What is Columb's Ceili?

St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Papillion, NE ho lds an even ing o f friendship, community, and celebration each year in March. “Ceili” (pronounced kay-lee) is an Irish word for party.

Our parish patron saint, St. Columb, grew up in Ireland and worked as a missionary in Scotland. His name is Gaelic for “dove”, so he was known as t he “dove o f t he church”, or “Columb kille”.

In celebration of our parish heritage and in honor of our patron saint, we throw an Irish party.

Spirit of St. Columbkille Awards The Julie & John Cavanaugh Family John and Julie were married in Our Lady of Lourdes Parish 26 years ago. They, along with their five children: Jeff (19), David (16), Mark (14), Teresa (10), and Megan (8) have been a part of the St Columbkille community since 1996. John has been working as an anesthetist at the VA Medical Center for 20 years. Julie has been a stay-at-home mom for the past 13 years, but prior to that was a critical care nurse at St Joseph Hospital.

John is a sacristan and EMHC at St. Columbkille and also leads a Communion Service at Wellington Nursing Home each month. He is also an assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 359 at St Columbkille. John has taken several trips to Guatemala with IXIM and other medical mission groups. Julie is an active member of the Teen Faith Ministry. She also participates in a Spirituality Alive group. Her other volunteer work finds her helping at St Columbkille School and Vacation Bible School. John and Julie both worked on the recent Archdiocesan Ignite the Faith campaign for St Columbkille.

As a family, they spend an hour each week at the Adoration Chapel praying the rosary. Their two older children are alumni of St Columbkille Catholic School, where the younger children are presently enrolled. They have followed their parents lead and are all active members in serving our parish and community. Jeff is a freshman at Truman State University where he is a member of the men’s swim team. He was an altar server and was active in teen faith. Jeff is also an Eagle Scout and remains involved as an adult leader. David is a junior at Papillion La Vista High School. He is an altar server, EMHC and was selected to participate in the Catholic Leadership Institute for teens through the Omaha Archdiocese. David is also an Eagle Scout. Mark is and 8th grader at St Columbkille and is also an altar server. In addition, he is active in scouts and is working on his Eagle project to assemble emergency supply kits for the classrooms. Teresa is in 5th grade and Megan is a 3rd grader at St Columbkille and help out where they can.

The Cavanaugh Family feels privileged to be a part of the parish community and to be able to share their faith. The priests and deacons of St Columbkille have inspired them to continue learning about Catholicism and have been positive role models for their children.

Spirit of St. Columbkille Awards Kathy & Jim BursonJim & Kathy Burson were high school sweethearts married in Dayton, Ohio in 1972 Jim, with a military draft number of “2” decided to join the Air Force, and served his country for 23 years in Michigan, Southeast Asia, Nebraska, and Washington State. They have three children, Kristine (deceased), Kerry, who lives in Papillion with her two sons, and Ken who resides in Denver. All three children attended St. Columbkille School and their grandsons are presently attending St. Columkille School in Kindergarten and 2nd grade classes.

Jim recently retired as a Program Manager of BAE systems. Kathy, with a masters in Community Health Education, stepped down from her position as Co-Executive Director of PRIDE-Omaha, Inc., to support her family and resume her volunteer efforts in the community.

Jim & Kathy’s parish ministry involvement started in 1980 when Sister Schumaker requested that they assist in the development of the first baptismal classes at St. Columbkille. This resulted in an almost 20 year commitment to baptismal preparation to new families. In the early 80’s Jim served on both the School Board and the Parish Financial Board. They were both actively involved in the Building Campaign of the existing church. They served as facilitators of the “Christ Renews His Parish” program, and instructors of a 6 week “Evenings for the Engaged” marriage program. They participated in the Welcoming Brunch for new parish members for many years. Presently their ministerial services includes support of the In-Commons program, which prepares and serves lunch to the homeless; they are team members of the Ignite the Faith Archbishops campaign; they are active members of the St. Columbkille St. Vincent de Paul Society. Kathy serves as Chair of the Fundraising Committee of this Society. At the 5:00pm Sunday evening mass you will see them serve as Ushers as well as Eucharistic Ministers. Kathy also takes communion to Midlands Hospital every Thursday morning. They have participated in the Spirituality Alive Program since its beginning.

Their focus has always been to get involved!! The key message they passed on to the people they served was that to feel a part of this huge parish one must step forward and volunteer in some capacity. Then, and only then, will you truly feel a member of this blessed parish family.

Honorary Chairs - Maureen & Rick EgermierFirst and foremost, we would like to send our congratulations to the Spirit of St Columbkille Award recipients, the Julie & John Cavanaugh family and Kathy & Jim Burson. Their commitment and example of service to St Columbkille Parish and our outer community is exceptional and well deserved.

We thank Father Damian Zuerlein, Father Kevin Vogel, and Father Steve Emanuel for leading us to be Gods servants to the community by their teachings and example. They and many of you have made us feel blessed to be able to raise our children, Cole, Josie, Sam, Sophie, and Tess in such an endearing, nurturing, and spiritual environment.

Serving as Honorary Chairs came with feelings of hesitation, but we are privileged to be able to take a small part in making it a FUN night. It is the many parishioners that are using their gifts to put this evening together that deserve the biggest THANK YOU. Their many hours and dedication can only be measured successful if you choose to come and enjoy.

God bless Rick and Maureen Egermier