Wed Oct 12 at noon: Travels to Rome and the Holy Land

Dr. Dennis Woytek will be at a special Wednesday edition of Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on October 12 at noon. Dr. Woytek is a professor of Journalism and Multimedia Arts at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was responsible for the creation of numerous websites such as the original Pittsburgh Steelers, designing the Pittsburgh Tribune Review online edition, Pittsburgh Brewing Company, and The Pittsburgh Jazz Society. Professor Woytek's dissertation titled "Community of Memory: How Technology has Enabled Vietnam Veterans to Reunite and Narrate the Public Memory" has been presented at several conferences and Vietnam veteran's reunions. In 2010, Dr. Wotek documented (on film) a historic interfaith trip to the Holy Land and Rome as part of a group of nearly 30 lay and religious leaders. The Pursuer of Peace Pilgrimage, led by Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik and Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Pittsburgh’s Rodef Shalom Congregation, spent about three days in Rome and three days in the Holy Land, visiting spiritually significant sites. The goal of the trip was to strengthen understanding between the two faith communities as they visited holy sites, including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museums, the catacombs of Catholics and Jews, the Roman Forum and a meeting with the chief rabbi at the synagogue in Rome. In the Holy Land, the pilgrims visited the Church of the Nativity, the Mount of the Beatitudes, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and Yad Vashem, the international Holocaust memorial, meeting with leaders in the Jewish and Catholic dialogue. The pilgrimage was a celebration of Catholic-Jewish relations, a step toward bringing the Catholic and Jewish communities closer together in the pursuit of peace. Dr. Woytek’s presentation will feature a screening of a 35 minute DVD of the pilgrimage, followed by remarks by Woytek and a question and answer period. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.