The Front Porch
December 2011: Donor of the Month
John Heath
It’s not every day you hear from someone who wants to send you money. But that is exactly what happened last summer when an Endow staffer picked up the phone on the morning after an Endow appearance on EWTN.
Last summer, Executive Director Terry Polakovic and Youth Program Coordinator Brigid DeMoor appeared as guests on Fr. Mitch Pacwa’s program. The two spoke about the mission and message of Endow and the wide appeal it has to women across the spectrum. It was a lively conversation and many people called in to ask questions and express gratitude for a program that educates on the nature and dignity of women. As Terry and Brigid fielded questions and enjoyed some great on-air visiting with Fr. Pacwa and the studio audience, they got the attention of quite a few viewers. John Heath was one of them.
Sixty-three year old John Heath was watching the program from his trailer home 3000 miles away inSan Jose,California. EWTN is a favorite channel; he has numerous shows taped and backed up waiting to be watched. So impressed was he by Endow that he called the office the next day and pledged $5.00 a month. That modest sum – what others might spend on a fancy coffee – would be felt by John. He lives on a fixed income and has to be careful with expenses. But he was moved to partner with an organization he decided was worthy to believe in and he committed to a regular gift. He has kept his promise.
John grew up in the pre-Vatican II era and will tell you he was blessed to be Catholic from birth. In the trailer he shares with his sister, a cat, and a chihuahua, he has a lot of time to think about life. It has had its ups and downs. One of the downs was a ten year span when he was away from the Church. During that time John wandered, developed a drug abuse problem, and hung around with an unsavory crowd. “I haven’t been the most perfect person,” he says as easily as if he were commenting on the weather. “But I shaped up. What I most want now is to be a saint.”
He appears to be well on his way. With the help of his sister, whom he credits with bringing him back to Christ, John is making amends. “I read two chapters from the Bible every day. I pray the rosary and say some other prayers for about 25 minutes.” John has learned that there is no easy road straight to holiness; it is often an arduous journey, but Christ walks every step with the disciple who asks for His help. With his breathing labored from emphysema, John patiently explains that “when I’m humble I’m happier.” Now that he is committed to Christ, John is praying for the women he has known in his previous life who were badly hurt on the streets.
He recently notified the Endow office that he can see his way clear to increase his monthly gift to $10.00. He says he gives to Endow for the sake of all women and the health of society. Jesus is the way. “I’d like to help women lead holy lives.”
Defining Moments
I’ve always defined my life as pretty well organized.
I’m used to my own clean world and having things on schedule.
My defining moment came when I said yes to serving the women in an Endow group at a homeless shelter.
There, among abuse victims, prostitutes, and addicts, whose lives are in disarray,
I saw dignity revealed.
And I saw hearts transformed by the love of God—including mine.
That first night at the shelter, I showed up with a statue of Mary in one hand and an Endow study guide in the other, ready to facilitate a group of women who lived there. When I met the chaplain, Father Michael, he said to me: “You look terrified, Julie.” And I was.
I’m a suburban mom. I don’t frequent homeless shelters. So I really struggled to overcome the fear of being in one. It was so dirty and rough and raw—not at all what I’m used to.
When I introduced myself to the group, I said, “I’m just a mom.” One woman with a wig and perfectly painted nails responded: “Don’t ever say you’re ‘just a’ mom. It’s the most important job in the world.”
That’s how I met Yolanda, who has stage 4 colon cancer. She hopes for a miracle, but the shelter has basically become a place for her to die. Her suffering is unfathomable. Her four kids have practically abandoned her.
Another woman, Kim, had recently gotten out of prostitution. She showed a passion for spontaneous prayer and would say “amen” whenever she felt moved by something. So I asked her to close our group time with a prayer, and it was beautiful. She really spoke from her heart to Jesus.
These women revealed hurts about themselves that have been locked in a dark place for a long time. They became teachers to each other as they realized that their own personal stories really did matter.
As the weeks went on, the experience became less about me and more about watching the women’s hearts be transformed. We talked about dignity—and the women loved this idea, this truth that: “I am made in the image and likeness of God.”
I’ve learned to appreciate things in the sense that I’ve been given so much. God has been generous with me, not because he loves me more, but because he wants me to be generous too.
On the final week of our group study, Yolanda gave me a prayer book with the inscription: “Dearest Julie, never forget you are not ‘just a’ —but blessed with the highest calling for a woman, a mother! Always your sis in Christ, Yolanda.”
And it’s true: None of us is ‘just a’ … homeless person … prostitute … or mom. We are sisters united by the love of our Father in heaven.
Names have been changed to respect privacy.
This month—even today— would you say a prayer for Endow? And would you share your blessing through a financial gift?
Donate
“The Feminine Genius Revealed – The Pietà.”
On the morning of Nov. 10
Terry Polakovic, executive director and co-founder of the international movement Endow (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) spoke to approximately 40 women at St. Anastasia Hall in Newtown Square on the topic “The Feminine Genius Revealed – The Pietà.”
To ready an article about the presentation, click here.
2011 Outstanding Catholic Leadership Award!
On Nov. 11, 2011
Endow co-founder Terry Polakovic received the 2011 Outstanding Catholic Leadership Award from the Catholic Leadership Institute. There were nearly 600 guests present to celebrate outstanding Catholic leadership in the Church – and the good work of the Catholic Leadership Institute. Pictured here at the event in Pennsylvania, Terry is surrounded by her family and friends.
To see more pictures of the event, click here.
To read the article in the Denver Catholic Register about the event, click here.
To read an article about Terry in the Catholicphilly, click here.
To see details about the event, visit the website of the Catholic Leadership Institute, click here.
To see a video of the event, click here.
63rd Annual ACCW Conference
Endow takes a trip
to California!
Mrs. Marilyn Mathers, former president of the ACCW in Los Angeles, invited Endow to have a booth at the 63rd Annual ACCW Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 8th. Endow’s spiritual advisor, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, was the guest speaker, and nearly 600 women from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles participated – many of whom stopped by the Endow booth to learn more. This photos captures Mrs. Mathers (center), surrounded by numerous Endow facilitators who attended this event. Endow sends a special thanks to the women in CA who are working so hard to share the message of dignity with more women and girls!
Endow changes for 2012!
As 2011 winds down. . .
Endow is pleased to announce many new changes for 2012, and we led a special conference call with all of our current facilitators to explain the changes in detail. This recording speaks to the new pricing changes, the upcoming changes in our format and registration, the content of our newest adult and youth studies,and the important message of Endow. Using the below links you can listen to the conference call recording and follow along with the PowerPoint presentation. (Please note, the audio is separate from the PowerPoint, so you have to open both links and follow along by moving through the PowerPoint with your mouse.) For written descriptions of these changes, click here.
Use this link to listen to the audio presentation: Endow 2012 Audio Presentation
Use this link for the visual PowerPoint presentation that accompanies the above audio presentation: Endow 2012 Changes Visual Presentation
November 2011: Book Review
Real Women, Real Saints: Friends for Your Spiritual Journey by Gina Loehr
Book Review by Eileen Love
Who doesn’t love the saints?
They have walked the earthly path and know what arduous work it is to remain faithful to the will of God. We stumble, we stray, we lose our way, or feel too tired to continue. But nothing on the earthly journey is foreign to these women who have trod the path themselves and were rewarded when they reached their eventual and eternal destination of union with God – heaven.
By the grace of God, they walk with us today.
The author highlights many women saints who are no doubt familiar but mixed among the tried and true are those you have never heard of but will delight in meeting.
You probably know about St. Monica, the prayerful mother of the great St. Augustine, who prayed her once errant son into conversion and he became a Doctor of the Church. But do you know another French woman who also believed in the power of women to pray men into the heart of Christ? Consider St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865) who believed that as women go, so goes the world. For that reason, she devoted her life to the education of girls and women, writing: “In this century we must no longer count on men to preserve the faith…Between women and God is often arranged the eternal salvation of husbands and sons” (Pg. 63).
Among the holy but not yet canonized is the 20th century’s Servant of God Dorothy Day (1897-1980). In her younger days, she amassed a laundry list of personal infractions against holiness, yet she hungered to know God and was driven out of love for Him to care-take the poor and work for social justice. Her whole life was given to this cause and after her conversion, her actions were steeped in prayer. She said, “We feed the hungry, yes. We try to shelter the homeless and give them clothes, but there is strong faith at work; we pray. If an outsider who comes to visit us doesn’t pay attention to our prayings, and what that means, then he’ll miss the whole point” (Pg. 99).
Touching but no surprise, is that the author dedicated the book to her parents. Great Catholic parents often make a practice of sharing saints’ stories with their children, almost the way a child would sit on the couch and have mother and dad go through a family photo album with her. Author Gina Loehr, a graduate in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, does a wonderful job of weaving short but powerful biographies of the people who will stir your heart.
In her Introduction she gives a brief catechesis on what makes a saint. Parents, catechists, and many Endow women will relish the solid teaching and find it useful. But it is not for the catechetical instruction that you’ll read this book. No, you will read it and return to it again and again because it introduces you to women who can step into your life as spiritual friends and companion you on your own road to sanctity. And you can’t have too many friends like those.
November 2011: Facilitator of the Month
Lillian Flenner
Her Endow group meets on Wednesday mornings at 6:15. Yes, before most of the city is out of bed, Lillian and nine other women meet to pray and study the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. “You have to be crazy or in love,” she laughs.
In love, she is. But that wasn’t always the case.
Among Endow women, many are cradle Catholics and come to adulthood thoroughly churched and well catechized. Such was not the case for Lillian Flenner, a divorced mother of two grown girls from Humble, Texas who works as a business travel consultant. As far as religion goes, she’ll tell you she knew how to spell God, that was it. Oh, and there was her Polish grandmother who was Catholic, but the faith never found its way into Lillian’s heart until she was 36 years old.
Seeking something that she couldn’t quite name, Lillian located a Catholic church and attended a SundayMass. Sitting in the back of St. Phillip the Apostle Churchin Huffman,Texas, Lillian was confused but intrigued. She felt like a visitor to some far-away land, unfamiliar with the rituals, language, and customs. She attended like that for three years until she began a friendship with the pastor, a man she credits with ‘saving her life.’
Lillian remembers how Fr. George Olsovsky led her to Christ. “He never gave up on me,” she recalls. With his guidance, a whole new world opened up as Lillian was instructed in the faith. “I fell in love with the Catholic Church because he was in love with the Catholic Church.” She was received into the Church in April 1995.
“The Catholic Church is so beautiful. It saddens me when I see Catholic women – cradle Catholics – who know less than I do.”
Happily, that’s changing with Endow groups meeting in her part of Houston. She learned about Endow from Fr. Michael Barrett, chaplain of Holy Cross Chapel, a two-story, store-front city church that is a spiritual oasis in the midst of the bustling downtown. It was when she signed up for a morning Lenten series during which Fr. Michael taught John Paul II’s Letter to Women that Lillian had her defining moment. In article two, the Pope thanks women simply for being women. “That really struck me,” says Lillian, “I read that over and over. He thanked me for being who I am.”
Lillian loves the fellowship, the networking, and the friendships that Endow fosters. With her eye for detail and spot-on event planning skills, Lillian recently put together a well-attended Endow-in-a-Day Seminar on Mother of the Redeemer which was taught by Eileen Love from Denver. She tells of how happy she was to see women lingering after the class concluded, excitedly chatting with each other about what they had just experienced. Lillian perceives a hunger in women’s hearts for the truth that Endow communicates so well. “They’re so ready for this!”
Lillian is doing all she can to see that Endow spreads. Houston’s next big event will be a Lenten session, an Endow-in-a-Day Seminar on The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering. She invites Texas ladies to put March 10th on the calendar. She’ll be ready for you.
All this ‘feminine genius’ poured out for others proves that it’s not just the size of Texas that’s big – it’s the hearts of the women who live there.
November 2011: Donor of the Month
Karen Morroni
This month we go north of Denver to Boulder, Colorado, the strikingly beautiful mountain town, nestled against the Flatirons and known as the home of the University of Colorado and any number of high tech industries. It still has a small town feel and lately there has been a lot of Endow activity here.
This is the home of Karen Morroni, lifelong Catholic, Endow enthusiast, and occupational therapist at Boulder Community Hospital. Karen learned about Endow from her sister-in-law, Mary Morroni who serves on the Board of Directors.
Mary connected Karen with some great Endow facilitators – Jan Driscoll and Katie Evans – and Karen has stayed with them ever since. “Once I started, I loved it! It’s learning, it’s friendship. And it’s great not to have homework.” Having been through the rigors of Catholic Biblical School which she loved and from which she was graduated years ago, Karen appreciates a group that allows for learning and fellowship without the homework requirement.
Her defining moment came one day during her Endow meeting. “[As we were going through the lesson and sharing], it suddenly hit me. These women are my friends. This is the group of friends I’ve been looking for.” Karen has a busy life populated with many souls, but real friendships rooted in the faith were the missing ingredients. Endow provided them.
“We have really bonded,” says Karen, of the group with whom she has studied The Christian Meaning of Suffering, as well as her personal favorite, Edith Stein: Seeker of Truth. “I love that book; it makes sainthood so real. Truth isn’t always easy. [Edith] really struggled.” One of the things Karen relies on Endow for is communicating the truth. She says, “It’s a wonderful thing to know you are getting the truth; with Endow, you just know it’s going to be rooted in Catholic teaching.”
Karen has committed to monthly giving to Endow. “My love for the study program is the reason why. I want this opportunity to exist for any woman who needs Endow.” Karen reflects the position of the Endow mission when she adds, “No one should be turned away for lack of money.”
Because of her commitment to Endow, Karen has been to the annual retreats and most of the springtime gala events. The next annual fundraising gala, “Evening of Enchantment” will be held on April 14, 2012 featuring keynote speaker Helen Alvare. It promises to be a sparkling evening of friendship and fun, with throngs of party-goers all of whom love and support Endow. Karen wouldn’t miss it.
Love in Action
Endow Catholic study group
helps homeless women discover their dignity
By Julie Filby
“Traditionally, Endow groups have consisted of Catholic women in a similar age group and socioeconomic status.”
‘This group is very different; wonderful, but different,’ said Shaina Stein, one of the facilitators. ‘It consists of very few Catholic women with a wide range of beliefs, financial circumstances and backgrounds.’
Many of the women experiencing homelessness have also experienced some kind of threat to their dignity.”
To read the full article, click here.