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Page 1: Evangelist N12c #1

BY KATE BLAINE D I T O R

Local Catholic author MARYDETURRIS POUST has a newbook, “The Essential Guide toCatholic Prayer and the Mass.” Itincludes lessons on Scripture,saints, prayer methods, the newtranslation of the Roman Missalthat will be used at liturgiesbeginning this Advent, andmore. It’s available at www.ama-zon.com....

BARBARA GUZMAN, an attor-ney and parishioner of St. Luke’sChurch in Schenectady, recentlygave a talk at the parish on faithand legal issues for families —including misconceptions abouthealthcare proxies and family law.“I just wanted to give back to myparish,” she told The Evangelist.“The better informed you are,the more control you have”....

In related news, the bishops ofNew York State have released abooklet on end-of-life decisionmaking. “Now and at the Hour ofOur Death” explains Churchteaching, particularly on the dis-tinction between “ordinary” and“extraordinary” means of pre-serving life, and urges Catholicsto designate a healthcare proxy.To download the booklet, go towww.nyscatholic.org; to ordercopies, call 434-6195 or [email protected]....

This summer, the Daughtersof Charity religious order,whose members serve in theAlbany Diocese, will join threeof its U.S. provinces into onecalled the Province of St. Louise.Based in St. Louis, it will beheaded by SISTER LOUISEGALLAHUE, DC, who is thecurrent provincial for theAlbany Province. SISTER JANEGRAVES, DC, of the AlbanyProvince will be the newprovince’s treasurer....

NICOLE KUJAN, a senior atCatholic Central High School inTroy, just won a second-placeaward for humanitarian effortsfrom the Zonta Club of Albany.She has taken mission trips toMexico and Guatemala; volun-teers at her parish, St. Ambrosein Latham; and has volunteeredat the Shrine of Our Lady ofMartyrs in Auriesville, at a campfor children with disabilities andat a rescue ranch for horses. “Wehave only one life to live, and Iwant to live it the best way Iknow,” she said....

PATTI SCHWARTZ of theHispanic Apostolate for theAlbany Diocese was named byTV Channel 13 as an exemplaryteacher recently. A Spanishteacher in the Galway CentralSchool District, she representsSt. Clement’s parish in Saratoga

Springs on the apostolate’sboard....

DR. HOLLY EVANS MADI-SON, a nursing professor atMaria College in Albany, wasselected to give a presentationon rural women and heart dis-ease at a nursing research con-gress in Mexico....

The Academy of the HolyNames in Albany has namedSUSAN O’BRIEN BRAD-SHAW its alumnae relationsmanager. She is an AHN alumnaherself and the parent of a ninth-grader there....

Catholic Charities DisabilitiesServices has appointed ANNEOGDEN its new executivedirector. A Scotia resident, shehas worked for Catholic Char-ities since 1998, including asassociate executive director forDisabilities Services....

The College of Saint Rose inAlbany held a “Take Back theNight” rally and march againstsexual violence recently, andmore than 500 students, faculty,staff and community membersparticipated in the “Relay forLife” for the American CancerSociety....

Notre Dame-Bishop GibbonsSchool in Schenectady recentlywelcomed guest speaker KATH-LEEN GALLAGHER of the NewYork State Catholic Conference,which advocates for the state’sbishops on public policy con-cerns. She addressed the juniormorality class on stem cellresearch....

CASSANDRA BUTCH andHANNAH MYERS of St. Judethe Apostle School in Wynant-skill donated their profits fromselling Girl Scout cookies to theMohawk and Hudson HumaneSociety. They also donated tow-els, blankets and sheets — andCassandra adopted Harley thecat from the shelter....

The New York State Right toLife Committee held a “Lobbyfor Life Day” in early May at thestate capitol, supporting legisla-tion to ban sex-selection abor-tion. Catholic spokespersonAMANDA PAWLOWSKI ad-dressed participants....

11May 5, 2011 TH E E VA NG E L I S T

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MOTHER’S DAY/WOMEN

BY ANGELA CAVES T A F F W R I T E R

She’s deflected zombies, toler-ated sunburns and worn a furryduck suit — all to make peoplelove her city as much as shedoes.

Maeve McEneny, 27, uses heracting, writing and teachingskills to guide tours for AlbanyAqua Ducks and Trolleys. And“there isn’t anything she won’tdo” to make the tours fun andinteresting, said MaureenLundberg, an owner and opera-tor of the company. “She’smagic.”

For instance, Ms. McEnenyhas created theatrical piratetours and “ghost hunter” tours,both infused with educationalfacts and historical reenact-ments about Albany.

A 2006 graduate of SienaCollege in Loudonville with abachelor’s degree in Englisheducation, Ms. McEneny fills herdays with substitute teaching,test scoring and tour guiding.

In her free time, she cleans theAqua Ducks boat, directs andacts in plays, writes grants forchildren’s theater groups andmentors young actors.

On her tours, Ms. McEnenycan’t help but mention her IrishCatholic roots, perhaps becausehistoric churches dot the routes.

“I can’t tell the story aboutAlbany without talking aboutchurches. I know we’re condens-ing the parishes, but the buildingsare important,” she told TheEvangelist, pointing to the exam-ple of St. Joseph’s Church, whichclosed in 1994 but has hosted con-certs and art exhibits, thanks tothe Historic Albany Foundation.

The tour guide is alreadybrainstorming future uses forthe recently-closed St. Teresa ofAvila Church building, whereshe was baptized and her par-ents married.

“We’ve got to get creative,” shedeclared. “Nothing makes mesadder than an empty historicbuilding.”

Ms. McEneny believes herrole as a guide is to bring historyto life and to “show people whatan amazing city Albany is; what

potential it has.” Tourists often tell her they’ve

lived in Albany their whole liveswithout learning about its finerpoints.

“It’s basically literature,” Ms.McEneny said of tours she’scrafted, like the one focused onGerman neighborhoods. Anoth-er tour’s historical theme is “firesin Albany.”

Customers range from historybuffs to children looking for afun time, so Ms. McEneny likesto create characters and catch-phrases. “Here I am on thisridiculous boat, and you have tobe silly,” she remarked.

So, in addition to passing out“quacking” noisemakers, Ms.McEneny sometimes falls backon stories passed on by herfather, Jack McEneny, a well-known Albany historian andpolitician. Five generations ofher father’s family and six gener-ations of her mother’s livedalong her routes.

A favorite tale involves hergrandmother’s lost yellow cat,which a brewer near LincolnPark found rolling around inbeer hops: “He did nothing butdrink water for one week andsleep,” Assemblyman McEnenytold The Evangelist with a laugh.

Those little stories liven uphis daughter’s tours, the assem-blyman noted, boasting that“what makes her tours interest-ing is the trivia. She puts in theflesh and blood, not just thenames and dates and brick andmortar.”

Ms. McEneny often turns toher father to research a newtopic: “She has very good writ-ing ability, and you just sort ofwind her up and she knowswhere to go,” he said. “She wasalways bent that way. We alwayshad dinner together and therewas always storytelling.”

Tour customers often tell Ms.McEneny they attended Chris-tian Brothers Academy inAlbany with her father or knewher grandmother.

“‘Smallbany’ stuff comes out,”she quipped. “That’s what I thinkis the most fun.”

Sometimes, what happens off

the bus also entertains her.Passersby have called policewhen they saw actors dressed aszombies approaching the busduring her ghost tours — andwhen actors reenact the 1931killing of gangster and bootleg-ger Legs Diamond on DoveStreet, people sometimes run tothe “dying” man’s aid.

Assemblyman McEneny saidhis daughter’s finesse for actingstems back to childhood, whenher older brother, John, directedhis three siblings and neighbor-hood children in original pro-ductions.

Her Catholicism was anotherrole passed down by her family.Ms. McEneny calls herself aFranciscan — partly because herfamily owned a menagerie ofpets, and partly because of theFranciscan clergy who educatedher at Siena College.

“They believe 100 percent inwhat they’re doing,” she said.

The social justice lessons incollege inspired her to attenddeath penalty protests anddonate the proceeds of a playshe directed to a CatholicCharities group volunteering inJuarez, Mexico.

Still, she admitted, her advoca-cy efforts have slipped in recentyears: “I wish I were better. I feellike it’s the only thing missing inmy life right now.”

Ms. McEneny wants to settleinto a full-time career thatinvolves education. “I’m superbusy and I’m all over the place,”she said. “But I’m really happy.I’ve got to find the thing thatpays the bills and makes mehappy. I want to be that instru-ment that helps you discoversomething.”

TOUR GUIDE

She brings Albany history to life

MAEVE MCENENY

WOMEN IN THE NEWS

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