culture – St. John Nepomucene Catholic Community

Biking for Babies – Renewing the Culture of Life – July 12th through July 20th

Biking for Babies is an organization that seeks to renew the culture of life by 1) forming young adults into missionaries of the Gospel of life, 2) increasing awareness for pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), and 3) raising financial and spiritual support for pregnant mothers in need.

Since 2009, B4B has formed 250+ young adults in the Gospel of life, raised awareness for 150+ PRCs, and given over $2M to support families nationwide. Our missionaries go through formation from March to August, but in July, we have our National Ride, during which 9 different teams bike 600+ miles on 9 different routes across the nation to raise money and awareness for PRCs.

Each missionary, whether they are a rider or a support crew member (those who serve the riders) has a fundraising goal and is raising money themselves. Money can be donated to B4B year round, but for it to go to a specific missionary’s goal, the donations are accepted from March to August.

My name is Gretchen Ortner. I live in Appleton, but I grew up in Kaukauna and my mom is a teacher at St John’s, Lisa Ortner. I am also a Biking for Babies missionary.

“Challenging the Entertainment Culture: Faustina, TV Jesus & Me” – September 25th at Xavier Fine Arts Theatre

On Monday, September 25th, our CIA-Faith Mission Operatives ministry is excited to host director, actress and singer MARIA VARGO to present “Challenging the Entertainment Culture: Faustina, TV Jesus & Me” at 7 p.m. in the Xavier Fine Arts Theatre.

Vargo, who serves as president of Hollywood-based G.K. Chesterton Entertainment, will talk about the need for faith-based programming and highlight its recent successes despite the obstacles and cultural and media bias stacked against it.

Vargo has experience in several areas of the entertainment industry including:

As the lead actress in more than 300 performances of Faustina, Messenger of Divine Mercy, St. Luke Productions’ nationwide touring one-woman stage play. It was here she first worked with and befriended “TV Jesus” Jonathan Roumie (of the hit streaming series The Chosen) in his debut role as Jesus.
As a writer, producer and director of numerous live productions and short films, the most recent a series on the lives of saints.