What People Are Saying (About FOF)
September 2011
Sr. Ginger you presented all the information so clearly. We had been getting in bits and pieces. It suddenly made sense. That’s you! Great job!—Maureen, St. Ignatius Loyola, Cypress, Tx
March 2011
We brought in Faith on Fire to be our Lenten Retreat directors this past year. Our parish has had a strong tradition of Lenten programming and the parishioners have grown to expect spiritual depth. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to witness to the way that Dr. Sargent and Sr. Ginger were able to accommodate the parish’s interest and to design a retreat that took the best of the tradition in order to challenge people’s perceptions of holiness, the topic for our retreat.
Many of the participants commented on how effortlessly Sr. Ginger and Dr. Sargent worked together, providing insightful perspectives from the scriptures, from key documents of the tradition and from the life-experience of the parishioners. They also modeled the kind of collegial respect and enthusiasm for the Gospel that seems to be missing from so much of parish dialogue these days. The topics presented were profound, timely, and yet easy to understand. They listened carefully to the kind of questions coming from the participants and adapting their materials accordingly. This was no “cookie-cutter” presentation. Our parishioners walked away from each session with something worth chewing on. The conversations went on long after the presentations ended.
I recommend Faith on Fire without hesitation. These people are knowledgeable, dedicated to the Gospel and to the Catholic tradition. They don’t just make personal faith live, they know how to set faith communities on fire for the Gospel.
Father Paul Feela, Pastor
Lumen Christi Catholic Community
Saint Paul, Minnesota
February 2010
Sr. Ginger Downey was a blessing to our parish staff of St. Luke the Evangelist in Houston, Texas. She facilitated a day of reflection with our staff. Our schedule was not unique, however, Sr. Ginger’s ability to listen and reflect with a group of people with whom she had never met was amazing and, as stated, truly a gift.
Sr. Ginger Downey facilitated a weekend Parish Mission for the Catholic Community of St. Luke the Evangelist in Houston, Texas. We wanted to have more of a retreat style, rather than the traditional evening series of talks, type mission. She worked with us on our idea from the beginning and helped us craft our theme which was “Encountering God’s Grace in the Midst of our Brokenness.” She lead our community through an opportunity of reflecting on personal then communal brokenness, and then brought us to the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our community is stronger because of this parish mission opportunity, thank you.
August 18,2009
Just a note to help our friends Sr. Ginger Downey and Dr Barry Sargent – who kicked off their new venture, “Faith on Fire”, here at St. Thomas More this morning.
I guess I expected a “commercial” for what Faith on Fire could do for a parish – but what I got was a first-hand experience of what Faith on Fire would do.
Both Sr. Ginger and Barry gave presentations just like they would for an Adult Education evening. Sr. Ginger spoke on the power of Liturgy based on the credo “Lex Orandi – Lex Credendi”. Barry’s presentation on evangelization focused on what vocation is all about, and how all of us are called to holiness, each with our particular charism, juxtaposing the universal call with the particular gift.
If you would like to experience “Faith on Fire” for you and your parish, check out their other kick-off events: tomorrow (Wednesday August 19) at St. Francis de Asis in Flagstaff or Thursday, August 20 at All Saints in Mesa. You’ll get an enriching morning of sound theology, and an idea of how they can help your parish programs.
Steve (sure on Fire now!) Raml
Director of Liturgy & Music
St. Thomas More