Diocese honors people with disabilities who exemplify the faith

Friday, Oct. 10, 2014

PRICE — Two people with disabilities who are active in the life of their parish  were honored with 2014 Catholics Do awards during an Oct. 5 Mass celebrated by Bishop John C. Wester at Notre Dame Parish in Price.

A similar Mass was celebrated Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City, at which Bishop Wester and the late Bibian Rendon were honored. 

The diocesan Commission for People with Disabilities organized two such Masses in Utah this year to include more parishioners in the celebration, said Debbie Adams, commission chairperson.

“It’s a curious thing in our human condition that we tend to set up categories or stereotypes – these people are like this, those people are like that,” Bishop Wester said as he welcomed parishioners from throughout the Carbon County area to the Mass, “but in reality, in the name of Jesus Christ, we are all one; we are all brothers and sisters. In reality, each and every one of us has disabilities … of one kind or another.”

While some disabilities are less debilitating than others, the bishop said, there are those people who are called upon to deal all of the time with difficult challenges, “and we admire them for that, and we want to support them.”

At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Wester and Adams presented awards to Danny Marjis and Mickey Adelhardt, each of whom was recognized as an individual with disabilities who is a strong witness to the Catholic faith, is active in his or her parish, and demonstrates a message of evangelization, service and hospitality.

Marjis, a member of Saint Helen Parish in Roosevelt, was nominated for the award by Karon Simonton, the parish’s director of religious education. 

Marjis lives in an apartment complex with others who have disabilities, and six years ago he felt pressured by some friends to attend their church but instead chose to renew his spiritual journey into his Catholic faith, according to the award presentation.

On this journey, Marjis met Simonton and told her that he wanted to learn more about being Catholic. Simonton made him her assistant, and asked him to help with the Confirmation class. 

“Danny loves to help, always doing so with a smile and eagerness,” the award presentation states. “He would make sure the books and supplies were on the table, assist with placing the tables and chairs, running messages back and forth, and just anything he could do to be part of the parish. At various parish events, Danny is there, helping however he can, without even being asked. He often stays after others have left, to do the final cleanup of the space.”

Marjis was unable to be present at the Oct. 5 Mass; Kathryn Larson of St. Helen Parish accepted the award on his behalf.

Adelhardt, a member of Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City, graduated from Mount Saint Angus College, now Loyola University of Maryland, with a degree in nursing. She has worked in many aspects of health care, and also worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Transportation.

Having experienced her own disabilities since her teenage years, Adelhardt brought great compassion to her patients as they recovered from their illnesses or injuries, according to the award presentation.

In 1998, her knee collapsed, her vision decreased and her back increasingly limited her movement, “but this has never stopped Mickey from her path of service to others, most specifically the ministry of hospitality.  As a founding member of St. Olaf’s parish in Bountiful, she cooked meals for the construction workers every Saturday,” the presentation reads. “At St. Catherine of Siena, Mickey has been the cook for the Sunday evening suppers for over 10 years;” she also coordinates the parish’s bereavement ministry and a program that helps acquaint university students with the parish community.

Adelhardt also has worked in the parish’s library and is a volunteer guide at Antelope Island State Park and at the Utah State Capitol.

“It’s clear that despite her own disabilities, Mickey has an energy that challenges the more able bodied,” the presentation reads.