Current Second Year Participants
Diane Fitzgerald
A native Californian widowed in 2009 Diane has five adult children, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren, most of whom live nearby. When the youngest of her children was in school full time, she went back to college for teaching credentials, spending twenty years in Special Education, meeting and serving many very special children and their families. Now, with some time available, Diane is happy to be back in the classrooms again as a volunteer, enriched by the parochial school environment and by the spiritual component of being a Companion.
Stan Fitzgerald
Stan is married with six adult children and nine grandchildren. In 1999, after thirty-eight years of corporate human resources management experience, Stan began a new career as a social justice advocate.
Stan feels “Companions” offered him the chance to go back to the roots of his Jesuit education (eight years) and re-establish a spiritual grounding. Also, it provides the opportunity to learn how Ignatian Spirituality and a deeper prayer life, enriches the relationships he enjoys in ministry. Spiritual direction is an added bonus according to Stan. The “Companions” has impressed upon him the critical role that a disciplined, prayer life plays in life and in service to others. It provides him a better understanding and appreciation of what service to others really means. A great by-product of the “Companions” is the opportunity to share the journey with others committed to similar goals.
Barbara Gerwe
Barbara Gerwe has been married for 53 years and has 7 children and 16 grandchildren. She taught elementary school and completed 2 Masters programs at Santa Clara University. Upon retirement, she became involved in the Child Advocate Program, has tutored at Evergreen College, has worked in the Refugee Program at Catholic Charities and has been active in her parish since its formation.
At St. Francis of Assisi, she and her husband Gene initiated the "Bread Project". This is an activity which now involves about 50 people who pick up some 200 loaves of bread and bagels from a local bakery, deliver them to the church kitchen for wrapping and then deliver them to 10 kitchens and shelters.
Barbara feels the Companions program has given her an opportunity to practice Ignatian Spirituality and has provided guidance to meditation and journaling and working with a spiritual director. She seeks ways to explore her faith more deeply, draw closer to Christ and find ways to share His love with others by becoming more involved with the poor, thereby expressing her gratitude to God for all His blessings.
Gene Gerwe
Gene Gerwe, an Iowan, came to California as a Navy officer during the Korean War, where he met his wife, Barbara. With a degree and background in Finance, he worked for Caltech, the University of Chicago, and Santa Clara University.
He served 10 years on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County and currently volunteers and advises on fundraising for Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services. He is also involved in his parish, St. Francis of Assisi, where he and his wife initiated "The Bread Project", involving some 50 people, transferring approximately 200 loaves of left-over bread and bagels from a nearby bakery, packaging them and distributing them to 10 shelters and kitchens.
Gene describes the Companions program as a stimulant to prayer life and an inspiration to serving the poor and powerless in our society.
Lynn Lukenbill
Having completed the Diocese of San Jose’s Institute for Leadership in Ministry program, Lynne desired a way to continue to nourish her spiritual formation within community. The “contemplation in action” model of the Companions program addressed that need. Lynne values the monthly group meetings where prayer and reflection on ministries and experiences as Christians in discipleship are shared. She is grateful for the supportive companionship of a Spiritual Director with whom she reflects on experiences in daily prayer and meditation and God’s action in her life. The communal shared meal and Liturgy with the other Companions and Fr. Jeffrey is also a highlight of each month.
The Companions in Ignatian Service and Spirituality program allows her to engage in a direct way with others who share a desire to “find God in all things” and to “make known the goodness of our good God” in relationship with the marginalized of our community. Lynne presently journeys in ministry with women who are recent ex-offenders as they transition into a new phase of life. She has also worked in graphic designer in San Jose for twenty-six years. Lynne is married to a retired educator and they have one adult son.
Marilyn Rodman
Marilyn has been ministering to the homebound for over ten years. She also serves as a Eucharistic minister and believes her preparation for ministry began as a child. On warm summer evenings, she used to run to the elderly neighbors’ to sit on their porch swing, visiting companionably. Her training in service to others got a boost as she became a wife and mother of five. In 1975, her family opened their home to two Vietnamese refugees, and one of them had this request, “Help my spirit.”
Many of the folks she serves these days have aging bodies; however, Marilyn focuses on their spirits, which are nourished by the Holy Spirit through the Eucharist she brings, the faith that is shared, and the listening she does. Marilyn is not sure who receives the most encouragement.
In joining “Companions” Marilyn wanted to expand her prayer life. Trained in formal prayers and not getting around to much meditation, she was ready for Lectio Divina. In the group and with her spiritual director she has found acceptance, sharing, and inspiration --much support for her and the ministry!
