Archdiocese to recognize ‘Women of Faith’

The Archdiocese of Miami will honor 10 outstanding women from throughout the archdiocese at its first ever “Women of Faith” awards luncheon.

The women will be honored for their dedication and commitment to the Catholic Church at the luncheon to be at noon on Oct.26, at the Turnberry Isle Hotel, 19999 W. Country Club Dr., Aventura.

The honorees are: Barbara Romani of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish; Marie Ludwick, St. Paul the Apostle Parish; Coral Ann Coyle, St. Gregory parish;Sally Russomanno, St. Louis Parish; Swanee DiMare, St. Hugh parish; Christina Wells, Archbishop McCarthy High School; Wini Amaturo, St. John the Baptisth Parish; Ada Armas, Epiphany Parish; Marile Lopez, Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, and Jacqueline De Souza, St. John Newman Parish.

Individual tickets to the luncheon are $150 each. Table sponsoring is available. All proceeds from the event will benefit Catholic Education by providing tuition assistance to needy students.

For tickets and more information go to: www.miamiarch.org.

HOMESTEAD GOSPEL SINGERS

Get ready for some good ole foot-stomping, hand-clapping, Southern gospel singing when the Homestead Gospel Singers appear in concert at 7 p.m. Friday at Silver Palm United Methodist Church, 15855 SW 248th St.

The group of singers, Marge Bidwell as lead vocalist, have been together for more than a decade. The other singers are Winnie Peeler, alto, and Katie Jones, tenor.

The singers come from different backgrounds and states. Bidwell is a native of Tennessee, Peeler is from North Carolina , and Jones is a native of Missouri.

Since they started singing as a group, the Homestead Gospel Singers have traveled throughout the country singing at churches, hoedowns, schools and wherever they found an audience. They have also traveled and performed with some well-known groups and have recorded three CDs, which included recording sessions at Chuck Atkins Recording Studio in Columbia, Tennessee.

According to a press release, the ladies “love singing God’s praises and touching the hearts of the audience.”

Following the concert, you will be able to meet the singers at a reception in the church’s fellowship hall. The concert is free, but a free will offering will be accepted.

CHORALE, JAZZ PERFORMANCES

Here’s more for all you music lovers out there: The Civic Chorale of Greater Miami and the Miami Dade College Percussion Ensemble will perform at the Food Glorious Food concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 14260 Old Cutler Rd., Palmetto Bay.

Following the concert, there will be a food tasting.

Then, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 25, St. Andrew’s will have its Jazz Fest and BBQ. The event will feature Dr. Ed Calle in concert.

The purpose of the festival is to provide a day of musical entertainment and good food to the wider community, while bringing awareness about and raising funds for those in need.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., local high school and college jazz bands will perform. They include Gulliver Preparatory School, New World School of the Arts and Miami Dade College.

The afternoon portion is free to the public but a donation of money and of canned goods is requested. Food and drink vendors will be available on the church property from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The evening portion of the festival is from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and requires the purchase of a ticket, which can be purchased at www.standrewsmiami.org. Internationally acclaimed saxophonist and jazz performer Dr. Ed Calle, will be the featured artist. Calle has been nominated twice for a Latin Grammy award. He also is a prolific composer and arranger.

In addition to Calle, Maestro Bobby Ramirez, also an internationally acclaimed jazz artist, will perform. Ramirez plays the saxophone and flute and performs original jazz compositions influenced by Afro-Cuban, bebop, bossa nova, and swing.

The program will also feature the jazz band of the University of Miami.

Funds raised at the festival will be used to support two St. Andrew’s Church mission projects: to build a clean water well and pump station at at St. Marie Madelaine Parish and School in Bondeau, Haiti, and to support St. Andrew’s local food pantry ministry.

The well project is to replace a well that is contaminated by salt water encroachment and agricultural runoff. The well supplies water to the 300 school children and families from the local village. The food pantry serves 925 families from Miami Dade county, or about 4,000 individuals.

Concert tickets are $35 per person. Following the evening concert, there will be a sit-down dinner from 8:30 to 11 p.m. with Calle and Ramirez. The cost of the dinner is $25 per person. If you purchase the concert and dinner ticket combination in advance the cost is $50 per person.

If you go, the church is requesting that you order your tickets through its website: www.standrewsmiami.org. You may pick up your tickets at the concert.

LECTURE ON JEWISH IDENTITY

Did you know that if you lose your sense of peoplehood, you could lose your identity?

According to Meri-Jane Rochelson, an English professor at Florida International University, this phenomenon has happened before and it happens today.

The 1907 short story by Israel Zangwill, The Jewish Trinity, deal;s with such issues, and will be the focus of a talk by Rochelson at 7p.m. on Oct.20, at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, 201 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

The story tells of a young artist debating Zionism with an assimilated industrialist in Victorian-era England. Rochelson will discuss the story in a seminar-style setting meant to remind listeners of both the persistence and change in issues facing Jews in modern life.

Rochelson, who is also affiliated with the programs in Jewish and religious studies at FIU, is the author of A Jew in the Public Arena: The Career of Israel Zangwill, and editor of Zangwill’s 1892 novel Children of the Ghetto.

Her talk is part of the Mondays at the Museum Series. Admission is $10 for the public, $5 for museum members and free for students with ID. For tickets and for more information, email the museum at: info@jewishmuseum.com or call 786-972-3175.

This story was originally published October 16, 2014 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Archdiocese to recognize ‘Women of Faith’."