Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Workfest 2009: Mentors of Servanthood

During our reflection members of USF announced the winner of our Tau Award. We started this last year. The Tau is one of two crosses associated with St. Francis of Assisi. This cross served as his personal signature. It is a primitive cross associated with the early Church, it is the cross worn by Franciscans today.

We had one criterion, to give a Tau to the worker who most exemplified being a Servant mentor.

Now our Taus are special. It comes from Assisi, from approximately five blocks from where Francis lived, four blocks from where he was baptized, four blocks from his renunciation and eight blocks from where his body is buried. The cross is blessed by a priest in Assisi. Our team chose its winner and then Jesse Underwood made it complicated, he advocated for another worker he felt strongly about. He got additional votes and said he would search for more votes, he was a passionate advocate.

Luckily I had one more Tau. This one came from our mother house in Mishawaka Indiana. The St. Francis Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are responsible for founding 13 hospitals and the University of Saint Francis. This cross was blessed by Father John Stecher of USF.
So, we were honor to present the Tau from Assisi to Don Miller and the Tau from Indiana to Jerry Paulding. These are compassionate, faith filled men who spend their time working and teaching young people to be servants. Francis would approved and so did the crowd.

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