2010

• "You are witnesses of these things." Luke 24:48.
  
  The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a worldwide celebration in which Christians of all denominations come together to pray for Christian Unity. Various Christian communities throughout the Houston area hosted a night of the week of prayer, January 18 - 25, 2010.
  
  Schedule:
  January 18, 7 pm The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
  January 19, 7 pm St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel
  January 20, 7 pm UST Chapel of St. Basil
  January 21, 7 pm St. Theresa Catholic Church
  January 22, 7 pm Windsor Village United Methodist Church
  January 23, 6 pm Christ the King Lutheran Church
  January 24, 6 pm St. Martin's Episcopal Church
  January 25, 7 pm The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

  Download the flier

  Ecumenism has shown how important prayer is for Christian unity, and for 100 years, Christians have gathered around the world to pray in communion with the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21). Houston-area Christians of all confessions will collaborate during the week-long observance to come together in prayer. 

  “Christians, who share belief in Christ and share one baptism and one Lord are obligated to overcome the stumbling block of disunity,” said Fr. Donald Nesti, CSSp, director of the UST Center for Faith and Culture. “Obliged by their belief Christians of every generation and every decade must enter into relationship of prayer and dialogue to sense where it is that the Holy Spirit is leading them to be one. Only the Spirit can be the ‘Glue’ that will reassemble a fractured Body.”

  The Church Unity Octave, a forerunner of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, was first celebrated in January 1908 by the Rev. Paul Wattson, SA, at Graymoor in Garrison, N.Y. The eight days between two liturgical feasts, the Confession of St. Peter (Jan. 18) and the Conversion of St. Paul (Jan. 25), seemed especially appropriate to pray for the unity of the Church. 

  “This new prayer movement caught the imagination of others beyond the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement to become an energetic movement that gradually blossomed into a worldwide observance involving many nations and millions of people,” said Rev. Timothy MacDonald, SA, associate director of Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute.

  The 2010 theme, “You Are Witness of These Things,” comes from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 24 verse 48. Each prayer service will integrate the theme along with Luke’s entire chapter 24. All prayer and celebration is open to the public.
  

2009

• “Evolution and Faith: What is at Stake”
  John Haught, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Science & Religion, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University, will speak on “Evolution and Faith: What is at Stake” on Tuesday, October 20, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Open to the general public. Tickets are $17 and may be purchased through the Museum. Download Flyer
  
  
• Twitter! Twitter! Connecting and Loving in the Age of Me
  A conference about dating, relationships, family and faith will be presented Friday, Sept. 25, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm and Saturday, Sept 26, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Open to the general public.  Click here for further information and registration flier, which includes the event schedule.
  
  
  • Twitter Conference:  Mr. Jeff Crandall (9.25.09) 
  • Twitter Conference:  Rev. Donald S. Nesti, CSSp (9.26.09) 
  • Twitter Conference:  Dr. Catherine R. Barber (9.26.09) 
  • Twitter Conference: Dr. Joseph & Catherine Garcia-Prats (9.26.09) 
  • Twitter Conference:  Dr. Prachi Shah, M.D. (9.26.09) 
    
    
• St. Paul and Evangelization Lecture Series
  March 4, 11, 18, 25, and April 1, 2009
  7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
  St. Mary’s Seminary
  Nold Auditorium
  9845 Memorial Drive
  Houston, Texas  77024
  
  View Event Flyer
  
  
• Event Videos:
  • Dr. Witherington 
  • Dr. Osiek 
  • Dr. Ryan 
  • Dr. Capes 
  • Cardinal DiNardo

2008

• Fifth Annual Seminar on Spirituality: "There will be Blood”:  Reconciliation in Faith and Culture," June 10-12, 2008, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., St. Mary's Seminary, 9845 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas  77024.
  
  This seminar addressed the necessity for reconciliation in faith and culture that can only be found in and through Christ.  Speakers:  Rev. Donald S. Nesti, CSSp, Rev. Binh The Quah, CSSp, PhD, and Ms. Maureen N. Bacchi, LMSW. View some event photos. 
  
  
• March 5 and 6 - Inaugural Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Interreligious Dialogue Symposium:  “The Roots of Dialogue and Peacemaking in Sacred Texts and Traditions: Contemporary Implications for Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”  Presented by UST Center for Faith & Culture and co-sponsored by The Anti-Defamation League - Southwest Region, The Institute of Interfaith Dialog, and UST Center for International Studies.  View some event photos.

The symposium was a two-part event at the University of St. Thomas.

• The first part was an all-day program on March 5, 2008 and featured three internationally recognized speakers: Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Rabbi Samuel E. Karff and Rev. Dr. Thomas Michel, S.J.  Leaders from the Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as from the local sister churches and ecclesial communities participated in the symposium.
   
  
• The second part on March 6 was a morning-only program specifically designed for the Consular Corps of Houston. It included a key-note address by Archbishop Celestino Migliore and brief presentations by the symposium speakers. The panel discussion was moderated by Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian.

2007

• Fourth Annual Seminar on Spirituality: "Identity Theft: The Challenge for Catholic Americans," June 11-15, 2007, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, at St. Mary's Seminary, 9845 Memorial Drive.