2

Mid Hudson Times , Wednesday , November 16 , 2016

PUBLIC AGENDA

THURSDAY , NOVEMBER 17

Town of Newburgh Planning Board , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

MONDAY , NOVEMBER 21

City of Newburgh Industrial Development Agency ., 6:45 p . m . Council Chambers , 3rd Floor , City Hall , Newburgh , Town of Newburgh Workshop meeting , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

TUESDAY , NOVEMBER 22

Town of Newburgh ZBA , 7 p . m . Town Hall , 1496 Route 300 , Town of Newburgh .

HOW TO REACH US

OFFICE : 300 Stony Brook Court Newburgh , NY 12550

PHONE : 845-561-0170 , FAX : 845-561-3967

Emails may be directed to the following : ADVERTISING advertising @ tcnewspapers . com

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar @ tcnewspapers . com

TO REACH THE EDITOR editor @ tcnewspapers . com

FOR THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT sports @ tcnewspapers . com

PUBLIC NOTICES legals @ tcnewspapers . com

WEBSITE www . timescommunitypapers . com

The Mid Hudson Times , ( USPS 000-5947 ) is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh , NY 12550 , with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY . Single copy : $ 1 at newsstand . By mail in Orange , Ulster or Sullivan Counties : $ 40 annually , $ 44 out of county . Periodicals permit at Newburgh , NY . POSTMASTER : Send address changes to Mid Hudson Times , 300 Stony Brook Court , Newburgh , NY 12550

By SHANTAL RILEY sriley @ tcnewspapers . com

small group of Franciscan friars are settling into their new home at St . Mary of the Assumption Friary in the City of Newburgh . Their mission ? To serve the city ’ s poor and displaced , and to preach the Holy Gospel .

We live with and among the poor , and bring the light of Christ to where they live ,” said Father Giuseppe Siniscalchi .

They arrived to the friary - the former St . Mary Parish rectory - in October , little more than a year after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York closed St . Mary ’ s Church . The halls had a newpaint smell and books sat piled in plastic crates inside the building on South Street last week .

“ Welcome ,” said Father Antonio De Medina , as he opened the front door . He quickly retired to the kitchen to finish preparing lunch . “ We follow Saint Francis of Assisi ’ s way of life - one of simplicity , poverty , prayer and service ,” Siniscalchi explained .

The friars pray about four hours a day , Siniscalchi said . “ We do our cooking and cleaning ,” he said . “ We try to live a simple life .”

They have no television , no Internet and no cell phones . They fast every Friday and avoid eating meat on Wednesdays . All of the food they eat is donated . They wear long beards and robes , with wooden rosary beads hanging from roped belts . Though the friars appear to have walked out of a century past , they are thoroughly modern in their approach to preaching .

The Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal was started in 1987 by eight friars who wanted “ to work more definitively for personal and communal reform within the Catholic Church ,” the friary website states .

Founded in the Bronx , the community operates independently from the New York Roman Catholic Archdiocese . “ We do not operate directly under the direction of the bishops ,” Siniscalchi said , but under the leadership of their Community Servant Father John Paul Ouellette .

However , the friars are close to Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan , he said . It was at the invitation of Cardinal Dolan that the five friars came to the city from other urban centers like the Bronx and Newark , New Jersey .

“ Dolan was very concerned about what was happening in Newburgh ,” the priest said . “ He wanted to bring hope to

Franciscan friars Fr . Giuseppe Siniscalchi ( left ) and Fr . Antonio De Medina ( right ) outside their new home at St . Mary of the Assumption Friary on South Street .

the area . It was due to his concern and initiative that we are here .”

The friars can often be found at food pantries , soup kitchens , homeless shelters and youth centers . Their evangelization is often performed on the street .

Though Catholic , the friars differ quite a bit from Diocesan priests . “ They run parishes ,” Siniscalchi said . “ We don ’ t run parishes . We live with the poor . How it will manifest here , we still don ’ t know .”

One hint came when Siniscalchi walked through a small , newly-built chapel at the friary . “ This is Our Lady of Guadalupe ,” he said , gesturing to a colorful , framed image of the Virgin Mary .

Siniscalchi told the story of Juan Diego , a peasant who witnessed the Virgin Mary in an apparition in Mexico in 1531 . As a sign of proof to a bishop , who Diego asked to build a temple in dedication to the Virgin Mary , the farmer produced freshly-picked roses , not known to grow in December .

As he offered the bishop the roses , an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on his cloak , the same sacred image of Our Lady of Guadalupe , now famous the world over . The miracle had a profound effect on the people of the region at the time , Siniscalchi said . “ As a result , nine million Aztecs were converted to Christianity ,” he said . “ Human sacrifices stopped .”

Siniscalchi and several of the friars speak Spanish , bound to come in handy in a city with a population that is fiftypercent Hispanic .

Though still getting to know his way around the city , Siniscalchi acknowledges the friars have their work cut out for them . “ It ’ s amazing how many people are out drinking and smoking marijuana out in the open ,” he observed , even in the morning . “ We just say , ‘ Hello , how are you ?’ We ’ re not judging .”

“ Friar ” is a Latin word for “ brother ,” he adds . “ We ’ re called to be brothers with everyone .”

The friars ’ plan for their mission in Newburgh is still unfolding , Siniscalchi said . St . Mary ’ s Church will be opened occassionally to host special events from time to time , he noted . “ During Lent , we ’ ll have a citywide parish mission ,” Siniscalchi said , and the church will be opened to celebrate .

“ We ’ re going to pray and listen to the Holy Spirit and talk to people , and see where God wants us to go ,” the priest said . He added , “ I would like to ask people to pray for us , for God to let them know we ’ re here to work with them and love them as Jesus desires us to do . As we settle in , we will be asking for their help in building the Kingdom of God in Newburgh and Orange County .”

To learn more about the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal , to make a donation or prayer request , visit NewburghFriary . org .