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Pulse of the Parish: Keith Goldberg, Saint Francis de Sales

By Currents News 

Before the players take the court and the fans fill the stands there’s just one person at St. Francis de Sales’ summer classic setting it all up. From moving bleachers into place to grabbing the scoreboards and setting up the first aid station, Keith Goldberg never stops moving. 

“I’m in the yard approximately 20-25 hours a week,” he tells Current News, and for more than 15 years he has been the director of the church’s summer basketball league.

“I wanted to do what others had done for me growing up, and I got started and couldn’t let go,” he explains. 

Goldberg spends close to 40 hours a week volunteering his time organizing the classic. He does so in addition to his full-time job as executive director for the diocese of Brooklyn’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) program.

The summer classic started 40 years ago with 26 teams and about 300 people. Now there are 104 teams and over 1,200 people ages seven to 69.

Goldberg handles it all without an assist, and the pastor of St. Francis de Sales parish in Belle Harbor, Queens. Father Bill Sweeney says drafting Goldberg for the job was a slam dunk.

“I have never met anybody more selfless than Keith,” he tells Currents News. “You never have to ask twice and he’ll do anything, anything for you. He’s always around, he’s always looking at the positive side of it.”

Goldberg says he’s not sure how many more years he’ll be lugging equipment around this yard, but for now, he’ll power forward.

“The faith is at the center of it,” he says, “and to do something that is not specifically church, but brings everybody involved and keeps people focused on their association with the parish is very important to me.”

Now you know Keith Goldberg from St. Francis de Sales and how he makes up the pulse of the parish.

Catholic News Headlines for Wednesday 12/18/2024

With just a week until Christmas, The Tablet is on a mission to ensure every child in the Diocese of Brooklyn has a gift to unwrap. Volunteers at a local non-profit, ‘Make a Difference,’ are busy wrapping presents, thanks to funds raised by the newspaper’s Bright Christmas initiative.

So far, tens of thousands of dollars have been collected, but more support is needed to reach even more families in need. Find out tonight how you can get involved and make a difference this Christmas!
Keith Goldberg, the driving force behind the success of St. Francis de Sales’ Summer Classic basketball league, is tonight’s Pulse of the Parish.

The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Really Does ‘Make a Difference’

By Katie Vasquez and John Alexander

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — When a 12-year-old girl asked the Make a Difference Christmas organization for oil for Christmas, its founder, Thomas Flood, said he initially thought she was referring to body oil or oil for a diffuser.

As it turned out, the girl meant oil for her home because they had no heat or hot water.

“So on Christmas Eve, we had 60 gallons of heating oil delivered,” Flood said.

That is just one example he shared of how Make a Difference Christmas has helped children and families over the years. The organization was founded by Flood and Ann Turner 29 years ago to collect and distribute Christmas gifts and essential items for children and families in need.

Last year, with the help of donations from Bright Christmas and others, the organization delivered gifts to 1,000 children. In addition, it provided 300 children with hats, gloves, socks, shoes or sneakers, two outfits, two pajamas, and one wish list item — ranging from a Barbie doll to a train set to an iPad.

In the early days, the direction of Make a Difference Christmas was shaped by Turner’s father, Deacon Tom Heaphy, who collected and distributed Christmas gifts from the basement of St. Mary Gate of Heaven Parish in South Ozone Park.

Now approaching its third decade, Make a Difference Christmas fulfills a desire to help children and the less fortunate with toys, clothes, and other necessities during the

Christmas season — something Flood said was inspired by his Catholic faith, family life, and education.

“Everything we were taught  [in Catholic schools] about being there for others resonated with me,” Flood said. “But that was not the first time I heard that. There were seven of us in my family, and my parents taught us how to be people for others and it manifested through our Jesuit Catholic education.”

Flood is a graduate of Holy Child Jesus Catholic Academy in Richmond Hill, Regis High School in the Upper East Side, and Boston College. He has spent his professional career with Catholic entities, including 11 years with the Diocese of Brooklyn. He is currently the vice president of institutional advancement at St. Thomas Aquinas College.

The story of the young girl asking for oil was just one instance Flood shared of the impact Make a Difference Christmas makes. He also told of the organization securing baseballs signed by the New York Mets’ Peter Alonso for two young boys whose mother is ill and delivering presents to the home of a five-year-old girl whose mother is terminally ill with cancer, and unable to shop for Christmas.

He also highlighted the time a grandfather approached the organization on behalf of his granddaughter, whose dream was to attend Xaverian High School.

“We rallied eight or nine friends, and with Make a Difference as the conduit, we have been paying a portion of her tuition,” Flood said. “And while we are giving something to someone to change their lives, the truth is they are changing our lives.”

Flood said his work with Make a Difference Christmas is fulfilling and meaningful.

“My friend Ann and I find it an honor to be the facilitator of other people’s charity. This legacy has been entrusted to us to carry on, and now we are starting to get our children involved,” Flood said. “Whether it’s wrapping gifts, giving gifts, delivering gifts — it’s a very, very rewarding experience.”

How to Help

If you’d like to donate, visit thetablet.org/brightchristmas.
Or, write a check made out to “The Tablet’s Bright Christmas” and mail it to:
The Tablet Bright
Christmas Fund
856 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238

TONIGHT AT 7: ‘Make a Difference Christmas’ Supports Families Through Bright Christmas Fund

By Currents News

Elves are hard at work getting ready for Christmas, but not at Santa’s workshop. At Thomas Flood’s home the organization “Make a Difference Christmas” is making holiday magic for hundreds of kids thanks to The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Campaign. Katie Vasquez unwraps all the details for us tonight. 

How to Help

If you’d like to donate, visit thetablet.org/brightchristmas.
Or, write a check made out to “The Tablet’s Bright Christmas” and mail it to:
The Tablet Bright
Christmas Fund
856 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11238

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday 12/17/2024

The Gianna Center is providing faith-based alternatives to in-vitro fertilization for Catholic couples facing infertility.

A deadly shooting at a Wisconsin Christian school left two victims dead, with the suspected 15-year-old student shooter dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A new documentary offers a glimpse into the inspiring life of Father Rafael Fabretto, founder of a non-profit aiding Central American children.

Pope Francis celebrates his 88th birthday today, marking him as the third-oldest pope in office, with achievements including 47 international trips, 300 general audiences, and 900 saints canonized.

Gianna Center Helps Couples Conceive Through NaPro Technology

By Jessica Easthope 

For a mother there’s no sweeter sound than hearing your children enjoy themselves during a day out. For Lindsay Scully that sound has amplified – and multiplied – over the years.

“In the beginning, three boys under five was challenging but amazing,” she tells Currents News. “They fight with each other, they wrestle with each other, but they love each other and they love us.”

There was a time in life when Lindsay and her husband Glenn never thought they’d hear the sound of life and laughter in their home.  

“Maybe God was not allowing us to have children at that time. We saw that all our friends and family were having children, and that was frustrating,” explains Glenn. 

After trying for years to get pregnant Lindsay was wrongly diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome and advanced ovarian age. The couple was told that in vitro fertilization was their only hope, but that option never felt right. That’s when they discovered the Gianna Center, New York’s only pro-life reproductive health center. There is where they met the center’s medical director, Dr. Anne Nolte. 

“Dr. Nolte listened to all of my symptoms,” Lindsay recalls. “She listened to what everybody else had diagnosed me with. And within that very first visit, she actually diagnosed the issue.”

“In the field of women’s health, there’s actually very little, little real effort made to identify the underlying reason a person is having the issue that they’re having,” Dr. Nolte explains. 

Lindsay’s new – and correct – diagnosis ended up being endometriosis. 

Dr. Nolte introduced the couple to NaProTECHNOLOGY, short for natural procreative technology. She said it’s an effective alternative to fertility treatments and procedures that can often do more harm than good. 

“In a woman’s reproductive system intervening with her menstrual fertility cycle, if it’s with medicine she doesn’t need,  the treatment actually becomes the cause of the infertility,” Dr. Nolte tells Currents News.

Today those boys – Craig, Jude and Theo – are proof not just for Lindsay and Glenn but for couples everywhere that hope does exist beyond a diagnosis especially, when your doctor really hears you.

Lindsay remembers a time after her endometriosis surgery when Dr. Nolte prayed with her.

“She said, ‘Okay, you know, we’ve done what we have to do. Let’s just say a prayer.’ And we said a prayer. And then within weeks, I didn’t even have to come back for the follow up appointment because then we were pregnant,” Lindsay says. 

“God actually really is present in their suffering. And when we pray together, I do believe that many couples feel his presence,” Dr. Nolte tells Currents News.

For the first time in their fertility journey Lindsay and Glenn had left the doctor’s office with more answers than questions. 

In the 15 years since the Gianna Center opened, more than 2,000 couples have conceived using the NaProTECHNOLOGY approach. 

To learn more about the Gianna Center, go to their website, catholichealthli.org/gianna-center.

Catholic News Headlines for Monday 12/16/2024

St. Catherine of Genoa Church celebrates a heartfelt homecoming months after a destructive fire with Bishop Robert Brennan celebrating Mass in the main church for the first time in months.

Multiple casualties are reported after a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Wisconsin.

Our Lady of Peace Church in Gowanus marked its 125th anniversary with a Mass, dinner, and the unveiling of a restored 90-year-old Blessed Mother statue.

Pope Francis visited Corsica, delighted by the children, but skipped his in-flight press conference for the first time in his papacy.

Bishop Brennan Reflects on Gaudete Sunday and the Symbolism of the Advent Wreath

Bishop Robert Brennan shared reflections on Gaudete Sunday during his *Big City Catholics* podcast, marking the halfway point of Advent. He discussed the significance of the Advent wreath, where three purple candles represent prayer, penance, and preparation, while the rose candle, lit this past Sunday, symbolizes joy and the tradition of rejoicing in this sacred season.

Catholic Charities Toy Shop Provides Thousands of Christmas Gifts to Families in Need

By Jessica Easthope

‘Twas a few weeks before Christmas, a line started to form in St. Vincent Ferrer Church in East Flatbush, Brooklyn – the basement was nice and warm.

Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens once again answers the call with gifts to make Christmas perfect for one and all.

“For many children, this is the only gift that will be under their tree this year. And we’ve had parents crying by the fact that they’re able to provide at least a gift for their child,” Debbie Hampson, Senior Director of Community Outreach Services at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ) tells Current News.

Toys of all kinds separated by age, these families aren’t here to beat the shopping craze. 

They come from all over with every type of need hoping to put something under the tree.

“This is a great opportunity. It helps me focus on other things I can get my kids,” Jessica McLaurin, a parent at the toy shop says.

“It’s very emotional. Especially when they open it and they see it,” says Domonique Powell, who also came to the toy shop. “And they have gratitude the same way I have gratitude. It brings a smile to their face every time.”

CCBQ’s toy shop comes with personal shopper elves to help families grab gifts off the shelves.

You can pick a game, a doll or something that bounces, and magically they’ll show up at each of your houses.

“The parent isn’t on their own. And what’s great is that the shopper elf, after going around a few times, they know where things are,” explains Hampson.

Santa gets all the credit as everyone knows, but the truth is moms and dads are the real heroes.

“I put in the hard work as a mother to get them something special for the holidays and also give to other kids as well,” McLaurin tells Currents News.

Out of 4,000 toys every kid gets one from their list. For many it’s plenty – a childhood christmas wish.

These people say they love the compassion that’s expressed.

“Giving is really is what the season is about,” says Hampson.

“It’s a beautiful blessing. I thank God, I do,” adds Powell.

Somehow, God always handles the rest.