Holy Spirit is alive in charismatic conference participants

Nearly 400 Catholics gathered to praise the Lord Aug. 8 in North Little Rock during the 18th annual Arkansas Catholic Charismatic Conference.
Nearly 400 Catholics gathered to praise the Lord Aug. 8 in North Little Rock during the 18th annual Arkansas Catholic Charismatic Conference.

The Holy Spirit was very present in North Little Rock where Arkansas Catholics gathered for their 18th annual charismatic conference Aug. 7-9.
Close to 400 Catholics came from across Arkansas and even Tennessee, some for the first time, like the Alvarez family from St. Edward Church in Little Rock. Juan and his wife, Maria Alejandra, brought their children, Mayra, Karla, Monica, Pedro Moises and Sarah Isabel to join in the presentations, singing and Masses.
The theme of the conference was “Set My People Free.”
Others, like Eddie and Nalini Perera from Memphis, Tenn., who had attended previous conferences, came to give thanks. Eddie Perera had been in a coma following surgery. He credited the power of prayer for his being able to attend.
John Faryewicz from Immaculate Conception Church in North Little Rock was another first-time attendee, who was there because of his wife, who has been involved in the charismatic movement, and vowed he would join her in attending Monday night prayer meetings.
The conference included Dennis and Janet Holt of Pocahontas, leading the music ministry, Msgr. James Mancini of Bella Vista, Father Ed Graves of Wynne, Lloyd and Nancy Greenhaw and Neal Lozano. The Greenhaws and Lozano spoke about how God has freed people and made an impact in their lives around the world.
The Greenhaws have led rallies, seminars and conferences throughout the world, including Cuba, Africa and the former Soviet Union, in conjunction with Renewal Ministries.
Lozano has been active in ministry helping people find freedom in Christ for more than 35 years. He, too, has led conferences and seminars throughout the world, including Turkey, Rwanda and Poland. He has written a number of books. He is senior coordinator of the House of God’s Light, an interdenominational Christian community.
The reasons people were there varied, but all felt drawn in.
“It is very beautiful, in Mexico they have conferences like this, but this is the first time we have had the opportunity to attend it. The charismatic movement has made the Holy Spirit and God come more alive in my life,” Juan Alvarez said.
“I am getting a lot of information that will help me become a better person, it touches my heart, Maria Alvarez added.
“I think it is fantastic, it really raises your spirit, you really can’t forget what God is about,” Faryewicz said. “And when you come down here, you know what is going on, it is just an experience. If you haven’t been here, then you don’t know what it is like.
“I have been a Catholic all my life, and I just kind of got into this part and it is just great,” he added. I know there is a lot of singing and clapping, which is different from the way I was brought up, but this is I think a lot more enlightening. You really know the Holy Spirit is here.”
Faryewicz said he plans to join his wife in attending weekly prayer meetings at the parish.
“My husband wanted to come,” Nalini Perera said. Her husband, Eddie, just being able to attend was a testament, she said. He had undergone an operation, and she did not think he would be able to make it to the conference, which they have attended previously.
Eddie Perera said after his operation, he had been in a coma for three months, but thanks to prayers from many people he had woken up and was able to attend the conference to give thanks to God.
His doctor gave him a slim chance of ever waking up and recovering, he said. Now, the doctor calls him his miracle patient.
He was also at the conference to ask God to continue to heal him so he could return to being a cantor at his parish, St. Paul the Apostle in Memphis.
“I hope God will give me my voice back so I can sing in the church again, that is why I came here, for a healing, I know that I will be healed, not in my time but in God’s time,” he said.
Receiving the “Founders of our Faith” award were Bernice Seiter of Immaculation Conception Church in North Little Rock, the late John Fettes, Jeanette Redford of St. Anthony Church in Ratcliff and Father Ed Graves, said Rita Edwards, one of the organizers. They were recognized for their dedication and hard work for the success of the conference and the work of the charismatic renewal in Arkansas, she said. Fettes, who died the week before the conference, was instrumental at Christ the King Church in Little Rock, she added.
Compact discs of the talks are available for $6 and can be bought at Guardian Church Goods in Little Rock, Edwards said.
Plans are in progress for next year’s conference, which will feature Sister Ann Shields, SGL. A charismatic conference in Spanish is set for Oct. 2-4 at the Alma Performing Arts Center, according to Father Carlos Lozada, CM.

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