Provincial Newsletter - Congregation of the Resurrection, Priests ...

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Dear Brothers,Greetings to each and every one of you!We begin a new year – 2006 – with hope for this year of grace that the Lord will provide for us.The Lord is faithful and true, and we know that he will accompany us and guide us as we bring themessage of hope to those we serve and share this journey with.I wish to thank all those Resurrectionists who joined in the Community Christmas Celebration onTuesday December 27 at Resurrection Manor. It was a great afternoon and evening together. Those ofyou who could not attend, especially those of you at a great distance – you were missed!Thank you to those members of the Province who have let their name stand for election toProvincial Council. We trust that each Resurrectionist will make an effort to participate – in his locality– in the election process.At Council we have begun planning our 2006 Community Retreat. We have moved it to anunusual date – July 3 to 7 – with the hope of attracting retreatants who vacation in August when weusually have the retreat. We are also moving it to Resurrection College, with the hope that moreResurrectionists in the area will be able to take advantage of this time together. Jim Donohue, C.R., andI (Paul) are working on the format of the retreat. The theme will be ‘Hope’, and like the CommunityRetreat (in Niagara Falls) in 2004 it will involve reflection on Scripture. This will be complemented bya theme talk given each day. There will be time for sharing (as in 2004) on an individual and groupbasis. More information will be made available as time goes on. Please do keep these dates open andjoin us on the 2006 Community Retreat!Soon we will be marking the first year of our service to the Province in these leadership positions.We appreciate the support that we have received in so many ways. We also invite, whether it be on aVisitation or in writing, your constructive concerns and suggestions. There may be some items in thisvery newsletter that you may wish to respond to. Perhaps we have not articulated something in the bestway possible. Perhaps you may feel that we are giving too much attention to some things at the expenseof others that may appear more important to you. Above all, please keep us in your prayers.In the Risen Christ,Paul S. Voisin, C.R.Jim Valk, C.R.DATES TO REMEMBERFebruary 18April 28 – 29July 3 – 7October 9 - 11October 12Provincial Council ElectionsVocation Retreat -- Resurrection CollegeCommunity Retreat – Resurrection CollegeSuperiors’ ConferenceJubilarian Celebration
PROVINCIAL NEWSInvestmentsIn the spring of last year, at one of ourFinance Committee meetings, an Investment Sub-Committee was formed with Charlie Fedy, C.R.,Hartman Krug, Brian Lipskie, and Brian Ruby.Their objectives were to:1. increase the total rate of return(income and capital appreciation) on theCongregation’s investments.2. reduce the risk of the Congregation’sinvestments.3. reduce the investment fees andtransaction costs associated with the managementof the Congregation’s investments.4. simplify the administration andmonitoring of the Congregation’s investments.At the next meeting, they presented a verythorough and professional report. There it gainedthe support of all the members. These FinanceCommittee members are very professional, andwe respect and appreciate their advice andexpertise.The recommendations of this Committeereport were then discussed by the ProvincialCouncil. Charlie Fedy, C.R., and Brian Lipskieattended a Council meeting to answer any furtherquestions.It was decided unanimously by Council toadopt the recommendations of the Committee:1. the Congregation’s U.S. dollarinvestment portfolio should be consolidated withthe Canadian dollar investment portfolio. Thecombined portfolio should be managed by onefinancial institution in Canada.2. the Congregation should switch froman actively managed segregated portfolio by TDPrivate Investment Counsel (K-W) to pooled indexfunds managed passively by TD AssetManagement (Toronto).3. the proposed asset mix for theCongregation’s consolidated portfolio should be80% short-term investments and bonds, 10%Canadian stocks, and 10% U.S. stocks. This assetmix should be reviewed annually as to itsappropriateness by the Investment Sub-Committee.4. the Congregation’s formal investmentpolicy statement should be updated.In my Visitation in Kentucky in Octoberthese matters were discussed with variousmembers of the Villa Pacis and St. Cecilia’sHouses.Recently letters were sent to BrianFreiburger, manager of our TD investments inKitchener, and Craig Brunton of Fifth Third Bankin Columbus, Ohio, informing them of thisdecision and to begin the transition of funds tothe new investment firm in Toronto. This willfulfill the recommendations, and greatly reduceour expenses for handling our investments.VisitationsIn the months of January, February andMarch I hope to conclude Visitation to all theHouses of the Province. I am happy to say thatbefore the end of 2005 I visited each House, andvisited with each Resurrectionist of the Province– either informally or formally. I thank theSuperiors for their calling together of Housemembers and for all members making themselvesavailable. As many of you have experienced, Ilike to spend a good part of the day in the residenceof the House, allowing for optimum times to talkand share. It has also given me a closer look atthe institutions and parishes, and an opportunityto meet religious and lay staff members. Thisallows me a very privileged insight into the livesand work of each Resurrectionist. I am sincerelygrateful for the honesty and openness of each oneof you. The Closing of the Visitation has not, andmay not, necessarily directly follow the final visitwith house members, due to (mutual) schedulingdifficulties.Retirement CommitteeAt some recent Provincial Council meetingswe spoke about the need for a ProvincialRetirement Policy. We have received similarmaterials from the Archdiocese of Louisville andthe Diocese of Hamilton. Some of the materials
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