Hospitaller’s Meeting

On Thursday, October, 16^th, 2014, Regional Hospitallers from all 25 regions of the Federal Association met in Washington, DC to discuss the state of affairs in their respective regions. The Hospitallers began their meeting with a special mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, starting off this day with prayer and the Eucharist.

After the mass, the Hospitallers met at the Mayflower Hotel and began a day-long series of discussions, meant to share ideas among the Hospitallers, as well as give feedback to the Board of Directors. For the majority of the day, the Regional Hospitallers broke into four groups of 7-8 people in order to have a more in-depth discussion on certain topics, and were tasked with giving a report to the entire group on their particular topics at the end of the day. Some of the break-out topics included: communications, recruitment of new members, spirituality, fundraising and grants, and regional projects.

Lancaster, PA Regional Hospitaller Peter Scudner reflected that it “is so important to gather as a group and share our experiences among the regions.” He continued, “We are a religious community, and we must gather in prayer and work together. Providing ideas to each other reinforces this bond of community and family that we have developed as a group.”

After the breakout sessions were concluded, several members of the Board of Directors including Federal Association President Margaret Melady and Vice-President Fra’ Tom Mulligan, joined the meeting to hear the reports generated by the group discussions. They were able to ask questions of the Hospitallers, as well as answer questions that the Hospitallers had for them. Hospitallers were also introduced to the new members of the Federal Association staff, including new Executive Director Deacon Michael J. Stankewicz.

What was clear from the reports and discussion was that most Regional Hospitallers were very happy with the Order and the Association, while at the same time recognizing areas that were deemed “opportunities for growth.”

One of the themes of the discussion centered on the process of engaging our members, whether those members are still in formation, current active members, or some of our more ”seasoned” and retired members. Another major area of discussion was how to improve the level of communication between the Board of Directors, Regional Hospitallers and the members.

Federal Association Hospitaller Bob Signorelli reflected that "this meeting was about our officers hearing how our association can do things better, and support our regions more.” Mr. Signorelli continued to say, “the outcome was fantastic: we listened and learned; and we thank our Hospitallers for their direction and input."