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WASHINGTON (December 6, 1999) -- Opera star Barbara Dever will be a guest on Personally Speaking, Friday, December 17 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) on the Odyssey cable network.
Ms. Dever, a world class mezzo soprano, stars regularly in her home parish, Sacred Heart Church, in Camden, New Jersey, where she serves as music director when not on the road. Ms. Dever started her professional career as a folk singer, but abandoned the music world to work full-time raising her two children and helping her parish with music and liturgy. In the mid-80's, she returned to music and began lessons with a music professor who recognized her talent. Soon she won first prize in a vocal competition and a new career was launched. She has sung at many of the world's great opera houses and with some of opera's greatest names, including Domingo and Pavarotti.
Personally Speaking is a weekly talk show, hosted by Msgr. Jim Lisante, of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y. It features guests from the worlds of business, entertainment, literature, religion, and politics who share their spiritual journey. In the December 17 show, Ms Dever will discuss how she balances her roles as wife, mother, opera star and music minister.
Other Personally Speaking guests in December include December 10, Father Joseph O'Hare, SJ, President, Fordham University. Father O'Hare, a Jesuit, has been president of Fordham University for 15 years and during that time has been active in the civic affairs of his hometown, New York City. He has served as chairman of the city's five-member non-partisan Campaign Finance Board since 1984 and has been a member of the Mayor's Committee on Appointments and the Charter Revision Commission of the City of New York. Part of Father O'Hare's training as a Jesuit took place in the Phillippines, were he earned two degrees from Berchman College in Cebu City and taught at the Ateneo de Manila University. Father O'Hare is passionate about the Jesuit identity of Fordham. "Jesuit education," says Father O'Hare, "seeks to stretch the heart as well as enlighten the mind."
December 24, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan of Brooklyn. When Father Joseph Sullivan was asked by his bishop to enter a graduate program in social work, he wasn't even sure what a social worker did. That was 38 years ago, and the now Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn says that he wouldn't have had it any other way. Bishop Sullivan has been involved in charitable work ever since. Most recently, he chaired a U.S. bishops' ad hoc committee that developed a pastoral letter on charity issued by the Bishops during their November, 1999 general meeting. He is a current member of the Catholic Health Association board and has served on the boards of numerous other health and social service agencies. Bishop Sullivan discusses the persistence of poverty in the midst of prosperity and the charitable responsibilities of Catholics. "To be a practicing Catholic," says Bishop Sullivan, "means to be involved in the lives of others."
December 31, Deborah Boldt, Filmmaker & Marilyn Martone, Theology Professor. In 1993, a young American artist revived the ancient art of fresco painting on a ceiling at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. His subject was the seven virtues as described by St. Thomas Aquinas, and his work became the subject of film produced by Deborah Boldt for public television. Filmmaker Boldt discusses the objective of the film, which was not only to document the making of the fresco itself, but to examine its impact as a public artwork. Marilyn A. Martone, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at St. John's University, discusses the difference between virtues and values, and the place of virtues in our society.
Personally Speaking is produced the Catholic Communication Campaign. Viewers can learn more about the program through the CCC Web site (www.nccbuscc.org/ccc) and can send E-mail to Msgr. Lisante at: ps@nccbuscc.org. Personally Speaking can be seen Fridays from 10:00-10:30 a.m. ET, on the Odyssey cable network (www.odysseychannel.com). It is also available free of charge (except for dubbing and shipping expenses) to Catholic dioceses for placement on their local broadcast and cable stations.
Persons who wish to learn more about Personally Speaking can visit the CCC web site (www.nccbuscc.org/ccc) and can send E-mail to Msgr. Lisante at ps@nccbuscc.org. Persons who seek information on subscribing to Personally Speaking, can call Pat Garcia at 202-541-3204.