NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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St. Dominic men’s conference draws record 157 Bishop Beckman joins a roster of speakers focused on the theme of ‘Weathering the Storm’ By Dan McWilliams
DAN MCWILLIAMS
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he fifth annual Appalachian Highlands Men’s Conference at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport on Feb. 28 drew a record 157 attendees, with Bishop Mark Beckman on hand to give his advice on how the participants could cope in “Weathering the Storm,” the event’s theme taken from Psalm 130:1. The conference is open to men from Tennessee and southwestern Virginia, and while it draws many parishioners of St. Dominic and St. Mary in Johnson City in upper East Tennessee, this year’s event attracted men from as far away as Knoxville, Chattanooga, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Bishop Beckman said he enjoyed seeing a group of men assembled for one purpose. “It’s fantastic. It’s great to see a roomful of men who have set aside an entire day just to be with each other and with God,” he said, adding that the conference “is a spiritual shot in the arm. ‘Weathering the storms of life’ was the topic, and everyone has storms to weather, and giving men an opportunity to reflect and have tools to weather the storms in life is very helpful.” The printed program for the conference states that the gathering “is an opportunity for men to make new friends, learn more about their faith, and build the spiritual muscle needed to survive the challenges they face in the modern world.” Bishop Beckman spoke to attendees in the parish life center after lunch and later celebrated Mass in
‘On being priests, prophet, and king’ Bishop Mark Beckman delivers a talk to the men assembled in the parish life center basement meeting room at St. Dominic Church in Kingsport for the fifth annual Appalachian Highlands Men’s Conference. the church with host pastor Father Michael Cummins and St. Dominic associate pastors Father Bede Aboh and Father Anselm Edu. Deacon Bob Lange of St. Dominic was deacon of the altar, and Deacon Vic Landa of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Harriman was deacon of the Word. Deacon Frank Fischer of the host parish served as master of ceremonies. Conference facilitator Kevin Musser, Grand Knight of Knights of
Columbus Council 6992 at St. Dominic, proclaimed the first reading at Mass. Parishioner Steve Hrivnak provided the music for the liturgy. Knights State Deputy Eric Pelton of St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga attended the conference, which was emceed by Paul Vachon of St. Dominic. Keynote speakers were Father John Orr, pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Knoxville, and Steve
Hemler. Breakout sessions were led by Father Orr, Mr. Hemler, Father Cummins, Deacon Landa, Jonathan Cardinal, Paul Simoneau, Jimmy Dee, and Father Tom Lawrence of St. Anne Parish in Bristol, Va.
Beloved sons of God
Bishop Beckman spoke on several points in his talk in the downstairs meeting room of the parish life Men’s conference continued on page B2
Clerical father, son tackle Camino in return trip By Bill Brewer
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he Camino de Santiago has many stories to share over its more than 1,000-year history. Now add to those a unique father-and-son, Father-and-Deacon pilgrimage. The clerical combination is Joe Herman, father to Danny Herman, with the twist that Father Danny Herman is an associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and son to Deacon Joe Herman, who serves at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Mountain City. The familial/vocational tandem made a return visit to the Camino on Sept. 25 for a weeklong trek along part of the multi-route journey in the footsteps of St. James the Apostle. It was a matter of settling unfinished business. In their first walk along the Way of St. James, Father Herman and Deacon Herman, with son and brother Josh Herman, set out to complete the 500-mile route that began in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, and was to end in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The trio initially took on the Camino in 2019, when Deacon Herman was in his second year of diaconate formation for the Diocese of Knoxville and Father Herman was studying at St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology. “He was in discernment and I was still in discernment. And this was something he wanted to do, so Father Danny and my youngest son, Josh, and I went. We did that
in June of 2019. It was a good experience for the most part. But I got really bad blisters about two weeks in. I took a day or two off hoping they would heal, but it wasn’t enough time for them to heal,” Deacon Herman recalled. Deacon Herman decided to end his pilgrimage early, and he and Josh returned home after two weeks. But Father Herman completed the 500-mile journey solo. Deacon Herman explained that Father Herman was gone about six weeks on that first trip. Memories of that incomplete adventure gnawed at Deacon Herman for six years and enticed him to return. “I don’t know if that was a good thing. But I felt like it was a little bit of pride because I had gotten the blisters. I kind of felt like I had gotten whipped,” the deacon said, laughing. “I wasn’t as well prepared on the first trip as I should have been. My blister issues were because I didn’t have the right shoes, plus I was between 20 and 30 pounds heavier at that time.” Last spring, Father Herman asked Deacon Herman about a return pilgrimage. There was no hesitation—Deacon Herman was in. The trio became a duo as Josh was unable to make the trip. And the father-son/Father-Deacon team departed from Knoxville, flew into Paris, and took a train to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, where they would retrace their steps but not go the entire 500 miles. This time, the
COURTESY OF DEACON JOE HERMAN
Father Danny Herman and Deacon Joe Herman take on historic trek in the footsteps of St. James
First day Deacon Joe Herman (left) and Father Danny Herman stand in front of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on the day they arrived in France from the United States. journey would end in Pamplona, Spain, due to time constraints.
Deacon Herman, who is 57 and Camino continued on page B3