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LETTER OF INQUIRY

Worldwide Seminarian Support, Inc., (WSS) is a Catholic laity fund-raising organization, which helps support the Apostolic Life Community of Priests (ALCP) seminarian education in Tanzania, Africa.  A non-profit 501(C)(3) corporation, WSS was established in 1993 in Portland, Oregon, by John Becker, Jr., who serves as CEO and President, and is a national marketing executive for insurance companies and banks.

 

The Apostolic Life Community of Priests is an international community founded by Fr. Bernhard Bendel, a German priest, in 1974, in Moshi, Tanzania.  Moshi lies at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Tanzania is in East Africa, bordering Kenya to the north, Zaire to the west, Zambia and Mozambique to the south, and the Indian Ocean to the east.  Tanzania is the size of California, with its 32 million people earning an average annual per capita income of $450.

 

Now a parishioner of St. Vincent Parish in Fort Wayne, Indiana, John Becker, Jr. explains that the church in the United States is facing a shortage of priests and vocations to the priesthood.  Tanzania is blessed with an abundance of vocations, but the cash needed for seminarian education is in very short supply.

 

WSS has collected private donations in 15 states to support 30 seminarians annually for the last eleven years. WSS donors have also financed a much needed fresh water well for crop irrigation, and are currently helping fund construction of a seminary.  These future priests will serve in Africa, the USA, and other locations around the world.  Donations have also been received in support of the Apostolic Life Community of Sisters who serve Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, India, the Philippines, Germany and the U.S.A.

 

 

 

WSS GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

= To encourage sponsorship of seminarians and candidates for sisterhood, and communicate their progress.

= To provide spiritual blessings for God’s people through their prayers and financial contributions towards increasing vocations.

= To provide financial aid for seminarian studies, shelter, clothing, water collection and storage systems and equipment for agricultural development.

= To continually strive to increase vocations worldwide to benefit the discipleship of God's people.

 

 

Board Members Profile

 

Fr. Seamus Murtagh 

West Palm Beach, FL

Pastor St Anne parish

Jason Turk, Chairman of WSS 

Hobe Sound, Florida

President/CEO, Meditron Medical Systems, Inc.

John L. Becker, Jr., President of WSS 

Fort Wayne, Indiana

CMO, Jackson Brokerage Corp, insurance marketing firm

Jamie Corbin  Vice President of WSS 

New York, New York/Johnston, Iowa

Principal, Bank Annuity Partners, LLC

 

Rosalina S. Hom, Secretary of WSS 

Wellington, Florida

National Director, InnerLight, Inc.

 

Ron Becker, Treasurer of WSS 

Portland, Oregon

Model Shop Manager, Adidas America, Inc. 

Kevin Flinn 

Wellington, Florida

Owner, Powerplant Lawn Care and Landscaping 

 

Patty Becker 

Fort Wyane, Indiana

Interim Executive Director of

Redeemer Radio WLYV AM 1450 Fort Wayne

 

Bruce Cadwell

Fort Wayne, Indiana

 

John Becker, Sr. 

Portland, Oregon

Retired Industrial Pattern Maker

Douglas L. Klein 

Troutdale, Oregon

Switch Engineer

John Faylor

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Endowment Fund Chairman

MTS Finacial Services

 

Will Becker

Milwaukie Oregon

Engineer, Precision Cast, Inc

 

Cheri Honas

Pocatello, Idaho

Insurance agent

 

 

 

 Advisory Board

Fr. Gavin Badway, West Palm Beach, Florida

 

Fr. Nick Nilema, Seaside Oregon (Pastor, Our Lady of Victory / St. Peter the Fisherman parish)

 

Fr. Nick Marandu, Portland Oregon (Pastor, Immaculate Heart Parish)

 

Bill Comiskey, Boca Raton, Florida

 

Tim Sheehan, North Palm Beach, Florida

 

Pat St. Hilaire, Kennewick, Washington

 

Warner Terrell, Boise, Idaho

 

Grant Yozamp, Clackamas, Oregon

 

Gabrielle Maertens, Portland, Oregon

 

Rhonda Noll, Fort Wayne, Indiana