OTU #14 - Ordinary Life? How About Working For The Church?

It's Thanksgiving Day and all the students have gone home, so we take a look at what some of our friends have done after college and how they're serving the Church. Ordinary lives? Nah!

Candice Calhoon, a TU grad and a past peer ministry president, stopped by a couple of weeks ago. We talked about her job as youth minister at Tulsa's Church of St. Mary and the work she's done with the Diocesan Young Adult Ministry.

We also hear from Fr. Dan Letourneau, a new priest in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He has what's called a Second Career Vocation. He's in his 40's, but he certainly jumped in with both feet!

Thank you so much for listening to "On the U". We are glad that you found us! Please send us a note to let us know how we're doing. Our email address is ontheu [at]gmail.com or leave a comment here on the blog.

Music in this show from GarageBand.com:
Ordinary Life by Someday Company

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Oklahoma Centennial Kickoff

In OTU #12, we mentioned that the State of Oklahoma is approaching its 100th anniversary as a state in the union. Our city of Tulsa was given the honor of beginning the year-long celebration on November 16th, the 99th anniversary of statehood.

I wasn't sure if Tulsa was going to be able to pull it off in a tasteful way. I was afraid it was going to resemble some of the tacky Super Bowl halftime shows that I've seen. I have to admit, they did a great job that was not only entertaining but honored the better parts of our history.

The kickoff celebration included three nights of fireworks, the Oklahoma Marathon, the Route 66 Marathon and Classic Car show, a Centennial Parade, numerous historical exhibitions, as well as concerts by Tony Bennett and Carrie Underwood. There were other events throughout the city as well.

For me, the best part was the Centennial Gala Fireworks and Laser show that took place downtown on Saturday night, November 18th. A highly coordinated show of music, fireworks from the rooftops of at least 4 buildings, lasers, film projection on the sides of several buildings, and more. This beat anything that I had seen before. Even better than the shows at DisneyWorld!

If you're interested, here's a 4 1/2 minute video that I put together of that show. It's not the best editing job I've ever done, but I wanted to put something here. It's in Quicktime format.
You can find the video at http://www.tu-newman.org/ontheu/OKCentennialKickoff.mov

Send your comments about this video to ontheu [at] gmail.com, or leave them here on the blog.

OTU #13 - Deep Fried Turkey & "What are you thankful for?"

We celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday at week early at the Newman Center. The university gives the students the week off, so we celebrated together on November 16th with our annual potluck dinner.

More that 50 people enjoyed two large turkeys, a scrumptious ham, and all kinds of potatoes, vegetables, salads and desserts! Pat's mom even offered up her secret pumpkin bread recipe. Download the recipe by clicking here.

Listen in as we deep fry a turkey outside and manage to set fire to the lawn! No worries, though. It turned out great. We also did a few interviews with the students. Hear what they say when asked "what are you thankful for?"

We wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! Learn more about the history of the Thanksgiving Holiday in the United States with this Wikipedia article.

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OTU #12 - Save Darfur!, Oklahoma Centennial Kickoff, and Veterans Day

In this episode of "On the U", we discuss the terrible situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. Katarina Haukaas, president of Amnesty International-Tulsa, explains the situation and what "Save Darfur Week" at the university seeks to accomplish.

Check out these important links mentioned in this segment:
SaveDarfur.org
Letter to President Bush from www.oprah.org
Amnesty International-Tulsa


The State of Oklahoma turns 99 years old on November 16th, kicking off a year-long celebration. We discuss some of the kickoff events including the upcoming fireworks and laser light show in downtown Tulsa.

Learn more about Oklahoma and the centennial by clicking here.

We end the episode by honoring veterans on the occasion of this year's Veterans Day. If you know any veterans, be sure to express your gratitude for the sacrifices they've made to protect freedom and liberty.

Be a part of our special Thanksgiving episode. Send us an email or audio file describing the things that you are thankful for this year. We'll include them in our November 23rd episode.

Many thanks to all of our listeners! Let us know how we're doing. Send us an email at ontheu [at]gmail.com, leave a comment here, or give us a review in the iTunes podcast directory.

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OTU #11 - "The Bible Babes" and What It's Like Being A Seminarian

Bloodmobile @ Halloween!

In this episode, we have the chance to talk to "The Bible Babes" from Sacred Heart Parish in Sapulpa, OK, as they prepare our weekly Tuesday Lunch for 150 hungry college students. We also get the inside scoop on what it's like being a seminarian from our good friend Mark Steichen. Listen in for our October trivia contest winner and the first question for the month of November.

We're sure having fun producing this podcast! We hope you enjoy listening to it and will stay subscribed. Since this is the beginning of a new month, we would sure appreciate your votes for "On the U" at PodcastAlley.com (see the link on the right) and by leaving us a review on our entry in the iTunes Store.

Music in this episode from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network:
How Can I Be Sure - Douglas Kay

Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Send them to us a onthe [at]gmail.com or by leaving a comment here on the blog!

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