"Discovering God's Vision for Your Life:
You and Your Spiritual Gifts"
"Discovering God's Vision for Your Life: You and Your Spiritual Gifts"
Information & Registration
For more information please contat us at [email protected] or scroll down to submit your information.
Linda McGurn is a retired development officer who spent many years raising funds for colleges, hospitals and other non-profit organizations. She is the product of 19 years of Catholic school education, culminating in a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from St. Joseph College in West Hartford. Linda serves as a Stephen Ministry Leader at St. Mary’s and continues to use her fund-raising skills to help support The Good Shepherd Foundation, which provides free medical care to the people in a remote area of Haiti.
Bob McGurn retired after 42 years as an ordained Lutheran Pastor. He recently made his confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church and is seeking to use his years of experience serving the Lord at St. Mary’s. He uses his woodworking skills hobby to keep him busy and out of trouble.
Bob & Linda met at 16 years of age, have been married for 54 years, and have three grown children. Besides teaching the Spiritual Gifts course, they love to travel and generally enjoy each other’s company as best friends.
These are some of the many testimonials that we have heard from our parishioners:
"The Spiritual Gift’s Workshop opened many doors for me, introduced me to so many wonderful parishioners and truly made St Mary’s feel like home."
- Bruce
"I now feel more confident, strong, and supported in my life’s journey having embraced my gift of Faith."
- Michelle
"What God now wants me to prioritize and what I am now able to prioritize were matched as a result of taking this course."
- Ted
Jeff Ryan
Joanne Russell
Sean Hughes
Spiritual gifts are unique endowments of the Holy Spirit, generously shared with Christians in community for building up the body of Christ in practical ways.
The Apostle Paul addresses the presence of Spiritual Gifts in three main sections of scripture: Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4. Peter also verifies their existence in I Peter 4:10. Through these sections of scripture, we learn that all Christians have been given at least one Spiritual Gift. The purpose of Spiritual Gifts is twofold: (1) to unify Christians in their faith and (2) to produce growth within the church, both numerical and spiritual. These Gifts are to be used out of love for one another, and in service to one another.
Mission
The mission of the Spiritual Gifts Ministry is to empower and enable Christians to find their calling and to serve our community.
Vision
Our vision is that our Congregation will experience spiritual renewal and effective ministry. People who know their gifts have a greater self-awareness and can more easily recognize where they are best able to contribute in our communities while personally growing and achieving greater fulfillment.
Themes:
Initiatives:
Every Christian has at least one Spiritual Gift from the Holy Spirit. These Gifts are strengths that we can share daily to benefit our communities while living more fulfilling lives. Recognizing my gifts from childhood, I continue to learn more about them through the Spiritual Gifts Ministry and others on my faith filled journey. It is our privilege and responsibility to help others discover, develop and use their spiritual gifts. In addition to leading SGM, I lead the Small Commercial Business in the U.S. at Arch Insurance, am the President of Prospanica CT, the association for hispanic business professionals and serve on the Advisory Council for Connecticut College’s Hale Center for Career Development. I earned my MBA from University of Hartford, BA in Psychology and Sociology from Connecticut College and a CPCU designation. I live in Simsbury, CT with my husband, Carlos, 8-year-old daughter, Caroline, our Doberman, Coco, and our Miniature Pinscher, Casper.
My Name is Mike Dunn and I am thrilled to be part of the Spiritual Gifts Leadership Team. I decided to
take part in the Spiritual Gifts workshop in 2022 for a couple of reasons. First, I was intrigued as
to which Spiritual Gifts I had been given and how I can use them as part of my faith journey. Secondly, I
believe as I get closer to retirement, it’s time for me to focus on how I can give back to a community that
has been such an important part of my life.I have been a member of St. Mary’s since 1993 along with my wife Joanne. Having grown up in Simsbury, I knew it was a special place to raise our family. We have 3 boys Joseph (26), Sean (23) and
Michael (20). I am a Finance Director with Brooks Brothers and have been with the company for 35 years in various capacities. I served on the Parish Finance Council for about 10 years, including 2 years as the Chairman. I have also been an active member of the Men’s Ministry Group that meets Saturday mornings.
My name is Jon Hughes and I have been a member of St Mary’s since 1999. My wife Kathleen and I reside in West Simsbury. Our daughter, Allison, a 2008 graduate of St Mary’s school, is married and resides in Canton. I am currently a Lector and a member of the Men’s Ministry group. I am a professional Safety Consultant and I enjoy reading and working on interior and exterior home projects. I have achieved BSA top rank of Eagle Scout, and have been an Assistant Scoutmaster since 2012 with Troop 175 in Simsbury.
Prior participants can use the link below:
Please Contact Spiritual Gifts MInistry ([email protected]) if you have questions.