September 21, 2019

Eileen Curran to be speaker at Greater Holyoke Deanery Mission

REGIONAL
Staff report

Holyoke native Eileen Curran will be a speaker at the Greater Holyoke Deanery Mission on Oct. 1 (Photo from Facebook)

HOLYOKE – Eileen Curran, a Holyoke native and former Catholic Communications TV reporter, will be a featured speaker at the Greater Holyoke Deanery Mission, to be held Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2 at Blessed Sacrament Parish, 1945 Northampton St., here.

The Greater Holyoke Deanery consists of Roman Catholic parishes in Granby, Holyoke, and South Hadley.

With the theme, “Get the Real Story,” the mission will begin at 6:30 p.m. each evening with music by local school and parish choirs, and continue with the speaker program from 7-8 p.m.

On Monday, Sept. 30, music will be performed by students of Blessed Sacrament and Mater Dolorosa schools, followed by speakers Ray and Maureen Hershel, whose topic will be “Test of Faith: Why I remain a Catholic. When the headlines challenge your religion, how do you keep your eyes on the cross and keep the faith?”

Ray Hershel retired in 2018 after 50 years as a news anchor and reporter in western Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Holyoke High Madrigal Singers will perform and Curran will present a talk entitled, “How do you know what is real news and what isn’t?”

Curran, who worked locally and in Boston as a news anchor and reporter, currently is the senior director of communications and public relations for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 

On Wednesday, Oct. 2, Nick and Jeanne Morganelli will speak on the topic, “Building Our House on Rock.” The singers on that night will be from the Our Lady of the Cross Parish music ministry, directed by Robin Sheehan.

Nick Morganelli, a longtime meteorologist in western Massachusetts, currently owns “Weather With Nick,” a consulting business in Westfield. He also is a part-time reporter for the Catholic Communications ministry of the Springfield Diocese. 

For more information on the mission, call Blessed Sacrament Parish at 413-532-0713.