USCCB - (Office of Media Relations)

May Events

World Day of Prayer for Vocations is May 3. For more information, contact National Coalition for Church Vocations, 1-800-671-NCCV.

Media Training for bishops and diocesan communicators will be held in Cincinnati, May 5.

National Day of Prayer is May 7. Contact number: 719-531-3379.

Mother's Day is May 10.

U.S. Catholic Mission Association - National Council of Churches Common Witness Conference is slated for Milwaukee, May 14-17.

World Communications Day is May 17.

The Subcommittee on the Millennium will convene a think tank, May 18, to begin developing a calendar for the Great Jubilee. The calendar will provide highlights of events and activities to take place during the year 2000 both in the United States and Rome and offer suggestions for parish and diocesan celebrations marking the start of the Third Millennium. Plans call for the calendar to be ready by the end of the summer.

Ascension Thursday is May 21.

Memorial Day is observed May 25.

May 31 is Pentecost.

May is a month marked by ordinations. Look for a press pack to be distributed from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops about the Class of 1998. The packet will include a profile of the class done by Dean Hoge, Ph.D., of the Life Cycle Institute at The Catholic University of America. Also in the works is a report on what characterizes parishes which produce vocations to the priesthood.

Many college graduations take place in May. This might be a time to focus on students who plan to give some time to service. The largest percentage of them do so through organizations such as the Jesuit Volunteers, Mercy Corps and others associated with religious orders. The Catholic Network for Volunteer Service estimates that each year about 5,000 persons volunteer in 180 programs associated with them.

First Communions take place in many parishes in May. This is an event which is good for photo ops and even interviews with articulate children.

Catholic Charities USA is receiving criticism from the Capital Research Center, which regularly criticizes the Campaign for Human Development. Information on responding is available through local Catholic Charities offices which received a packet of information from their national offices in early April.

Kits for Catechetical Sunday 1998 are available. To order, call the U.S. bishops' Office for Publishing and Promotion Services (OPPS) 1-800-235-8722. Cost is $12.95, plus 10 percent shipping and handing per order ($3.00 minimum). Publication number for the kit is 5-248. Prayer cards, certificates, and posters are for sale separately.

The following dioceses can be reached by e-mail: ALASKA: Fairbanks, Juneau. ARIZONA: Phoenix, Tucson. CALIFORNIA: Monterey, Oakland, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose. COLORADO: Denver. CONNECTICUT: Hartford, Bridgeport. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington. FLORIDA: Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Venice. GEORGIA: Savannah. HAWAII: Honolulu. IDAHO: Boise. ILLINOIS: Chicago, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, Springfield. INDIANA: Evansville, Forth Wayne-South Bend, Indianapolis, Lafayette. IOWA: Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque. KANSAS: Kansas City in Kansas. KENTUCKY: Louisville, Lexington, Owensboro. LOUISIANA: Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Houma-Thibodaux, Lafayette, Lake Charles, New Orleans, Shreveport. MAINE: Portland. MASSACHUSETTS: Boston, Melkite Diocese of Newton. MICHIGAN: Detroit, Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Marquette. MINNESOTA: New Ulm, St. Cloud, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Winona. MARYLAND: Baltimore. MISSISSIPPI: Jackson. MISSOURI: Jefferson City, St. Louis, Springfield-Cape Girardeau. MONTANA: Great Falls-Billings, Helena. NEBRASKA: Omaha. NEVADA: Las Vegas. NEW HAMPSHIRE: Manchester. NEW JERSEY: Camden, Newark, Passaic, Paterson, Trenton. NEW MEXICO: Las Cruces. NEW YORK: Brooklyn, Buffalo, New York, Ogdensburg. Rochester, Rockville Centre; Syracuse. NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte, Raleigh. NORTH DAKOTA: Bismarck, Fargo. OHIO: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo. OKLAHOMA: Oklahoma City, Tulsa. OREGON: Baker, Portland. PENNSYLVANIA: Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh. RHODE ISLAND: Providence. SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston. SOUTH DAKOTA: Sioux Falls. TENNESSEE: Memphis. TEXAS: Amarillo, Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Ft. Worth, San Angelo, Victoria. VERMONT: Burlington. VIRGINIA: Richmond. WASHINGTON: Seattle, Spokane, Yakima. WEST VIRGINIA: Wheeling-Charleston. WISCONSIN: Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee, La Crosse. WYOMING: Cheyenne.

If any communications director wants to be added to the list, please e-mail me at mwalsh@nccbuscc.org.