All maturing adults ages 55 and up are invited to the annual Senior Spirituality and Education Day to be held July 14 in the community room of St. Dominic Parish, Brick, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, sponsored by the diocesan Department of Pastoral Care, will be a day full of inspiration, entertainment, food and friends in a spirit of fellowship and shared experiences.
Redemptorist Father James A. Wallace, the rector and director of San Alfonso Retreat House, Long Branch, will speak on “The Call to Elderhood in the Year of Mercy.” Italian tenor, Moreno Fruzetti, will sing well-known American pop tunes from the “good old days” and some popular and classical Italian music.
Registered nurse Sandy Mullarkey, who serves as pastoral associate and parish nurse in St. Anselm, Wayside, will lead a session on senior health and wellness. Mullarkey was commissioned a lay ecclesial minister in Dec., 2004. Her husband, Michael, is a permanent deacon in Epiphany Parish, Brick.
A representative from Veterans Homecare NYJ will also be present to discuss an opportunity for veterans to enable them to receive free care in their own homes.
Prior to his appointment at San Alfonso in 2013, Father Wallace served as a professor of homiletics at the Washington Theological Union, Washington. He has written extensively on preaching and homily reflections and has appeared in numerous publications, including the “New Theology Review,” “Worship,” “Preach,” “America” and “Feasting on the Word, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary.”
Father Wallace has lectured on preaching in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, and Asia. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Georgetown Center for Liturgy’s annual award for “Outstanding Contributions Made to the Liturgical Life of the American Church.” He has served as president of the Academy of Homiletics, the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics and the Religious Speech Communication Association.
Moreno Fruzzetti, a native of Pisa in the Tuscany region of Italy, is an accomplished tenor who has been entertaining audiences for more than 30 years. Awarded the “Ambassador of Italian Music in America” award, Fruzzetti has toured the world with his golden voice and recorded 18 albums of both classical and popular Italian music.
Registration begins at 9:15 a.m. with coffee and snacks. Attendees are encouraged to show their patriotic spirit and wear red, white and blue attire.
Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. with principal celebrant Vincentian Father Martin McGeough, diocesan coordinator of Jail and Prison Ministry.
Tickets are $12 and includes lunch and beverages. They may be purchased online at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/pastoralcare, or by mail. Make a check payable to “Diocese of Trenton” and mail to The Diocese of Trenton, Department of Pastoral Care, 701 Lawrenceville Rd., Trenton, N.J. 08648.
For further information, contact Deanna Sass at dsass@dioceseoftrenton.org or 609-403-7157. St. Dominic Parish is located at 250 Old Squan Road, Brick. The parish community room is located behind the church and school near the rear parking lot.