Fr. John Cusick and Rick Kogan

In a conversation format Rick Kogan will chat with Fr. Cusick about the issues he raises in his recently released book, “Never Be Ordinary – Wisdom from My Father.”

We all have had many suggestions, thoughts, ideas, and pieces of wisdom spoken to us throughout our lives. Some of those have found a home in our brain and memory. And some of those have become the fundamental principles on which we continue to lead our lives.

Also, many of us are now parents and grandparents. Now we are the dispensers of our wisdom to one, if not two generations, following us in life.

Fr. John Cusick is known for his down-to-earth-style of speaking along with his common sense approach to life. He attributes much of that learning to a man named George Cusick.

“Never Be Ordinary – Wisdom from My Father” will be available before and after this delightful First Friday Club event. With Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day approaching this might be a special gift for moms, dads and the generations following them.

Mr. Rick Kogan is a revered journalist at The Chicago Tribune and a radio personality on WGN radio where he hosts his weekly show from 9pm-11pm on Sunday nights. He has authored a number of books and has interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of people, during his career.

Fr. John Cusick has been the Chaplain to the First Friday Club since its inception in 1986. Ordained a Catholic Priest in 1970 he has been a parish priest at Mary Seat of Wisdom in Park Ridge, a teacher and residence hall director at Niles College of Loyola University, and for over 30 years the director of the Archdiocesan Young Adult Ministry Office. He resided at Old St. Patrick’s Church until his retirement in 2014. He continues to preside there on a monthly basis.

Patrick J. Kennedy

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy

Former U.S. Congressman (D, R.I.)

Commissioner - President's Commission on

Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

Topic Addressed:

“Challenging One of the Last Social Taboos –

Discrimination Against Mental Health, Addiction, and Other

Brain Diseases”

In a society today where almost anything goes, certain topics and issues are not discussed in polite company or even in private. Mental health and drug addiction lead the list.

We can talk about having cancer, ALS, acute diabetes, heart disease, anxiety, and high blood pressure, but we find it difficult, if not impossible, to admit to bipolar disorder, alcoholism, or chemical dependency. After all, people may think less of us. It could cost us our job or stand in the way of a promotion. The world sees a human weakness, not a neurological or psychiatric disease. In fact, it was only in 2010 that the Federal Parity Act began requiring health insurance companies to treat illnesses of the brain such as depression and addiction in the same way they treat illnesses of the body.

The standard-bearer and perhaps the person most responsible for challenging taboos around mental health and addictive diseases is former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, son of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. During his time in Congress, Kennedy sponsored and was the lead architect of the Federal Parity Act. And more than ten years ago, Patrick Kennedy broke his family’s code of silence when he publicly acknowledged having bipolar disorder and being a recovering alcoholic. As of 2018, Mr. Kennedy says he has been sober for more than six years.

Patrick Kennedy represented Rhode Island’s First Congressional District from 1995 through 2011, sponsoring dozens of bills to increase understanding and treatment of addiction and other brain disorders. Since leaving Congress in 2011, he founded the nonprofit Kennedy Forum to lead a national dialogue on mental health and addiction involving advocates, business, and government. Locally, Kennedy Forum Illinois works to end discrimination against people with mental health and addiction challenges here in our state. Kennedy also cofounded One Mind, an organization that funds “open science” research on brain diseases, encouraging scientists to widely share their findings about Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, addiction, depression, and other diseases. His 2015 book, A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction, chronicles his own struggles along with his political advocacy supporting mental health and addiction care.

Joy Loverde

The First Friday Club of Chicago in Cooperation with

the Authors Group (Union League Club)

Welcomes

Ms. Joy Loverde

Author: Who Will Take Care of Me When I’m Old? and

The Complete Eldercare Planner

Who will address the topic:

“Caring for Aging Parents and Loved Ones while Planning for Your Future Self - Are You Ready?”

The Baby Boom Generation has become the new senior citizen generation, with more than 6000 Americans turning 65 every day. At the same time more and more people are living into their 90s. This data presents us with two fears: the fear of dying and the fear of living too long.

Many of us might become--if we aren’t already--the caregivers for grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, and beloved friends. Without careful planning, that role as caregiver can put our own physical, emotional, financial, housing, and legal needs at risk. 

But wait--what about you and me, especially if we have no children or others to rely on as we grow older? Joy Loverde points to the increasing percentage of the middle-aged and Baby Boomers who are aging solo: the never married, separated, divorced, and widowed. Given this reality, the number one question we all need to ask ourselves is, “Who will take care of me and be my advocate when I’m old?”

Mary Meg McCarthy

The Statue of Liberty

Every Immigrant’s Dream of a Better Life

It has been said time and time again that we are a nation of immigrants. Most arrived on our shores freely, while many others came against their will.

Who would have thought that the issue of immigration would ever become so political, as it has become recently? We might be getting tired of all the rhetoric, the posturing, and the politics. It is easy to turn a deaf ear to the issue today.

Yet beneath that rhetoric, posturing and politics are the lives, the pain, the suffering and the hope of so many people who carry the dream found in the Statue of Lady Liberty and in the DNA passed on to us.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on through the eyes of a key person whose life’s work is immigration. Since her years working in Chile during the Pinochet regimen, Mary Meg McCarthy has dedicated her career to protecting and promoting access to justice for men, women, and children regardless of their legal status. Ms. McCarthy is now in her 20th year leading the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), one of the nation’s pre-eminent immigrant rights organizations.

Ms. McCarthy received her J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. An expert in immigration law, Ms. McCarthy has testified before Congress and is often quoted in major news outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Ms. McCarthy is the immediate past chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration. Several organizations have recognized Ms. McCarthy’s expertise and commitment to serving the immigrant and refugee community through awards such as: the American Constitution Society Chicago Lawyer Chapter Ruth Goldman Award, the Elmer Gertz Award for Human Rights from the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Inn of Court 2015 Don Hubert Public Service Award, the Pax Christi 2013 Teacher of Peace Award, and the Damen Award from Loyola University. In June 2018, she received an honorary degree in law from Knox College (Galesburg, IL).

Arne Duncan

Bishop Ron Hicks

On Friday, December 7, at Noon,

in the Presidents Hall of the Union League Club,

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

Auxiliary Bishop Ronald Hicks

Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago

Who Will Address the Topic:

Light in the Darkness: Discovering Light and Hope in the Christmas Event

We are acutely aware of the darkness in the world. However, especially during the season of Advent, we patiently hope and boldly proclaim the light will never be overcome by the darkness. With inspirational stories and solid spirituality, Bishop Ron Hicks will share his experiences of living and working with children and adults in poverty in Central America.

Surrounded by so much bad news in our lives, Bishop Hicks will help to center us on the Good News which comes from our Savior.

Fr. Thomas Hurley

Maureen Maher, Investigative Journalist

Ms. Maureen Maher
Award-Winning Investigative Journalist
for the CBS News Magazine, 48 Hours
Who Will Address the Topic

“The World I want for my Daughter...and Son.
Using Lessons from Our Time to Create a Better Future.”

On nearly all fronts, the events of the last 16-18 months have been turbulent. It started with an unexpected presidential election, moved into the #me too issue, and more recently, the ongoing scourge of mass school shootings.

Politics, immigration, harassment, equal rights... gun control. How do we speak to our children about these important topics if we as adults can hardly have a civil conversation with anyone other than like-minded people?

How do we teach our children and grandchildren to navigate this world that we have created for them? What lessons have we, as adults, learned along our way?

Maureen Maher will share life stories from her travels around the country and around the world. She is now using them to teach her children and (hopefully) others the importance of finding something in common with people, even and especially when you disagree.

For 25 years she has reported on National and International events, including the War on Terror and the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Most recently, Maureen Maher won an Edward R. Murrow Award and an Emmy Award for two investigations into International Adoption, one of which, helped to change Federal Laws.

She received honors for an investigation that helped to win the freedom of two wrongly incarcerated men, one of whom had been in jail for more than two decades. She also received honors for an investigation on Chicago Crime, including coverage of Hadiya Pendleton’s drive-by shooting death.

Kenneth Woodward

The First Friday Club Welcomes
Mr. Kenneth L. Woodward
Former Religion Editor, Newsweek Magazine
Who will address the Topic?

“Religion and American Politics: The Recent History of a Stormy Relationship”

We have been told to avoid two topics in our conversations: religion and politics. On April 6 th
our speaker, Ken Woodward, will address both of them!
One of the people most qualified to address this issue is Ken Woodward who for 38 years covered the topic of religion in America for Newsweek Magazine. And since then he has continue to speak on and write about the place and impact of religion in our country.

His most recent book is titled Getting Religion: Faith, Culture, and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Era of Obama.

Ken Woodward’s intent during his First Friday Club presentation is to begin with an analysis of the present situation of Evangelicals in current American politics and then go back to JFK and move forward to a discussion of Religion and the GOP and Religion and the Democrats.
This should be very interesting!

Ken Woodward has authored over 750 articles for Newsweek, including nearly 100 cover
stories. He has been a news commentator on NBC, ABC and CBS. Among his numerous awards
are the National Magazine Award, the Pulitzer Prize of the magazine industry, and the Robert E.
Griffin Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Art of Writing from the University of Notre
Dame.

Mr. Woodward grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from St. Ignatius High School there and
from the University of Notre Dame (1957). He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children and
seven grandchildren.

 

Fr. David Kelly - Chaplain at Cook County Jail

Violence is a Three-Sided Coin

The out-of- control violence that plagues so many pockets of Chicago focuses on two elements:
the perpetrators and the victims. Often they are described as opposite sides of the same coin, the 2
sides of a violent action.

Yet there is another element that very often encircles those two sides. Violence between perpetrator
and victim often occurs in the same territory, neighborhood, or community: the third side of the coin.

Fr. Dave Kelly and other members of his religious congregation began the Precious Blood Ministry of
Reconciliation. This Ministry reaches out to those who have been harmed, the one who has done the
harm, and the community.

Our criminal justice system asks what law was broken and what the punishment is. There is very little
energy offered to the victim or to the process of healing.

Fr. Kelly's Restorative Justice Program seeks to restore the peace, to fix the harm and pain by
working together with the victim, the offender, and the community.

In the great Tradition of our Faith rooted in Christ, he sees all life as precious: the offender, the
victim, and all in the community. He believes that healing and hope can be restored by all three sides
of this coin coming together in Peace and Justice.

Violence among us may be defined as out of control. But Fr. Dave Kelly's ministry has proven that
can change.

Father Dave Kelly has earned his Doctorate of Ministry from the Catholic Theological Union. His
thesis is entitled: "Responding to the Violence Among Urban Youth: a Restorative Approach."

Mark McGreevy - Homelessness Advocate and Group CEO of Depaul INternational

On the first Friday in February we are dealing with the issue of Homelessness. We want to get beyond the stereotype and, look deeply and honestly at this growing sad cultural issue that surrounds all of us. Too many social issues have become the victims of dishonest and unfair stereotypes. 

Yes. There are homeless people who beg on many of the street corners in downtown Chicago.

But did you know there are college students in the Chicago area who return to homeless shelters each night? Yes, there are.

There are also many homeless people who hold jobs and work every day, but cannot make enough money to rent a place to live for themselves and their children. So they travel night after night from town to town with their children, to the humiliation of a shelter - trying to get back on their financial feet.

This is occurring during these cold winter nights throughout the city and even in many of the best Chicago suburbs. 

Our February speaker, Mark McGreevy, made a commitment 27 years ago in London to bring an end to homelessness. That has led to 100 projects in 6 countries supporting over 23,000 people. We have much to learn about this issue that surrounds us all.

Fr. Gregory Boyle - Founder of Homeboy Industries

On Friday, January 5, 2018

The First Friday Club of Chicago in Cooperation with the Authors Group (Union League Club)

Welcomes

Rev. Greg Boyle, S.J.

Founder, Homeboy Industries

Author, Barking to the Choir

Fr. Boyle will discuss his new book, Barking to the Choir.  A moving example of unconditional love in difficult times.   The bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, Fr. Boyle, shares what three decades of working with gangs in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of radical kinship.

In a nation deeply divided and a neighborhood plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life in “the barrio.” Jose, arrested at nine, in a gang by twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help young boys find sobriety. Andre, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgiveness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Hector, who never knew his own father, thinks of a daily adventure story to tell his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness.

In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart, Father Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang-intervention program in the world. Critics hailed that book as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the successful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how compassion is transforming the neighborhood that boasts the highest concentration of murderous gang activity in Los Angeles.

This collection is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and re-convinces us all of our own goodness.

John Shea - Theologian, Poet, and Storyteller

Hello, World!

On Friday, December 1, 2017, At Noon

In the Main Lounge of the Union League Club

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

John Shea

Author, Poet, Theologian, Storyteller

Who will address the topic

“Christmas: It Never Grows Old.”

It will happen again very soon. We will gather around tables, in church pews, and on chairs and sofas in family rooms, living rooms and great spaces for our celebrations of Christmas 2017. It is inevitable. The calendar tells us so.

Yet, it is possible that our Christmas can get lost amid all the expressions of Christmas we are about to encounter. Somewhere woven between the layers of Christmas shopping, retail discounts, gift giving, favorite seasonal movies and music from classic to pop, charming stories about a Grinch and another about a reindeer with a red nose, there is found yet another story, a Gospel story about a young Jewish woman who birthed her first-born son, wrapped him in love and placed him in a manger. All expressions of Christmas are rooted in this Story that never grows old.

It has been the practice of the First Friday Club to invite a speaker each first Friday in December to raise our consciousness of the spirituality of this wonderful season culminating on Christmas Day. There might be no one better this year than John Shea to speak to the spirituality of this special time of the year. He is a very creative writer, theologian, storyteller and poet.

John (Jack) Shea is the former Professor of Systematic Theology and former Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He was Research Professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago. He was also Senior Scholar in Residence at the Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith and Ethic.

He is a very popular speaker in parishes, organizations and programs throughout the Chicago area and beyond.

Patrick Magoon - President and CEO of Lurie Children's Hospital

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

Mr. Patrick M. Magoon

President and CEO, Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Who will address the topic

Our Children, our future - protecting their health and well-being Health Care has been a major topic of political and social conversation for the past eight months as well as a recurring theme in our country for almost eight years.

However, as important as health care coverage, insurance plans, government support, and percent of payment is, something is getting lost; namely, the day-to-day health care being administered to people of all ages and levels of physical and mental health.

As you read this, health care professionals and institutions are caring for the sick, the vulnerable, the needy of all ages, no matter who they are.

Mr. Patrick Magoon, who for the past 40 years, has committed his entire professional career to the health and well-being of children will be our speaker. Mr. Magoon has been President and CEO of Lurie Children's Hospital and its predecessor, Children's Memorial Hospital, since 1997.

Please join us at Noon, on Nov. 3rd, as we step away from the political banter of health care and focus on actual health care. Children don't vote. They don't give voice to a political opinion. They are innocent. They are vulnerable. And for those children at Lurie Children's Hospital they are sick. What do we, as a society, owe these children? They might not be our children, but they are our future.

Justice Anne Burke - Commemorating 50 Years of the Special Olympics

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

The Honorable Anne M. Burke

Illinois Supreme Court Justice and

Founder of the Special Olympics

Who will address the Topic

Commemorating 50 Years of the Special Olympics
Is It Possible for One Person to Change the World?

And the answer to that question is: Yes, it is. Yes, she did. But did she ever think that was possible on July 20, 1968, when she was a 23 year-old special education instructor with the Chicago Park District, and lead a group of special needs athletes into Soldier Field? Probably not. But what Anne McGlone began at age 28 has changed the world.

Justice Anne Burke has seen her dream become incarnate around the world. On July 25, 2015 she witnessed over 7000 Special Olympians march into the Los Angeles Coliseum. They represented over 177 countries. Amazing!

Justice Burke's dream has always been more profound than an opportunity for these special Olympians to engage in sports and recreational activity. She began a movement to move a large segment of our society from darkness of social unacceptability into the full light of citizenship in our country and our society.

Justice Anne Burke said it best. "We're always talking about disabilities. Everybody has challenges no matter who they are. If you treat people with respect and give them an opportunity no matter what their challenge is, great things can happen."

Please join us at Noon on October 6th when Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke speaks to us about a dream she had that has lead our fellow human beings from Soldier Field through the gates of the Los Angeles Coliseum into the fullness of light as Sons and Daughters of God. And that is who we all are.

David Axelrod - "The Evolving Media and political Landscape"

riday, May 5, 2017, At Noon At the Union League Club

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

David Axelrod

Political Commentator and Author

Who will address the issue:

“The Evolving Media and Political Landscape”

David Axelrod was motivated by a sense of idealism at an early age. At 5 years old, he witnessed an inspiring speech by John F. Kennedy, in New York, which would set his life on a political course. Axelrod credits this formative experience with arousing a life passion for politics, and, in 1972, Axelrod moved to Illinois to study political science at the University of Chicago.

Upon graduating from college, Axelrod began working for the Chicago Tribune. In 1981, by the age of 27, he gained acclaim for being the youngest political writer in the newspaper's history.

After eight years of political reporting, Axelrod left the paper to pursue a career in campaign consulting. This included being the media strategist for 150 state, local and national political campaigns. He is the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama.

He currently serves as Director of the University of Chicago's non-partisan Institute for Politics; senior political commentator for CNN; and host of The Axe Files, a top-rated podcast jointly produced by CNN and his institute. Axelrod is also the author of The New York Times best- selling memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics.

Mark K. Shriver: My Search for the Real Pope Francis

On Friday, April 7, 2017

The First Friday Club of Chicago in Cooperation with the Authors Group (Union League Club)

Welcomes

Mr. Mark Shriver

President, Save The Children Action Network

Author, PILGRIMAGE - My Search for the Real Pope Francis
 

Who Will Address the Topic

"My Search for the Real Pope Francis"

Pope Francis very quickly has become one of the most fascinating and one of the most popular people in the world. He is adored by millions and disdained by many others. Who is he? Where did he come from? What motivates him? How did he become so compassionate to the poor and marginalized?

Mark Shriver set out to find answers to those and many other elements in the life of Jorge Marie Bergoglio. In his journeys through Argentina to the places where Pope Francis was born, lived, educated and ministered as a Jesuit, Shriver not only entered into the heart of Francis, he also came into deeper contact with his own faith, values and his motivation for doing good for others. His biographical journey into the life of Pope Francis has also led him to question even his own work as head of the nonprofit, Save the Children.

Mark Shriver is the son of Sargent Shriver, who ran the Merchandise Mart here in Chicago and became the first head of the Peace Corps, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, one of the founders of The Special Olympics here in Chicago.  

Mr. Shriver will be joined in conversation by Rev. Pat McGrath, S.J., president of Loyola Academy and visiting priest at Old St. Pat's Catholic Church.

Blase Cardinal Cupich: "GPS for the Soul"

On Friday, February 3rd, 2017, at Noon

At the Union League Club

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

Cardinal Blase Cupich

Who will speak on:

GPS for the soul

Cardinal Cupich will offer some thoughts on how believers can respond in a time marked by moral whiplash and acrimonious public discourse.  The present moment seems to demand that we Christians choose between seemingly competing issues from protecting the unborn to caring for the marginalized, from defending religious freedom to preserving the environment.  What is the average Catholic to do?

Dr. Jo Ann Rooney: "Is There a Changing Identity of Catholic Universities Today?"

On Friday, February 3, 2017

At Noon at the Union League Club

The First Friday Club of Chicago Welcomes

Dr. Jo Ann Rooney

24th President, Loyola University Chicago

Who will address the issue: "IS THERE A CHANGING CATHOLIC IDENTITY IN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES TODAY?"

Contemporary America is experiencing two amazing phenomena: cultural/religious/social diversity and a rapidly increasing secularity. These phenomena are incarnated in the student and faculty populations of Catholic Universities. What is Catholic today in a Catholic University? Is there a Catholic world view that is taught and promoted? Is there a Catholic ethic and moral compass that clashes with a secular ethic?

Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, is the 24th President of Loyola University Chicago and the first lay president in the University's history. She holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, a Master of Laws in taxation from Boston University School of Law, and a Doctor of Education in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jeanne Bishop: "Forgiveness: The Impossible Virtue"

Would you have the courage or compassion to go to the prison where your sister’s murderer was incarcerated?

Jeanne Bishop, Attorney, Author, Social Justice Leader

On Friday, January 6, 2017, at Noon

At the Union League Club

The First Friday Club of Chicago

Welcomes

Attorney and Author Jeanne Bishop

Who will address the topic

“Forgiveness: The impossible virtue”

Many people in Chicago remember the horrible events of an unspeakable crime that took place in the northern suburbs 26 years ago.  Newspaper and television coverage was extensive and emotionally exhausting.  The story is familiar but the names of the people involved appear to have been forgotten.

Our speaker, Jeanne Bishop and her family, seemed to be living the American Dream.  She and her siblings were born and raised in a quiet, safe, well to do suburb.  She attended Northwestern University and had a good job at a top Chicago law firm.

The world changed for them on a dark night in 1990, just before Easter.  After a family dinner to celebrate the impending birth of her younger sister’s baby, tragedy struck.  Jeanne received a phone call the next morning. Her sister Nancy, brother-in-law Richard, and the unborn baby were gone.  Murdered in their own home, in the sleepy village of Winnetka.  … How? … Why?

Did the family experience crushing sadness? Yes. Was there anger and bitterness?  Maybe at first.  Was there a Desire for Revenge??

Jeanne will share her long journey of Forgiveness.  A journey that started when she told the police investigators that she didn't want to hate anybody.  Along the way she spent time with the author of Dead Man Walking, Sister Helen Prejean, lobbied Gov. George Ryan about the death penalty, and met others who challenged her to examine her faith and Christian beliefs.

Would you have the courage or compassion to go to the prison where your sister’s murderer was incarcerated? Could you tell him he was Forgiven? Is Forgiveness an impossible virtue?