Saturday, July 28, 2012
10:00 AM COMMUNION
Chapel of Holy Child

RR Gene Savoy, Jr
Lector: RC Bob Petrovich
Cantor: Rev. Mike Tamburello
Reader: Claudia Grady
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

Sunday, July 29, 2012
5:46 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Pentecost

Leave: 4:30
Gate:5:25
Sunrise 6:01

RR Gene Savoy, Jr
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants:
RC Roger Weld
Rev. Ted Staver
RM Carol Ann Crabb
Organist: RC Gary Buchanan

OPEN-AIR COMMUNION
Church of the Races of Man                       Rev. Ben Hubbard
Church of the Christian Churches       Rev. Frank Burkitt
Church of the Americas                               Rev. Mike Spohn

Wednesday, August 1, 2012
5:46 AM NEW DIVINE SERVICE
Church of New Pentecost
New Covenant Day

RR Gene Savoy, Jr.
Concelebrant: RR Sean Savoy
Assistants:
RC Roger Weld
RC Bob Petrovich
RC Rebecca Willis

Wednesday, August 1, 2012
 12 N COMMUNION
Chapel of the Holy Child
Chancellery Closed
No Service

Friday, August 3, 2012
9:00 AM PRAYER & FELLOWSHIP
Chapel of the Roses
Rev. Mike Tamburello

PHOTO: Roger Weld

In commemoration of Easter as celebrated in the West, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. delivered an Easter message following Chapel Service on Saturday, April 7, 2012. For publication in the Communique with good quality sound, his message is presented in six parts below. Click on them in succession to listen to the full homily message:

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 1

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 2

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 3

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 4

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 5

     2012 Easter Sermon Part 6

In commemoration of the annual celebration of the Lord’s Supper, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. delivered a homily message on the evening of Thursday, April 5, 2012, in the Chapel of the Holy Child.

< To listen to this holiday message, click here. > (NOTE: This 20-minute message is a 7 MB download.)

Duncan MacLean circa 1994

The life of Duncan MacLean, a longtime friend of The Community, was celebrated Saturday, June 18, 2011, at one o’clock in the afternoon at the Chapel of The Holy Child. More than two hundred were in attendance. A wake followed at Clary’s Bar and Grill in Reno.

The service, full of music and fond memories, was presided over by the Rt. Rev. Gene Savoy Jr. Duncan’s wife, the love of his life, Elizabeth, delivered a heartfelt and beautifully composed eulogy in memory of her many years with Duncan. Memories were shared by Mr. Donnie Macdonald and Mrs. Phyl Smith, who were friends of Duncan for nearly thirty years, and the Rt. Rev. Sean Savoy, who shared harrowing and happy memories of Duncan from expeditions to Peru in 2000 and 2005 as well as reading the well-known “Desiderata,” which contained words that Duncan tried to live by. (Read the Order of Service here from the memorial program: DuncanMaclean.memorial.program.)

The memories shared by Donnie Macdonald follow:

I am Donnie Macdonald, from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and I came over to the Los Angeles area 28 years ago next week. I am here today with my wife Phyllis, who is my reason for moving to the Sacramento area, and we have been living in Citrus Heights for almost 20 years. Our daughter Fiona is very fond of Duncan and Elizabeth, and in our household we refer to Unkie Dunkie!

I knew Duncan before coming north. The Scottish Games in Dixon, Oakland, Santa Rosa, would have been where we got acquainted, although I don’t have a clear memory of meeting him. But suddenly he was there. Singing, chit-chatting, joking, taking the mickey, wearing the Hunting MacLean kilt, always in the best of spirits, and always ready for fun. Although I realized that this was a person of great significance, I was not aware of his Scottish pedigree until much later when he told me stories about his father, Duncan MacLean Senior’s, stage career working with Harry Lauder back in the day. The gene of the entertainer was born in Duncan, and he embraced the Vaudeville spirit better than anyone I knew. He could focus on life’s experience, and compose a meaningful song to suit the day. Always the entertainer. Behind the footlights, or in a one on one conversation. Always the entertainer, open to creativity and looking for an angle.

Phyllis and I got married in Sept ’92. The reception was held in a modest club-house in the redwoods, by the Russian River, which reminded me of the typical village hall back home. Duncan and Elizabeth were there along with Kris Anderson and his wife Diana. At that time Duncan, Kris and I were having some musical fun together under the name of the Ceilidh Cowboys. Last week I sat through a few hours of video from that evening and was amazed to see Duncan singing a Harry Lauder medley. Why was that amazing? Because he had explained that he had learned it from an old 78 record that had a deep scratch, and in the interests of authenticity he invited a lady to join him at the mike to vocalize the scratch while he sang. It was a brilliant ploy, and instinctively spontaneous.

Later that same evening the very static, tripod mounted, video camera was trained on the vacant mike stand, while people danced to a variety of taped music. Then the song Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers is filling the room on the audio. Just when it starts Duncan happens to be walking past this vacant mike stand and immediately puts his glass down and gets behind the mike and expressively mimes the song. When it came to that high note, his whole body was arched back. Duncan would never miss a trick. And you will all have your own personal examples of that.

Duncan laid all the bricks in our front yard, and there are a lot of them. I acted as his labourer, and with full awareness of my own lack of skill, I would respond to the most mundane task with a cheerful “Where I shine”. Duncan tried this phrase out on some labourers around the Reno building sites to no avail. They were not in that groove, I guess.

When Duncan and Elizabeth got married at the Sacramento Games in Roseville, Don MacRae was officiating, Dani was the bride’s maid, and I was the best man. It was easy. There was no rehearsal that I can remember. Don MacRae told me that it would be a little different, but not to worry, I had only to get two things right. Make sure I have the ring, and secondly, when Don walked around the couple with a stick leaving a circular mark in the soil, I was to take the broom and circle the couple obliterating the marks left by the stick. Well, that all happened just as planned, but on taking this broom in my hands I had time to catch Duncan’s eye and mouth the phrase, “Where I shine”.

The night before the wedding I took Duncan to the Irish Pub & Restaurant Gallagher’s on Folsom Blvd. They served real good lamb shanks, and that is what we both had that night.

Speaking of food, one night back in the 90’s, Duncan and I had a marathon at our kitchen table in Citrus Heights. We had had pasta for dinner at 7pm. Around 9pm Phyllis and Fiona went off to bed. Duncan and I are chatting and listening to a cassette of the Glasgow folk singer Matt McGinn, and there is a bottle of Bowmore single malt on the table. Trader Joe held the price at $24.99 for the longest time, which pleased Duncan. Around 10pm we get a little peckish and we finish off the pasta. Around 2am Duncan confessed that he could eat something given the opportunity. The fridge did not have much to offer except a few tortillas. In the garage I found a frozen 10 pound chunk of haggis, broke off a piece and nuked it. We ended up the night wondering if that was the first ever “Haggis Burritos”.

I don’t think we realized it at the time, but for the best part of a couple of decades we had been living in a kind of wilderness in comparison to what was to come later. I am talking about cable tv and the arrival of Fox Soccer Channel. Cultural manna called the English Premier League and the source of endless discussion, debate, and enjoyment. Duncan was on track to have been a professional soccer player himself until a knee injury suffered in his late teens forced that carreer change. He had great insight into the game, and it was the easiest thing to pass an hour on the phone every day during the last years of his illness. Before that, of course, he was healthy and busy and working, and we would only chat occasionally.

We are all experiencing a great loss, and especially Elizabeth, with Duncan’s passing. This kind of void does not get filled. It will always be just that – unfilled.

On a trip to Scotland back in the 90’s Duncan and Elizabeth went to the Isle of Lewis and visited with my parents. More recently I visited Duart Castle in Mull and saw Duncan in the group photos taken during the various clan parliaments. Duncan enjoyed looking at the Glasgow Herald on line, and he was always ready to pass on aspects of Scottish life that aroused his curiosity, and especially if it involved humour.

What I mean is this. That whole point of reference is now not there anymore, and will be so missed. But to follow Duncan’s example is to be up-beat and positive, to see the flask as half full, and not half empty. He had unfinished business what with the house construction and with researching his grandfather’s sea-faring exploits, and kept looking ahead towards retirement. So, to finish, in spite of the illness, and the phrase he coined “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired” Duncan MacLean never gave up.

PHOTO Stephan Fuelling

Pannuches Meal Rite
The 59th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 6:00 PM. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary Sunday, November 14, 2010.

The 60th Pannuches Meal Rite was held Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 6:00 PM. Jubilee Sunrise Divine Service was held in Sanctuary Sunday, January 2, 2011.

The traditional Christmas Day Service of Communion, Candle Lighting and Remembrance was held on Saturday, December 25, at 11:00 AM in The Chapel of The Holy Child. Members of the congregation were asked to bring a bouquet of flowers to place beneath the communion table prior to the service and a loaf of bread to place on the communion table for special blessing.

On Saturday December 25, 2010, Bishop Gene Savoy Jr. delivered a Christmas message during the traditional holiday Communion of Fellowship Service at the Chapel of the Holy Child. A slightly edited version of the message is provided here:

Good morning and Merry Christmas!

Those of us gathered together in this Chapel dedicated to the service of God are drawn together from many faiths, but we are all one in the family of God.

We celebrate today as the birthday of the man Jesus. For twelve days, we of the Second Advent Church celebrate the Christmas Season, which culminates on the thirteenth day—January 6—the Day of Epiphany.

Epiphany comes from the Greek, meaning “manifestation” or “appearance,” and in the early Church, January 6 was the day that commemorated Jesus’s baptism at the Jordan by Saint John. The day celebrates the “shining forth” [another meaning of epiphany] or revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ, his manifestation as the Son of God to the world—the Word of God incarnate in Man. The date of Epiphany on January 6 was very early fixed, and ancient liturgies speak of Illuminatio, Manifestatio, Declaratio: Illumination, Manifestation, and Declaration. The Gospel of Matthew [3:13-17] says:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

And the Gospel of Luke [3:21-22] says,

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.’

But a very important line has been deleted from both Matthew and Luke—one which is substantiated by other ancient scriptures more authoritative than Matthew and Luke. The line reads:

Today, or this day, I have begotten you.

So, let us read this again:

You are my son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. This day I have begotten you. [Emphasis added]

In the ancient Christian Church, just as in Buddhism, this divine event—this “appearance” or “epiphany”—was a manifestation of Jesus’s immortal nature. The day commemorated the incarnation of Jesus as Christ, the moment when God appeared in Divine Light and ordained Jesus His son in Spirit. Thus, Jesus was given a new birth by God the Father. So we know that Jesus was not “born” the Son of God, but became the Son of God when the Word, the Divine Logos, incarnated within him, giving him new life of spirit. This was a fundamental concept in the Messianic or First Advent Church: that Jesus became Christ. And this is why Epiphany and the Christmas-Epiphany Season is so important to us, because it represents and symbolizes the birth of spirit—the epiphany of the Conscious Soul.

I made the reference to Buddhism because while Buddhists celebrate the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama on April 8, the day of his “enlightenment”—the day when he became the Awakened One, Bodhi Day—is honored on December 8 at sunrise. And, of course, we do this in the Second Advent Church. We honor the birth of the man Jesus on December 25, the old Roman festival of the Unconquered Sun, but more importantly, we celebrate Jesus’s spiritual birth—the day when the Word of God entered into him and he assumed the Holy Office of Christ. This we do on January 6 as a promise of the spiritual rebirth we are all heir to in the Second Advent of God’s Appearance.

In hellenistic times, an epiphany of the divine in a person was a common theological concept. The celebration of Epiphany originated in the ancient Church, where it later included a commemoration of Christ’s physical birth in the Eastern Church. In Rome, however, by the middle of the fourth century, Christ’s physical birth was being celebrated on December 25, according to the Philocalian calendar.

A winter festival was the most popular festival of the year in many cultures. Reasons included the fact that less agricultural work needed to be done, as well as the expectation of better weather as spring approached.

The twenty-fifth of December was the Roman festival marking the “birth of the Unconquered Sun,” the natalis solis invicti, which celebrated the winter solstice and the lengthening of days. This celebration allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including the Syrian sun-god Elah-Gabal. It was also observed as the birth date of the god Mithras, the “sun of righteousness” and patron god of the emperors, who, five hundred years before the birth of Christ, was born of a virgin in a cave. We know that it was also connected in the Roman world to the saturnalia, a time of merrymaking and the exchanging of gifts. Charity was also emphasized as part of the Roman New Year.

The festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was the day that the sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be “unconquered.” Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. John Chrysostom wrote, “They call it the ‘Birthday of the Unconquered.’ Who indeed is so unconquered as Our Lord?”

Northern Europe celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held  in late December and early January, and its traditions had a major influence on Christemasse or Christ’s Mass.

In the old Christian calendar, November 28 through January 6 was observed as the Festival of Lights, a vigil for the birth of the Cosmic Christ. Japanese Shintos honor the sun goddess Amaterasu on December 22. In ancient Egypt, December 21 to December 25 was the festival commemorating the birth of the god Horus by the goddess Isis; and in the Hopi nation, December is celebrated as a time of purification and renewal. So we can see that this time of year is universally recognized as a time when we come out of the darkness into light.

The contradiction between the Greek and Roman Churches led to a great debate in the fourth and fifth centuries, which culminated in the Eastern Church accepting the twenty-fifth of December as Christ’s birth and the Western Church celebrating Epiphany as the day the Magi visited the infant Jesus.

In the Second Advent Church, we honor both days and celebrate the Christmas-Epiphany Season from December twenty-fifth through January sixth. We commemorate Christ’s birth in physical form, but, as we have said, more importantly, we solemnize his spiritual rebirth.

Therefore, the message of the season is life of spirit. That was the essence of Christ’s teaching. And this is what the Christmas Season represents: Life, Birth and Rebirth – the cycle of renewal.

The lights and trees we display this time of year have always been symbols of everlasting life. In ancient Egypt, China, Israel, and the Celtic lands, evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands were symbolic of eternal life. To us in the Second Advent Church, they also represent the True Light of God and the Tree of Life.

In the Middle Ages, Christmastide, or the period from the night of December 25 through the morning of January 6, was a period of continuous feasting and merrymaking. Twelfth night, or Epiphany Eve, as we call it, was forever solidified in popular culture when William Shakespeare used it as a setting for one of his most famous stage plays. In those times, Christmas was overshadowed by Epiphany.

British colonists to America brought their version of the Twelve Days over from England and adapted them to their new country, adding their own variations over the years. The modern-day Christmas wreath, for example, originated with these colonials. A homemade wreath would be fashioned from local greenery, and if fruits were available, they would be added. Making the wreaths was one of the traditions of Christmas Eve; then they would be hung on each home’s front door on Christmas Day, the First Day of Christmas, through the morning of Epiphany, when a special Epiphany cake was baked and all the remainder of the edibles from the previous twelve days consumed.

As said, this was a time of feasting, merrymaking, and otherwise celebrating the season. Sometimes gifts were exchanged each of the twelve nights and a candle lit each morning of the Twelve Days. And the evening before Epiphany was celebrated as the biggest night for dancing and gift-giving.

However, after the Revolution, Christmas and the Twelve Days fell out of favor in America because it was considered an English custom. It was not until the 1820s, when anti-British sentiments were fading, that people began to worry that Christmas was dying out. Writers, including Washington Irving and Harriet Beecher Stowe, imagined Christmas in Tudor days as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens’s book A Christmas Carol played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion, as opposed to communal celebration.

Latin nations also have various forms of celebrations for the Twelve Days of Christmas, the most popular being the cooking of traditional foods to celebrate Epiphany. In Hispanic America, a rosca de los reyes – a king cake – is baked. In France, a galette des rois is baked with a small china figure of the Christ-child inside. In some countries, children polish and leave their shoes by the doorstep, bed, or tree, ready for presents, before going to sleep on the eve of January 6. And in Italy, the tradition of La Befana, whose name is taken from the word Epiphany, is the bringer of gifts who arrives on the eve of Epiphany.

With the onset of more Americanized and secular traditions throughout the past two centuries, the traditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas have been largely forgotten. Indeed, contemporary marketing and media tend to espouse the erroneous belief that the Twelve Days end on Christmas, rather than begin on it. However, we of the Second Advent Community have held to our own favorite ways to celebrate the Christmas-Epiphany Season.

We are all both mortal and immortal beings. And as we feed our physical bodies we must also feed our spiritual bodies. Listen to the message conveyed by these words from the Odes of Solomon [Ode 38] that we recite at Christmastime.

I rested in the spirit of the Lord: and the spirit raised me on high. And made me stand on my feet in the height of the Lord, before His perfection and His glory, while I was praising Him by the composition of His songs.

The spirit brought me forth before the face of the Lord: and although I was a son of man, I was named the illuminate, a son of God. For according to the greatness of the Most High, so He made me: and like His own newness He renewed me, and He anointed me from His own perfection.

And I became one of His neighbors; and my mouth was opened, like a cloud of dew. And my heart poured out as it were a gushing stream of righteousness.

And my access to Him was in peace; and I was established by the spirit of His kingdom. And I went up to the light of truth which preserved me. And it became to me a haven of salvation and set me on the arms of immortal life.

Love begins in our family life, reaches out to our friends, and embraces our neighbors. Like a seed it must be planted before it can grow. Also, like a seed, it must be watered if it is to grow. A seed unwatered for many years will still grow many years later if it is given that precious and vital resource. If we can express love as we do at Christmastime throughout the whole year, we will begin to live the life exemplified by Jesus.

So let us each examine our hearts. The world and our flawed mortal natures take away our ability to love one another at times. This inability harms the spirit. Each one of us should strive to rise above the limitations of the physical world and embrace the spirit, which is expressed by love. By so doing, God comes to each of us, adopting us as His son or daughter; for we are all Children of God.

That is the message this Christmas Season. Let us make a commitment to each other today to love one another however unable we may have been able to previously express that love. We need to too. Let us make a commitment to forgive the transgressions of those we love and to make amends to those whom we may have transgressed upon.

In lighting the candles today in remembrance of those who have gone on to another life, let us place our trust in God who is the author of our spirit and soul. When death claims our physical bodies, it is the spirit and soul that endure and go on to a higher world if we can but experience the rebirth of spirit the we celebrate on January 6 . But if we not love – even if that love is not accepted – our spirits fade like a flame, ultimately going out. Love kindles and brightens the spirit and the soul. By loving we are made eternal, for God is Love. Love binds us to those departed, to those about us while we live, and it binds us to God. For if we do not have love, compassion, and kindness in our hearts, how can we ever hope to know God? There is no enmity so hard that goodness cannot melt.

Therefore, on this day commemorating the birth of Jesus, let us make a renewal to exemplify what he taught. This, I believe is the message of the Christmas Season: to open our hearts, forgive the transgressions of our loved ones/brothers and sisters, and love one another.

Allow me to close this Christmas message with these words from the Gospel of John:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

[John 15:9-15]

I wish you all a very merry Christmas, a happy Epiphany, and a joyous New Year, filled with God’s many bountiful and beautiful blessings. Let us go forth from this place with renewed resolve to take the message of the Second Advent to all the world in greater power and glory, each of us shining like the Sun of Righteousness and striving to exemplify Christ in our daily lives.

A Christmas-Epiphany Vigil

The Twelve Days of Christmas, beginning Christmas Day and culminating Epiphany Day on January 6, are observed by the International Community of Christ in Reno.

On Christmas Day a traditional service is held at 11 am:
Chapel of the Holy Child
643 Ralston Street
Reno, Nevada 89503.

You are welcome to join us with your friends and family.

During the twelve days a Sunrise Divine Service
is held each morning:
Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary
5015 Matterhorn Blvd.
Reno, Nevada 89506

RSVP. For more information, e-mail info@communityofchrist.org or call (775) 786-7827

Wear comfortable attire:
Because of the outdoor venue, we recommend hat, warm jacket, and depending on the weather, comfortable, warm shoes or boots.

DIRECTIONS TO THE RED ROCK CONSECRATED SANCTUARY:
Take 395 North to Lemmon Drive, Exit 74.
Turn Right on Lemmon Drive.
Go approximately 4 miles to Waterash Street.
Turn Right on Waterash Street to Chesapeake Drive.
Turn Right on Chesapeake Drive.
Immediately turn Left on Matterhorn Blvd.
Continue 2 to 3 miles to 5015 Matterhorn Blvd.
The sanctuary gate is located on the right hand side just past and across from Sugarland Ranch Animal Sanctuary.

Dennis Gregory McDermott, the 18-year-old son of the Reverend Jim McDermott, died from fatal injuries sustained from an ATV accident on Sunday, July 4, 2010. A celebration of Dennis’ life was held in his hometown of Austin, Minnesota, at St. Edward’s Corcoran Center at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 11, 2010. Prayers were offered daily for the journey of Dennis’ spirit and for his family throughout the week of July 4 in the Chapel of the Holy Child of the International Community of Christ in Reno culminating with the lighting of the Memorial Candle during Communion of Fellowship Service on Saturday, July 10. Our thoughts are with Jim, Dennis’ mother, Caron, and his brother, Jimmy, at this time.

Link to the article on Dennis in the Austin Daily Herald July 8, 2010:

http://www.austindailyherald.com/news/2010/jul/08/hes-quite-dennis/

Link to the article on Dennis in the Austin Post Bulletin July 9, 2010:

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=460385&z=28

Link to the obituary for Dennis in Austin Daily Herald, July 12, 2010:

http://www.austindailyherald.com/obits/2010/jul/08/dennis-mcdermott/

Below is the obituary written by Dennis’ mother and brother, as it appeared July 12 in the Austin Daily Herald:

Dennis Gregory McDermott, 18, of Austin, died from fatal injuries sustained from an ATV accident on Sunday, July 4, 2010.

Dennis was born May 17, 1992, in Rochester, Minn., to James and Caron (Jagodzinski) McDermott.

Dennis’ exuberance for life was infectious. He never saw a camera or a microphone he didn’t like. The ultimate ham, his winning personality and bright smile brought a lift to everyone he dealt with. A teaser extraordinare, he could move a roomful of people to a state of enjoyment and laughter, especially those in the stands at his wrestling meets and bowling matches. Dennis followed his older brother, Jimmy, into the Austin Youth Wrestling program in early grade school. During those years he led the high school team onto the mat for their home wrestling meets, usually in his three-piece suit. For the last three years he was a member of the Austin High School Wrestling Team, actually winning one match on his own. He made Tough Club two years in a row and received four Wrestler of the Week awards. His unweighted GPA was 3.6, resulted in him receiving a Wrestling Academic Excellence Award. Since seventh-grade, Dennis bowled for the Adaptive Bowling Team. Altogether Dennis lettered seven times: two for wrestling and five for bowling. He received two Citizenship Awards due to his depthy understanding of people and his great ability to give. He also won a seat on the Student Council during the Southgate years. His favorite activity was going with his wing man/mentor, Sean Miland of REM. He had a special love for Sean and Sean’s family where he was known as “Uncle Dennis.” He enjoyed watching the “Dukes of Hazzard,” “Lethal Weapon,” and WWE, during which he acted out all the parts, memorizing the dialogue. His choice for music was Akon, and the “Now” compilations. He was a loyal KROC listener in the car, never allowing it to be turned to something else. Other favorite tunes were “Born to Be Wild” and the second “Steppenwolf” album. He always did what he enjoyed and was thrilled about. There was never any down time with Dennis. He inspired us to let go of the small irritations of life with constant reminders to “Relaax.”

Dennis is survived by his parents, James McDermott and Caron Jagodzinski; his two big brothers, Jimmy of LaCrosse, Wis., and Zach (Jenny) of Foster City, Calif.; his grandparents, James and Joyce Jagodzinski; aunts, uncles, many cousins and many friends whose lives he touched with his sparkle.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, James and Joyce McDermott, and his step-grandmother, Mary (Majerus) McDermott.

A celebration of Dennis’ life will be held at St. Edward’s Corcoran Center at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 11, 2010. Please bring your favorite Dennis story to share.