SEPTEMBER  2023

Participants in Faith Companioning at SCS:
Lynn Lightfoot, Stephanie Hellmers and Pam Truxillo

Lynn Lightfoot

     Like many, I was a cradle Catholic. Also, like many, I fell out of the cradle when life presented me with uncomfortable choices. I argued with God but went my own way, always hearing His call to return fully to Him and his church. That was the pattern of my life until I experienced Alpha. Midway through, I responded to Jesus’s call that He would give me the power to follow Him completely, inviting me to change the one thing that prevented me from being in complete union with Him.

     After Alpha, I began looking for more… I wanted to be able to help others as I was helped. That’s when I learned about Faith Companioning. It sounds so simple: a Faith Companion is a person skilled in spiritual conversation who accompanies another in spiritual friendship. I took the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center’s training during which we shared spiritual and faith development meditations, learned about personality types, memory healing, and dreams, journaling, our interpersonal skills, strengths, and weaknesses that would assist us with our new ministry. Coincidentally, there were 5 other people from St. Catherine in that same program! So why not bring this to our parish?

     God blessed us with parishioners who were searching for someone to share their spiritual journey, so our Faith Companions are now actively using our new spiritual skills with others. I am blessed to have a faith companion who is on fire with love of God and the desire to be of service. We have shared deeply how our faith has accompanied us on our life journey. We now meet monthly, beginning with a prayer for the Holy Spirit to come and guide us, read the gospel of the day, and then share our faith through the reading and then day by day events of our lives.

This training is coming here! Beginning in November, the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center will offer the Faith Companioning training in seven 3-hour sessions tentatively set for Thursday afternoons, with two sessions in November, January, February, and the last session in March.

Stephanie Hellmers

     I am so happy to have the opportunity to share my experience as a faith companion. It is a privilege to meet with my assigned partner on a monthly basis and share together our unique relationships with Jesus Christ. At our meetings we often examine our individual reflections on a scripture reading, a particular saint, or our reactions to a book or a speaker we have heard. We also discuss the ways we see God moving in our own lives in all our daily experiences. We offer our own prayer intentions and pray
together for their outcome.

     When I share my daily experiences of faith with someone else who also values them, my awareness of God’s presence around me grows. I really don’t consider myself a faith companion “leader,” but more of an “arranger” because we both contribute equally; I just set the time and keep us on track. Sharing the blessings of our Catholic faith with someone who is also trying to grow in theirs is a beautiful way to evangelize, and I hope more people from our parish will try companioning
as leaders and participants.

Pam Truxillo

     Having a friend to talk with has always been important to me; it gave me the
opportunity to share my life with someone else. But typically, it was always about
sharing the small stuff rather than the stuff of life that really matters. Faith
companioning allowed me the opportunity to share my faith with someone who felt
the same way. Often my other conversations with friends failed to explore who
God was in my life and how He was leading me. With my faith companion, I am
free to talk about my faith journey without fear of judgment.

     As a child I was taught to never talk about politics or religion with other people
because it would cause conflict. So I was always reluctant to engage in those kinds
of conversations. But having a faith companion allows me the space and the time
to share my faith journey, and she does the same with me. What better conversation
to have with someone than one that centers on Jesus?!

If you’re interested in having a faith companion or becoming a certified faith
companion, please contact Lynn Lightfoot at extension 1563.