Welcome to Christendom's Alumni E-Zine. If you have information that you would like to share with your fellow alumni, send it to the Grapevine Editor, Marie Antunes, at marieantunes@christendom.edu. The editor reserves the right to include or exclude any information submitted for publication in The Grapevine.

The Grapevine Online is uploaded on the First Friday of every month. It will have a couple of sections (when information is available), namely, Class Notes (your basic information on alumni babies, weddings, jobs, etc.), Calendar of Events, and Links to various recent stories about Christendom College and/or the Alumni of Christendom.

August 2010 edition of The Grapevine Online

Class Notes / Calendar of Events / Links to Stories / Prior issues

Class notes

Andy Day ('06) and Jenny Harnish of Orlando, FL were married July 3, 2010 at Jenny's home parish- Holy Family Catholic Church in Orlando. Andy and Jenny met during their work with FOCUS at Seton Hall University and are continuing their vocation together by operating the South Region for FOCUS. Their office is located in Davenport, FL, just outside of Orlando. Please keep them in your prayers!

Gwen Adams ('01) is moving back to South Bend, IN to be near family, Lafayette, and keep teaching at Trinity School. She is wondering if anyone knows of some secret apartment she could rent in the Notre Dame area (not just for football weekends!). Christendom students keep on learning; this year Gwen learned to butcher and prepare a chicken, make a bow and arrow, play mancala, make limoncello, and enjoy for the first time Kristin Lavransdatter, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Pieper's Happiness and Contemplation, and Lewis' The Discarded Image. Awesome. Drop by and chat, as soon as she gets her new place.

Andrew and Julie (Fox) Fier (both of '01) have been blessed by God with a daughter, after over 9 years of waiting. The Fiers joyfully announce their adoption of Lilliana Isabella Marie Fier, whom they call Isabella. She was born on June 1st, 2010, weighing 7 lbs 1 oz and 19.5 inches long. They met her when she was 10 days old and it was love at first sight. She is home with Andrew and Julie in Indianapolis and they are loving every moment being her Mommy and Daddy. The joy of being a parent is amazing and the Fiers love life as a family of 3! To the right is their very first picture as a family of 3, taken when they met Isabella at 10 days old.

The Dominican Sisters of the St Cecilia Congregation-- or the "Nashville Dominicans", as we all know and love them -- are celebrating their 150th Jubilee this year. During the weekend of July 25-26, the Sisters welcomed over 1,000 people to their Jubilee celebrations, including the Master General of the Dominican Order (the 86th successor of St. Dominic), 16 bishops (including Bishop Burke from Rome and Bishop Fisher from Australia), and plenty of Christendom alumni. In attendance: Sr Immaculata Francis ('88), Sr Mary Anne Zuberbueler ('89), Sr. Catherine Joseph Droste ('87), Sr Mary Michael Fox, Sr Mary Martha Hetzler ('98), Sr Peter Verona Bodoh ('96), Sr Dominic Quinn ('96), Sr Veronica Ann Cotter (who made final vows on July 24), Sr Mary Lawrence Wright, Sr Marie Dominique Mullen ('09) (who just received her habit and new name on July 27th), Fr. Matthew Zuberbueler ('92), Fr. Tony Stephens ('99), Patrick and Jill (Watson) Storey ('02, '01), Joan Watson ('06), Mary Catherine Wright, and Greg, Tony, & Andy Bodoh ('94, '97, '07). (Whew! I'm sorry if I forgot anyone!) The celebrations were gorgeous -- ineffable liturgies, an elegant dinner, a family picnic and games, and a performance on the front lawn of the Motherhouse by the Nashville Symphony (in the middle of a thunderstorm)! As their busy summer is coming to a close, the Dominicans are preparing for the entrance of 25 (or more!) new postulants later this month.

The daughters of Chris and Sarah (Stafki) Muro ('98), Gianna, Katalina, and Isabella welcomed their new sister, Angelina Colette Muro, on June 15, 2010. She smiles more than not! The Muro family is very thankful for the blessing of another beautiful and healthy baby girl.

Michelle (Dawson) Charba ('88) will be flying out to Christendom with our daughter who will be a freshman this year at CC. She will be in the area from the 19th-21st of August, and would love to get together with alumni from her years at the College ("84-'88). If you would like to send Michelle and note to plan this said get together, please email charbaman@comcast.net Thank you!

Maria Bissex ('02) is performing in her first musical this summer--Lerner and Loewe's "Brigadoon." This musical is not as well known as some others, but it's one of her favorites, incorporating beautiful music with complex harmonies, authentic Scottish dances (and, of course, accents!), and an inspiring story of miracles and true love. Performances are at Potomac Falls Middle School in Sterling, VA, through August 15th; Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. You can order tickets online at http://www.sterlingplaymakers.com Maria is working up to being the cast member who sells the most tickets (the current record is 57!) so please help her out by ordering your tickets online today! With all those big Christendom families out there, it should be easy for her to win. :) She hopes to see everyone at the show!

Like Joannie Watson (who sumbmitted the earlier news item on the Nashville Dominicans) the Bodoh family were also blessed to be able to join Sr. Peter Verona ('96) and the Dominican Sisters in Nashville, TN for their 150th Jubilee Year Celebration this July. It was a spiritually enriching experience, and a wonderful reunion of many Christendom associates. Katrina and Hannah Bodoh, daughters of Tony and Julie Bodoh ('97) enjoyed their hand bell lesson from another Christendom Alum, Sr. Mary Martha ('98).

Bill McCoy ('98) is very happy to announce his upcoming Marriage to Nicole E. Mcdonough. The Wedding will take place on this coming September 25th, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lonsdale MN (twenty minutes south of the twin cites). A celebration of the sacred nuptials will follow in proper Irish fashion.

Sarah Berger ('08) recently made a career change and is now working as an administrative assistant/marketing coordinator for a wealth management firm, Comprehensive Wealth Management in Lynnwood, Washington. As a philosophy major and English minor who was excited about Christendom's lack of mathematical requirements, she somehow never pictured herself in the finance world, but she is finding it extraordinarily interesting. It has been quite a change working exclusively with non-profits in fundraising to working mostly with small business owners and the very wealthy as her company tries to help them make the most of their assets. In her spare time Sarah has been continuing to pursue her interest in international style ballroom dance and recently joined her parish choir and is learning how to sight sing confidently, using Byrd, Palestrina, and other polyphonic composers' alto lines. It has been an exhilarating experience to finally be a part of singing some of those motets that she heard so often from the choir loft in the Chapel of Christ the King.

On July 31 David Wallace ('05) graduated summa cum laude with distinction from Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College with an M.A. in theological studies. His wife, Elizabeth (née Rice), ('05), and two sons, Augustine and Peter, are very proud, even if his boys were too tired to be very cheerful after the ceremony. David and Elizabeth are also very excited to be moving "home" to Front Royal this month, and Elizabeth will be teaching at Blessed John XXIII Montessori Center in Front Royal starting in September.

This next update comes to us from Ron and Alex Klassen ('01, '04) from their cross-country road trip to visit CC alumni and friends! Check out the update and pictures below!

"Our family just came back a few weeks ago from our annual trip to the MidWest! We did our usual roadtrip - having potty trained kids makes it so much longer! We stopped at various CC alumni homes on the way there and back. On the way to our destination to see family in Fort Scott, KS, we first stopped overnight in Charleston, NC at the home of Quinn and Lisa Beekwilder ('04, '07). Quinn and Lisa Beekwilder and kids (Xavier, Thaddeus and Emma) are pictured on the right! It was a very short overnighter as we had left VA much late than originally intended but we were so happy that we got to actually see them and visit this time! From NC, we proceeded to drive to Tennessee where we spent a few fun-filled and relaxing days with Matt and Patricia Coffey ('03, '04) in their beautiful new home. Pictured on the left is Matt and Tricia and kids (Lucy, Thomas and Joe). We attended Mass on Sunday in Horse Cave, KY where we ran into the O'Brien Family (parents of John and Peter O'Brien) and checked out the Dairy Queen in 'town' with the Coffey's. From there, we made the short drive to Evansville, IN, where we stayed with Andy and Mindy McDonald ('05). Andy and Mindy just moved to St. Mary's, KS so we are glad that we were able to stay with them en route one last time! After a quick sleepover in IN, we made the lengthiest leg of our trek to the cornfields of KS. While visiting Ron's family for a week, we drove to Olathe, KS, and enjoyed dinner at the lovely home of Ben and Alicia (Podlinsek) Laxton ('01). The Laxton and Klassen kids enjoyed the pre-July 4th fireworks while we adults crammed in as much conversation as we could during the visit. Our next major stop was in Omaha, NE at the home of Tim and Leah Coffey ('01, '03). We had a really wonderful time during our week-long stay with them and we especially want to thank Tim and Leah for hosting us! We had the privilege of attending the Coffey Clan's 4th of July bash which ended with a spectacular fireworks display and many sleepy children! During our Omaha leg of the trip, we enjoyed another evening visiting with both sets of Coffey Alumni (Tim, Leah, Matt and Tricia). The evening included dinner, great company and ended with a board game - it was so much fun! The Children's Museum in Omaha, the beautiful new Church at the Fraternity of St. Peter in Denton and the Omaha Zoo rounded out our week in NE nicely. We missed staying a night with Joe and Mary Theresa Sayler (both '04) in Indianapolis, IN on our way home but we hope to catch up with them next year! Now we are back home in VA - it was a really wonderful trip and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with all of our friends on the way! Thanks for your hospitality, guys!"

The Klassen Family (Ron, Alex, Sebasian, Chris and Marya).

Sebastian (5), Chris (3), Marya (18 months) Klassen

Andy and Mindy McDonald and kids (Seth, Dominic, Kieren, Peter, Rafe and baby #6 due in a few weeks)

Ben and Alicia Laxton and kids (Olivia, Elizabeth, Alex, Rafe and Gabi)

Tim and Leah Coffey

The Tim and Leah Coffey Children (James, Maureen, Emma and Baby Kate)

Calendar of Events

July 31, 2010: Graduate School Graduation

August 20, 2010: New Students Arrive for Fall 2010 Semester

August 23, 2010: Opening Mass with Bishop Loverde and Convocation

October 8-10, 2010: Homecoming Weekend!

Visit http://www.christendom.edu/alumni/homecoming.shtml to register!

Press Releases and Campus News: http://www.christendom.edu/news/releases.shtml

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