David Dziena is the Editorial Director for Pflaum Publishing Group. He has also served as Executive Editor and Parish Projects Manager with Our Sunday Visitor. Prior to OSV, he was Editorial Manager for nine years at Silver Burdett Ginn Religion, followed by RCL Benziger. He also worked for St. Joseph’s Parish in Croton Falls, NY for a total of ten years—first as Director of Religious Education and then Coordinator of Youth Ministries. Since 1993, he has led Confirmation workshops and retreats, and catechist formation classes. David is the co-author of the Catholic Prayer Book for the Separated and Divorced (OSV); Our Catholic Family: Activities, Conversations, and Prayer for Sharing Faith at Home (Pflaum); and the general editor for Singing Our Faith, Second Edition: Leader’s and Catechist’s Manual (GIA).
At Bayard, David manages children’s catechetical materials, including the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies, sacramental preparation programs, and family catechesis.
David graduated from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, with a Bachelor or Arts degree in Philosophy with a minor in Fine Arts and Religious Studies. He also received a Masters in Pastoral Theology from St. Joseph’s College in Standish, ME. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Gloria.
Nicholle Check, senior editor, joined Pflaum Publishing Group in 2014. Throughout her 25-year career in publishing, she has worked as a freelance writer and editor for numerous industries and organizations, including motorsports, real estate, energy, and education. She also produced publications for the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nicholle comes to religious publishing with more than a decade of happy experiences serving as a catechist. She currently co-teaches a class of amazing eighth-graders.
Nicholle works primarily on the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies, specifically Venture and Visions, as well as many of the online resources available on gospelweeklies.com. She lives in suburban Minneapolis with her husband, Steve, and her two children. They are members of Pax Christi Catholic Community.
Joan McKamey, project editor, joined the Gospel Weeklies editorial team in September 2016. Her passion for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ led her to seek degrees in Religious Studies/Religious Education (University of Dayton, BA) and Religious Studies/Pastoral Family Studies (Mount St. Joseph University, MA). She has served as a Catholic school religion teacher, parish catechist, youth retreat team leader, parish catechetical director, and RCIA team leader. For the past 20 years, she has worked in Catholic publishing and is thrilled to bring her skills and passion to the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies. She is married to Jon and has a young adult daughter, Claire. She makes her home in southeastern Indiana, near Cincinnati, Ohio.
This weeks Venture was a challenge. Cover page – Nile River marked twice. ?????
Page 6 – clues. My students had three translations of the Bible. Good News, New American, and Promise.
# 2 we had a cow, goat, ram – no Heifer!!
#5, we had vultures – no Birds!!
#6 we had lots of Children but no Offspring!!!
We found Descendants become slaves and treated cruelly but not Oppressed!!
We found punishment but no Judgement!!
To make it more difficult, The Parent Teaching Pages had the answers only in the unreadable word search but thankfully I found them in the Teachers Guide.
Just thought I would share with you. Thanks