from the national office - dead theologians society 2014... · here’s a testimonial from bridget...

www.deadtheologianssociety.com

D e a d T h e o l o g i a n s S o c i e t y

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Tuesday, August 12th I was most

fortunate to visit our DTS Chapter in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and partici-

pate in the celebration of the 10 Year

Anniversary of their DTS Chapter. To

say it was a moving experience would

be quite the understatement. It was a

beautiful evening at the church as

many DTS alumni attended, as did

parents, staff and clergy. In addition to

great food and custom-made DTS

cake, commemorative T-Shirts were

made with a rendition of the DTS

logo using the image of their own

monstrance from the Church of St.

Benedict. During the evening, we transitioned from the social to the

prayerful by going to the DTS meeting

room which is set up as an effective

prayer chapel. There, approximately

30-40 young people spontaneously got

up and gave moving testimonials about

how their DTS experience at the

Church of St. Benedict positively im-

pacted their lives. A number of the

parents and other adults present did

so likewise. One young adult gentle-man with background that included

gang activity said from the heart, “If it

wasn’t for DTS, I’d be in the

ground. DTS saved my life.” The

evening concluded with Eucharistic

From the National Office

J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

"You have made us for yourself and our hearts

are restless until they rest

in you"

- St. Augustine



Adoration and Benediction in the church and intercessory

prayer.

It is uplifting and provides hope to see young

people who are not only comfortable living their

faith, but are also comfortable sharing their

Catholic faith in a natural, unforced way. These

teenagers and young adults were quick to smile,

kind-hearted, and were eager to provide testi-

monials about the role DTS played in their lives.

I certainly want to mention that whatever youth

ministry model or blueprint a parish decides to

use, there is always “the human factor” involved.

Real people must be involved to organize and

implement any program. When a program is

blessed to have enthusiastic, faith-filled and faith-

ful committed adult leaders – the fruits of the

labor are significant. This was truly the case with

the DTS chapter of St. Benedict. The Pastor, Fr.

Joe Townsend, DRE Carol Bryan, DTS Leader

Vandy Domeier and a mighty supporting cast of

Deacons, Parents and Young Adults provide out-

standing leadership while also cultivating a true, Spirit-filled Catholic family community. Other

than meeting Vandy a couple of years ago and

speaking with Ken Henderson, who first ap-

proached the pastor at that time about DTS, I

arrived at St. Benedict’s not knowing anyone, -

but a few hours later

felt pangs of sadness

when it was time for

exchanging good-

byes. Our shared

faith and commit-

ment to evangeliza-tion made it easy to

see how we truly are

brothers and sisters

in Christ. I’ll always

be grateful for that

“family reunion”

evening in Broken

Arrow, Oklahoma at

the Church of St.

Benedict.

— Eddie Cotter

Founder/Director

Thanks to Kelly Kirby for the wonderful photos.

Church of St. Benedict — Broken Arrow, OK



Nicholas & Bridget Wittwer

This summer I had the privilege of attending three wed-dings where the brides were members of DTS during their high school years. One wedding in particular was a bit unusual because not only was the bride a member of DTS, but so was her husband – in fact they MET at DTS and were married at St. Mary of Pine Bluff, the church where they met. We know DTS fosters vocations to the priesthood and religious life, but now we can accurately boast that it also promotes vocations to Holy Matrimony! Here’s a testimonial from Bridget “Bridie” Butler – who now is Mrs. Nicholas Wittwer:

I had been going to DTS for 2 years before Nick had even heard about it. I really liked going for several reasons, the main reason being that I could meet and hang out with friends outside of school in a re-laxed and inviting atmosphere. DTS was much more engaging and in depth than any other CCD or faith formation classes I’d attended because it showed real life people and how they actually lived and even died for their Catholic faith. My friends and I rarely missed a DTS meeting. One day there was a cute new-comer at DTS. My friend informed me that the new guy, named Nick, was her brother John's friend. Nick owned his own painting business and employed John as a helper/coworker. As a high-school kid needing cash, I was able to convince Nick to allow me to help him paint. Because we lived almost 45 minutes away from each other, we only saw each one another every other weekend, and every Wednesday evening at DTS. DTS was extremely important for our relationship be-cause it allowed us to meet in a relaxed atmosphere with positive peer influences. DTS is not just about promoting good vocations to the priesthood, or promoting good big Catholic families, DTS is about pro-moting good Catholics. Following in the footsteps of the saints, and remaining faithful to God will lead you to your vocation, whatever it may be.

Welcome Our Newest Chapters National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe Sacramento, CA – Diocese of Sacramento St. Jerome East Rochester, NY – Diocese of Rochester Holy Ghost Catholic Church Hammond, LA – Diocese of Baton Rouge



Profile in Heroic Virtue

In the summer of the year 304 in Sicily, a young deacon by the name of Euplius was brought before the governor to defend his faith. The year 304 is significant be-cause it is during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Christians were heavily persecuted during the reign of Diocletian. Countless numbers of Christians suffered horrific tortures during this time. Euplius was arrested for possessing and reading from a copy of the Gospels. Euplius had a pretty good idea that being brought before the governor this way could mean it was the beginning of the end of his days on earth. This young deacon, Euplius, had with him The Book of Gospels in his hand and the governor asked him to read from it. Euplius read, “Blest are they who suffer persecution for justice’s sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” He also read, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Euplius continued to be questioned by the governor. The young deacon, who was probably a teenager, explained that he followed the law of the Lord. The governor asked who his Lord was to which Euplius re-plied, “Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.” That response infuriated the governor and he ordered that Euplius be taken away and tortured. During his torture, Euplius was again asked about his Christian faith and if he still wanted to claim his alle-giance to Jesus Christ. Euplius responded, “What I said before I say again; I am a Christian and I read the Sacred Scriptures.” He stated he would never give up the Sacred Scriptures and preferred death be-fore “selling out” his faith and allegiance to Christ. After awhile the governor could see that Euplius would not deny his Christianity and worship pagan gods, so he ordered him to be put to death by beheading. It is written that Euplius hung the Book of the Gospels around his neck and praised God throughout his grue-some execution.

Canonized by Popular Acclaim

Feast Day – August 12

Saint Euplius – Deacon and Martyr

DEAD THEOLOGIANS SOCIETY MINISTRY SUPPORT Thank you for considering being part of this apostolate to win souls for Christ.

Recurring Monthly Partner This mode of support allows for optimal VISION driven ministry. If this way of support is best for you too, kindly proceed with the following steps if you wish to do this online: 1) visit our website at www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com 2) click the DONATE tab at the top of the webpage. This will direct you to PayPal where you can enter your monthly amount of support.

One Time Contribution to the Ministry

If you wish to send your support by check, cash or money order, please send to: Dead Theologians Society PO Box 368 Black Earth, WI 53515-0368 Kindly make checks payable to: Dead Theologians Society.

A Ministry Support of $50 per month sponsors a new DTS chapter and provides all materials for a group of seven young people, as well as training for the Youth Minister to effectively facili-tate the DTS chapter.

from the national office - dead theologians society 2014... · here’s a testimonial from bridget...

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