FORT LORAMIE – Staying strong and true in their faith, in everyday life and when in the face of adversity, was the message sent to a large crowd of Catholic men who gathered for the seventh Annual Fort Loramie Men’s Conference Saturday. Speakers included a native Shelby Countian and former leader of a local church.
With a theme of “Run the Race, Keep the Faith” a record-setting crowd of 225 men and youth, representing 15 area Catholic parishes, were in attendance for the event. A staff of 25 volunteers helped make the conference a success, said co-organizer Kevin Musser, of Fort Loramie.
Musser said the attendance has grown each year noting only 34 men attended the first year. He was pleased that fathers with teenage and preteen sons attended together hoping to strengthen their family unit.
The Rev. Dan Schmitmeyer, a 1985 graduate of Anna High School, was the keynote speaker. He also headed up the Holy Angels Church in Sidney prior to joining the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 2014, where he now serves as director of the Office of Vocations.
Other speakers included the Rev. Tony Stephens, director of Field Education at The Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati; Jack Albers, of Celina, former basketball coach and teacher at Marion Local and Lehman Catholic high schools; and local deacons, Marty Brown, of St. Marys, and Matt Keller of Maria Stein.
Schmitmeyer said men, especially those with families, are busy people in earning a living, being a strong husband for their wives, caring for their children, parents and grandparents consumes their lives. Making time for God during these times can be difficult, but one of the most important aspects of their life.
He spoke of building the foundation of their lives on a rock. Men should ask themselves “Who does God want me to be?” in knowing that God is the rock of their foundation. “He just has to be our foundation … he has to be,” Schmitmeyer added.
He suggested men start praying for just five minutes a day. He said men should become “friends with God” and learn more about Him. “If you think something is important, you will put the time into to it make it happen.”
Schmitmeyer said God is disappearing from today’s secular world. But added, “People are hungry (for God). Don’t be afraid to have Jesus in your everyday life.”
Being a good husband and a strong, faith-filled father leads to what he called life’s main priority.
“Our number one goal in our life is to go to heaven. Advice I always give to couples I counsel is to marry a person who is going to help you get to heaven,” Schmitmeyer concluded.
Stephens address fathers-sons faith lives
Stephens spoke about the message fathers send to their sons about life. He referenced I Kings 2:1-4 when King David was speaking to his son, Solomon, and confessing all the wrongs he had done during his life. These included greed, adultery, and arranging the battlefield death of a romantic rival.
Stephens asked the crowd to think of the situations that had taken David to that point in his life. He explained that David began as a simple shepherd in his teen years, but an encounter with a giant Philistine named Goliath immediately took him from a quiet life to an acclaimed war hero thrusting him into the public eye.
Speaking of David’s confession, Stephens said, “Be strong and be yourself as a man. God doesn’t want people to dwell on their mistakes.”
He used several comparisons between men and boys noting self-centeredness, lack of responsibility, and material possessions. He referred to Psalms 16, 51, 22 and 23 in getting through these life challenges with God as a partner in their lives.
“Just say that you know everything is going to be all right. I just need to hang on,” said Stephens.
Former coach Albers tells of God’s plan
Albers was well-known to most of the men gathered. He is the all-time winningest basketball coach at Marion Local with 290 lifetime wins. His courtside success was well-known by most.
Albers spoke of his meager upbringing, and life circumstances creating hardships when his family stood strong to care for each other. When he announced he was going to go to college, it didn’t deter the family.
He spoke of his checkered college career and being drafted into the U.S. Army. He avoided being inducted by joining the military reserves and was able to start teaching at Marion Local.
Albers said God had His hand in all that was handed to him in his life, both good and bad. In knowing that, the former coach said he was able begin making sense that God indeed had a plan and direction for his life.
He soon embraced educating young minds and excelled in the field being recognized by state educators. He told of shelving plans he had of making “big money” with his college degree in business in hand.
The difference he noted was that each student was a special child of God.
“I’ve done everything to stay in teaching. I drove a bus, was a bartender, worked at the carryout, and many things to put food on the table for my family,” Albers said.
“I know one thing for sure. I never taught anyone who wasn’t special.”
