Pastoral Week is an annual opportunity for those of us working in Catholic Deaf Ministry to come together to share         our experiences and ideas; a time of networking and fellowship. Each January we gather from across the country to rekindle old friendships and develop new ones. Fill your spiritual needs with the wonderful presentations that will be offered. A partial list of this year’s line up of speakers includes:

Christopher West -Catholic Relief Services- Chris’ talk will focus on Global Solidarity and how as followers of Jesus we are all called to care for our brothers and sisters. This will be a two part presentation with the second part focusing on how we in our regions can reach out to those in developing nations and share the resources we have with those who have considerably less.

Brother Mickey McGrath “A Fresh Look at Mary and the Saints”. Using his own paintings and the stories which   inspired them, artist and writer Bro. Mickey McGrath will provide some fresh and powerful ways to welcome the saints into your life as patrons and companions. The images mostly taken from his award- winning books offer very unique twists sometimes whimsical, always moving on the traditional place of the saints in our church and home.

Sr. Maria Haced and Fr. Dennis Dolter —   From the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. SOLT is a Society of Apostolic Life comprised of Priests, Brothers, Deacons, Sisters, and Laity. SOLT serves worldwide those with the deepest needs. Sr. Haced will share with us some of her experiences while assisting Mother Theresa for over 26 years.

Terry O’Meara—Executive director of ICF will present on the XXIV International Conference that took place at the Vatican in November and was sponsored by the Pontifical Council on Health Pastoral Care. The Conference titled “The Deaf Person in the  Life of the Church” focused on the pastoral aspects of Deaf Ministry in the Catholic Church.  Terry, who had an influential role in the planning of the conference, will give an overview of the conference as well as the Holy Father's response and a look to the future of Deaf Ministry in our church.

Post Conference Rev. Rick Hilgartner  New Translations of the Roman Missal Fr. Rick will take us through the    history of the Mass and the process of translating the Roman Missal for worship in today’s church.

We will be staying at the beautiful Westin Oaks Houston at the Galleria. The Galleria is a large mall with plenty of shops and entertainment options to take advantage of during our free afternoon. Our banquet will take place in the roof top restaurant providing a spectacular view of Houston.    Visit www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/nca11 to view the rooms and amenities.   The hotel will provide free internet in the rooms and free WIFI in the lobby. For those driving, parking is also free. The special conference rate for this newly renovated hotel with all its amenities is      $129/night. The conference rate deadline is December 23, 2009, 5pm local time.   A special website has been set up for NCOD to make registering a breeze. Again please visit www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/nca11 to book your reservation today or call 713-960-8100. If you call, be sure to tell them you are with NCOD to get the conference rate.

We are also excited that Houston has a shuttle system to get you from the airport to the hotel and back after the      conference.    You can reserve a ride at www.supershuttle.com. The cost is approximately $24 one way.

The local committee has been working hard to provide wonderful accommodations for us. They are now busy     searching for a fantastic tour. More information on the tour will be found on the www.ncod.org website in the near future. 

  Pastoral Week Registration Form