The 14th annual Women’s Day of Reflection will be held 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. May 6 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 210 Greentree Road, Munhall. A dedicated committee meets throughout the year to plan and coordinate the day, working with a theme of interest to women to help them grow in their spirituality. The springtime event features a schedule of three speakers who focus on the chosen theme of the day; luncheon; vendors and a bountiful basket auction with proceeds donated to local women’s shelters. Contact Sister Marion Dobos at 412-322-8773 or mdobos1@gmail.com for further information. Cost is $25, which includes lunch. No refunds. Pre-registration is required. Deadline is April 20. Sponsored by the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchial Office of Religious Education.
Amy Brooks was born with an extremely rare condition called Tetraphocomelia; having no arms or legs. She was left abandoned at the hospital by her birth parents then adopted by a Christian family. She is a joyful, exuberant and faithful Christian whose vision is to glorify Christ by testifying to the unbeliever of His saving grace and by bringing encouragement to those who already know Him. In her inspiring, humorous, and uplifting two-part autobiography, Amy takes you on an amazing journey as she shares her life story and her enviable faith. Most importantly, Amy will challenge and inspire you in a way that promises to change your life forever!
Gisele Fetterman is a nutrition activist, a hugger and the First Lady of Braddock, Pa. Born and raised in Brazil, Gisele immigrated to the U.S. when she was nine years old and was undocumented for over a decade. Trained as a Holistic Nutritionist and Clinical Aromatherapist, Gisele now offers such services free of cost to the residents of Braddock. Gisele is also the founder of the Braddock Freestore, where surplus and donated goods are received and then redistributed to neighbors in need. Freestore aims to eradicate food and clothing insecurity; it currently serves about 400 clients a week. Gisele is also the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, a community wide effort to end hunger and reduce food waste by working with food retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, caterers and other food providers to rescue unsellable but perfectly good food. 412 Food Rescue has just reached a milestone of 1,000,000 lbs. of rescued food.
Dee Ruckert began doing “chalk talks” in 2007. She has been an artist all her life. As a child, she loved drawing and painting and took classes at the Carnegie Museum in grade school. Dee majored in art education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and did some subbing and short term teaching, but didn’t get her full time, public school art teaching job until the age of 50! She taught art in K-6 for fourteen years in the Ellwood City school district and retired in June, 2016. Dee works on a large, lighted easel, using large sticks of pastel chalk. The picture evolves quickly, while listening to music or a pre-recorded story. After 25 minutes she dims and changes the lights, creating different effects. She has performed at many churches, nursing homes, schools, women’s groups, etc. As today’s presentation, Dee will attempt a Byzantine Madonna in chalk.
