“The best part of reconnecting with FOCUS friends is seeing how the mission never ends through everywhere He leads us,” said James Kozlowski, FOCUS alumnus and current postulant with a Franciscan community in the diocese of Phoenix. James, like so many other FOCUS alumni, are striving to live out their calling as missionary disciples in the world— but no one can do it alone.
That’s where we, the FOCUS Alumni Relations team steps in. Even after they graduate, alumni can still be a part of a community of others just like them who are now serving society at large. We have been busy coming up with fresh, new ways for our alumni to connect, share their stories and continue to pursue lifelong Catholic mission. Check out what we’ve been up to below!
FOCUS Alumni Revealed
“FOCUS Alumni Revealed” is an honest, riveting and thought-provoking endeavor that captures the essence of FOCUS alumni living far and wide through photo and story. Already we can see just how powerful these short stories and experiences can be for others to relate to and share with other alumni.
Here are a few recent snapshots from FOCUS Alumni Revealed contributors:
John Leyendecker: “So many people just don’t know how to do community. I say to them, ‘Hey man bring the kids over!’ And they ask, ‘What’s the event?’ I’m like, ‘The event is humanity and maybe what’s going to happen is The Incarnation.’”
(His post reached 9,441 people: 129 Likes, 7 Comments, 11 Shares)
Justin Petrisek: “I guess what I've learned over the last few years, through the lens of faith, is the meaning of suffering and that without God I can do nothing.”
(His post reached 4,299 people: 98 Likes, 3 Comments, 1 Share)
Brother John: “I've hitchhiked a lot as a Brother (the abnormal becomes normal when you are a brother). One time we ended up in a small French Village and we had to beg for food at McDonald's. There were two Muslim women managing it and they brought us out full happy meals and offered us more. It was incredible.”
(His post reached 5,184 people: 189 Likes, 9 Comments, 11 Shares)
Check out FOCUS Alumni Revealed here.
Thrive Series
On October 9, we launched Thrive, a multi-part e-mail series, which aims to help FOCUS alumni remain engaged in evangelism at the parish level. Since its launch, we’ve had 450 people sign up for this series! This great resource delivers practical tips on developing a strong spiritual life and bringing about parish renewal right to subscribers’ inboxes. It is available to both alumni and parish members.
Sign up for Thrive today!
SLS16 – Lifelong Mission Track
For the FOCUS SLS16 Conference (on January 1 – 5, 2016 in Dallas, Texas), we are expecting 220 people to join us on our Lifelong Mission Track. This is up from 50 attendees at SLS14! Our track will host FOCUS alumni students and missionaries, seminarians and other parishioners. Attendees will receive practical training on prayer, leading Bible studies and other mission tools. We will use all of FOCUS’ training at the conference to help these alumni reach their families, parishes, workplaces and communities. We will also host four additional events geared toward those seeking to evangelize beyond the college campus.
For SLS16 registration information, please contact Caitlin Pride, our manager of FOCUS Alumni relations at 720-341-8171 or caitlin.pride@focus.org.
