March 21, 2006 – Toledo, OH – The Diocese of Toledo’s Office of Equal Access Ministry will honor Catholics with disabilities at its annual Open Door Liturgy on Saturday, March 25 at 5:00 pm at St. Patrick Church located at 610 South Portland Street, Bryan, Ohio.  Auxiliary Bishop Robert Donnelly will serve as Principal Celebrant for the liturgy, and will also present the 2006 Open Arms Awards, honoring people with disabilities modeling Gospel values within their parishes and communities. 
 
According to Marsha Rivas, Director of the Office of Equal Access Ministry, the awards are an important awareness tool for educating the faith community. “When pastoral leaders and people in the pews recognize the gifts that parish members with disabilities have to share, it encourages people to be welcoming and accommodating, and to allow people with all abilities to minister. 
 
The following individuals were nominated by their home parish and selected by the Equal Access Ministry Advisory Council for the 2006 Open Arms Award:
 
Roger Brodman is a member of St. Mary Parish in Bluffton. He is the father of 7 and is a revered leader in his family and parish. Roger serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and volunteers for year-round projects at St. Mary’s such as Maintenance Day, Christmas decorating, and summer landscaping. Roger also serves the Bluffton community by helping elderly widows and serving on the hospital auxiliary. He helped the auxiliary plan the Parade of Homes fundraiser, and chaired the 2005 Blaze of Lights Advent parade for the city of Bluffton. Roger also coordinates St. Mary’s team for the annual Relay for Life cancer research fund-raising event. Roger lives with a chronic medical condition.
 
Dorothy Flores has been a pillar in the community of Ottoville for many years. She is the mother of 4 adult children and retired after 12 years of teaching elementary school. She helped her husband, Jose, through his discernment for Permanent Diaconate Formation in the Toledo Diocese and continues to support him in his ministry at Immaculate Conception Parish. She was co-chairwoman of their parish festival for two years and has served as president of the Altar Rosary Society. She currently lectors for Sunday liturgies and calls and writes to grieving parishioners. Dorothy is living with multiple sclerosis and has used a wheelchair since 1995. 
  
Rodney Franks is a leader in the Catholic Deaf community in Toledo and supported the group through the process of relocating after the closing of St. Louis parish in East Toledo. Rodney initiated his newly chosen parish, St. Pius X, with the needs of the Deaf by responding to their invitation to experience Christ Renews His Parish. After his renewed spirituality from the weekend men’s retreat, Rodney persuaded four others from the deaf community to attend a women’s CHRP weekend, and served as a tactile sign language interpreter for a deaf/blind retreatant. Rodney is the first deaf lector in the Toledo Diocese and inspires clergy and lay ministers at St. Pius to pray in sign language at Sunday liturgies. Rodney is married and is employed as an accountant. He has been deaf since he was six months old.
 
Martha Majewski was described as the number one parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Toledo before it closed in 2005. She now gifts the parish of St. Adalbert with her enthusiasm and talents. Martha is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and has served as publicity chair for the Altar Rosary Society. She was also active on her parish liturgy committee and was always the top raffle ticket salesperson for all parish fundraising events. Martha worked at Jay Shuer School in Toledo, a school for children with disabilities, for 20 years until the school closed. Martha is now employed full time by Burger King Restaurant, traveling by city bus to and from work everyday. Martha lives with epilepsy and a cognitive disability.
 
Helen Maros is a long time member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Toledo. She serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and sings in the adult choir, leading the Resurrection Choir for funeral masses. She served as secretary/treasurer for the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society, distributing money to needy persons weekly at Helping Hands of St. Louis. Helen is active in the Altar Rosary Society and also works as ticket seller for parish festival dinners and fish fries. She retired after 42 years of working in the patient accounts department of Mercy Hospital in Toledo. Helen is an associate of the Mercy Sisters and is a member of St. Charles Hospital and Mercy College Auxiliaries. Helen lives with a vision loss from macular degeneration.
 
Anthony Charles Ringholz serves the Norwalk area Catholic community in countless ways. At St. Mary’s Parish he prays each week at Eucharistic Adoration and the Good News Prayer Group. He also sings in the parish choir and folk group and serves as sacristan and extraordinary minister for Holy Communion for weekday masses. Anthony is active in the Sandusky Area Serra Club. He is also active at both St. Mary’s elementary school and St. Paul’s high school as a cafeteria volunteer. Anthony has also ministered as an altar server, usher, as well as assisting with prison and nursing home visits. Anthony served on the planning team for Fire 05, the diocesan Confirmation retreat and also helped direct the Heartland youth gathering in February of this year. In his spare time, Anthony plays the slots at Greektown Casino and uses his season pass to ride the roller coasters at Cedar Point! Anthony has lived with a seizure disorder from birth. 
 
For more information on the Open Door Liturgy and the 2006 Open Arms Awards, please contact Marsha Rivas at 419-244-6711.
 
The Diocese of Toledo, established April 15, 1910 encompasses 8222 square miles in a mixture of urban and rural areas that spans 19 counties across Northwest Ohio, serving 306,532 Catholics. The diocese includes Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.