March 1994
ICCRS Council Meeting
The ICCRS Council met in Rome during March 1994 and made a number of changes to its Council and Staff. During the meeting the Council celebrated Mass with the Holy Father and spent time with its Episcopal Advisor, Bishop Paul J. Cordes.
Sr Nancy Kellar named ICCRS Director
Sister Nancy Kellar, SC, a leader for many years in the USA was named to succeed Father Ken Metz as director of the ICCRS office in Rome. The ICCRS Council gave Sister Nancy a three year term from January, 1995, to December, 1997.
Sr. Nancy was born and raised in Manhattan, in the heart of New York City. She has been a Sister of Charity of New York for the past 33 years and thought history in New York secondary schools. She has earned a Masters degrees in History and Pastoral Ministry/Spirituality.
In 1970 she experienced being baptized in the Holy Spirit through the ministry of the late Father Jim Ferry. Together with Fr. Jim she was co-founder of the first charismatic House of Prayer in the US. She witnessed to Cardinal Suenens about the charismatic renewal and the charismatic gifts when he was quietly discerning its authenticity.
She is co-founder and director of the St. Elizabeth Seton House of Prayer in Scarsdale, New York. She has served as a coordinator of the renewal in the Archdiocese of New York for 9 years and a member of the US National Service Committee since 1984. Her work for the NSC included travelling in 40 states assessing and serving the needs of the renewal, teaching in the NSC’s videotape series on leadership formation, co-authoring a book on faith sharing in the renewal, and representing the CCR on the ecumenical committee which sponsored the large gatherings at Indianapolis and New Orleans.
In 1992, Sr. Nancy was named a member of the ICCRS Council. Sr. Nancy is excited about this opportunity to serve Lord and the Church.
“In the leadership roles that I have held in the past the Lord has given me gifts of vision, of treating, and of building unity. I have also been able to draw out the gifts of others and hope to do this again with gifted people on the Council and in leadership around the world”.
Father Ken Metz will complete his term on the last day of 1994. His future is, as he says, “in the hands of the Lord”.
More Council News
In other action, Mr. Charles Whitehead was reelected as ICCRS President with his term to end in March, 1997.
The ICCRS Council also named Mr. Henri Lemay from Canada as an ICCRS representative to North America and Mr. Mark Nimo from Ghana an ICCRS representative to English speaking Africa. They were elected for three years terms beginning next March. Henri replaces Doug Cherry, who will be available for consultation in financial matters. Mark replaces Dr. Pius Okong. The Council thanked both Doug and Pius for their outstanding service to the renewal both in their home continents and the world.
Henri Lemay is French Canadian by birth, bilingual, and a renewal leader in Ottawa since 1975. A teacher by profession, he is currently the Department Head of Student Services for two high schools.
In the renewal he has been director of a retreat center, founder of a Christian coffee hose, the general session coordinator of renewal conferences, and the general manager of FCCO, a charitable organization which produces and airs French Christian TV programs. Presently he is president of Jesus Gathers His People, a charitable organization of Catholic laity committed to evangelization through the Catholic charismatic renewal.
Mark Nimo is an unmarried man in his early thirties who has been a member of the National Service Team in Ghana for the past 5 years. He has founded and taught in schools of evangelization within the charismatic renewal in both Uganda and Ghana. He has been involved with outreaches to eastern African countries as well as recently in Liberia. He is talented in music and has compiled song books for use in Uganda. He is a graduate teacher by profession.
Mrs. Maria Lucia Vianna of Brazil was elected to a second three year term to represent ICCRS to Portuguese speaking Latin America.
BRIAN SMITH: CFCCC
Mr. Brian Smith completed many years of service to ICCRS at the meeting. He will continue working with ICCRS as a consultant representing the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities. The statues of ICCRS state that a special relationship exists between ICCRS and the Fraternity. His position as a consultant to ICCRS will ensure the continuance of this relationship.
Taken from the ICCRS Newsletter, May-June 1994
