The Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Celebration will be at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe at 3 p.m., Sunday. Oct. 24. Couples celebrating 10, 25, 40, 50 and more than 50 years of marriage in 2004 will be honored and will renew their marriage vows at the Sunday Eucharist with Bishop Ronald M. Gilmore officiating. A light meal will follow the liturgy in the Holy Family Social Center. Family and friends of the couples are invited to share in the celebration. Pastors have been asked to obtain the names of couples in their parishes who are observing these anniversaries. The names will be sent to the Office of Liturgy and Worship, and invitations will be mailed to each couple with an RSVP.

The "Called and Gifted" Workshop helps lay Catholics discern the unique work of love to which God is calling them. Make plans to attend Oct. 29-30 at St. Dominic Church in Garden City.

Professionals from the Catherine of Siena Institute, headquartered in Colorado Springs, will lead the presentation. Topics include the process of discernment, the nature of spiritual gifts, Church teaching on the laity and lay apostleship, and more. Participants will receive a 60-page copy of the Catholic Spiritual Gifts Inventory. In addition, an optional one-on-one interview with a trained discernment interviewer is available to participants.

More than 10,000 Catholics in over 40 dioceses have attended the workshops. One workshop participant said, "For me, the idea that I stand in the place of Jesus in my life – in encounters with my family, my friends, my little daughter – has been revolutionary. Until now, I’ve thought only that I am unfit to wash those biblical sandals… Now it seems I am to put them on and walk as though they fit."

Register ASAP by contacting St. Dominic Parish, 615 JC St., Garden City, KS 67846, or by calling (620)276-2024. The workshop runs 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Oct. 29, and 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 30. Lunch is provided. There is no charge for the workshop, but a free-will offering will be accepted.

For more information, or to register for any of the following programs, contact Heartland Center for Spirituality, 3600 Broadway, Great Bend. (620) 792-1232. Email: office@heartlandspirituality.org.

Oct. 29-30; Friday 7p.m. – Saturday 4 p.m.

Instructor: Philip St. Romain D. Min.

Cost: $45 (includes overnight lodging and meals)

This overnight retreat provides an opportunity to get away for a short while, to let someone else do the cooking and dishes, and to provide an opportunity to listen for God’s guidance in an environment of silence. Short presentations and meditative exercises will help support this sacred listening.

Thursdays, Noon-1p.m.

Instructor: Philip St. Romain D. Min.

Cost: $10 – lunch included (pre-register for meals)

The famous trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein presents an epic struggle between good and evil. The lecture reflects on Tolkein’s view of evil, how it spreads to engulf entire populations, and how it is resisted and eventually defeated. Comparisons will be made with Christian approaches to this topic.

Recent surveys show that more Christians than ever believe that they have had a previous life. Other world religions such as Hinduism accept reincarnation as a given. This lecture will explore the topic from different angles, attempting to clarify the relationship between reincarnation and Christian beliefs.

What is New Age Spirituality? Is it compatible with Christian beliefs? Can Christians make beneficial use of practices associated with the New Age? These are the questions to which this lecture will respond.

WICHITA, Kan. - Humanitarian, author and former hostage negotiator Terry Waite will present the lecture "Public Service, Personal Faith" at Newman University’s Second Annual De Mattias Society Gala, to be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 11 at the Hyatt Regency.

Long devoted to humanitarian causes, intercultural relations, and conflict resolution, Waite gained international recognition in the 1980s when, serving as a special envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, he negotiated the release of hostages in Iran and Libya. In 1987, while negotiating the release of Western hostages in Beirut, Waite was himself taken hostage and held in captivity for 1,760 days, including four years in solitary confinement.

Despite the ordeal, Waite says he harbors no hostility or resentment toward his captors and has worked tirelessly since his release devoting his time to humanitarian efforts around the globe.

"We are delighted that Mr. Waite will be joining us for the De Mattias Society Gala," said Newman University President and CEO Aidan O. Dunleavy, Ph.D. "He is an inspiring speaker whose story of personal faith has touched the hearts and souls of people across the world."

After his release in September 1991, Waite was elected a Fellow Commoner at Trinity Hall Cambridge, England, where he wrote Taken on Trust, an account of his time in Beirut. He also published a second book, Footfalls in Memory, a collection of excerpts from books, poems and prayers that were in his thoughts during his captivity. He is the founder of the Southern Sudan Project, which provides aid and development in the southern Sudan region, and is frequently featured by the news media as a commentator on international relations, world conflict and terrorism.

Tickets for the De Mattias Society Gala, which includes a full dinner and Waite’s lecture, are $75 per person for non-Society members. For more information about Newman’s De Mattias Society, or to purchase Gala tickets, call (316) 942-4291, ext. 2163, or e-mail ReevesLS@newmanu.edu.freshmen.