Peace and justice can move through song.

Few know this better than Catherine Roma, an assistant professor of music at Wilmington College, who organizes members of area church choirs to sing for community events.

She has pulled together voices to sing at the Martin Luther King Chorale, the Underground Railroad Choir and MUSE, the all-women choir. She even organized a choir behind prison walls.

On Tuesday, the Council of Christian Communions will present Roma with its community service award during its 90th annual dinner, which begins at5:30 p.m. at Jordan Crossing in Bond Hill.

"We are awarding her because of her ecumenical efforts to bring people who have a heart for singing out of their church choirs," said Joellen Grady, executive director of the council. "We are especially proud of the fact that she began a choir of inmates from Lebanon Correctional Institution."

Others to be honored are the Rev. Calvin Harper, pastor of Morning Star Baptist Church, Walnut Hills, who will receive the Charles P. Taft Award.

Also, Mary E. Battle, Norine Behm, Dwayne Bowman, Lance Glaze, Fred Huston, Dr. Johnnie Huston, Char Lindner and Vernell Rogers, will receive the Faith in Action Award.

Businesses help shelter

A domestic violence shelter will be open in Batesville, Ind., in July with the help of two area businesses.

Safe Passage Inc., a nonprofit agency, received more than $900 in materials from the Home Depot in Harrison last month to help the shelter build bunk beds.

Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors provided volunteers for the project..

"A dozen volunteers were here on a Saturday last month, designing and building the bunk beds," said Daryl Caldwell, executive director of Safe Passage Inc.

Gina Sturwold, program director, said the shelter will house men, women and children leaving domestic violence situations.

"It is difficult to imagine what it must feel like to have to flee a dangerous situation with nothing but the clothes on your back," Sturwold said. "The donations by both Home Depot and Hixson will go a long way in helping families cope with their crisis."

Clovernook offers camp

The Clovernook Center for the Blind will offer day camps this summer for visually impaired youth.

The camp for ages 13-17 will be June 7-25. One for ages 8-12 will be July 19-30.

For more information, call 314-2013.

Faith Matters

MOUNT WASHINGTON - On Saturday, 16 men took on the responsibility of being deacons in their parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.

Men with families and careers ranging from a retired police officer to a human resource manager were ordained at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains downtown after completing a three-year program at the Athenaeum of Ohio in Mount Washington.

"One of their roles is to serve the clergy, and that's very important today when there are fewer and fewer priests," said Father Benedict O'Cinnsealaigh, director of formation for deacons at the Athenaeum.

Deacons can perform baptisms, burials, weddings, help prepare couples for marriage, preach, perform bereavement counseling and work in the community.

"Because they have families and because they've worked in the community, they have a great sense of understanding of the life and situation of lay people," O'Cinnsealaigh said. "They bring that aspect of life into their ministry and the church, and that's a blessing."

The Archdiocese has 230 parishes in 19 southwest Ohio counties - but only 197 active priests and 145 deacons.

While not every parish has a deacon, O'Cinnsealaigh said more parishes want them.

Those ordained from the Cincinnati area were Kim R. Cohen, 49, and Leon "Max" Schellman, 55, both at Good Shepherd, Montgomery; John Corson, 61, at Corpus Christi, New Burlington; David A. Klingshirn, at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains; Thomas Lynd, 62, at SS Peter and Paul, Reading; Pat Palumbo, 49, at St. John Neumann, Springfield Township; David Shaffer, 57, at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Anderson Township; Tim Schutte, 43, at St. Andrew, Milford, and Daniel J. Thomas, 61, at Holy Name, Mount Auburn.

Two men also were ordained as transitional deacons, the last step before becoming a priest: Paul Ruwe, 29, of St. Teresa of Avila in Price Hill, and John W. Tonkin, 39, of Sidney, Ohio, who serves at Guardian Angels in Mount Washington.