Spring 2012 Edition - National Catholic Office for the Deaf

The National Catholic Office for the Deaf
Spring 2012
Lending a Hand with Loving Care
Page 2
From the Board
Page 3
An interview with Gloria Kudrna
Fr. Walsh Award
Page 5
DeaFest
Page 9
Letter to NCOD
Page 12
Confirmation News
Page 17
Pastoral Week
2012
Page 22
Deaf Priest
Page 24
Roman Missal
Page 26
Tell me a bit about yourself. My
name is Gloria Kudrna. I have
been married to a wonderful man
from Nebraska (Jim) for 53 years.
We have a wonderful daughter,
Patricia, who is an interpreter for
Special School District in St. Louis
County. I was born and raised in St.
Louis. I graduated from St. Joseph
Institute for the Deaf and Mercy
High School for hearing students. My family is a devout Catholic
one. Jim and I are members of St. Louis Catholic Deaf Society
and ICDA for many years. We attended the ICDA conventions a
few times in the past years.
Continued on page 6—Loving Care
Losses
Page 28
Join NCOD
Volume 31/Number 1
A Pastoral Service for Persons who are Deaf or
Hard of Hearing
WOW! Pastoral Week 2012 in Boston was
GREAT! Be sure to read about the wonderful happenings as
expressed by Fr. Shawn Carey on page 17. And check out the
photo spread by Kevin Haggenjos on pages 20 & 21.
What is Pastoral Week without our Fr. David Walsh
Pastoral Worker of the Year Award? Read about our 2012
recipients on page 3.
Do you feel like you have been waiting forever for the new
Confirmation Video Program? Find out all the news on the
progress of the program on page 12.
And are you still confused by the changes to the Roman
Missal? Check out our member perspective on page 24. Guess we
are all struggling a bit.
Page 25 has all the news on Deaf Cursillo. Cursillo #63
is but a memory. And now is the time to plan for Cursillo #64
at Benedict Abbey, Benet Lake, Wisconsin.
June is the time of year when our Board of Director terms
of service begin. We have a new board member. See the
announcement on page 14.
The Vision Magazine is made possible through your
membership dues. Help us continue this valuable resource. Renew
now using the form on page 28. We hope you enjoy this packed
edition of the Vision.
NCOD Board of Directors
The Official Publication of the
National Catholic Office for the Deaf
Published quarterly by
NCOD Home Office
7202 Buchanan Street
Landover Hills, MD 20784
Email: [email protected]
www.ncod.org
Please email your articles, pictures, or announcements for consideration in future issues to [email protected] or
mail them to the above address
prior to the first of August, November, February, and May
2
NCOD
Board of Directors
Episcopal Moderator
Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
Fort Wayne, IN
Region VII—Mid-Atlantic
President
Eileen Colarusso
Baltimore, MD
[email protected]
Region IV—The Great Lakes
Vice-President
Monsignor Glen Nelson
Rockford, IL
[email protected]
Region II—The South
Secretary
Arthine Vicks Powers
New Orleans, LA
[email protected]
Region I—The West
Fr. Paul Zirimenya
San Francisco, CA
[email protected]
Region III—The Midwest
Pat Richey
Olathe, KS
[email protected]
Region V—The Northeast
Deacon Patrick Graybill
Rochester, NY
[email protected]
Region VI—Southeast Atlantic
Frania Franch
Marietta, GA
[email protected]
Deaf Pastoral Workers’
Representative
Kate Slosar
Warren, MI
[email protected]
ICDA-US Representative
Terri Matenaer
Milwaukee, WI
[email protected]
Board Member at Large
R. Gregory Schott
Naples, FL
[email protected]
Fr. David Walsh Pastoral Worker of the Year—2012
By Kate Slosar/Jean Cox
This past January, Two people received
their recognition from National Catholic Office
for the Deaf Board and they were Fr. Joe
McNulty and Sr. Corita Ambro, CSJ. Both Fr.
Joe and Sr. Corita are longtime members of
NCOD. Fr. Joe McNulty has served with the
Diocese of
Cleveland for 42 years and Sr.
Corita Ambro, 57 years with the Diocese. This is
the first time that NCOD Board has awarded a
“Duo Team” in the same year.
When you work as a team, you need a
team of members working together making one
goal or few goals succeed. Fr. Joe and
Sr. Corita have done that for many
people in Cleveland, Ohio.
Fr. Joe and Sr. Corita has
few ministries now in their
parish,
Together, their
ministry included Deaf,
Deaf/blind, Blind,
Homeless, people with
mental illness, and the
Tremont area residents.
Their mission is really
“Love All People.” Most
recent story is on
Thanksgiving Day 2009, St.
Augustine’s Church has a program
to serve hot meals to needy families and
their children, and back in the 1980’s it started
with St. Augustine’s (alone) and this past
Thanksgiving, they served 30,000 meals to 13
centers all over Cleveland! This would not be
possible without their vision of Christ. They have
served God’s kingdom.
They continue to work within the deaf
ministry, and hiring many other people and
volunteers to work as teammates with or for deaf
persons in the diocese. They supported “Rainbow
Camp” for children. They have allowed the deaf
have their own ICDA chapter. During the 1990’s
and 2000’s they had welcomed other communities
into their parish like the Spanish masses and the
Korean masses when their communities did not
have a “home” for their masses. When I saw Sr.
Ann Albrecht in Kansas City, Sr. Ann said to me,
“Sr. Corita is the Mother Teresa of Cleveland.” I
thought to myself, yep, Sr. Corita is the Mother
Teresa but she did not do it alone, Sr. Corita had
Fr. Joe’s help and vice versa.
One NCOD member came up on the
stage during the presentation of the Fr. David
Walsh Pastoral Workers of the Year award and
said “During the 2009 ICDA Conference in
Cleveland, we were on a sightseeing cruise and the
cruise stopped sailing because of smoke coming
out of the cruise’s kitchen and food were
“ruined”. No one in our ICDA group had
a chance to eat
dinner. We
were hungry.
W e
heard rumors, we
were going to St.
Augustine’s
Church to eat
after we get off
the ship. When
the cruise ship
docked, we went
on the bus and
went
to
St.
Augustine’s. To our
surprise, Sr. Corita
and Fr. Joe and their
staff
welcomed us with
burgers and chips. They were able
to feed everyone in our group! That was
wonderful. No matter who they see, they will help
us when we needed it.
Fr. Joe really does sacramental services to
the deaf community and Sr. Corita started the
deaf education program and delegated the
program to her staff today. It is a perfect example
of loving Christ and being a pastoral worker to
many people. Fr Joe and Sr. Corita have been
strong supporters and members of NCOD for
many years. They are absolutely worthy of this
award.
Congratulations!
Fr. Joe McNulty and Sr. Corita Ambro
3
News from the Diocese of Rockford
Deaf Apostolate
The Diocese of Rockford Deaf
Apostolate office recently held their 5th
Annual Deaf Lenten Retreat at the Bishop
Lane Retreat Center in Rockford, Illinois on
March 16 – 18, 2012. The Deaf Ladies of
the Visitation lead by our Pastoral Worker,
Cathy Signor, sponsor this very popular
event each year with this year being the
largest with a total of over forty
participants. The retreats begin on a Friday
evening during Lent each year and run until
after lunch on Sunday. Available to all
participants are Deaf Mass, confessions,
Rosary, sessions on the year’s current topic
and social time. The accommodations and
meals served at Bishop Lane Retreat Center
are quite nice with very friendly staff.
This year’s theme was “A Pilgrimage
Through: The Catholicism Project”.
Monsignor Glenn Nelson presented the
videos and held discussion sessions abouthe
teachings and meanings behind the
4
Catholicism Project by Father Robert
Barron. This project has helped to educate
and inspire those about the Catholic faith
and is available to parishes with teaching
materials on Fr. Barron’s website. Father
Barron has been working on this project for
four years by taking many pilgrimages to
sites around the world that tell the rich
history of the Catholic Faith through art,
architecture, people, saints, and cultures.
Although we do not have a theme
picked out for next year yet, we do have the
dates set for our next 6th Annual Deaf
Lenten Retreat on March 15 – 17, 2013.
Perhaps you may want to join us next year.
As the date gets closer, we will have more
information on our website. The Diocese
of Rockford’s Deaf Apostolate website is
h t t p : / / w w w. r o c k f o r d d i o c e s e . o r g /
deafapostolate/
Catholic DeaFest 2012 Celebration!
By Kate Slosar
Two years ago, at the New Jersey
Deaf Pastoral Workers meeting, we wanted
a way to connect our Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Communities across the State of
New Jersey. We came up with the idea of
hosting a Catholic DeaFest and let people
come and celebrate their faith.
On March 24, 2012 Saturday, we
had our 2nd annual event that took place
at St. John
Neumann Conference
Center in Piscataway,
NJ. This event was
sponsored by five
Deaf
Ministries
Offices/dioceses in
the State of New Jersey.
People were
really excited and
looking forward to
this day. We had at
least 215 participants
who came from all
over the State of
New Jersey and some from New York and
Philadelphia area. It was wonderful and
our Communities became ‘alive’ and
‘hungry’ for information.
Deaf Catholics are often “alone” in
their home parishes or in their community
and the Catholic DeaFest is a way for us to
celebrate our Catholic Faith together as
one community from different parts of
our areas. Often Deaf people will gather
together at their social events and not
realize that they made friends with other
Deaf Catholics in a public place.
When a Deaf person goes to the
Catholic DeaFest, they are surprised that
their friends are also Catholics. It serves
more like a “coming home” event for our
Deaf Catholic Community.
Our keynote speaker, Jean Cox,
International Catholic Deaf Association
US-Section President came and talked
about our Community gifts and how we
can help the Church by sharing our talents
and gifts.
Jean had four volunteers come up
on the stage and one
person acted like
“Arm”, other person
acted like “leg”, other
person acted like
“Hand” and other
person acted like
“feet”. Jean asked the
volunteers, Can you
move alone? The
volunteers responded
“No, I cannot without
the other part”. Jean
made it a point that We
can not do things alone but with Christ
we can do it in a community.
Later in the afternoon, we had two
workshops presented by Clara Smit, an
attorney on “Your Rights”. Kate Slosar,
Co-Director of Ministry With the Deaf in
Diocese of Camden and Msgr Joe Curry
from Diocese of Metuchen had a “Q and
A” session that gave our participants
opportunity to ask a Lay Minister and a
Priest any questions they wondered about
in their faith journey.
Continued on page 8—DeaFest
5
Continued from page 1—Loving Care
I understand that you are chairperson of
HCSP. What is HCSP? The HCSP stands for
the Home Care Services Program for the Deaf.
This organization provides home care services for
the Deaf elderly and homebound in the
metropolitan and suburban St. Louis areas. The
director of HCSP, who replaced Sister Maureen
Langton after her retirement in 2009, left for
another job out-of town. The HCSP caregivers
chose me as their chairperson on a voluntary
basis.
Tell us a bit about HCSP history, how did it
begin?
The home care program began as
Companion Ministry Program, founded by Sister
Maureen Langton, a Deaf Catholic nun, on July 1,
2004 with the support of Sisters of St. Joseph of
Carondelet. On October 1, 2007, the Companion
Ministry changed its name to Home Care Services
Program for the Deaf (HCSP) for the purpose of
becoming a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization.
The HCSP has two goals. One is to provide
home care services for the Deaf and hard of
hearing elderly who needed help living
independently in their own homes, regardless of
creed, race, or economic status. Second, the
HCSP recruits Deaf women and men, who want
to become caregivers. Hearing women and men,
who have sign language skills in communicating
with Deaf people, may enroll in the HCSP. A
training class is provided for the caregivers.
Tell us more about yourself as chairperson.
What are your duties exactly? My duties are: 1)
6
receiving email or VP from a client, letting me
know that she/he needs a ride to a store or to a
doctor’s
office, after which I email to our
caregivers to find out who will be available to do
the favor; 2) visiting a few clients who are
homebound; 3) calling on a meeting with the
caregivers to discuss issues related to the HCSP
and our clients. We have a temporary office at
the Deaf Community Center. I also keep track of
our clients just in case something happens to her/
him so I can contact his/her family. We also hold
HCSP Board meetings once a while.
Could you give us an example of how HCSP
can help? We now have 18
caregivers serving
thirteen clients.
HCSP caregivers provide
homemaking skills;
personal care,
companionship, food shopping and respite care
services to the clients so that they can stay in their
own homes instead of nursing care centers. Our
clients appreciate our services. There is no fee for
the clients, who give a small amount of money to
help the caregivers pay for gas. All our caregivers
are volunteers up to three hours daily – Monday
through Friday. We also give Christmas parties
and indoor picnics for the clients every year.
What’s your favorite part of this job? My
favorite part of this job is taking the client to the
store or other places. I love to help people; in
fact, my parents taught me to share with others
and help them in need. I also enjoy the clients’
companionship. I often cheer them up to make
them laugh and love to tease them in a kind way.
What’s the most difficult part of this job?
Whenever I email to the caregivers to see if any of
them would be available to take a client to a place,
I do not often get replies from them. When this
happens, I have no choice but to give up my day’s
plan and take the client. It is not easy, but I
accept it because I feel I’m doing it for God, too.
Besides, I want to see the client happy, not having
to worry whether she/he will get a ride.
How is this different from other services?
There are four differences. First, the HCSP is the
only program in the United States that provides
home care needs for the Deaf elderly and
homebound Deaf people. Second, the HCSP is
the only program in the United States that recruits
Deaf people to become home caregivers and
receive the training needed to serve the needs of
the Deaf elderly and homebound. Third, the
HCSP is the only program in the United States
that enables the Deaf elderly to develop
homemaking skills so that they can remain in their
own homes instead of being confined in nursing
homes.
Fourth, the HCSP depends on
fundraising events to help support the program.
In the past years, we hosted an Irish Festival
Dinner, an Oktoberfest Dinner Event, and a
Kentucky Derby Festival (the first of a kind held
for the Deaf in St. Louis). These sensational and
successful events helped the HCSP to continue to
do good works for the Deaf elderly and
homebound. The HCSP’s 10th anniversary dinner
event is being planned.
How does this tell you about your faith doing
this type of services? The caregivers of different
religious denominations and I strongly feel that
we are doing God’s work. I hope that the HSCP
will continue to serve the elderly deaf people
throughout the future centuries.
Could you share inspiring story from this with
us? We have an 85 year-old Deaf client, who has
macular degeneration. In the past, she had to
make TTY calls for rides to a store or an
appointment. She often faced frustrations and
difficulties getting rides. There were many times
she was not able to attend Deaf events because
there were no rides provided for her. When the
home care program was established in 2004, it
became a big lifesaver for this client, who is now
much happier and at peace. She is getting out of
her home more often and being able to see
her needs fulfilled.
Kentucky Derby Festival
7
Continued from page 5—DeaFest
Another example of Deaf person’s
involvement of Community gifts. Bob
Yuhas, a Deaf participant from Diocese of
Trenton was asked to do a reading for us at
our closing Mass in ASL. He had never
done a reading at Mass before because his
parish does not ask him to be involved in
the Eucharistic Celebration. Bob has a
talent that he can share with other members of the Catholic Church, Deaf or
hearing.
We closed the day with a Mass with
Fr. Bismarck, Fr. Joe Curry, And Fr. Joe
Goode, Deacon Tom Smith and all of our
Deaf and Hard of Hearing brothers and
sisters.
Gathering together in Jesus’ name is
what we did that day. This enabled us to
discuss our faith in ASL. We can’t do that
in our home parishes…so yes we met our
goal bringing our Deaf community to
Christ.
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8
A Letter to NCOD
Hi to all NCOD members,
I would like to introduce myself, My name is
Kevin Haggenjos, I would like to share some of
my experiences in my hometown. Myself I am a
freelance photographer, Presently, I have been
doing some freelance photography work for
Today’s Catholic weekly newspaper for the
Diocese of Ft Wayne - South Bend.
My experience was wonderful because I was
struggling some issues trying to find some
freelance photography work in my local area.
One day I decided to email my Bishop from my
Diocese of Ft. Wayne - South Bend and explain
about my struggling experiences to find some
photo work if he could help me out. His name is
Bishop Kevin Rhoades, He emailed me back and
he said he will try to help me out. He contacted
Tim the editor of the Today’s Catholic weekly
newspaper about me. They asked me if I could
do some photography work for them. I said yes
please, I would love to do.
Since the first photo work at St. Adalbert Parish
in South Bend where my daughter was baptized,
That was thrill experience for me because it was
part of my family Church and my first photo
work for Today’s Catholic. Many other Churches
I have been doing the photography work for
Today’s Catholic and I enjoy working with them
and my camera and my gifted eyes for many years
and many more. Every Church have their own
beautiful character in itself and the parish people
are wonderful from their church.
I am looking forward to work and have many
new experiences when people see my photo work
in their churches for Today’s Catholic from the
Diocese of Ft. Wayne - South Bend. I can feel
that my struggles will be blessed when the healing
and faith will come. I pray everyday for my
struggles with God. I thank them for give me a
chance to work with them for the Diocese of Ft
Wayne - South Bend. Since my personal
experiences, I don’t give up talking and praying
with God for my personal struggles for my
photography work and the Society everyday.
My suggestion to you, Don’t give up what you
have from God, Pray everyday when you can, Go
to your Catholic Church and support your Parish
people, The time will come when you feel the
faith get strong again. Stay strong with God
everyday! Pray for other Deaf Catholic to come
home again. God bless.
See Kevin’s photographs from Pastoral Week 2012 on the
NCOD website and here in the Vision—Editor
Pastoral Week 2012 — Boston
9
News from the West
Archdiocese of Portland
Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Report from Catholic Deaf in Archdiocese of
Portland, OR.
Ministry to/with the Deaf
Our theme this year is “COME to the Feast”….an
invitation for all to join us for our liturgies
and
social events. We feel blest to have a
close community, and many reasons to
celebrate. It’s also
a preparation for the
Lenten Faith-Sharing program that we –and our
whole Archdiocese -- will be participating in, called
“Living the Eucharist”.
Related to this theme, our focus for education and
outreach is the issue of HUNGER. Our Bible
Studies have included a look at how God provided
for His People throughout the Old Testament, and
wants us to provide for each-other. A February
session will focus on Jesus satisfying people’s
hunger in the New Testament, especially with His
gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
We’re also focusing on HUNGER locally and
internationally. This Fall we sold handmade crafts
at DeafNation Expo, and earned over $275 for
Catholic Relief Services and their East African
Famine Relief. We learned that Oregon is now “the
hungriest state in the nation,” with almost 16% of
Oregonians living below the poverty line. So during
December and January we’re making contributions
to a local agency for their Emergency Food Box
Program. (The kids in our RE classes packaged 125
small bags of oatmeal to be distributed to hungry
families!) And, as usual, we’ll participate in the CRS
“Rice Bowl” collection during Lent….and are
hoping to have a speaker from CRS join us then,
too.
Life is FULL for us in Portland….and we are
grateful!
Please visit www.archdpdx.org/deaf for our weekly liturgy
schedule and more information
Submitted by Sr. Linda Roby, BVM
10
Here in Santa Fe, there are interpreted Masses at
two of the churches. I am preparing one student
for First Eucharist and a teenager for
Confirmation.
In Albuquerque, there are
interpreted Masses at two, possibly three of the
churches. Monthly potlucks after Mass have been
held at one of the parishes but attendance has been
dwindling. Last March a retreat by Fr. Tom
Coughlin was attended by up to forty persons and
we are hopeful that a similar retreat can be planned
for this spring.
Submitted by Dolores Gonzales
NB: Please visit www.archdiocesesantafe.org for Mass Times
and more information
Diocese of Sacramento
Deaf Ministry in the Diocese of Sacramento for the
year 2012-2013.
We are proudly kicking off the New Year with some
very exciting news and announcements! First off,
we are thrilled to announce that Bishop Jaime Soto
has formally appointed Father Paul Zirimenya as
our Chaplain for the Deaf in the Catholic Diocese
The Newman Center in
of Sacramento.
Sacramento has been extremely blessed to have Fr.
Zirimenya conduct and celebrate Mass in ASL with
our local Deaf Community on a quarterly
basis--however with his appointment as Chaplain
Fr. Zirimenya will not only be able to visit
Sacramento more often--he will also be able to offer
spiritual and religious guidance to our Deaf brothers
and sisters who reside in outlying areas of the
Diocese as well. We offer great prayers of thanks
and blessings for Fr. Zirimenya and look forward to
working with him for many years to come.
The Diocese has also recently hired Mary Pham as
the new Coordinator of Deaf Ministry. She has
worked as a sign language interpreter at Newman
Center in Sacramento for many years and is very
involved in the Deaf and Interpreting
Communities in Sacramento. She and Stanley
Simonet (our long-time Deaf Pastoral Worker)
will continue to work to provide much needed
services to Deaf Catholics in the Sacramento area
such as interpreting services and religious
education. One of their goals for this year is to
promote the Deaf Catholic Community in
Sacramento to become active participants in
community and Christian service, thus building a
spiritually strong Faith Community that will in
turn be able to minister to other Deaf Christians
in need. They hope to do this in collaboration
with assistance from Fr. Zirimenya as well as
other clergy and staff in the Diocese.
Some 2012 goals for Deaf Ministry in Sacramento
this year include:
 Continuing to provide Mass, religious
education, and sacramental services Deaf
Catholics and their families in ASL or ASL
interpretation.
 Establish faith ministries for the Deaf through
training and evangelization to promote leadership,
spiritual growth, and community connection.
 Teach and promote the use of ASL to
encourage communication and partnership with
our Hearing Catholic brothers and sisters in our
respective parishes.
 Reach out to Deaf individuals and smaller
communities in outlying areas that have limited
access to available services in ASL such as
interpreting services, Mass, reconciliation,
religious education, etc.
 Establish fund-raising efforts to provide
opportunities for Deaf Catholics to participate in
events such as religious workshops and
conferences, retreats, faith pilgrimages, Deaf
socials, etc.
 Provide mentoring and training to student
interpreters, in partnership with American River
College's Interpreter Preparation Program, to
actively recruit interpreters in order to add to our
ever-growing need of interpreters knowledgeable
in Catholic faith and traditions.
We, in Deaf Ministry of Sacramento, in the past
year have experienced a few bumps in the road
and growing pains that often comes with change
and restructure. However, with the strength and
support our local heroes, we continue progress
and handle these new changes with patience and
perseverance. I would like to take a moment to
sincerely thank our local heroes and advocates for
their wonderful support: the Catholic Deaf and
Interpreting Communities of Sacramento, Fr. Paul
Zirimenya, Fr. George Wanser, Fr. Jim Doogan
and his staff at the Sacramento Newman Center,
as well as all the folks who may not be Catholic
but have nonetheless selflessly given their time
and support to our community. Thank you all for
everything you do and all that you continue to
do--there would be no Community without you.
As we go forth in this new year with the hope and
prayer that this new year one of spiritual promise,
renewed faith and unfailing support for both our
Deaf and Hearing Catholic Communities.
For more information on Deaf Ministry in the Sacramento
Diocese, please visit:
http://www.diocese-sacramento.org/
family_youth_young_adult/deaf_ministry.html
Submitted by Mary Pham, Coordinator for Deaf Ministry
11
retreats for the deaf.
“I try to fill the void,” Father Depcik
said. “There are not enough priests who use
sign language, and the number is lessening.
Many dioceses don’t have priests who sign,
and many deaf Catholics leave the Church for
other churches that have better services for
them.”
Film teaches
faith lessons for the deaf
In a year when “The Artist,” a silent film,
won the Academy Award for Best Picture, you
could say another “silent” film in production,
mostly at the former Stella Maris School in South
Philadelphia, will be a smash with the American
Catholic deaf community. It’s called “Strengthened
in Faith: Confirmation” and, rather than a single
film, it is a series of 12 half-hour lessons suitable
for PREP classes for the deaf. It is silent in the
sense that the chief means of communication for
the series is American Sign Language (ASL),
although that will be supplemented by English
subtitles and either English or Spanish voiceovers.
Films like this are important, maintains
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Mike Depcik,
who said, “With all of the challenges to the
Church, it
oftentimes seems ministry to the
deaf is not a high priority. This is valuable to help
them understand their Catholic faith.”
Father Depcik, who signs much of the
commentary for the lessons, knows of what he
speaks. He is deaf. Although originally from
Chicago, he ministers to deaf Catholics in Detroit
and travels the country giving
workshops and
12
Although this is not the first
catechesis
program presented in ASL, it is
probably the most ambitious, and with the
highest production values. In the planning
stages since 2008, it is a project of the
National Catholic Office for Deaf Catholics
in Washington, D.C., and funded through
grants from the Raskob Foundation for Catholic
Activities, the Koch Foundation, Our Sunday
Visitor Institute, ACTA Foundation and individual
donors.
“The confirmation project will bring a
valuable resource to teachers of the deaf when
preparing teenagers and adults for the sacrament,”
said Arvilla Rank, who is in deaf ministry in
Wisconsin and the overall coordinator of the
project. “I wish I had this two years ago.”
“Certainly lessons can be presented strictly
through written texts, as has so often been done in
the past,” said Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister
Kathleen Schipani, administrator of the
archdiocesan Department for Pastoral Care for
Persons with Disabilities, who oversees deaf
ministry in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and
has been working with the deaf for the past 25
years.
But for deaf students, “this is their language,”
she said. “When we give a presentation in sign,
it gets their attention. They look up.”
It’s not just a dozen lessons presented
by talking heads (actually hands) either. Each
lesson is interspersed with vignettes portrayed
by famous saints of the
past, or servants of God
who have not yet been
formally declared saints,
but whose lives are
examples of the particular
lesson. There is a virtual
litany of these holy men
and women, starting with
St. Luke, St. John the
Baptist and the Virgin
Mary in lesson one, and
continuing down through
the ages to such modern examples as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta,
Blessed John Paul II, St. Katharine Drexel, St.
Gianna Molla and Dorothy Day. All of them are
portrayed by men and women drawn from the
Catholic deaf community, and each gives his or
her particular message in ASL.
All are meticulously costumed by two
gifted videographers from HNH Multimedia,
Catherine Miller and Ann Calamia, who also,
through the magic of green screen, transform
the sterile school basement into the sometimes
exotic milieu of the various saints.
One of the deaf actors, Maribeth
Zeleski, grew up in SS. Simon and Jude Parish
in West Chester, which did have
ASL-interpreted Masses, and attended In Sign, a
summer camp program for deaf children led by
Sister Kathleen at St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary in Wynnewood.
As a child, “I could receive my first holy
Communion, go to confession and the
sacrament of confirmation and understand
why,” Zeleski said. “Nowadays, we have priests
who can sign in church, some of them are deaf
and others have had experience with the culture
of the deaf. However, mostly deaf individuals
only have interpreting to learn about God
outside of church. This is why it is especially
important for young deaf Catholic children to
get direct attention through pure American Sign
Language to be able to serve God to the fullest
and like I did as a deaf
Catholic little girl.”
Zeleski, who
portrayed St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton in the movie,
said, “While I was
studying the script for
her character, I was
astonished to discover
that she was left with
four children after her
husband passed away and
still went on to become a Catholic
despite her family
and friends not
wanting to have
anything to do with
her. St. Elizabeth is
the perfect example
of doing wonderful things no matter what others think of you. I
was proud to perform her story.
“I was very willing to do St. Elizabeth
Seton in this movie because of what I went
through as a little girl with being a deaf Catholic.
I wanted other children to have the same kind
of communication access as me.”
Bud Schrader, a deaf-certified
interpreter and a member of the Deaf
Apostolate group at Our Lady of Ransom
Parish in Philadelphia, who portrayed St. Jerome
in the film, didn’t know much about St. Jerome
in advance.
“I looked it up and found out he was a
translator, which is a coincidence because I am
an interpreter,” he said. “I believe videos like
this are important to any deaf person, regardless
Continued on page 14—Confirmation
13
Continued from page 13—Confirmation
of age. It keeps the message consistent and is understood by the viewer because it is in that person’s
language.”
Interspersed through most of the lessons
are relevant clips taken from a mock confirmation
ceremony, with Archbishop Charles Chaput as the
confirming bishop, filmed at Philadelphia’s Old
St. Joseph’s Church. Assisting the Archbishop
were seminarians from St. Charles Seminary. Both
the congregation and the children in the
confirmation class and the congregation were
drawn from the deaf community.
The Archbishop’s advice was applicable to
all candidates for confirmation, not just the deaf.
“I think the best way to prepare for confirmation
is to know the Apostles Creed and know what
each part means and to be able in some sense
explain the Creed to others. All of us, through our
baptism and confirmation, are called to be
disciples of Jesus Christ and are called to be His
voice in the lives of others,” he said.
HNH, one of four bidders for the project,
is especially suited for this particular production;
Calamia both wrote and directed an awardwinning 2008 indie silent film “Universal Signs,”
which utilized ASL, but also included captions for
the hearing who do not know ASL.
ASL is not merely a deaf version of
English; it is a distinct language, in the same sense
that English, French and Spanish are distinct
languages, Sister Kathleen explained. Although
hand and finger positions are at the heart of it, it’s
not the entire story. In English, words can have
different meanings, depending on context and
voice inflection. So it is in ASL, where if one only
concentrates on hand movements, it would be like
listening to a homily delivered in monotone.
For this reason, as Father Depcik and
others are interpreting the text to ASL, facial
expressions and body language enhance the
telling, really borrowing something from old-time
silent movies, where these techniques were
important to explain the plot.
Although Father Depcik and the other
commentators and role players are all adept at
American Sign Language, an expert ASL
counselor participated in all the filming sessions
to assure their interpretations were precise. This
was Robert De Mayo, who is deaf and who also
served as a counselor when “Universal Signs” was
filmed.
A Catholic originally from the New Haven
area, De Mayo said, there were no deaf or signing
priests in his area, so he would have to go to
Hartford, where there was a religious sister who
signed at Mass. Because of the distance, he
gradually fell away from active practice of the
faith.
“I have learned so much from Sister
Kathleen and Father Mike,” he said. “I had never
seen the theology before I read the script. I felt
like I was a student again, in theology and in terms
of what is happening in the Catholic Church.”
The DvD set is expected to be ready for
distribution this fall. For more information,
visit www.ncod.org or send an e-mail to:
[email protected].
Reprinted with permission from Phaith magazine.
Board of Directors Elections
It was time once again for board elections in several regions. Our newest member to the board is Deacon
Patrick Graybill serving as the representative for Region V—The Northeast. We all know Deacon
Patrick and look forward to his insight and creativity on the board. A special thank you goes out to
Fr. Thom Duston for his six years service as the Northeast representative. Enjoy your free time!
In Region VI-The Southeast Atlantic, Frania Franch, after serving the last year of Deb Garner’s term,
has been elected to a full term of three years. Thank you Frania for agreeing to continue your service to
NCOD.
14
Deaf Catholic Parishioners Journey Long Distances
for Signed Mass
By Larry R. Puthoff
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, located on the
very eastern end of the state, is by no means a
metropolis by most city standards, though it is
quickly approaching a population of nearly
200,000 people and is most definitely the largest
city in the state. As such, it has a fairly large, or
more accurately the largest, concentration of deaf
and hard of hearing citizens in the state.
Chamberlain, South Dakota, on the other hand, is
a much smaller community with a population of
barely 2,000 located almost 150 miles directly
west in nearly the middle of the state. Once each
month, you'll likely notice a caravan going from
one community to the other as South Dakota's
Deaf Catholics have been traveling two-hours one
way for a once-a-month Signed Mass given by Fr.
Guy Blair since Sept 2011. The four-hour trek
from Sioux Falls to Chamberlain and then back
again, via US Interstate-90 is considered to be a
fairly long drive just to participate in the
sacraments of Mass. However, having the
Eucharist shared directly in sign language is
always an uplifting experience and ever so
meaningful for the group in attendance. Words
just cannot explain how much it means to deaf
and hard of hearing parishioners to witness a
priest who is fluent in sign language celebrate the
liturgy in a visual language that is accessible to
them. Additionally, words can not describe how
grateful this Catholic Deaf Community is for
being able to attend at least one signed Mass each
month, despite the long distance involved.
Members of the Deaf community (Catholic and
non-Catholic alike), sign language interpreters,
parents of deaf children, and other friends and
family members have always been welcome to
attend this once-a-month service.
The Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese has made
special efforts to schedule local sign language
interpreters for Sunday and Holy Day services and
sacraments over the years. And, of course, the
Deaf Community is most appreciative and
grateful for such accommodations. But having
clergy who can present directly and fluently in a
language that is accessible to the parishioners is
truly a rarity and it means so much. A comparable
analogy is when Latin Mass was given in English
so that parishioners could understand the
sacraments or when Mass is presented in Spanish
to benefit a predominantly Spanish speaking
congregation. There is really no comparison and
given the choice, most people would likely choose
to participate in worship services that they can
easily and readily understand -- regardless of
tradition or even convenience.
Though it is not intentional, the traditionally
marginalized communities like members of many
deaf communities, are often left out, are forgotten
or continue to experience difficulties and barriers
as they try to practice their faith in the life of our
church. As I often pray, “Oh our beloved and
most precious Lord, please direct Your Church to
welcome the marginalized, the outcast, those in
need and strangers who wander among us. Allow
us to reach out to those who are lost, those who
are searching and yearning for something better,
to those who desire to know You and to bless us
in such a way that we can help others as you
would have it…”
We also pray that the Sioux Falls Diocese (and
more specifically, the most reverend Bishop Paul
Swain), with infinite wisdom and blessings, will
feel moved to give permission to Fr. Blair to
travel to or even assign him to Sioux Falls once a
month to offer Mass in sign language for the local
community instead of having the members of our
Catholic Deaf Community travel to Chamberlain.
This truly would be such a blessing to our
community.
Continued on page 16—Distances
15
Continued from page 15—Distances
Most deaf Catholics in this area, including
myself, were taught and raised to believe that we
have a moral obligation to go to Mass every
Sunday and Holy Day. And it is an obligation that
most of us try to fulfill willingly. We understand,
or at least try to understand, that the Mass and
other liturgies of the church are not
merely ceremonial fellowship or social hours, but
a participation in worship, something truly
reverent and holy -- a meaningful connection with
our Father in heaven here on earth.
Fr. Blair SJC, who is no stranger to the
Deaf Community, has been stationed at the St.
James Catholic Church in Chamberlain since July
2011. He is also the parish priest of the St
Anthony Catholic Church in Pukwana, another
yet smaller town approximately 8 miles east of
Chamberlain. Prior to his assignment at
Chamberlain and Pukwana, Fr. Blair was at St.
Johns Parish in Green Bay, Wisconsin where he
considers it to be one of his most successful and
fulfilling endeavors because it was modeled on a
bi-lingual/bi-cultural model – everything offered
to the hearing congregation was also offered to
the Catholic Deaf parishioners -- all were
welcomed and included equally. In my visits with
Fr. Blair, I have come to admire and respect him.
We have shared many discussions, ideas and
experiences in our monthly encounters. I've
learned that he began signing as a hearing priest in
Milwaukee and then Chicago -- shortly after he
was ordained nearly 30 years ago. Through the
years, Fr. Blair has always felt the desire to work
with a combined deaf and hearing congregation
and said that he found such unity so inspiring, "it
was as if it were a sign that the Spirit was moving
among us!"
I first learned of Fr. Blair’s transfer to
Chamberlain, SD from a dear friend of mine who
happens to be deaf and resides in Wisconsin and
coincidentally, someone who had known Fr. Blair
for years. She mentioned what a loss it was for
them and what a gain it was for us. Having heard
about this priest who had the rare ability to
16
fluently sign with the Deaf, I drove to
Chamberlain to join his parish for Mass. The rest
is history.
Fr. Blair has an awesome talent and gift; truly a
blessing that has been and can be used to reach
and benefit so many more in the Deaf and hearing
communities alike. He shared with me his
experiences in Wisconsin where several of his
parishes had two congregations -- the deaf
congregation would often have its own liturgies,
choir and Bible study group and frequently both
communities would join together for Holy
worship. It was such a pleasure for him to see
how well the hearing people began to learn sign
language and responded in prayer using signs,
some reaching a level of skill that allowed for real
communication. When he left St. Johns, the
chairperson of the Parish Council was a deaf
woman...among all the hearing members...a signal
that the deaf had succeeded in achieving a level of
acceptance and involvement. What an inspiration!
I truly hope that at the very least, we can continue
to use Fr. Blair's gifts, knowledge and experience
in reaching out to the deaf and hearing
communities so that we too can experience the
same side-by-side worship opportunities in an
environment that is accessible to all. What a
blessing and what a joy that would be! We will
work with those in authority to place the
opportunity for such a ministry in God's hands.
With enough prayer and be it His will, I am sure
the end result will be just as it should be according
to His plans. Regardless of whatever happens, we
will continue to endeavor that those who may
never actually hear a prayer, or the gospel or a
sermon will still receive faith and will still enjoy a
relationship with our Father above.
I hope this article plants the right seeds and
moves those that can help.
Pastoral Week 2012 — Boston
Albuquerque 2006 had cold winds...San
Antonio 2007 had freezing ice...New Orleans 2008
had cold winds...San Francisco 2009 had beautiful
and warm sunny skies...Houston 2010 had mild
weather...Atlanta 2011 had snow and ice on the
ground. And...what did Boston 2012 have? Did it
snow and have freezing temperatures, as many were
concerned about? Instead, it was sunny and mild
though one or two days were pretty cold, but not
freezing temperatures as it should have been. We
could have had snow and single-digits or sub-zero
temperatures. But with a God-given miracle, the
weather in Boston was just fine without any
interruptions such as being stranded for an
extra day or two due to a major
snowstorm. Hence, Pastoral Week 2012
in Boston was a smashing success!
The conference was held from
Friday, January 13th to Tuesday,
January 17th at the Boston Hilton Back
Bay located in the heart of the city
where participants were able to enjoy
wide variety of good New England
historic restaurants, shops and pubs.
Speaking of history, Boston has had
strong Catholic roots as many
participants were surprised to discover
that there was a chapel, St Francis inside
Prudential Center, an indoor mall across
the street from the hotel. ASL Masses were
celebrated at that chapel on each day during
the conference. These Masses were open to the
public as many had the opportunity to be exposed
to ASL liturgy celebrated, at that time, by all Deaf
priests consecutively on each day. On Friday, I was
asked to replace Bishop Rhoades for the Opening
Mass as he was unable to come due to his illness.
Suddenly, I thought, "Can I do this in just few short
hours? What about the homily?!" With confidence
and trust in God, I knew I can do it. There was a
huge crowd at that Mass as many were coming from
work in the city. What a great way to start Pastoral
Week 2012 Boston!
On Saturday, we had Maryann Barth for a
keynote address, "Old Wines, New Wineskins"
which focused on a need of advocacy to continue
the history of Deaf Ministry with a different
approach, especially with a greater use of
technology, in the 21st century. She encouraged
participants to roll up their sleeves and start
working on new methods of evangelization in this
digital age. That was a "wake up" call message for
participants to think about when returning from
Boston. Then, a chilly evening came as we were
embarked on a trolley to Sacred Heart Parish in
Newton, the home of the Boston Deaf Catholic
Community where a Vigil Mass was
celebrated by the Archdiocese of Boston's
Cardinal Sean O'Malley. Before Mass, I
had a glimpse of our Religious Education
students rehearsing their ASL
entertainment performance led by our
former Director, Rev. Jeremy St. Martin
and collaborated by our religious
education teachers, Mr. Bruce Bucci and
Mr. Ken Osborne. Also, one of our
Deaf Catholic members had their family
-owned catering business "Maria's
Catering" setting up tables and buffet
stations and cooking.
With all the hard work and
preparation the Local Committee of the
Boston Deaf Catholic had for few months
prior, the evening of dinner and entertainment
at Bishop MacKenzie Hall in Sacred Heart turned
out to be sensational! NCOD participants and the
entire Boston Deaf Catholic were welcomed with an
ASL performance based on a church history lesson
about a development of the Sacred Heart Devotion
by the religious education students. As we watched
with joy and curiosity how the Sacred Heart
Devotion was developed, students played in
characters of Sts. Bernard of Clairvaux, Albert the
Great, Margaret Mary Alacoque, and Claude de la
Colombiere, and Pope Pius IX and Gospel writers
who all had a role in establishing the Devotion of
Sacred Heart.
17
Continued on page 18—Boston
Continued from page 17—Boston
We were inspired to learn more about
Jesus' love for us in his Sacred Heart as he
appeared in visions to
Margaret Mary, a
cloistered
nun
several times to let
her know how
much he loved her
and all people and
his desire for
people to love him
in return. Also, we
loved the students'
costumes as they
were hand-made so
artistically creative and colorful. After the
show, we enjoyed a delicious Boston
Italian buffet dinner and sweet desserts by
the catering company. Many thanks and
congratulations to the Boston Deaf
Catholic Community for their hard work
and great hospitality!
On Sunday,
we learned more
about the World
You t h
Day
opportunity for the
Deaf as we were
greeted with a panel
of members from
WYD 2011 Madrid
sharing
their
awesome pilgrimage
experience. The next
World Youth Day will be held in Rio de
Janerio in summer of 2013. The purpose
of this panel was to let Deaf Ministry
offices in all dioceses know that we can
collaborate to have the US-Canada Deaf
youth to attend World Youth Day events
as one group. The benefit of this one
group is that we all can share our funding
for professional interpreters and also,
more important, the presence of more than
one Deaf priests as their leaders. Registration for
World Youth Day 2013 Rio de Janerio will be
18
available at www.deafcatholic.org this summer.
Please contact the Boston Deaf Apostolate for
more information.
As we concluded Pastoral Week
2012 Boston, we were enlightened with
fascinating educational opportunities
provided by Rev. Christopher Klusman on
translating Lenten prayers into ASL from
the New Roman Missal and by Sr. Kathleen
Schipani IHM and Rev. Michael Depcik
OSFS on their Confirmation Video Project
workshop. Participants
were
given
opportunities to work
in groups and study
the new Lenten
prayers to determine
the best possible ASL
translation. Also, as
for the Confirmation
Video, we enjoyed
the chance of having
a "sneak preview" of
video lessons and
learned that these lessons not only benefit
the Deaf youth, but also the hearing.
Many participants commented that these
videos, especially on the stories of the
lives of Saints, were clearly and boldly
engaging for all Catholic youth facing
issues in this "culture of death". Many are
looking forward to
using these video
lessons.
Overall, with
no doubt, NCOD
participants had so
much to bring back
to their home
dioceses from a
successful Pastoral
Week 2012 Boston!
We look forward to
seeing you at Pastoral
Week 2013 in Desert-land Phoenix!
Sheraton Phoenix Downtown NCOD Conference Rate $129
For additional hotel information visit
19
Pastoral Week 2012—Boston
We had such a great time!
20
Experience the Fun!
Join us for Pastoral Week 2013—Phoenix
21
Deaf Priest Contributions to Ministry
This year Sr. Kathleen Schipani, IHM had ten
seminarians in the American Sign Language and Deaf
Culture class at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia.
She would like to share with you with one of her
students reflections after researching about the
contributions of Deaf priest in ministry. His paper
follows:
Catholicism has always been a Faith that
calls ordinary men and women to extraordinary
deeds, and these times are no exception. Within
this paper, I would like to focus on how God
has worked through the deaf priesthood to
bring many more people into the Light of
Christ. I will do this by showcasing several deaf
priests who have exemplified priestly qualities
throughout their life and ministry. My hope is
that through this paper, I will bring to light the
fact that every person, deaf or hearing, has
valuable gifts to share within the Church of
Christ, as well as showing how the deaf ministry
is revolutionizing the Church of today.
The best place to start is always the
beginning, so I would like to talk a little bit
about Father Thomas Coughlin, the first deaf
priest in America. Father Tom was ordained in
1977 a is known by many of his friends to be a
man that could always beat the odds. Even
after being turned down by several seminaries,
he continued his religious studies and found his
home in the Trinitarian Order. Father Tom has
been a herald for deaf ministry ever since, going
to great lengths to try and fill such a huge gap in
the Church.
Some of his first achievements included
setting up a camp for deaf youth to allow them
to have a deeper understanding and experience
with the faith, as well as organizing a house of
studies for deaf seminarians. Originally in New
York, the house was moved to its present
location in San Antonio, Texas. In more recent
times, Father Tom took part in the 2009
Eucharistic Congress, representing the Deaf
Track for the Catholic deaf community. In an
inspiring talk based upon Christ's teaching of
22
the beatitudes, he encouraged all Catholics to
come into solidarity with the poor. Through his
words, he clearly showed the amazing gifts that
he could bring into the Church, and made a
strong statement about the importance of
allowing everyone, deaf or hearing, to share
their own gifts with the Church of Christ.
Great things can come from anyone, especially
those who put their trust in God.
Following in footsteps of Father Tom is
another priest who is much closer to home for
us. Revitalizing the faith across the country is
Father Mike Depcik. Although he may not be
well known to most people, he is certainly an
often mentioned name within the Catholic deaf
community. Every year he offers retreats in his
home diocese of Chicago for deaf Catholics and
has a very active website that strives to clarify
Catholicism in the best way possible.
One of Father Mike's strongest charisms
however, is that of reaching out to the deaf
population who have turned away from the
faith due to lack of encouragement from the
Church and difficulties in understanding its
concepts. Father Mike himself grew up not
understanding what Catholicism was all about,
and for a time left the faith entirely. Yet, after
staying with what he calls a born-again Catholic
family, his faith was renewed and his mission
became to never let any deaf person fall into the
same path that he did. I know that great things
are still to come from Father Mike Depcik who
knows in his heart, along with the whole deaf
community, that being deaf is not a limitation
but a gift.
Deaf ministry brings with it many
blessing as well as great hardships, and the
person who may know this better than most is
Father Christopher Klusman. Ordained for the
Diocese of Milwaukee, he is on the front lines
to restore the faith to the deaf community.
Father Chris is standing in the tragic aftermath
caused by Father Lawrence Murphy, who was
accused of molesting over 200 deaf boys in his
ministry.
This horrific story destroyed the faith of many
deaf Catholics, a faith which Father Chris hopes
to restore. So far he is making excellent
progress.
Father Chris was the first completely
deaf priest to graduate from Saint Francis de
Sales Seminary. He is a very ambitious man
determined to create new bonds between the
deaf and hearing faithful, something he is quite
good at due to his skilled oral and lip reading
abilities. Knowing the deaf are often slighted
within Catholic communities, he hopes to create
new ways to engage the deaf in their faith,
besides simply saying one mass on the weekend.
He plans on creating bible study groups and
retreats for the deaf and also hard-of-hearing,
and then extending his ideas to the parishes
around him. He wants the deaf to feel like
equals in the Church, and his incredible
motivation will undoubtable move his towards
that goal.
We can see clearly the great work that
the deaf priesthood has accomplished in a short
time. This wave of reformation in the Church
has an inspiring aspect that has caused many
others to join them in thier ministry. One such
person is Father Thomas Rozman, a priest of
the Diocese of Harrisburg. Father Rozman is
not deaf, but had been inspired after seeing
Father Mike Depcik celebrate the mass in sign
language. Upon realizing that 96% of deaf
Catholics, of which there are anywhere from 3
million to 5 million, have never gone to mass,
he was determined to learn ASL in hopes of
further evangilizing the faith to the deaf
community.
Being new to the world of sign language,
he had been studying at Gallaudet University
over several summers in order to enhance his
abilities in sign language. It is often difficult for
a hearing person to perfect the art of sign,
because it is not their native language. Despite
this Father Rozman devoutly spends time
further enhancing his skills, and is able to sign
the entire mass in ASL. His determination is a
great step for his diocese, which has never had a
priest who could speak sign language. Certainly
his efforts, along with all those in deaf ministry,
will be well awarded in drawing more and more
deaf Catholics back to their faith.
Although small in numbers, the priests
who serve in deaf ministry have done great
things in all corners of the country and will
continue to do so in years to come. I foresee a
huge advancement may be on its way within the
Church, a time when all dioceses will begin to
address the huge population of deaf Catholics
to bring them to Christ. Although they may
have been looked down upon in past times,
more and more people are beginning to see
deafness no longer as a defect but a blessing.
The priests of today are the bridge builders for
the future of deaf ministry, I just hope that I
will be able to be a part of such a great mission.
Bennett G. Smith
St. Charles Seminary –college II
Diocese of Harrisburg
April 24, 2012
Works Cited:
Bryne, Katheryne. “Deaf Priest Urges Solidarity
With Poor, Suffering.” The Georgia Bulletin.
http://www.georgiabulletin.org/
local/2009/06/18/deaf/ (accessed).
Johnson, Annysa. “Justice Sentinal Online.”
PennLive.
http://www.jsonline.com/
features/religion/127716843.html (accessed).
Opilo, Emily. “Deaf Priest Leads Sign-Language
Retreat in Harrisburg.” PennLive.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind
ex.ssf/2009/06/deafpriestleadssignlanguag.hml
Abrams, Jessie. “Priest Studies Sign Language to
Better Minister to Deaf Catholics.” Catholic
N e w s
S e r v i c e .
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cn
s/0903943.htm (accessed).
23
When I heard about the New Roman Missal
changes ...
Reflected by Margaret Calteaux
When I heard about the New Roman Missal
changes, I was wondering if the Church was
going make the Mass to be said in Latin because
the Catholic Church means universal church and the
Latin language is universal and a sign of unity.
Terri Matenaer, Coordinator from the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Ministry Office invited Monsignor Glenn
Nelson from Rockford Diocese to give a
workshop on the Introduction to the New Roman
Missal. I was wondering what I would benefit
from this workshop “Why is the Mass important?:
The Mass and the Changes in our Liturgical
Language.” Msgr. Nelson started with some
background information on the words that will be
changed which some were familiar to me but
some were new and got my curiosity to learn
more. He emphasized the importance of going to
Mass and why the changes needed to be made. I
was so glad to learn that the Mass was not going
to be changed to Latin but to add a deeper
meaning to the prayers. Msgr. Nelson introduced
the three primary reasons for the changes in our
Liturgical Language: Biblical, Reverential, and
Theological. Many of the changed phrases came
from the Bible to show where the true source
came from, to understand the theology purpose,
24
and to bring us closer to the importance of the
Mass. I was inspired by the way Msgr. Nelson
gave the workshop with his PowerPoint
presentation and the skills to explain something
that is so abstract and theological to the language
that I can understand. He used lots of visual
techniques and clearly explained each part of
changes. I was glad that I went to this workshop
because I sure did benefit a lot from Msgr.
Nelson and built my inner spirituality to
appreciate the Mass with abundance of joy and
awe. Now I understand the basic reasons for the
changes of the prayers to know more from our
Biblical Scripture, to have a deeper Theology
meaning, and to be more Reverence towards
God.
Cursillo #63—Walking the Waves with Jesus
Cursillo #63 was held at the beautiful St. Mary by
the Sea Retreat Center in Cape May Point, New
Jersey. As always, the Cursillo was a success! St.
Mary by The Sea, which is more than 100 years
old, is just a short distance from the Atlantic
Ocean. The beautiful walk to the Ocean was a
relaxing way to spend breaks. We
could see the ocean as well as a
lighthouse from upstairs rooms.
The theme, "Walking the Waves
with Jesus", truly fit this beautiful
location.
Mc Mannemin, local spiritual director. We were
happy to have a large number of young people
join us. The very inspiring Cursillo closed with
Mass on Sunday afternoon, October 2. The
Cursillistas experienced the wonder and awe of
the Holy Spirit during the weekend.
Twenty-eight candidates arrived on
Thursday evening, September 29,
2011. They joined the team and
angels (20) who came with a wide
variety of experience and were led
by Lulu Lee as Rectora; Fr. Bill Key
as Spiritual Director; Kate Slosar as
local coordinator and Sr. Bonnie
"Candidates and team at Cursillo #63 pose in front of the beautiful
St. Mary by the Sea Retreat Center, Cape May Point, New Jersey."
you
OW
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Is N
tten
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et
r tim
Cursillo #64, Ephpheta, Be Open
Cursillo #64 will be
October 4-7, 2012 at St.
Benedict Abbey, Benet Lake,
Wisconsin. This beautiful Retreat Center is just
north of the Illinois border in Wisconsin.
You may wonder, what is a Cursillo?
Cursillo is a Spanish word, which means a short
course in Christianity. Deaf Cursillos started in
1970. The Cursillo is presented by lay people and
spiritual directors. It is an opportunity to grow in
your Faith, Love, and the Hope of Christ. The
more than 2000 past attendees cannot explain the
experience of the Holy Spirit at work within
themselves. You will attend presentations, join in
group discussions, and attend daily Mass.
Participants are limited to 30 people. All
presentations are in American Sign Language with
no voice interpreter.
Why is the theme “Ephpheta, Be Open to
Jesus”? The Milwaukee Catholic Deaf Community
began 100 years ago in 2011. The name of the
Community is “Ephpheta Sodality of St. John the
Baptist”. This is also ICDA-US Chapter 7.
Members liked the theme. It just seemed right.
Lulu Lee of Iron Mountain, Michigan will
serve as Rectora. Fr. Bill Key of Waukesha,
Wisconsin will be the Spiritual Director.
For more information and registration:
Check the website: www.deafcursillo.net
Send an email [email protected].
Call Arvilla Rank, Coordinator at:
VP 414-395-2067
TTY 414-545-0461
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Sister Olivine Fiola, m.o.
9 February, 1920 – 15 March, 2012
Sister Olivine Fiola, M.O (Missionary
Oblate) died 9 February 2012 at the age of
92 and served the Deaf community in
Winnipeg from 1966 to 2010. In that same
year 2010 she received the David Walsh
Pastoral Worker of the Year award,
coinciding with the year she retired from
Deaf Ministry.
Sr. Fiola was extremely dedicated and
single minded, and largely through her
persistent efforts and perseverance the
Deaf Centre of Manitoba which includes
an auditorium/theatre, meeting rooms,
cafeteria and 57 personal care rooms. It
Mary Maxine
ChatelainSheffield
16 November 1935 14 August 2011
Mary Maxine Chatelain
Sheffield died peacefully,
surrounded by family on
Sunday morning, August 14,
2011 in Roswell GA.
Funeral services were held at St. John the Baptist
Catholic Church, 1024 Highway 1207, Deville LA.
Maxine was a devoted and loving wife, mother and
grandmother. She was a member of the
Transfiguration Catholic Church in Marietta, GA.
She was born November 16, 1935 in Alexandria,
Louisiana the daughter of Edward and Elizabeth
Deville Chatelain. Maxine graduated valedictorian
from the Louisiana School for the Deaf in 1956.
She previously resided in Charleston SC, Baton
Rouge, and Alexandria LA. She was a former
proof reader for The Alexandria Daily Town Talk
and in Baton Rouge for the State Times and
Morning Advocate until 1987. Recently secretary
of the Low Country Association of the Deaf,
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was built in Winnipeg in the 1970s and
still continues to serve many deaf people
in Manitoba.
The St Francis de Sales Manitoba
Catholic Church of the Deaf (MCCD)
held a Memorial Mass for “our beloved
Sister Fiola”, Saturday, 24 March, 2012
at 1:00 pm, Deaf Centre Manitoba Forrest
Nickerson Theatre.
member of the South Carolina Association of the
Deaf and a member of the Deaf Seniors of GA.
Maxine is preceded in death by her husband of 52
years Robert Jack Sheffield Sr.; her parents Edward
and Elizabeth Deville Chatelain; six brothers,
Adam Chatelain , Abel Chatelain, E.J. Chatelain,
Ray Chatelain, Edward Chatelain, and Emeric
Chatelain; and one sister, Audrey Chatelain
Vandersypen.
Maxine is survived by one Son, Jack Sheffield, Jr
and his wife Jennifer of Charleston SC; one
daughter, Jill Sheffield and her partner Sylvia
Primeaux of Roswell, GA; Seven grandchildren,
one brother, Elton Chatelain and wife Barbara of
Denham Springs; two sisters, Euna Chatelain
Scroggs, and Dorothy Chatelain Vanlangendonck
and husband
Arthur, and sister in law Darlene
Chatelain all of Alexandria.
Maxine will be sorely missed by her family and
many Deaf friends in Louisiana, South Carolina,
and Georgia. Memorials may be made to The
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, P.O. Box 4072,
Pittsfield, MA 01202 (888) 557-7177.
Just for Fun!
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RELIGIOUS ASL WEEK 2012
July 15-July 20
Rituals, Rites, Scripture and Frozen Text:
Navigating the Catholic Mass
Bishop Lane Retreat Center
7708 E. McGregor Road
Rockford, IL 61102
This year’s program is intended for:

Priests, deacons and seminarians who work with the Deaf Community

Working interpreters who have been certified (or qualified in their state) Others can send a DVD or
video to establish skill level

Deaf ASL lectors—members of the Deaf Community who are now doing the readings for Sunday
liturgies
Participants will learn from very qualified instructors:

Msgr. Glenn Nelson, Director

Deacon Patrick Graybill

Deacon Dave Sommers

Sue Gudenkauf, Interpreter/Assistant
Coordinator—Deb Beatty
For more information:
www.rockforddiocese.org/deafapostolate/
raslweek
Or email Deb Beatty at
[email protected]
27
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Marietta, GA
Permit No. 950
7202 Buchanan Street
Landover Hills, MD 20784
[email protected]
Www.ncod.org
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
NCOD Mission Statement: “Spread God’s message through the support of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Pastoral
Ministry so that we may all be one in Christ”
National Catholic Office for the Deaf
Membership Form
□ New Member
□ Renewal
□ Vision only
Annual Membership Fees
Name: _________________________________________________________
(USA Rate)
Title: __________________________________________________________
□
Individual $70
Address: _______________________________________________________
□
Family
$100
City: __________________________________________________________
□
Student
$35
State: _______________________________ Zip Code:_________________
□
Pastoral
$70
Country________________________________________________________
□ Executive $250 (Diocese,
Agencies, & Organizations)
Diocese: _______________________________________________________
□ Deaf/Hard of Hearing
□ Deaf-Blind
□ Hearing
□ Donation: ______________
(Tax Deductible)
Phone (W): __________________________________ TTY Voice Both VP
Vision Subscription Only
Phone (H): __________________________________ TTY Voice Both VP
(USA Rate)
FAX: _________________________________________________________
Email: ________________________________________________________
One Year
Name of Designated Voter _________________________________________
□
$20 US
□
$30 International
(for Family and Executive Members only)
Two Year
Mail Application to:
NCOD Membership
7202 Buchanan Street
Landover Hills, MD 20784
□
$35 US
□
$55 International
□ please send paper copies of
web issues
28