Patrick McCaskey
Patrick McCaskey is a co-owner of the Chicago Bears professional football team, Chicago native and grandson of George Halas, one of the legendary founders of the National Football League. As a faithful Catholic, he has actively sought to witness his Catholic Faith in his personal and family life, as well as in his career in business and sports. He recently founded an organization called Sports Faith International, a Chicago-based initiative dedicated to inspiring and transforming the culture through the world of sports. Sports Faith International strives to utilize the best of new and traditional media to feature and encourage the powerful personal testimonies of outstanding athletes at all levels, who are living out their faith on and off the field. The vision of Sports Faith International is inspired by Pope John Paul II, “the athlete’s Pope,” who also called for the use of the media to promote the faith and utilize sports as a powerful instrument to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition to his public speaking and serving on numerous sports and educational boards and committees, he has written a book, Bear With Me: A Family History of George Halas and the Chicago Bears which is a window into the Halas and McCaskey families and the impact of their faith on family life and football. Mr. McCaskey has been married to his wife, Gretchen Wagle for 25 years and they have three sons.
Website: www.sportsfaithinternational.com
Father Dwight Longenecker
Fr. Dwight Longenecker is an American who has spent most of his life living and working in England. Fr Dwight was brought up in an Evangelical home in Pennsylvania. After graduating from Bob Jones University with a degree in Speech and English, he went to study theology at Oxford University. He was eventually ordained as an Anglican priest and served as a curate, a school chaplain in Cambridge and a country parson. Realizing that he and the Anglican Church were on divergent paths, in 1995 Fr. Dwight and his family were received into the Catholic Church. He spent the next ten years working as a freelance Catholic writer, contributing to over twenty-five magazines, papers and journals in Britain, Ireland and the USA.
Fr. Dwight is the editor of a best-selling book of English conversion stories called The Path to Rome-- Modern Journeys to the Catholic Faith. He has written Listen My Son—a daily Benedictine devotional book, which applies the Rule of St Benedict to the task of modern parenting. More Christianity is a straightforward and popular explanation of the Catholic faith for Evangelical Christians. Friendly and non-confrontational, it invites the reader to move from 'Mere Christianity' to 'More Christianity'. Fr. Dwight’s Adventures in Orthodoxy is described as ‘a Chestertonian romp through the Apostles’ Creed.’ Fr. Dwight has contributed a chapter to the third volume of the best selling Surprised by Truth series and is a regular contributor to Inside Catholic, First Things, This Rock and National Catholic Register.
In 2006 Fr. Dwight accepted a post as Chaplain to St Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. This brought him and his family back, not only to his hometown, but also to the American Bible belt, and hometown of Bob Jones University. In December 2006 he was ordained as a Catholic priest under the special pastoral provision for married former Anglican clergy. He ministers at St Joseph’s, and in the parish of St Mary’s, Greenville. He’s married to Alison. They have four children, named Benedict, Madeleine, Theodore and Elias.
Website: www.dwightlongenecker.com
Dr. John Bergsma
Dr. John Bergsma is Associate Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio. He holds the M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Calvin Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and served as a Protestant pastor for four years before entering the Catholic Church in 2001 while pursuing a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He specialized in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls, graduating with high honors in 2004. His major study of the interpretation of the Year of Jubilee in ancient times is published as The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran (Brill Academic, 2007). Dr. Bergsma’s articles, some co-authored with Dr. Scott Hahn, have appeared in several academic journals as well as Lay Witness, the magazine of Catholics United for the Faith. He has appeared as a guest on EWTN’s The Journey Home, Franciscan University Presents, and Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariani Show. Twice voted Faculty of the Year by graduating classes of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Dr. Bergsma is a popular teacher who inspires his students with a love of Scripture. He and his wife Dawn reside with their seven children in Steubenville, Ohio.
Website: www.johnbergsma.com
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