Over one hundred golfers joined together at the The Inn at St. John's golf course in Plymouth, Michigan, on Monday, September 18, for Sacred Heart Major Seminary’s thirty-fifth annual Desert Golf Classic.
The event serves as the primary fundraiser for the Desert Formation Experience, a thirty-day spiritual pilgrimage made every spring by first-year graduate seminarians, visiting the sacred sites of the Holy Land. The DFE gives seminarians the opportunity to walk and pray in the very land where Jesus walked, taught, and worked his miracles. The trip concludes with a visit to the city of Rome that includes a Wednesday audience with the Holy Father. (Witness the journey yourself by following the seminarian's 2017 pilgrimage blog at desertformation.org.).
The thirty-fifth annual golf outing commenced with a continental breakfast before the 11:00 AM tee-time. Golfers then enjoy a day on the course, meeting and getting to know the seminarians. The day of golf is followed by a cocktail hour reception and dinner, giving golfers time to relax and compare scores with other players. The evening is topped off with a fishbowl raffle, award presentation, and trophies for the teams that finish in the first three spots.
"I just think it's important to support these young men in their faith life. They've chosen to follow Christ and to get them over to the Holy Land, I think it's a special part of their formation,” said Sacred Heart supporter Salvatore Simone. "There's plenty of good causes out there and plenty of golf outings, but this one here is very focused on raising those funds to help these seminarians, once again for their faith formation. So you can see the dollars at work here."
Team members Joe Kloka, Ron Silos, Harvey Braun, Tim Lafferty, and Fr. Joe Romano won the first-place trophy this year. Other prize winners were Todd Stevens (closest to the pin), and Mike Kerby (accuracy shot).
Much gratitude goes out to these 2017 Desert Classic sponsors: 35th Anniversary Sponsor: Ka-wood Gear & Machine Co.; Title Sponsor: St. Catherine of Siena Academy in Wixom through the generosity of a mutual friend of Sacred Heart Major Seminary; Event Sponsor: Knights of Columbus, Michigan State Council; Breakfast Sponsor: Webber Development Company, LLC; Lunch Sponsors: Brad & Mariann Merrelli, RMW Productions LLC, Solomon Plumbing, St. John Neumann Parish, and Wallcovering Plus, Inc.; Reception Sponsors: CFCS, A ministry of the Archdiocese of Detroit; Dinner Sponsors: Bodman PLC, Urban Hubert, Brian & Debbi Maher, St. Kieran Catholic Church, and Weingartz.
The thirty-sixth Desert Golf Classic will be held on September 17, 2018. Contact Emily Berschback, Sacred Heart's event manager, at 313-596-7424 or berschback.emily@shms.edu, for more information or visit our website desertgolfclassic.com.
