Dear Readers,
All of us have big events in our lives, turning points, milestones, times of sorrow or of great joy. These events often mark changes in the way we live and even in the way we think of ourselves. They change our beliefs about what is possible.

Once such event happened when our RCIA columnist, Peggy Clores, endured the terrifying ordeal of her son’s cancer, from which he — thankfully — has fully recovered. The experience motivated him to become a doctor and this healthy young man is now in medical school. It is important to his mother that the world know that her family’s suffering was greatly mitigated by the gentle and devoted support of a group of Marianist priests from her son’s Catholic high school; and one priest in particular, whom she has honored in a beautiful way. A very nice project is collecting letters written to priests who have profoundly impacted people’s lives for the better, and Peggy has written a letter to her cherished friend, Father James Williams. Take a look. The National Catholic Register took note of the project this week. Life-changing events, life-changing relationships — all a part of the life of the Church. Here’s a big “thank you” to priests, from Belomasan Films.

Our beloved Church recently celebrated the biggest event in Salvation History, Easter Sunday, and we continue in the joy of the Easter season, looking forward to Pentacost and its commemoration of the birth of the Catholic Church. These are exquisite and spirit-filled times. But each and every day the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary is made present on Catholic altars all over the world. And we are given the unspeakable privilege of entering into this Big Event every time we answer His call to draw near, each time we partake of Christ Himself in the Holy Eucharist. God is so very good to us.

I’ve recently come to a major milestone in my life. After years of teaching workshops for children and teaching the Faith in my parish, freelance writing for Catholic periodicals and teaching my workshop for catechists, I am about to publish my first little book. It is a booklet, really, a field guide of sorts for the volunteer catechist, filled with simple methods for making religion lessons memorable, effective and exciting for you and for your students. Best of all, my dearest dream came true when the manuscript was accepted by my favorite catechetical publisher, Our Sunday Visitor! The booklet, titled, “Thrill Ride: Becoming an Amazing Catechist,” is due out some time this summer. As I learn more, I’ll keep you posted.

In honor of this milestone, I have started a new organization and put together a full-day event on Long Island, New York, for Catholic writers of every kind; those who work in both religious and secular environments, those who are published or unpublished, professional or hobbyist. Many of us have blogs, write for our church bulletins, or pen our own poems. Some of us are students as well as teachers. Some of us are just curious about the role that our faith can play in the work we do. All are welcome. We’ve kept the price low [$25 for the whole day, including a full buffet lunch and two snack/networking breaks, for those who register before June 1^st!]. Everyone who pre-registers will be given a ¼-page in our program for their professional bio and contact information, a $15 value, and a great tool for networking. I hope those of you who are able to attend will join us for what promises to be an inspiring, joy-filled, Eucharistic-centered day, a chance to meet lots of folks like yourselves, persevering in the fields of the Lord.

This is a catechetical event in that it focuses on the way God uses our talents to draw others to Himself. The event is geared toward writing as ministry and vocation, an event open to all people of all backgrounds, but focused on our membership in the Body of Christ through the Catholic faith. It is absolutely appropriate for all DREs and catechists, clergy, religious, lay people and students interested in communicating our faith through the written word. I am pasting the flyer information in below. Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to hear from you, and I hope to see many of you there! If enough out-of-state folks want to come, I’ll look into booking a block of hotel rooms in the area. Please feel free to share this information widely. We are His Body on earth. Let’s share a Mass and rejoice in our ministry together. God bless you!

And don’t forget to check out our beautiful new columns for this month, written by Alice Gunther, Christine Capolino, Christian LeBlanc, Maria Rivera and Ellen Hrkach. Just click on “columnists” in the navigation bar, above, and scroll down! Thanks!

Catholic Writers of Long Island presents:

The Word Made Flesh:

A Day of Encouragement and Enrichment

for Catholic Writers

Sponsored by:
The Catholic Writers’ Guild
Hillside Education
Alice and Chris Gunther
Alexander J. Basile
The Engeman Theater
CatholicTherapists.com
Tannia E. Ortiz-Lopés

Date and Location:
Saturday, June 19th 2010, from 8:45am-5pm
The Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
440 West Neck Road
Huntington, NY 11743

[see schedule below]

Keynote: Rick Hinshaw: Editor of the Long Island Catholic

[Rick will receive a special award from the Catholic Writers’ Guild for his amazing leadership at our diocesan news weekly]

* Speakers will conduct book-signings
* Raffle and CD giveaway will benefit Catholic Relief Services

* Nursing mothers are welcome with their babies

Early-bird registration saves $10 and earns you a special bonus worth $15 more!!!

Adult Early Birds through June 1: $25.00
Student Early Birds through June 1: $17.00

Adult Late Registration: June 2-15: $35.00
Student Late Registration: June 2-15: $25.00

Adult Walk-ins the day-of: $45.00
Student Walk-ins the day-of: $35.00
Register Here: https://materetmagistramagazine.org/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=6

Or go to https://materetmagistramagazine.org and click on “Long Island Catholic Writers”
Mail-in registrations can be sent to: mater et magistra, P.O. Box 251, Hamlin, PA 18427

Please put “LI Writers” in the notes section of your check. Don’t forget to include your 100-word bio and contact information. Thank you so much!

Registration closes for meal head-count on June 15^th.

As a special bonus for our early-birds… We are providing a truly exciting networking opportunity; a quarter-page space of approximately 100 words in our event program, valued at $15 – FREE! Submit your bio in the “comments” section when you register so that everyone in attendance knows who you are and how to hire you! Don’t miss this opportunity. All attendees will wear name tags and there are three different networking breaks built into the schedule. Use that program list! Look up the folks you want to meet and go find them!

Schedule of Events

8:45-9:20: Lobby
Registration/Sign-in, name-tags, mailing list, raffle tickets on sale – $1 each
8:45-9:20: Cafeteria
Coffee, Tea, snacks available, Catholic Writers Guild table, Long Island Catholic table, book tables, networking time

9:00: Chapel
Rosary [optional]

9:30: Auditorium
Welcome: Lisa Mladinich, President, Catholic Writers of Long Island

10:00: Auditorium
Keynote: Rick Hinshaw, Editor of the Long Island Catholic

“Mr. Hinshaw will share the story of his life in Catholic communications: his days as a reporter and columnist for The Long Island Catholic; his experiences working with the Catholic League and the New York State Catholic Conference; his years in Catholic television; and his return to The Long Island Catholic as editor. As an example of the surprising ways in which God elevates our dreams and desires, this is a story of how one man has seen his life and career guided by God in directions far different from that which he envisioned, toward service to the Church’s new evangelization.”

Introduction: Alice Gunther, author and LIC Columnist
Award presentation: after Keynote

11:00: Chapel
Mass: Monsignor Charles Fink, Director of Spiritual Formation for the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, and Monsignor Peter Vaccari, Rector of the Seminary of the IC
Music: Alex Basile and the Kellenberg Choir

12:00: Lobby
Kellenberg Choir CD giveaway

12:15: Cafeteria
Lunch: raffle, mailing list, Catholic Writers Guild table, Long Island Catholic table, book-signings, OLA Choir, networking time

1:15: Auditorium
Raffle results

1:30: Auditorium
Speaker: Josephine Nobisso, award-winning author and publisher
“How a Catholic writer, with the Faith internalized, makes its expression intensely personal.”

2:00: Auditorium
Speaker: Alexander J. Basile, author, composer
“Giving The Greatest Gift: A reflection on how writers, teachers, parents, religious, ordained and all lay people can unveil God’s greatest gift to others: Jesus Christ.”

2:30-3:00: Cafeteria
Snack and networking break

3:00: Auditorium
Speaker: Pat Gohn, columnist, retreat leader, host of “Among Women” podcast
“From the Word made flesh to the Word gone digital….
Encouragement for writers beginning to explore new media.”

3:30: Auditorium
Speaker: Monsignor Peter Vaccari, author, Seminary Rector
“The Beauty of Collaboration in Research & Writing.”

4:00: Auditorium
Closing comments, final blessing

4:15: Auditorium
Networking time: Some speakers will remain to chat until 5pm, and guests are invited to stay and connect with each other until that time. Make sure you’re on our mailing list to receive notifications of future events.

Register now and save $10! And earn our early-bird special worth $15 more!!!

Pass this invitation along to absolutely anybody anywhere interested in Catholic writing as craft, as vocation, as ministry, as hobby, as art, as career! Whether you write in secular or religious venues, whether you are a professional or volunteer, a student or hobbyist, blogger, journalist, author, poet, copywriter, editor, publisher of fiction or non-fiction… come join us! We are stronger together than we are alone. Let’s share a Mass and have a great day together!

Questions or media inquiries, contact: lisamladinich@optonline.net

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Lisa Mladinich
Founder, AmazingCatechists.com
President, Catholic Writers of Long Island