OUR RESOURCE TEAM

​Sr. Ita Connery, is a member of the Society of Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus (fcJ). She has been in ministry for over 25 years at the FCJ Christian Life Centre. Ita also facilitates workshops and retreats internationally. She is extensively trained in Ignatian Spirituality, and is certified as a Mid-Life consultant, and in Jungian Psychology, having studied at the C.G. Ung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. Ita is creative, artistic, musical, and deeply spiritual. 

Sr. Ger Curran, is a member of the Society of Sisters, Faithful Companions of Jesus (fcJ). She is from Ireland. She joined the FCJ Centre Resource Team in the fall of 2015. Ger has worked as a counsellor for the past 27 years in various settings. Before that, she served as school administrator and teacher in a high school in Ireland. She is a member of the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. Before qualifying as an accredited Counsellor, Ger completed a master's degree in Family Counselling from the University of Iona, New York. Since coming to Canada, Ger is working in the areas of counselling, interfaith matters, and helping refugee families. She is a member of the Calgary Interfaith Council and Calgary Council of Christians and Jews. 

Lonnie is a long-time yoga and meditation practitioner, holds senior teacher status with the Yoga Association of Alberta and has been certified as a yoga therapist through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT). Offering yoga instruction and therapy primarily on a private basis, Lonnie focuses on using yoga to cultivate contemplative stance, address chronic pain, and regulate mood and energy. Her utmost concern is to keep yoga safe for participants and adapt it to the unique situations and needs. Lonnie also is a Spiritual Director and offers all through grace in The Great Mystery.

Sr. Madeleine Gregg entered with the Faithful Companions of Jesus in 1978. Already a teacher before she became a Sister, she continued working in the field of education in various capacities, teaching in both general and special education at the elementary, middle school, secondary, and university levels. For over a decade she directed an annual, week-long, residential Teen Leadership Camp with 7-8th grade girls, supervising college-aged counselors and working to ensure a life-giving experience for all involved. Sr. Madeleine came to Calgary to work at the FCJ Centre in August 2015 with many years of experience in adult faith formation (RCIA) and retreat work. Her formal training as a spiritual director was through the Spiritual Direction Internship Initiative (SDII) in Boston, MA, USA. Now professor emerita, retired after 22 years in teacher education at the University of Alabama, USA, Madeleine enjoys her work as part of the spiritual direction training program team, gives retreats to families (Mother-Daughter/ Father-Son; Parent-Teen/Grandparent/Grandchild),offers spiritual direction, does outreach to schools, and is ready to respond to new initiatives with enthusiasm and joy!

 Patricia Harasym is a member of the FCJ resource team, a Spiritual Director with the FCJ Centre, an active member of Calgary Benedictine Oblate community, and a health services researcher with graduate degrees from the University of Calgary. Patricia has practiced contemplative meditation and volunteered in pastoral care and in social justice programs for more than 20 years. Patricia is married and has 2 children and 4 stepchildren.

Sonya is a trained Spiritual Director for 12 years and offers individual and group Spiritual Direction (“SD”), SD Supervision and retreats with a focus on Silence, Nature, Scripture, Music, Contemplation and Prayer. She is one of the leaders of the Spiritual Direction Training Program (SDTP) and a member of the Program & Facilitation Resource Team at the FCJ Centre. Sonya’s background includes Master degrees in Divinity, Leadership and Ministry as well as advanced degrees in Music and Theology. She has been a music instructor and animal sitter for over 25 years and loves the beneficial healing attributes that naturally flow from both. Her deep passion for hospitality, faith-formation, and living a contemplative and unconventional non-busy lifestyle exude through her charism and ministry style.

​​Cherie Tetz-Christensen is a partner of a dispersed contemplative community called “Soul Stream” where she co-facilitates courses in contemplative living such as “Living from the Heart” and “The Art of Spiritual Direction”. Cherie delivers keynotes, workshops and presentations in the Calgary community, corporate, and non-profit sectors. She has a passion for evoking the deeper questions, encouraging participants to live their best lives both in the workplace and in their personal lives and relationships. For the past 13 years, Cherie has been offering Spiritual Direction, retreats and workshops at the FCJ Centre. Cherie’s workshops are delivered in a way that is real, honest, simple, and engaging - often feeling more like a good conversation.

Sr. Ann Marie Walsh, a member of the Sisters Faithful Companions of Jesus (fcJ), offers individual spiritual direction and individual or group retreats at the FCJ Christian Life Centre and in parishes. Following many years in Catholic education, both as a teacher and administrator, Ann Marie received her training in spiritual direction with the Jesuits at Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario and served on staff there before coming to Calgary in 2012. Ann Marie loves the ministry of spiritual direction and delights in journeying with people searching for a closer relationship with God.