Dear friends of CHNetwork,
Every ten weeks I reach out via email to you — our donors and friends — to share encouraging stories and helpful resources that I believe will ignite your faith and expand our impact as an apostolate. To that end, I recently asked my dad to do a new video interview as a special gift for our donors with two of our close friends who came into the Catholic Church from Anglicanism: Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson (who had been an Anglican bishop) and Fr. Jürgen Liias (a former Anglican priest) — both of whom are married and have children and grandchildren.
As you may know, in 2012 the late Pope Benedict XVI appointed Msgr. Steenson to become the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter — a gigantic geographical area covering all of the Ordinariate parishes in Canada and the United States. He retired in 2015 and is now the Ordinary Emeritus and also CHN’s chaplain!
My dad and I couldn’t be more pleased that Msgr. Steenson is using his retirement years to help us bring even more Anglican clergy and other non-Catholics home to the faith. And they just keep coming!
For example, at our most recent retreat in Ohio, Msgr. Steenson brought a former Pentecostal minister, Michael, and his dear wife Suzanne, back home to the sacraments after a 41-year absence! We’d been working with this couple for four years, and we brought them to our retreat, thanks to a generous gift to our Shepherds’ Fund.
At this retreat, Michael and Suzanne received the sacrament of confession for the first time since their teenage years. The next day they were readmitted to the Church and presented themselves for communion. Wow! What a glorious, heartwarming resolution to their years-long journey.
Msgr. Steenson’s journey to the Catholic Church and the Ordinariate is one of the most unusual stories you’ll ever hear. This month, donors who share a gift of any amount can receive this amazing story and theological insights in the new DVD I want to send you.
A Tale of TWO Former Anglican (Now Catholic!) Priests…
In addition to Msgr. Steenson’s amazing story, this new DVD also features another convert whose journey to the Church borders on incredible. Fr. Jürgen Liias was born in the Black Forest of post-war Germany in 1948 and was baptized in the Lutheran Church and eventually became an Anglican priest.
Fr. Jürgen met an Anglican bishop, Jeffrey Steenson, who was also in agony over the widespread apostasy in the Anglican Church. They confessed their mutual attraction to Rome!
When you make a gift to CHNetwork for any amount, you will receive my dad’s new hour-long interview with Fr. Jürgen and Msgr. Steenson, and hear more about their stories, their friendship, and their insights about theology and the Church.
The “Pope Benedict” Connection
Both of these men deeply admire Pope Benedict. Indeed, their conversion to the Catholic faith and their eventual journey into Catholic Priesthood was, in many ways, made possible because of him.
Because Pope Benedict’s legacy has such a beneficial impact on our mission, I’m eager to tell you about a second gift we’re making available to those whose financial gift in response to this email is $100 or more. It is a stunning new commemorative book — jam-packed with color photographs — that tells Pope Benedict’s life-changing story.
Pope Benedict XVI saw that the battle against paganism in the Anglican Church was becoming furious, furious. Yet the Anglican Church continued (and still continues) to go in the wrong direction, causing agony to devout members like then-Bishop Steenson and Fr. Jürgen. Pope Benedict believed that there needed to be a place where Anglican priests can use their gifts within the Catholic Church. Hence, the Ordinariate!
How to receive these two wonderful gifts
As a token of thanks for your gift in any amount, I’ll gladly send you the new hour-long DVD, in which my dad sat down with Msgr. Steenson and Fr. Jürgen and asked them to tell their stories. Could you consider sending a gift right now to help us continue our life-changing mission?
I also want to send you the new book, jam-packed with stunning color photographs, commemorating the life and papacy of Benedict XVI. When you’re through reading this powerful book, you could change a life by passing it on to a loved one or friend.
As a token of thanks for your tax-deductible gift of $100 or more, I’ll give you the new DVD mentioned above PLUS the amazing book about the magnificent Pope Benedict XVI.
This book will enrich your faith and warm your heart. It could change a life. When donors like you share our materials with friends or family members, you become the most important part of CHN because you’re reaching souls that we’re not in a position to reach.
Could you consider sending a gift of $100 or more today?
Please join me in praying that the financial needs of the Coming Home Network International would be met. Please also remember to pray for God’s grace upon our team as we continue to care for the steady and ever-growing stream of men and women (especially non-Catholic clergy) who are making their way home to the Catholic Church.
May God bless you and your loved ones.
