2018 Veterans Prayer Day

The Mount Saint Joseph Conference and Retreat Center honored military veterans on Nov. 14, 2018, with a free program led by Brigadier General Father Patrick J. Dolan, the Army National Guard Assistant to the Chief of Chaplains.

Father Dolan has been deployed around the world as a chaplain through his long career, including four trips to Iraq. He is also pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Fairdale, Ky. Dolan talked about his military career and invited the veterans in attendance to talk about their experiences and ask questions. Everyone was served a free lunch in appreciation of their service to our country.

Here are some photos from the day.

This is one way the Angela Conference Room was decorated to welcome the veterans.
Brigadier General Father Patrick Dolan speaks to the veterans in attendance in the Angela Conference Room. He told the participants, “You have served honorably and well.”
Jim Likens, left, served in the U.S. Army beginning in 1970 in Korea, while Marvin Clark served in the Army in Germany from 1962-65. Here they listen to Father Dolan talk about the need to listen to those serving in the military to ease the pressure that builds inside them.
Erv Moore, an Air Force veteran, and his wife, Ursuline Associate Coreen Moore, listen to Father Dolan talk about how he worked with military families to prepare them for the return of their loved one after serving many months away.
Ann and Rex Voorheis listen to Father Dolan. They both retired from the U.S. Air Force. Ann Voorheis talked about how much the chaplains helped keep their children active while they were stationed in the Philippines.
Father Dolan makes a point as Glenn Maddox and Sister George Mary Hagan listen. Maddox is the director of Information Services for the Ursuline Sisters and served in the Army Signal Corps in Germany. Sister George Mary met Dolan during the 20 years she spent as the director of religious education for the Office of Chaplains at Fort Knox, Ky.
Father Dolan elicits some smiles from the participants as he talks about the political climate in Kentucky when he was a young priest. In the middle is Father Ray Goetz, chaplain at Maple Mount, who served two years in the National Guard prior to entering the seminary.
The children of one of the housekeepers at the Center painted many rocks with patriotic messages for the veterans to take home.