Catholic Chicago

Host:  Bob Gilligan.  Guest:  Carlos Tejada 

Host:  Bob Gilligan.  Guest:  Britta Kreps.

Recent studies by the Center for Disease Control show that the number of people experiencing mental health concerns has risen so much in the past two years that this is considered to be a global public health issue. At Catholic Charities, our Behavioral Health Programs are tailored to meet clients where they are at, and our experienced professionals are widely respected for the results they help clients achieve, often using Trauma-Informed Therapy. Join Phil Zepeda as he welcomes Ellen Tannenbaum, Director of Catholic Charities Youth Counseling Programs to discuss how Trauma-Informed Therapy helps identify root causes of many mental health concerns and lead clients to happier times ahead.          

Hosts:  Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi.  As of late July, about one hundred thousand Ukrainian refugees have been admitted to the United States as a result of Russia’s ongoing invasion and occupation of Ukraine.  Many of those refugees are here in the Chicago area.  Recently the Diaconate of Chicago partnered with St. Nicholas Cathedral School to assist some of those Ukrainian refugee families.  Joining us for this segment of the program are Deacon James Norman, Vicar for Deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago, Deacon James Sponder, Chairman of the Diaconate Council in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and Anna Cirilli, Principal at the St. Nicholas Cathedral School.

Hosts:  Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi.  This is the season when students are beginning to return to school, which means that campus ministries everywhere are gearing up for a busy fall semester.  Joining us for the first segment of today’s program are Father Bradley Zamora, chaplain and director of the Sheil Catholic Center at Northwestern Universityin Evanston, and his new director of campus ministry, Crystal Serrano-Puebla. 

We learn more about how using hip hop culture to engage young people in the journey of faith. We speak with Cortez Watson Jr., founder of the Hip Hop F.I.R.M. about the organization's work in creating curriculum and methodology to help center lives and experiences through an Afrocentric lens. 

Fr. Michael Trail is the new host of the Black Catholic Initiative program.  Today Fr. Trail speaks with Deacon LeRoy Gill and Fr. Bob Kelly, SVD about the annual Sunrise Prayer Service that takes place on the lakefront of Chicago

Hosts:  Fr. Greg Sakowicz and Mark Teresi.  Segment I:  Catholic Identity Justice Micro Credential Program.  Guests:  Dr. Donna Kiel; Dr. Molly Cinnamon.  Segment II:  New Directors of Inclusive Education and Federal Funds.  Guests:  Amy Lindel; Michelle Walthers

Deacon Leroy Gil, founder and organizer of the Black Deacons’ Sunrise Prayer Service, explains how the Sunrise Prayer Service was established to pray for peace, as well as, the highlights over the last 13 years of the event.  He shares his excitement for the upcoming Sunrise Prayer Service which will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2022.  This year the Sunrise Prayer Service has been expanded in collaboration with Our Lady of Africa Parish and the Black Catholic Initiative (BCI) to include a Peace Fellowship Breakfast and Peace Symposium to promote peace in a city plagued by violence. 

Sister Sharon Dillon, SSJ-TOSF, member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis, currently lives in an intentional community in Chicago called, “The Fireplace.” Sr. Sharon talks about her vocation and her faithful living of her vows by being attentive to what is emerging and responding to the signs of the times. Find out more about The Fireplace initiative at https://www.thefireplacecommunity.org/. Get involved or participate in one of their event offerings.

Sharon Dillon is a Sister of St. Joseph of the Third Order of St. Francis who currently resides at the Fireplace Community in Chicago, Illinois. Sister Sharon is a respected leader, administrator and retreat facilitator. As a 15-year master special educator and Franciscan spiritual director, Sister Sharon is a self-proclaimed avid reader and is always looking at life with a focus on the integration of theology with her Franciscan spirituality. Sister Sharon  served as the  former executive director of the Franciscan Federation of the Third Order for the United States. She was both a writer and an integral facilitator in the creation of the “Franciscan Morning and Evening Praise” prayer book. Sister Sharon has lived with an individual who has special needs, served as the President for the My Own Place, INC board of directors, an agency that provides housing for individuals with special needs in the Maryland/Washington D.C. metro area and most recently taught theology at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, Maryland. Sister Sharon currently lives in The FIREPLACE community and teaches special education in a public middle school setting.