Regional Minister’s Message for May 2024
Greetings to all my sisters and brothers in the St. Margaret of Cortona Region. This is my inaugural message to you as your new regional minister. I have three topics to cover: The results of the regional election, a brief bio of me, and two important upcoming events for the region.
As most of you know, there was a regional election held on Saturday April 20, 2024, and a new regional council was elected as follows: Minister, Gary Burton; Vice Minister, Michael Oliver; Secretary, Maria Martinez; Treasurer, Randy Bender; Formation Director, Rita Colleran; Area Councilor for Northern Maryland/Southern Pennsylvania, Michael Huether; Area Councilor for Central/Southern Maryland/Delaware, Toby Harkleroad; Area Councilor for Metro DC, Mary Badjo; and Virginia Area Councilor, Sita Chakrawarti. Please see the photograph on our website at https://saintmargaretofcortona.org/council/ where everyone is listed in the above order from left to right. Their email addresses are listed on the same webpage referenced so feel free to reach out to congratulate them if you haven’t already done so. Additionally, I thank my sisters and brothers of the new council for their willingness to exercise their servant leadership and thank our outgoing council as well for their service and hard work during the last three years.
A little background about me. I am a cradle Catholic currently retired from careers in the military, civilian government service, and consulting, and living in Dumfries, Virginia. I am divorced and have two wonderful adult children, Sarah who is living and working as an esthetician in San Francisco, and Sean, a
social worker, who just moved home to Virginia from Tacoma, Washington. I’ve been a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Triangle, Virginia for over the last 25 years, and I am currently a member of the St. Francis of Assisi (SFA) Fraternity of Triangle, Virgina. I’ve been associated with the Third Order
Secular Franciscans since October of 2011, and was professed on October 11, 2014. Prior to my profession, I was appointed and served as Treasurer of my fraternity in 2014, elected as Formation Director in 2017, and elected as its Minister in 2020.
As you will see in the newsletter, there are a few exciting things that the region has planned in the upcoming months of this year. The Regional Formation Directors’ Retreat is scheduled for June 21-23, 2024, at the Washington Retreat House in Washington, D.C. The theme this year is “The Franciscan Way of Servant Leadership to Guide and Animate.” It is intended for fraternity Formation Directors and formation team members and if you have any questions, please contact our Regional Formation Director, Rita Colleran (rlcolleran10@gmail.com).
Finally, our Chapter of Mats is scheduled for September 6-8, 2024, at the Claggett Center in Adamstown, Maryland. Unlike a retreat, our upcoming Chapter of Mats will be a time for us to collect as a family to celebrate our past, present, and future; with an emphasis on listening and talking with one another in small groups. The planning committee and subcommittees are working hard to deliver the best program they can for all our members. The venue is said to be first-rate, and prayer and liturgy will be a centerpiece of our experience that weekend. For more information, please visit our website: https://saintmargaretofcortona.org/upcoming-events/
That’s all for now and speak with you next time.
Pax,
Gary Burton, OFS
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