“What’s the quote of the day?” Raphell Thomas-Edwards, co-director of A&K Basketball Skills Clinic, asked the teenage boys from the Kids Cafe bouncing basketballs through their legs and around their backs.

“Practice makes perfect!” One of the young men shouted out.

“That’s the quote of the day,” Raphell responded, “but does practice really make perfect? No. If you practice something the wrong way, you will permanently do it wrong.”

Raphell is not only teaching the fine arts of basketball skills, he’s also teaching life skills during the three weeks of the...

For the past year preschool students at St. Benedict Child Development Center benefitted from the “Long Term Residency” program that brought the Erie Philharmonic to their classrooms. On Monday, August 7, the year came to an end with the donation of book bags filled with school supplies and household items including soap, socks, books and more. The donation was designed to help the children make the transition to Kindergarten in the upcoming school year. Steve Weiser, the Erie Philharmonic executive director said: “We’ve been helping the children with music lessons this summer and we...

Sisters Patricia Witulski and Valerie Luckey are moving forward. Each stage of initial formation is accompanied by vocation discernment and this discernment led both Sisters Pat and Valerie to make the request for final and first profession respectively.

On Saturday, August 5, after a community vote, Pat and Val received the blessing of their directors, Novice Director Sister Stephanie Schmidt and Scholasticate Director Sister Diane Rabe, the prioress, council and community. Profession dates will be scheduled in the fall.

Sister Pat is ministering with the refugees at St....

The church calendar marks August 6 as the feast of the Transfiguration, the day on which the disciples of Jesus encountered who Jesus really is when he was transformed in their midst. The shining glory of the Transfiguration (Luke 9: 28-36) draws attention to the identity of Jesus as God’s chosen and beloved one.

The civil calendar marks August 6 as the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima--the world’s first atomic bomb attack.

The Benedictine Sisters of Erie recall the Transfiguration of Jesus as well as the anniversary of the nuclear bombings in light of the...

A writing conference, 60 boxes of Cracker Jacks, and Emmaus’ Kids Cafe: what do these things have in common? The common denominator: Marisa Moks-Unger, the 2016-2017 Erie County Poet Laureate.

Marisa first explored the Kids Cafe when looking for a possible site to hold the International Women’s Writing Guild’s Regional Flagship City Writing Conference.

Marisa, a former secondary English teacher, was impressed with the store at the Kids Cafe. “I think this sort of reward system for sustained good behavior etches many good experiences for youth,” she said. “Here they can...