Called to Serve Podcast
"The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve" Mark 10:45
The Called to Serve Podcast shares the stories of the many people in the Albany Diocese who are dedicating their lives to serving God as they further the mission of the Catholic Church. We thank them all for their dedication and for taking the time to share their stories with us, hopefully inspiring others to reflect on how God may be calling them to serve.
You can hear Called to Serve on WOPG Radio each day at 3:30am and 10:30am
89.9 FM / 1460 AM or streaming live at https://pax-et-bonum-radio.org/index.php
Episode 1: Sr. Teresa Grace Baillargeon, C.R., Vocation Directress for the Sisters of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Recorded December, 2023)
Episode 2: Amy Brozio-Andrews, Archivist for the Diocese (Recorded January, 2024)
Episode 3: Mary Fay, Associate Director of Discipleship Formation for the Diocese; responsible for the ministries of Marriage & Family, Pastoral Care, and Respect Life (Recorded January, 2024)
Episode 4: Nancy Bielawa, Executive Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese. (Recorded January, 2024)
Episode 5: Tom Cronin, Director of Evangelization & Strategic Planning for the Diocese - Talking about Evangelization. (Recorded February, 2024)
Episode 6: Tom Cronin, Director of Evangelization & Strategic Planning for the Diocese - Talking about Strategic Planning. (Recorded February, 2024)
Episode 7: Mike Kane, Director of Real Property for the Diocese and Officer Sal Sturiale, Albany Police Department talk about a big donation of Beanie Babies from Mike's family to the Albany Police Department, and how those Beanie Babies are being used to help children. (Recorded February, 2024)
Episode 8: Deacon Tom Fallati talks about his call to serve God in ministry. (Recorded February, 2024)
Episode 9: Amy Bryant, Executive Director of Albany Diocesan Cemeteries (Recorded March, 2024)
Episode 10: Will Capuano, Founder of Spa City Catholic (Young Adult Group) talks about what inspires him to be as involved as he is in sharing the Catholic faith.
To learn more about the growing number of Young Adult Groups in our diocese https://www.rcda.org/youbelong (Recorded March, 2024)
Episode 11: Will Capuano, Founder of Spa City Catholic (Young Adult Group) returns to talk about a new program he is working on called Generations of Faith. It brings together young adults and seniors so they can share stories and learn from each other. You can email SpaCityCatholic@gmail.com for more information on Generations of Faith. (Recorded March, 2024)
Episode 12: Fr. Bob Longobucco, Vicar General for the Diocese and Pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Niskayuna, talks about how we are all Called to Serve. (Recorded March, 2024)
Episode 13: Fr. Bob Longobucco, Vicar General for the Diocese and Pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Niskayuna, talks about how he is Called to Serve. (Recorded March, 2024)
Episode 14: Lisa Petrocelli, Secretary in the Office for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs and an Administrative Assistant in the Office of Discipleship Formation for the Diocese, talks about her own faith journey and how she feels called to serve. (Recorded April, 2024)
Episode 15: Lisa Petrocelli, Secretary in the Office for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs and an Administrative Assistant in the Office of Discipleship Formation for the Diocese talks about her love for Rome. (Recorded April, 2024)
Episode 16: Jim Cuggino, a 90-year-old parishioner of St Clement’s Church in Saratoga Springs, joined forces with the founder of Spa City Catholic, the young adult group in Saratoga Springs, to organize a Generations of Faith event on April 13, 2024. You can learn more about that event here https://evangelist.org/news/2024/mar/22/generations-of-faith/. We sat down with Jim after the event to ask how it went and to learn more about his hopes for the Catholic church. (Recorded April, 2024)
Episode 17: Richard Putorti, Music Director for St. Mary’s Crescent, Co-Chapter Director for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, Albany Chapter, and the Region 2 Rep for the National Chapter. In this episode, Richard talks about his own faith journey. (Recorded May, 2024)
Episode 18: Richard Putorti, Music Director for St. Mary’s Crescent, Co-Chapter Director for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) Albany Chapter, and the Region 2 Rep for the National Chapter. In this episode, Richard talks about what NPM is, what the group does, and shares information about a big NPM event coming to our diocese in September. (Recorded May, 2024)
Episode 19: My guest this week is Michelle Schulmerich, Senior Executive Administrative Assistant for the Vicar General, Vicar for Clergy, Vicar for Vocations, and Chief Operating Officer for the Diocese. She shares how she feels called to serve in her role. (Recorded May, 2024)
Episode 20: My guest this week is Tom Acemoglu, Pastoral Associate for Evangelization and Catechesis at St. Ambrose Church in Latham. He talks about the blessings that can come from embracing the awkward. (Recorded May, 2024)
Episode 21: Sister Angela Marie Leo, with the Sisters of the Resurrection, also works in the Catholic Schools Office for the Diocese. She shares about how she feels called to serve. (Recorded May, 2024)
Episode 22: Sister Angela Marie Leo, with the Sisters of the Resurrection & the Catholic Schools Office for the Diocese, shares about being called to Rome before making final vows in her order. (Recorded May 2024)
Episode 23: Beth Dennis is a 4th grade teacher at St. Pius X School in Loudonville. She is also discerning to become a Dominican Associate of Peace. She talks about her own spiritual journey and how she feels Called to Serve. (Recorded June 2024)
Episode 24: My guest, once again, is Beth Dennis, a 4th grade teacher at St. Pius X School in Loudonville. She is also discerning to become a Dominican Associate of Peace. In this one she shares about the blessings that came from a paper crane project that she worked on with her St. Pius students. (Recorded June 2024)
Episode 25: My guest is Fr Jim Kane, Director of the Office of Ecumenical & Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. That is a role he has been in for close to 42 years now. He is retired as a pastor but still serves at daily Mass and on weekends at St Clare’s in Colonie. (Recorded June 2024)
Episode 26: My guest is Anne Frame, Executive Assistant to Bishop Edward Scharfenberger and the Multimedia Specialist in the Communications Office for the Diocese. (Recorded July 2024)
Episode 27: My guest is Deacon Randy Velez. He served at St Thomas the Apostle Church in Cherry Valley. He is retired, but still actively serving so many in our church and talks about something he calls Grassroots Ministry. (Recorded July 2024)
Episode 28: My guest is Deacon Randy Velez. He served at St Thomas the Apostle Church in Cherry Valley. He is retired, but still actively serving so many in our church. In Episode 27, he talked about something he calls Grassroots Ministry. In this episode, he shares some of the blessings he has experience in that ministry. (Recorded July 2024)
Episode 29: My guest is Alex Turpin, a seminarian in our diocese. He talks about how he feels called to serve. (Recorded August 2024)
Episode 30: My guest, once again, is Alex Turpin, a seminarian in our diocese. In this episode, he talks about the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. (Recorded August 2024)
