer that the leaders of this great country will guide us out of this terrible double dip recession and move our country back on track so that the many out of work persons may soon have jobs to feed and support their families

Peace,
Br Jeff

Rev. Brother Jeff Wolfe, M.Div. (Candidate)
Director & Administrator
St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center 
http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org
rev_jwolfe@stjohnxxiiipoc.org
rev_jwolfe@accus.us
(317) 238-9393 (office)
(952) 556-9171 (fax)
http://www.accus.us

2011/08/22 Hip Surgery - Update

Dear Friends:

I am schedule for complete hip replacement surgery on my right hip with a new titanium hip for August 30, 2011 at 8:30am EST.  I would ask for your prayers during this time. Both my primary care physician, and my orthopedic surgeon both anticipate a routine procedure with no complications based on my recent blood test results.

According the place I will have surgery at 8:30am on the 30th.  The surgery can take from  3 to 5 hours.  Once completed, I will return to my room (after waking in recovery) and will be in the hospital for 3 days.  Hopefully on Friday, September 2, 2011 I will be discharged and allowed to go home. The next month will consist of physical therapy 3 times a week (plus home exercises).  My orthopedic surgeon said I should be up on my feet later in the day after surgery and I should be able to resume normal daily living activities after the second week.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support.

Peace,
Br Jeff

Rev. Brother Jeff Wolfe, M.Div. (Candidate)
Director
St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center 
http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org
rev_jwolfe@stjohnxxiiipoc.org
rev_jwolfe@accus.us
(317) 238-9393 (office)
(952) 556-9171 (fax)
http://www.accus.us

2011/08/16 Mini-Mester (Summer Session)

Dear Friends:

I am now in class recess until the Fall Semester starts on August 30th.  It has been an exciting adventure for me through the Spring Semester and Summer "Mini-Mester".   I started out with three classes in the Spring of this year:
 * Eucharist and the Mass
 * RCIA

During my course of the Eucharist of the Mass I learned about the History of the Mass from the time of Christ through Vatican II and beyond.  It was a fast-paced and exciting course with Bishop William Johnson, D.D. as my instructor.

My final project for the class was to provide a video-tape of myself performing a "dry mass" (a mass that in essence goes through all the motions of celebrating mass so that once I am ordained I will be able to perform a real mass like the back of my hand.   In my case, in June I made a visit to our Diocesan Office (Diocese of St Luke) and met with my Bishop for three days.  It was a very intense but productive meeting. We covered everything from my goals and objectives with the Pastoral & Outreach Center here in Indianapolis, to business administration such as registering as with the Corporations Divisions of the Indianan Secretary of State as a Foreign Not-for-Profit Religious Organization to establish state tax exempt status, to discussing Diocese and Church Administration matter and how with my expertise in the IT world, I might provide support.

In addition, on Sunday, after attending Mass at St. Joseph the Worker, the Pastoral & Outreach Center established by Bishop William Johnson, D.D., I performed my final project for Bishop Bill (with Bishop Bill videotaping my "dry mass").  The good news is that I passed the course and my final project.  More about my current grades in a moment.

My other course in the Spring was entitled "RCIA".  This is with the Catholic Community the catechism process whereby an non-catholic learns about the Catholic Faith and then makes an informed decision as to whether to become a member of the Catholic Community.  RCIA stands for Rites for Christian Initiation for Adults.  It is a standard course that is taught in most Catholic communities including our Roman brothers and sisters.

I attended RCIA and converted to Roman Catholicism officially in March 11, 1982.  Under the direction of Associate Chaplain at the St. Paul's Cardinal Newman Center in Bloomington, IN, Fr. Jeremiah Cullinane Baptized me within the Catholic Faith, Confirmed Me, and provided my First Holy Communion and became a member in full communion with the Roman Catholic church on that date.  The date that I was accepted to ACCUS and St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center as member of the Independent Catholic community an a seminarian was March 28, 2011.

Within our RCIA course I learned to do what Fr. Cullinane provided for me - to lead a class on RCIA in accordance with the liturgy schedule.  Our final project was to establish a syllabus which we could use once ordained in preparing RCIA classes in the future.  I passed my final and the course as well.

With about a week break, I began what St. John XXIII Theological Institute (seminary) calls the summer "Mini-Mester".  It literally takes a full semester of content and compacts it into five (5) weeks.

Msgr Art Spring was my instructor for both of my courses for the Mini-Mester:  1) Intro to Sacred Scripture; and 2) Intro to Theological Reflection.  The first provided a high level overview of the history of sacred scripture from the time of its inception to the present.  Much time was spent in the details of the sociological, cultural, spiritual and emotional details which shaped the creation of what we know today as the Old Testament and the New Testament.  I passed the course successfully.

The other course which Msgr Art taught was "Intro to Theological Reflection".  In this course much thought and consideration was given to the different models which have been developed over the years regarding Theological Reflection as well as exploring one of those Theological Reflection models in details.  Our final assignment was to prepare a  "Critical Incident Report".  This is an analysis of our personal interaction with another within a recent time frame and it is a look back at what actually took place in the interaction between myself and the other person, how I could have handled the situation better and reflected on the things which I did not do so well with the interaction.  The final result was to then bring God into the interaction and reflect on what could have been done as a Christian and a future Priest from my perspective to have a better out come of the situation.  Overall I learned a tremendous amount about where I succeed, where are my pitfalls, and what I can do in the future in interactions with others to avoid those same pitfalls.  I passed with flying colors.

OK.  Now to the final grades:
 * RCIA (Sacraments of Initiation)               A-
 * Eucharist and the Mass                           A-
 * Theological Reflection                            A
 * Intro to Sacred Scripture                         A

One grade yet to be determined in my first Supervised Ministry with Bishop Bill.

My fall courses are scheduled to start August 30th. I have a full schedule for the semester as you can see below:
 * Early & Medieval Church History:  Instructor, Fr. Chris Bisett
 * Foundational Theology:               Instructor, Fr. Chris Bisett
 * Pentateuch:                               Instructor, Fr. Chris Bisett
 * Pastoral Counseling:                   Instructor:  Fr. James Calderone
 * Supervised Ministry:                   Instructor:  Fr. James Calderone

I am looking forward to the fall schedule and I wanted to provide to each of you, my supporters, what your support is reaping so far in the training of a seminarian to one day receive Holy Orders, God willing.

A quick update on St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center established here in Indianapolis.  You can learn more about St John XXIII POC by going to http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org.  I am in the process of recruiting volunteer facilitators whom I will train in September so that in October, four new support groups for the HIV Community will be launched:  1)  Newly Diagnosed; 2) Long Term Survivors; 3) Family Members and Caregivers; and 4) Women.  For details go to St John XXIII POC's website and download a brochure on the support groups.  You can also check out and download a brochure on ACCUS as well as find links to our Facebook websites for St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center, the American Catholic Church in the United States (ACCUS), and St. John XXIII Theological Institute.

One last update:  St John XXIII Theological Institute has been approved by the Arizona Board of Higher Education as an accredited Theological school.  Fr. Bisett, our Registrar for the school, is just waiting on receiving the final paper work!  The school offers the following advanced degrees:  Master of Divinity (M.Div.); Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.); Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.); and finally a Doctorate in Canon Law (J.C.D.).  Special thanks to Fr Bisett, who is also our legal counsel, and Archbishop Harms, our Metropolitan, for making this possible.

Thank you for you continued support and look for an update sometime this fall.

One note - I will be having surgery sometime in the next month to place a titanium hip in my right hip.  Years of long distant running has taken it toll.  I will let each of you know when exactly I will be hospitalized.  The process of hip replacement has become so routine that it usually involves a 3-day in hospital stay, with me being up and walking the same day as surgery.  I am told I will be able to resume normal activities with restrictions within a week.  I ask your prayers during this time and pray for a speedy recovery as it will occur right at the beginning of the Fall Semester so I'll play catch up on the first week or so.

Peace and Grace to each of you,
Br Jeff
-- 
Rev. Brother Jeff Wolfe, M.Div. (Candidate)
Director
St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center 
http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org
rev_jwolfe@accus.us
(317) 238-9393 (office)
(952) 556-9171 (fax)
http://www.accus.us

2011/04/12: Acceptance As Candidate for Holy Orders

The process of searching my heart and discernment for my Vocation.  It was in my 5th grade Sunday School with my Sunday School Teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Stevenson.  The Stevensons had been active in the church since s  long as I can remember.  They were truly a heaven-sent young couple who had just given birth to a beautiful son, Kevin. 

From those discussions several years ago with the Stevensons in my Fifth Grade Sunday School class on Sunday mornings at Lawrence United Methodist Church, I knew even back then I wanted to go into ministry.  I just didn't know who, when or how it would take place.


After my experience working as the Youth Director at Plano United Methodist, and realizing my biggest hurdle to ministry was a standing brick wall almost what seemed like 100 ft, I decided to go into secular work as I discovered and finally accepted that I was gay.  I was born a gay man who wanted to serve in ministry with my special gift as a youth director/minister/pastor.  Well,  as mentioned in previous entries, that was never going to happen.  In the late 80's early and into the early 90's no church, no matter how progressive would go for a gay Youth Director nor you minister.

____  Now to Present Day.....


Shortly after the midday the week of March 28, 2011, on Wednesday I  should mentioned that that on the night before on Tuesday ( March 29th, 2011is), Bishop Williams sent to me a manila envelope.  I should note that on class on Tuesday note, at the end of class, Bishop Bill mentioned to me that I should receive the manila envelope some this that week.  


I thought, great, I've been in school a little under two months, haven't received any assignments back from the instructor with grades, and now I'm being sent a mysterious manila envelope. I could just imagine it was going to be a "dear john" letter.

As I opened it up, I couldn't believe it!  I was accepted as a Candidate for Holy Orders.  Remember at this point I had already been accepted to seminary and had started work toward my Master of Divinity Degree, but this was no guarantee that I would be ordained.  Now I had confirmation that  pending successful completion with my Master of Divinity degree, I would eligible to be ordained first a Deacon and then Holy Orders as a priest.  Here is an excerpt of Bishop's Letter to me dated March 28,2011:


Rev. Bro. Jeffrey [sic] Wolfe
XXX N XXXXX Avenue
Indianapolis, IN  XXXXX

28 MAR 11 - Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Greetings in Christ Rev. Bro. Wolfe,

Allow me to be the first to officially congratulate you on your Admission into Candidacy for Holy Orders in the Diocese of St. Luke under the Jurisdiction of the American Catholic Church in the United States [ACCUS].

I received word from the Admissions Committee late on Sunday the 27t to proceed with drafting your documents.  Included with this letter is your Certificate of Candidacy as well as your Certificate of Eucharistic Minister in ACCUS.  The Certificate of Eucharistic Minister allows you to distribute the Holy Eucharist, which will be consecrated by Me and mailed to you as your need arises, to those whom you minister to.  The Certificate of Candidacy for Holy Orders allows your to wear the clerical collar while on Official Business within the Diocese of St. Luke or as the Presiding Archbishop of the ACCUS directs.  It also allow you to begin work on the projects assigned to you by your Ordinary, who is me - Most Rev. William A. Johnson, D.D., or the Presiding Archbishop of the ACCUS.

With your acceptance into the ACCUS, there comes additional discernment, responsibility and accountability.  I would advise fervent prayer, continued Spiritual Direction and communication with me and your Institute Professors as you move along on your journey to Holy Orders. The responsibility is for you to continue and complete your education as set forth by me and those within the John the [SIC] XXIII Theological Institute.  The accountability will be to send in monthly reports to the Office of Clergy on all that you do as it pertains to your ministry and your work for the ACCUS.

As you make your report it will allow me to make the decision as to when the Pastoral need is sufficient and your education sufficient so We can make the Call to Orders to Deacon, and eventually Priest.  Between your studies and work within the community, your call will be affirmed and the decision to move forward can be easily made with confidence.

Enclosed with this letter are three (3) copies of your Admissions Certificate, one in a buff color and the other two on plain white paper.  There are also three (3) copies of your Eucharistic Minister Certificate, one in a Buff color and two on plain white paper.  The buff serves as your Official Certificate that you may frame, if you desire.  The plain white copies can be he used for making additional copies as you see fit and one for your safe or filing cabinet.  Copies will always be on file in the Disocesan Offices and at the National and International Offices of the ACCUS.

Enclosed is a copy of the ACCUS Pastoral Report to the Vicar of Clergy.  The form is mainly for Deacons and Priests, but I would like you to use it and send it en each month and account for Following My Callingyour ACCUS activities.  There are boxes  for the Theological Institute, and for items you can do within the community, as well as your total hours given to ACCUS.  These reports are extremely important for me, but they are also important for the ACCUS to account for its activities that the IRS wants information on to justify our tax exempt status as a Religious Organization.

In the coming days I will be sending you Consecrated Hosts for use in your Eucharistic Ministry through the Community.  With the Hosts I will be sending a glass Ciborium which you need to use to store the Blessed Sacrament. You do not need to purchase a tabernacle, but I would suggest that you set up a special place for the Ciborium and place it on a Corporal.  As to a Vigil lamp, most of us use either a battery powered candle or one which you can plug it into an electrical outlet.  Flame candles can be to dangerous and cause unwanted fires.

You will need to purchase a Pyx so you can transport the Blessed Sacrament on your clerical shirt for your ACCUS Ministry.  The preferred color is black, but blue or white is also acceptible.

Again, congratulations and welcome to the ACCUS family.  If you have any questions or concerns please fee free to let me know and I will do my best to get back with you as soon as I can.  I am looking forward to watching you grow and move on the in your journey towards Holy Orders in the Diocese of St. Luke.

May Gods Peace be With You,

/s/ Most Rev. William Johnson, D.D.

Most Rev. William A. Johnson, D.D.
Ordinary - Diocese of St. Luke

I couldn't believe it?  It finally was here. I am finally a Candidate for Holy Orders.  After first talking with Archbishop Harms almost five (5) years earlier, until now, I am finally in seminary on my way to ordination.  

Since I included my acceptance letter in this entry, I thought I would end with this:  Within ACCUS, once accepted to seminary and Certified as a Candidate for Holy Orders, the first year the seminarian is installed as a Religious Brother (or Sister).  As seminary progresses and the my Bishop feels the time is right, I will be ordained with Deacon's Orders.  Typically known as "transitional Deacon's Orders" as it is in the process of eventually becoming a Priest.  Finally after completion of my third (e) year, I pray ordination into Holy Orders will start officially my ordained ministry work. 

For the time being there is so much work to be done as a Lay minister, Religious Brother and Eucharistic Minister in ACCUS.  As a Religious Brother, I am given the title "Rev. Bro." for "Reverend Brother".  The work that I had begun almost 5 years ago here in Indianapolis was volunteering and working in the HIV community for Indianapolis.  Now as a Religious brother, I can establish a Pastoral and Outreach Center here in Indianapolis.  Known officially now as "St. john XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center (POC).  Our website address is http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org.  As a Lay Religious Brother, I have already begun to identify a need within the HIV community.  There are four to five different Care Coordination Centers where HIV+ individuals go to receive FREE services. 

Thought support groups exist in Indianapolis, none are specifically  targeting certain groups of Individuals in the HIV Community.   Through my work over the past five (5) years, I have come to understand the community and it appears that no Support Groups exists for the following targeted audiences:  1) newly diagnosed; 2) long term survivors; 3) Family Members & Care Givers; and, 4) Women & HIV.

You can go to our website and learn more about these support groups.  You can read about the different groups, download a brochure, and check out the calendar for current support groups in the Indianapolis area (which are really for anyone with HIV, rather than targeted audiences (which include non-HIV+ persons like Family Members and Caregivers.

Please continue to pray for me as I continue my discernment toward ministry with ACCUS and watch St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach center (http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org) move from POC to POC and parish!

Peace,

Br Jeff
Rev. Bro. Jeff Wolfe
Religious Brother & Eucharistic MInister
Director, St. John XXIII Pastoral & Outreach Center
rev_jwolfe@accus.us
(317) 238-9393 (office)
http://www.stjohnxxiiipoc.org
http://www.accus.us