Young adults from Ann Arbor to participate in Michigan walk of prayer They will walk 27 miles over two days while praying for cultural contributions. On Aug. 13, young adult Catholics from around the state will converge in Brooklyn to begin a two-day walk of prayer called the Pilgrimage for Christian Culture. The principal intention of the pilgrimage – the main thing that the pilgrims will be praying for – will be that the Holy Spirit would inspire each of the pilgrims as to how he or she can best serve the culture for Christ, whether in terms of arts, music, journalism, ministry, sports, etc. They will also be praying for all the prayer requests that people have mailed to pilgrimage.intentions@gmail.com. Prayer requests are still being accepted and can be set to this address through Friday evening. The walk of prayer will begin at Camp De Sales, 1124 Ventura Drive in Brooklyn. Father Mathias Thelen of the Diocese of Lansing will celebrate Mass for the pilgrims at 1 p.m. in the camp’s Sacred Heart Chapel. Father Thelen was ordained by Bishop Earl Boyea on June 11, 2010. Since July 1, he has served at Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish in Jackson. Pilgrims are expected from Jackson, Saginaw, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Metro Detroit and Grand Rapids. They will participate in culture by learning to pray certain prayers in Latin and Spanish and by singing the Liturgy of the Hours. The Liturgy of the Hours is the ancient Catholic practice, inherited from the pre-Christian Jews, of regularly praying the 150 Psalms. Saturday morning will begin with an extraordinary form Latin Mass, after that the pilgrims will walk the last 16 miles into Jackson in time for the 5 p.m. Vigil Mass for the feast of the Assumption at Queen of the Miraculous Medal. Following Mass they will celebrate that feast day with the pastor, Father Tim MacDonald. Interested pilgrims may sign up via www.genchrist.net/pilgrimage or Facebook.
Vicki Wells-Bedard wins Catholic Communications highest award – even as she loses her ability to speak After nearly a lifetime as a communications professional for the Catholic Church, Vicki Wells Bedard was honored by Catholic Academy for Communication Arts at the same time that she is losing her ability to speak. Wells-Bedard was awarded the Academy’s highest honor, the Presidential Medallion, at the Academy’s convention on June 4. Tragically, the award came a year after her diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD-Picks), a degenerative disease that gradually robs patients of their ability to speak, interact, or care for themselves. There is no treatment, and the disease is terminal.
Wells-Bedard’s service to the church started when she was a parish secretary. She went on to serve as communications director for two dioceses and was instrumental in growing many Catholic companies, including Catholic Web, Parish Soft and Lansing’s FAITH Magazine. Wells-Bedard served as the Catholic Academy’s First Vice President in 2007.
In the face of her devastating illness, Wells-Bedard has been a courageous witness of faith and a true Catholic communicator. No longer able to work, she did not give in to illness but became a voice to a disease that strips communication capabilities from its sufferers. With technological assistance from Jim Coyle of Franciscan University, she started a blog (http://soncountry.net/voice) that discusses her daily struggles with her diminishing capabilities and shows how faith continues to sustain her. She has brought words and feelings to those who have FTD-Picks and is a resource for those who are caregivers to this terminal illness.
Wells-Bedard was recognized by the Academy not only for her lifelong commitment to Catholic communications, but also for being the embodiment of what Christians are called to do – serve. In her acceptance speech, taped prior to the event because Wells-Bedard now sometimes struggles to find her spoken voice, she reminded all that “as communicators we are to give voice to the voiceless.”
FTD-Picks is a degenerative brain disorder that results from progressive damage to cells in the anterior temporal and/or frontal lobes of the brain. The hallmark of FTD-Picks is a gradual, progressive decline in behavior and/or language that has a relatively young age of onset. As the disease progresses, patients experience increased difficulty in planning, behaving and interacting appropriately and caring for oneself, resulting in increasing dependency.
The onset of FTD-Picks symptoms typically occurs in the 50s to early 60s, but has been seen as early as 21 and as late as 80 years. FTD occurs equally among gender. In a small percentage of cases it is inherited. FTD is estimated to affect approximately one-quarter million Americans and is 10%-20% of all dementia cases. It is incurable and is one of the most common dementias affecting a younger population.
St. Michael student organized Cuts for a Cause Veronica Mills, a 6th grader at St. Michael School in Grand Ledge, organized Cuts for a Cause event for girls to grow their hair all year and to cut it to make wigs for cancer patients. She got girls and several adult women, interested. She asked the beauticians at Profiles Hair Salon, 315 Harrison St. in Grand Ledge to donate their time to cut the hair and had little goodie bags for the participants to make it a fun day for them. This event is truly what we are about – helping others with gifts we’ve been given by God.
