The UC Society of Saint Paul officially welcomes its new Program Director, Martin Arlinghaus.
In the Summer of 2012, Marty approached me after Mass at St. Clarence, the parish we grew up in. He told me he had a great idea for a group he thought of, called “The Society of St. Paul” that would be based on the New Evangelization and would become a strong Catholic presence on campus. I said it sounded cool, and did not give much thought to it after that. As fate would have it, summer plans led to us living together the next year, along with two others from St. Clarence, including my older brother.
The year began, and Marty once again brought up The Society of Saint Paul. I had forgotten about it, but he was indeed still set on it. He told us about a nice parish he had been going to for Mass called Annunciation. We started going to Annunciation for Mass every Sunday, and then we would come back to our house for brunch and some Catholic discussion.
The first few meetings consisted of the four of us at the house plus two friends. As the weeks went on, more and more people were showing up. Originally, our meetings had no definitive ending time, leading to us literally talking about Catholicism until around dinner time. We realized a few things from these early meetings:
1.There were strong Catholics on UC’s campus who had a yearning for a dynamic faith sharing experience.
And
2. Nobody would come to a group that had 8 hour meetings.
Our meetings continued to grow and become more refined, with each Sunday meeting being devoted to Scriptural reflection, as well as discussing some of the works of the giants of theology, such as G.K. Chesterton.
The numbers grew, and more and more people joined the meetings in our small house just off of campus.
The next thing we knew, Archbishop Schnurr was sitting in a beat-up lawn chair in our kitchen with pancakes, talking about the scriptures with us.
The year began, and Marty once again brought up The Society of Saint Paul. I had forgotten about it, but he was indeed still set on it. He told us about a nice parish he had been going to for Mass called Annunciation. We started going to Annunciation for Mass every Sunday, and then we would come back to our house for brunch and some Catholic discussion.
The first few meetings consisted of the four of us at the house plus two friends. As the weeks went on, more and more people were showing up. Originally, our meetings had no definitive ending time, leading to us literally talking about Catholicism until around dinner time. We realized a few things from these early meetings:
1.There were strong Catholics on UC’s campus who had a yearning for a dynamic faith sharing experience.
And
2. Nobody would come to a group that had 8 hour meetings.
Our meetings continued to grow and become more refined, with each Sunday meeting being devoted to Scriptural reflection, as well as discussing some of the works of the giants of theology, such as G.K. Chesterton.
The numbers grew, and more and more people joined the meetings in our small house just off of campus.
The next thing we knew, Archbishop Schnurr was sitting in a beat-up lawn chair in our kitchen with pancakes, talking about the scriptures with us.
Our meeting with Archbishop Schnurr.
Fast forward to 2014:
The UC Society of Saint Paul is now an officially recognized campus group, consisting of two off-campus houses, a speaker series that has hosted world-famous speakers such as Dr. Allen Hunt, a vast membership inclusive of all grade-levels, and a firm devotion to both parish life and the New Evangelization.
The UC Society of Saint Paul is now an officially recognized campus group, consisting of two off-campus houses, a speaker series that has hosted world-famous speakers such as Dr. Allen Hunt, a vast membership inclusive of all grade-levels, and a firm devotion to both parish life and the New Evangelization.
A recent picture of the group.
As of recent, Marty has been hired as full-time Program Director of the UC Society of Saint Paul, and is now working on building relationships with other Catholic organizations and ministries around the Greater Cincinnati area, building a network of donors, developing more clearly the formational aspect of the society, and setting up the organizational structure for evangelization and sustainable expansion.
Welcome and Congratulations to Marty!
Welcome and Congratulations to Marty!
