No First Friday - November '08

There will be No First Friday Mass, Breakfast, or speaker for November, due to the close proximity of the Red Mass. We thank all of those who attended the Red Mass, and hope you will plan to join us for the upcoming Ethics CLE on 12/5/08.

2008 Red Mass - October 30, 2008

The Society is pleased to annouce the 2008 Red Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on October 30, 2008. A rather nicely done annoucement is now available for Download. The Most Reverend Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan will celebrate the mass, and a reception and dinner will immediately follow at the gracious University Club. The dinner portion of the program will also feature the presentation of the Society's 2008 Faithful Servant Award, which will be presented to Christopher Wolfe, Phd..

This annual gathering of members of the judiciary, lawyers, elected officials, and other community leaders is, admittedly, an enjoyable event and social occaision. However, attendees also offer their prayers to God and support for each other in the hope that we will thereby have the guidance, strength and judgment to serve justice as we make the tough decisions which inevitably arise in our respective professional duties.

Tickets for the dinner are $50 per person, and table sponsors may purchase a table of 8 for $500. To RSVP, please use the attached registration form, and send to

Justin Longley, Treasurer
St. Thomas More Lawyer's Society
c/o 3600 South Lake Drive
St. Francis, WI 53235

We hope you will join us!

Further particulars:

Procession of Judges—5:55 pm
Mass—6 pm
Reception & Dinner, The University
Club—immediately following Mass

Cathedral of
St. John the Evangelist
812 North Jackson Street
Milwaukee

The University Club
924 East Wells Street
Milwaukee
(complimentary parking available)

2008 CLE PROGRAM - SAVE THE DATE - 12/5/08

Please mark your calendars for December 5, 2008, for the St. Thomas More Lawyers Society CLE program. The CLE will follow the First Friday Mass and will be conveniently located at the Marquette Memorial Union. Stay tuned for additional details regarding scheduled speakers and topics.

August '08 First Friday - Vicki Thorn - Project Rachel

We are pleased to welcome Vicki Thorn as our guest speaker at the August '08 First Friday Gathering. Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

Ms. Thorn is the foundress of Project Rachel and the executive director of the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation & Healing located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She served as the first Respect Life Director for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee from 1977 to 1988. She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota and a certificate in Spiritual Direction. She is a bereavement facilitator trained by the American Academy of Bereavement and a prenatal loss facilitator certified by Resolve Through Sharing Prenatal Loss. She also holds a certificate in Trauma Counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a long time member of the Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health.

Ms. Thorn is an international speaker and author on the topics of abortion’s aftermath in women, men and others as well as the process of post-abortion healing. She has spoken in Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Ukraine, Italy, Austria, Poland, Chile, Hong Kong and China. She is the primary author of the “The Priests Manual of Post-Abortion Ministry”, published by the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

More information about Ms. Thorn's work can be found in the following article in the the St. Anthony Messenger or from the website for the National Office for Post Abortion Reconciliation & Healing.

We look forward to seeing you there!

40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae Event - July 26, 2008

Our friends at the Nazareth Project for Marriage and Family Formation, a part of the John Paul II Center of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, have invited members of the St. Thomas More Lawyers Society to a very special event marking the fortieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae. This is scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2008. A 9:00 a.m. Mass with Bishop William Callahan, OFM. Conv., will be followed by a presentation by the renowned Rev. Tadeusz Pacholcyk, Ph.D., Director of Education for the National Catholic Bioethics Center on "Stem Cell Research in Light of Humanae Vitae."

Space is limited and registrations are requested no later than July 26, 2008. Attached to this email please find a letter invitation from Lydia LoCoco, director of the Nazareth Project, a brochure on the event, and a registration form. Please contact Lydia with any questions regarding the event at LoCocoL@archmil.org, or 414-758-2214.

July '08 First Friday - (hiatus)

The Society maintains its traditional First Friday hiatus for the month of July as we celebrate our our Nation's independence.

June '08 First Friday - Dr. David Lodes - Catholic Schools & the Faith in Our Future program

Our speaker this month will be Dr. David Lodes, the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Dr. Lodes will speak to us about the Strategic Plan for Faith in Our Future the Office of Schools and the impact of the program on that Plan.

The Faith in Our Future program is a campaign drive to attain $105 million to support the needs of the Archdiocese. A minimum of $6.85 million is for schools to fund development of best practices and strengthened accreditation standards, to enhance academic performance and professional development for teachers, the expansion of marketing/development services and grants for facility and technology needs.

Dr. Lodes has masters degrees in science (UW-Oshkosh) and education administration (UW-Milwaukee); and a PH.D from Marquette (Strategic Planning). Dr. Lodes began his education career as a science teacher (Chemistry, Physics, etc.). After serving as assistant principal and principal, he became superintendent of the Arrowhead School District, a position he maintained for fourteen years. During his tenure, the district grew from 800 to over 2300 students. In October, 2007, Dr. Lodes was named the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

May '08 First Friday - Fr. Harak - MU Center for Peacemaking

The speaker for our discussion group will be Fr. Simon Harak, S.J. Fr. Harak is the director of the recently created Marquette University Center for Peacemaking. Fr. Harak will speak about the Center and related issues.

An interview with Fr. Harak which appeared in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in November, 2007 may also be of interest.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.

April '08 First Friday - St. Anthony's School and School Choice

Our speaker this month is Terry Brown, who is the President of St. Anthony's School and will speak to us about the school and about the state of the school choice program in Milwaukee. With 1,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Anthony's is the largest grade school in Milwaukee -- including MPS schools. It is the largest school in the voucher program, and one of the largest Catholic grade schools in the country.

For more information, see the recent Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story on Terry Brown's stewardship of St. Anthony's School.

Mass will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Family located on the 2nd floor of the Marquette Memorial Union (15th and Wells), with the speaker / discussion to follow (roughly 8-9am). For more information see our First Friday page.