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Tag Archives | Mass

By the numbers

By on May 31, 2013 in The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2013 (All), The Nome Static, June 2013

As we’ve written before, we’re making every effort to cut costs in the midst of our financial challenges. Since our first broadcast in 1971, KNOM has always been mindful of the need to economize, but despite our best efforts, Nome remains an expensive place to live and to run a radio station.

An hour of electricity for KNOM’s facilities costs $9.80. Heat costs $28.33 per day. Broadcasting Sunday Mass – a vital part of our weekly programming – costs $131.92. And feeding one full-time KNOM volunteer costs $300 per month.

Now more than ever, each and every contribution makes an impact in the life of our mission. As always, thank you for your support.

 

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Called to serve

By on April 28, 2013 in Photos, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2013 (All), The Nome Static, May 2013

Margaret in St. Joseph Catholic Church

With your support, the KNOM Radio Mission has been a presence in Western Alaska’s communities for more than four decades – and not always just through the airwaves. We’re so thrilled when our outstanding, full-time volunteers serve our region even beyond KNOM’s studio walls; news reporter Margaret DeMaioribus is one such volunteer.

Margaret, who hails from eastern Pennsylvania, has been a frequent presence in many service contexts within the Nome community: in particular, within St. Joseph Catholic Church. At St. Joseph’s, Margaret is a cantor at weekly Sunday Mass and also teaches religious education classes. In Nome, filling both of these positions can be difficult; willing and able musicians and volunteer teachers are both in short supply.

In addition to her work at St. Joseph’s (from which KNOM broadcasts weekly Sunday Mass to its rural Alaska listeners), Margaret also regularly volunteers at Nome’s local homeless shelter, serving dinners to the needy.

Thank you for making possible the service of all of our wonderful volunteers. Through your generosity, KNOM volunteers continue to endeavor to improve life in rural Alaska – even when the microphone is off.

 

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Happy Easter!

By on March 31, 2013 in Stories

From all of us at KNOM, a very Happy Easter!

In Western Alaska, there are already a few signs of spring. The temperatures are warming slightly, the days are rapidly becoming longer, and the moon looms large in the night sky, casting a soft light upon the frozen Bering Sea and ice-covered tundra. The stunning landscape is a reminder of the majesty of God’s love.

In isolated villages – where a priest rarely, if ever, is present to celebrate Mass – KNOM beamed Easter Mass from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome. We are blessed that Fr. Ross Tozzi was present to preside at the community’s Easter celebration; his words and those of the congregation were heard throughout Western Alaska.

From time to time, the KNOM volunteers fly out to select area villages. (The flights are typically free, thanks to a longtime sharing agreement with Bering Air in Nome.)

Last week, volunteer music director Josh Cunningham traveled to the Yukon Delta village of Bethel for the Cama-i Music Festival.  He spent three days recording music, interviewing village elders, and sending back reports for KNOM’s Update News broadcasts.

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Dreaming of Iditarod

By on March 18, 2013 in Stories

Our weather alternates between blizzards and clear, calm conditions. We can feel the pull of spring as we approach Easter Sunday. KNOM brings Easter Mass to many places with no priest, keeping the faith family together.

A former KNOM volunteer sent us an email, and we would like to share some of her thoughts.

As I sit in my cabin here in Fairbanks following the end of the greatest race on earth (Iditarod Sled Dog Race), my thoughts go back to the first Iditarod…

As all eyes look to Nome, I find myself once again thankful to God for giving me a wonderful life in Alaska. As I sleep tonight, I will dream of the dogs, the amazing men and women who run this race, the volunteers who make this all happen, and, of course, you and your staff who bring it all to the world.

My prayers and donations are with you always. God’s blessings be with you in all you do.

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February 1993: Hearing the Mass in remote Diomede

By on February 23, 2013 in History, Photos

Little Diomede, Alaska

February 28, 1993

KNOM volunteer news director Cherie Collins is on incredibly remote Little Diomede Island (pictured above), her small plane having landed on a strip cleared of snow on the Bering Strait ice pack.

Diomede church

The Catholic church in Little Diomede.

Diomede does not see a priest more than one or two Sundays a year. On this day, a Sunday, Cherie climbs up the steep, icy hill to the town church to pray with the villagers. She remembers:

To my surprise, they turned on KNOM! For over a year as a KNOM volunteer, I had sat behind the audio console in KNOM’s Studio A while we broadcast Mass from Nome’s St. Joseph Church, but I had no idea what an impact it made hundreds of miles away. In the isolated Little Diomede church, there we were, celebrating Mass along with our friends in Nome. I wondered how many people in other villages were also listening and praying along with KNOM.

It was an incredible experience, the kind that gives you the chills… One woman told me that they had once tried conducting their own Eucharistic liturgies, but they preferred to pray with the radio Mass because it helps them to feel connected with the outside world. Living so remotely, you can start to feel very alone. But thanks to KNOM, the distance between friends and family in other villages doesn’t seem as far. And that was exactly how I felt.

I don’t think I had ever realized the full power of KNOM until that wonderful moment.

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Baby in a manger (and a parka)

By on November 22, 2012 in Photos, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2012 (All), The Nome Static, Christmas 2012

Like so many Catholic churches around the world, the parish two blocks away from KNOM studios – St. Joseph Catholic Church – features a manger scene and Christmas tree during this Advent season. But the Nome creche (pictured) bears a touch of rural Alaska: the baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph wear traditional parkas fit for our region’s harsh winters.

Throughout the year, KNOM broadcasts live Catholic Mass from St. Joseph’s whenever Father Ross Tozzi, the church’s pastor, is in Nome. Due to the dire shortage of priests in Alaska, Fr. Ross – among his myriad duties – divides his ministerial efforts between Nome and other communities in our region. (He’s also president of KNOM’s board of directors.)

Through your support, thousands of our listeners will be able to join the celebration of Christmas Mass by listening to KNOM. Across hundreds of miles of snowy tundra, the joy of Christmas will keep spirits bright – thanks to you.

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Meet Margaret

By on November 12, 2012 in Photos, The Nome Static, The Nome Static, 2012 (All), The Nome Static, November 2012

Our mission’s new volunteer news reporter, Margaret DeMaioribus, arrived at KNOM in late summer and has hit the ground running. On weekdays, our listeners hear her voice in weather forecasts and news reports on the latest developments happening in their communities.

Margaret has a diverse background. She graduated in 2009 from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s in exercise science with minors in nutrition and psychology.

Before coming to KNOM, she spent a year of service in Cleveland, Ohio at Maggie’s Place, a home for pregnant mothers and babies in need.

She’s also driven across the USA and snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef.

As for her self-described “fun facts,” Margaret has a 2nd-degree black belt in Tang Soo Do (a Korean martial art form) and has “mascot experience,” having worked in costume as Elmo, Dora the Explorer and the Pink Panther.

In her free time, you’re likely to find Margaret hiking, reading, or singing at Sunday Mass. She says it’s been her dream to live in Alaska, and we’re thrilled to have her fulfill that dream at KNOM. Welcome, Margaret!

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Prayers for Father Armand, and new ways we’re saving power

By on October 1, 2012 in Photos, Stories
LED light

An example of the LED bulbs we soon hope to install throughout KNOM’s facilities.

We continue to give thanks and celebrate the faithful service of KNOM’s spiritual advisor, Father Armand Nigro, S.J. He has been offering prayers and Masses for the intentions of thousands of KNOM’s supporters, our staff, and listeners. We ask for your prayers for Fr. Armand as he deals with a variety of health challenges. He continues to pray for you and your intentions.

KNOM’s dynamic carrier control project continues to pay dividends in power savings. The latest billing information reveals that we are saving $101.00 per day in electricity costs! Many thanks to the Nautel Company, Chuck Lakaytis, Frank Jazzo, Jack Mullaney, Rolland Trowbridge, Les Brown, and engineers at the FCC.

The quest to find ways to trim the budget and to save money continues with our LED lighting project: a planned initiative to replace the fluorescent lighting fixtures in our facilities with cost-efficient LED bulbs. As always, we are working to save every penny we can! We thank you for the opportunity to serve.

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Summer and Sunday Mass

By on June 24, 2012 in Photos, Stories
Father Ross Tozzi

Father Ross Tozzi celebrates Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Nome.

Large patches of snow dot the tundra on north facing hills, but most areas are beginning to see a variety of blooming tundra flowers. Subsistence fishing and hunting will soon begin; in Western Alaska, families work hard to store up food for the winter.

Throughout KNOM’s primary coverage area, 19,230 persons are unable to worship Roman Catholic Mass in their villages more than half of the time. For these individuals, the only weekly opportunity to worship the Mass is KNOM’s Sunday morning broadcast.

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