October 31 st Wish you all Happy Halloween Day!

Transcription

1 International Catholic Deaf Association United States Section, Inc. Midwest Region E-Newsletter October 2014 VOL. #5 ISSUE #7 Board of Directors President Margaret Calteaux Milwaukee, WI Chapter 7 mwr.president@gmail.com October 31 st Wish you all Happy Halloween Day! Secretary Patricia Slisz Chicago, IL Chapter 10 mwr.secretary@gmail.com Treasurer Toby Petrie Cincinnati, OH Chapter 20 mwr.treasurer@gmail.com Past President Jean Cox Cleveland, OH Chapter 18 mwr.pastpresident@gmail.com

2 Patricia Flannery Slisz Lake Villa, IL Secretary of ICDA-US Midwest Region 1) Thank you for accepting the interview, can you share with us about your family? I, Patricia, born profound Deaf since birth in Davenport, Iowa. I grew up in rural Iowa where my family not only raised crops and livestock, but ran a combination grocery, gas station, tavern under same roof. My father built this house with a hand shovel for 4 years during the depressed time. During the summer season, my parents provided the lot for the outdoor movie for the community on Fridays after the sunset down. I had to help with my father and two older sisters to set up the seating with beverage cartons and boards except a wicker sofa for me and my family. I worked different kind of occupations and has excelled at each of them with business and home at 24/7. My father was a construction worker as well, often spending weeks at a time traveling to other states to work on major projects like dams and highways. I would often travel to visit her dad. At 17 years old, I was eager to expand my job skills beyond the family business. I took a summer factory job sewing American flag and blue ribbons for county fairs when I was just a teen, and became a skilled seamstress.

3 2) I am impressed of your family values, how does your family nourish your Catholic faith? My Catholic faith was from strongly influenced from my Catholic family. At my childhood, I remember that my mother always passed on to me the Baltimore St. Joseph Catholic catechism books. Since then I was studied hard from there till now still study through in reading many religious and theology books and other resources. 3) As you are from strong Catholic family, how did God call you to involve in ministries? My cherish memories were the visions since my childhood. I was in a hammock at family lawn and had some conversation with someone in the sky several times. Saw two times with big bright white rays like halo but head to toes on our late, Pope John Paul II, and group nuns of St. Teresa of Calcutta and heaven clouds appeared moment when my late husband died, Ronald Slisz had a massive heart attack when we were walked on our home driveway. I am very devotion to God. 4) It is wonderful to see God s calling you into the ministry, can you share with us about your experiences and ministries too? I received all the educated in Iowa till I moved to Chicago to raised 2 hearing children as a single parent and widow. I am retired as professional Life Skill Counselor, supervise the Business Skills Training Program, including helped create Bankforce Program for the Human of Service/Vocational Rehabilitation. I was the recognized with awards from the Mercedes-Benz Mentor and Community Achievement from The Foundation for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation of Northwestern University of Chicago, IL. I am active with the Catholic Office for the Deaf as several certificates of Archdiocese of Chicago as Master Catechist, RCIDA founder/director, MFP (Pastoral Worker),and Scripture and Bible Study Instructor. Include as Lector, Liturgical Art Environment, and Liturgy board member.

4 5) Can you describe us about your activities of your ICDA Chapter? I am member of ICDA-US Chapter 10, Chicago Catholic Ephpheta as an officer and Chairperson for our ICDA-US Midwest 2016 here. I am also a Youth committee for the2015 ICDA-US Convention week in Cleveland, OH. I was a committee for the 2011 ICDA-US convention in Chicago-Schaumburg, IL. 6) Do you think that both chapter and ministry are necessary in every major city? I was involving in these ministries that help and participate in my ICDA-US Chapter 10 because of my faith. I do believe that both ministry and chapter are necessary in every major or minor city. 7) What were your best ICDA experiences? My first experience with ICDA was to see so many priests and nuns at the convention many years ago. It was so amazed and thrilled to see them than in the real world. I was pleased. I grew up with priest and nuns because of my older sisters who attended Catholic Schools and been in surround with them. I took my catechism courses (CCD) at their school by Monsignor for me to receive my sacraments with no interpreter at that time. At the Catholic College for the Girls, I had nuns who taught me and my family neighbor s, a daughter entered a convent. I was Vice-President of Davenport, IA, Chapter 47 and from my late Ronald, a life member of ICDA. Now, I am ICDA-US Midwest Regional Secretary.

5 From the Editor, Hello Each Chapter s Officers, Please send addresses of your new ICDA-US members to mwr.newsletter@gmail.com Thank you. From Fr. Joe Bruce, SJ Deaf Catholic Archives is missing a copy of the 2014 ICDA Midwest Regional Conference program booklet. If you have a copy and wish to donate it, please mail it to: Deaf Catholic Archives - Dinand Library Holy Cross College 1 College Street Worcester, MA Thank you and God bless Words of Pope Francis

6 Halloween and Catholicism As we near All Hallows Eve, aka Halloween, we fired some questions at the walking encyclopedia that is Father Steve Grunow, and he responded with everything you ever wanted to know about Halloween and its deeply Catholic roots. QUESTION: I know that there are some Celtic or Germanic elements to the holiday that we ve come to embrace as Halloween. Which traditions are Catholic and which are not? Fr. Steve: The festival is not ethnic or nationalistic. It is Catholic. Certainly there were regional appropriations of the festivals of the Church, and Halloween was no exception, but bottom line these festal days belonged to the Church as a whole which meant pretty much all of Europe. You might have some customs that were specific to regions, but the festival itself is a distinctly Catholic practice. There are some folks that have come to believe that there is some association of Halloween with a pagan festival called Samhain, but I have come to understand that this association is more coincidental than actual. In terms of customs that are specific to Catholicism, it is all pretty much derivative from the kinds of stuff that you find in the public festivities of Catholic culture. In this regard Mardi Gras is probably the best point of reference. We think of Mardi Gras and its attendant festivities as specific to one day, but it used to be that that kind of festival environment occurred with great frequency throughout the Church s year. Think of all the customs associated with Halloween as a Mardi Gras before All Saints Day and I think you get a perspective in regards to all the excess and tomfoolery. The party was meant to culminate in Solemn Worship, after which one returned to the routine of life. Unfortunately, the Church has surrendered the party to the secular culture. It has happened with Halloween. It is happening with Christmas.

7 QUESTION: What do you think of the trend of parents boycotting Halloweenpur on account of it being evil? What would you say to them if they told you such? Not safety or healthy concerns keeping kids indoors, but abject opposition to something believed to be satanic or terrorizing? Fr. Steve: There is a lot that is unsavory about the contemporary celebration of Halloween. What does the singular focus on violence, horror and death have to say about our culture? The traditional, Catholic Halloween placed these realities within the context of Christ s victory over sin, death and the devil. The current secularized version of the festival has no salvific content and has been loosed from its theological moorings. It looks very much like a festival of death for a culture of death and for that reason I can see why parents might be concerned. But what is the proper response to a culture of death? To lock the Church behind closed doors or to let her out into the world? I think it is time for Catholics to accept the religious liberties that this culture claims to afford them and go public with their own festivals- and to do so dramatically and with a great deal of public fervor. What is holding us back? What are we afraid will happen? The reticence and fear that characterizes Catholics is costing the Church its unique culture and it is allowing the culture of death to flourish. Halloween should not be a day when our churches go dark and Christians retreat into the shadows, but when we fill the darkness with Christ's light and go out into the culture, inviting everyone to the prepare for the festival of the Saints with all the joy we can muster. QUESTION: What does the Catechism have to say about Halloween? Fr. Steve: The Catechism has a lot to say about the characteristics of heroic virtue and holiness of life that create the Church s saints. It also has a lot to say about Christ s victory over sin, death and the devil. These are the kinds of things that the festivities of Catholic Halloween should be celebrating with great gusto and panache.

8 Catholic Recipe: Halloween Pumpkin Bread Serve this recipe with warm caramel sauce and a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy! Ingredients 1/1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree 1/3 cup water 1 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup mini chocolate chips

9 Directions 1. Preheat oven to In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside. 3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 4. Add the melted butter, pumpkin puree, water, and vanilla. Mix well. 5. Add the dry ingredients and stir until blended. 6. Add the chocolate chips. 7. Pour into floured and greased loaf pans. 8. For mini loaf pans, bake minutes. For a standard sized loaf pan, bake minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm with caramel sauce. Yields 12 servings. About the Authors: Rondi Hillstrom Davis and Janell Sewall Oakes are the co-authors of the award winning book Together: Creating Family Traditions. To check out their website that's jam packed with family ideas, visit Copyright 2014 ICDA-US Section Inc. Midwest Region, All rights reserved. Deadline date to submit your community news for November issue is November 15 th. The mailing address if you prefer to send it MWR Attention: Br. Joseph Thermadom, 1011 Alton Ave, Madison, IL If by , please send to mwr.newsletter@gmail.com Thank you