Men's group treats women of Saint Catherine Parish to a special Valentine's breakfast

Intermountain Catholic

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Participants enjoy the Valentine's breakfast served by the Saint Catherine of Siena men's group. IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Chocolate hearts, red heart-shaped balloons and music set the mood for the Saint Catherine of Siena/Newman Center men's group Valentine's Day breakfast at the parish Feb. 11.

This is the third time the men have prepared the special breakfast for their spouses and other special guests. They also gave each woman a rose.

University of Utah students Lauren Posey played the cello and Ryan Ingle played the piano to serenade the women. Ingle, a St. Catherine of Siena campus ministry intern, also entertained the women with songs on his guitar and sang a duet with Stephanie Olmstead, parish secretary, who also sang "Come What May" from the movie "Moulin Rouge."

Men's group member Gerry Carvalho read a poem with the message that women are a mystery to men, but if you want to know God, listen and learn about him from the women in your life.

The women were honored to be guests at what is usually the men's monthly breakfast. "This is lovely, and I really like the fellowship," said parishioner Mary Fry, who attended this year for the first time.

This was also parishioner Rosalie McNamara's first time and she thought it was quite enjoyable.

"One of the joys of St. Catherine's is that we love to break bread together; it's a wonderful way to build community," said parishioner Mickey Adelhardt.

Valentine's Day was a new experience for men's group participant Father Alex Joseph Vellappally, who is staying with the priests at St. Catherine while attending classes at the University of Utah. "We don't celebrate Valentine's Day in India," he said. "This is a way for me to invite guests and reciprocate invitations and things they have done for me."

The men's group, which began in 2007, was started by St. Catherine of Siena parishioner Jim Duff. "I had three goals in mind when starting the group," he said. "I wanted a way to deepen the men's spirituality and encourage fellowship and also do fund raising for service to the parish and the community and start a cursillo. I recruited men to help me on the grounds committee and Gerry Carvalho was one of them. He and I started with a men's breakfast once a month and there were about 25 who attended. We chose not to have officers and to just volunteer where we were needed."

The men's group has raised funds by charging people to use the parking lot for University of Utah events. "Our parking lot is uniquely located and we have been able to put a good sum of money together to support ministries," said Carvalho. "Some of those ministries include what parishioners Henry and Jeanne Lachowski, Bob Nies and Dr. David Smith have done."

The Lachowskis have traveled to a parish in Namibia to serve those in need. A donation from St. Catherine men's group was used to replace aged asbestos water pipes with lighter PVC pipes and other equipment. The parish uses over 100 yards of pipe to pump water from the Kavango River, for domestic use and irrigation of orchards and vegetable fields.

Nies has worked with the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging in Guatamala. Through the program he sponsored Eduardo, 16, who lives in poverty, but whose dream it is to graduate in 2015 and become a teacher.

Smith, a neurologist, went to Zimbabwe on a medical mission to assist the Skills for Life school as well as help infants and children at the small Karanda Mission Hospital. One young boy was able to receive a shunt for hydrocephalus, without which he would have died.