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A Brief History of the NYPD’s Emerald Society Pipes And Drums

In honor of International Bagpipe Day, Currents News is looking at a band that will soon grace Fifth Avenue.

The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums have a long history in New York City.

The band has been a staple for Catholics during St. Patrick’s Day Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan, which usually happens right before the parade kicks off.

The Bishop of Brooklyn, Robert Brennan, will be concelebrating the Mass and viewing the parade. It kicks off on Friday, March 17 at 8:30am.

Be sure to tune into Currents News as we plan to offer complete coverage of the Irish holiday.

Currents News Update for Thursday 3/9/23

 

A group of grandparents are coming together at Good Shepherd Catholic Academy to help support students at the school.

With the future of Social Security and Medicare funding at risk, President Biden is looking to put in place some essential programs meant to help strengthen them.

The story of Mother Cabrini may be coming to a theater near you.

Good Shepherd Catholic Academy Grandparents Club Gives Back

By Jessica Easthope

Their hands have rocked to sleep, made the best chicken soup and given the tightest hugs, and now these grandparents are keeping busy making sure their grandchildren feel their love and support, even when they’re at school.

“It’s all for the benefit of our grandchildren and our school and our community so it does bring me a great deal of joy and I’m happy to do it,” said Diane Reynolds, the founder of the Good Shepherd Catholic Academy Grandparents Club.

The Grandparents Club has more than 70 members. Last year Diane noticed most of the people waiting outside to pick kids up from school weren’t parents but grandparents, she has 6 grandkids in the school.

Fran Heller says the club has given her the chance to get closer to her grandson.

“We have so much in common, it is a nice community and we get to do things not only for our families but to improve the school,” she said.

Their goal is to support the mission of the school, they give back in whatever way they can, whether it’s by modeling good citizenship or raising money and collecting donations. They’ve raised more than $4,000 so far. At their most recent meeting, the grandparents gathered new and used first holy communion dresses and suits for families in need.

Everything they do goes back into the school, an effort principal John O’Brien says keeps Good Shepherd a community.

“They are they are the ones who remember what Catholic education was like when it was taken for granted when everybody went to a Catholic school when catholic school was free and so we had to think of new ways, by relying on the people who were there before us to help us succeed,” he said.

At graduation the Grandparents Club gives a child who exemplifies compassion and kindness a modest scholarship, they say it helps the students live their faith.

“God always comes first and when you put God first everything else falls into place, it just lifts you up,” Fran said.

“Christ is at the center of everything we do and we want to instill that in our grandchildren as well,” said Diane.

Diane says a grandparent’s love is what drives them, that means their work is far from over.

Religious Sisters Empower Women to Discern Their Call Amid Nun Shortage in the United States

Sister Shirlee Tremont remembers a time when there was a lot of mystery surrounding the life of a nun. At St. Bernadette Catholic Academy in Dyker Heights, she works every day to break down those walls. Not being visible and approachable to students and young Catholics is one of the reasons she says the numbers of nuns in the United States are dropping.

“I don’t know that young people today see enough religious to know what religious life is all about and there are probably some misconceptions and our kids get a little better picture of who we are and what we do and how we live, come and see come spend time with us,” she said.

In 2022, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate reported there were less than 42,000 nuns in America, which is a 76 percent decline over 50 years. It’s estimated that there will be less than 1,000 nuns left in the United States by 2042.

“I don’t believe God has stopped calling women to religious life or men to the priesthood, I just think we’re so busy, society is so loud, we’re so rushed we don’t have time to listen,” said Sr. Shirlee.

When Sister Maryann Seton Lopiccolo took her vows it was, in part the chance to become a professional – something not a lot of women had.

“I mean, it wasn’t I could be president, I could be a lawyer I could be a financial advisor, because those those fields weren’t open to women in the in the long run, religious life was was a good option, especially because it gave you a foot in a professional field,” she said.

As the episcopal delegate for religious in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Sr. Maryann helps religious sisters, brothers and priests get the most out of consecrated life. She hopes her role can empower other young women to trust in their gifts and find where they belong.

“I think there’s something about joining a group that has an identity and stands for something and is actively doing something and that something is giving witness to the gospel in today’s church,” she said.

Both sisters say religious life will look very different in 50 years, but they have hope – knowing God calls all of us toward our own vocations every day.

Currents News Update for Wednesday 03/08/2023

 

The U.S. is facing a shortage of nuns.

Catholics across the Diocese of Brooklyn are embracing the Lenten Pilgrimage.

The NYPD is looking for two people who defaced the Christopher Columbus statue inside Central Park.

Currents News Update for Tuesday 03/07/2023

 

They were once left behind but instead of being thrown away, many baby strollers are finding families who desperately need them.

The NYPD is looking for two people who defaced the Christopher Columbus statue inside Central Park.

Bishop Brennan will be the Grand Marshall at the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Lindenhurst.