MCC staffer
Jamie Morris is a new lobbyist and legislative counsel at the Missouri Catholic Conference. Before joining the MCC, he was an attorney and examiner for the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration. In that role, he provided legal advice, drafted and analyzed legislation, and helped monitor insurance company activities. He is a lifelong resident of the Mid-Missouri area and currently lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Kristan, and his three sons, Daniel, Nick, and Owen.
New leadership
Covenant House Missouri has named Jessica Erfling as chief executive officer and Bridget Jones as director of advancement. Erfling was chief operating officer at Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri for the past four years. Before that, Erfling served as vice president of operations for Sunnyhill, Inc, which serves youth and adults with disabilities. Erfling received a master’s degree in social work from St. Louis University. She also is on the board of directors’ executive committee for Rainbow Village, a nonprofit, providing neighborhood homes for people with developmental disabilities. Jones formed and led Innovative Education Concepts for 12 years. Her team helped raise more than $110 million for the Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri as a consultant with Changing Our World. She is a graduate of Sacred Heart School in Florissant and Aquinas-Mercy High school. Covenant House serves homeless teens, providing emotional, educational, employment and housing support for long-term stability and independence. The faith-based, nonprofit agency is rooted in the Catholic tradition.
Upcoming events
End-of-Life discussion
The Roman Catholic Foundation of Eastern Missouri will another session of “The Conversation: A Catholic Perspective on End-of-Life Issues” on Saturday, Nov, 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Parish in Dardenne Prairie. Father Donald Henke will discuss the principles of Catholic bioethics, of interest to Catholics making health care plans or caring for ill or aging loved ones. The free seminar will also include presentations on Catholic funeral and cemetery planning, estate planning and advance directives and charitable gift planning.
To register, visit
www.rcfstl.org/the-conversation.
St. Mary of Victories anniversary
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson will preside at a Mass celebrating the 175th anniversary of St. Mary of Victories, 11 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 4, at the church, 744 S. Third St. Downtown. The Mass will include elements from the Latin Novus Ordo and English-Hungarian Masses, both celebrated regularly at the church. A fried chicken lunch will be served afterward. To learn more about the history of St. Mary of Victories, visit www.smov.info.
Prayer service for healing
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson will preside at a prayer service for spiritual healing for survivors of physical, sexual or emotional abuse at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at St. Monica Church, 12136 Olive Blvd. in Creve Coeur. Family members and friends of abuse survivors are invited, as well as people involved in helping abused people, working to prevent abuse, and desiring to pray for healing and reconciliation. For more information, contact Carol Brescia, victim assistance coordinator, Archdiocesan Office of Child & Youth Protection, at [email protected] or (314) 378-3627.
Guadalupe Conference
An Our Lady of Guadalupe Conference will take place from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive in Shrewsbury. The archdiocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry, Office of Sacred Worship and Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology (ITEST) are host the conference, which will focus on the miraculous image on the tilma of Juan Diego, the poor Indian to whom Our Lady appeared in 1531 at Tepeyac Hill in Mexico. Presenters will discuss the event within the cultural setting in which the Indian natives lived and worshiped pagan gods. Within a mere eight years after Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego, millions of natives converted to Christianity. To register, visit https://bit.ly/2yvQRra. For information, contact, Sister Marianne Postiglione at (314) 792-7221.