NCS New Canaan

Founding Chapter

How God Can Transform Pain into a Gift (Eugene Schneeberg – 6/10/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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With NCS vulnerability and humor, Eugene Schneeberg shares the 20-year journey to find his father, and he reveals how God can transform our pain into a gift.

Although Schneeberg never did meet get to meet his father, Eugene describes the circuitous path to discovering his father’s identity and meeting his relatives.

Schneeberg also talks about the various Godly men–particularly his father-in-law–that God brought into his life to show him the love of his heavenly Father. Eugene explains how they shaped his ability to be a loving father to his own four children.

Pointing to Genesis 50:20, Schneeberg describes how God transformed his pain to a gift by breaking his heart for the fatherless and for kids in detention and then leading him on an extraordinary journey. In addition to writing a book titled I Never Met My Father: My Journey from Fatherless to Fatherhood, Eugene’s painful past led to:

  • Being appointed by President Barak Obama as the Director of Faith Based Partnerships for the Justice Department.
  • Leading DOJ’s efforts as part of the President Obama’s Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, which resulted in over $30 million dollars in new grants for Juvenile Justice Involved Young Fathers and an increased focus on Empowering Parents within the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
  • Co-chairing the Obama Administration’s efforts to support and improve outcomes for Children of Incarcerated Parents.
  • Helping lead the Attorney General Eric Holder’s Federal Reentry Council.
  • Helping expand DOJ’s Youth Violence Prevention efforts helping to build the capacity of more than 30 major US Cities to combat youth violence.

Holy Spirit Nudges (Edward Mahoney – 5/13/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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Edward Mahoney humbly shares the amazing story of how God transformed him from being “Wall Street Centered” to “Jesus Centered” and how he came to understand and boldly respond to “nudges” from the Holy Spirit.

Mahoney transparently tells the story of spending two years in a hospital as a child during which he received last rites twice. He also explains how that experience began to unlock his gift of relating to people.

Ed talks about his successful Wall Street career and then vulnerably reveals the personal toll of falling from the top. He explains the two events that began the transformation from “Wall Street Centered” to “Jesus Centered”, one of which was showing up for the first time at the New Canaan Society. Ed also shares the importance of his NCS Energy Group that has been “showing up” for each other for over 10 years.

In his words, our gifts and talents are gifts from God to be used to bless others for God’s glory. “Nudges” are when we sense we are meant to do something for someone else–those sometimes uncomfortable opportunities to love our neighbor.

Sharing a few anecdotes from his book Tales from the Bright Side: The Holy Spirit Adventures of Edward Peter Mahoney, Ed tells the incredible story of how he came to write a book about his “Holy Spirit” experiences following “nudges” and emphasizes that his book was written as an encouragement and a challenge to all of us to boldly step out when the Holy Spirit nudges.

Finally, Ed shows a “nudge” in action. He explains that as he was walking through the door and greeted one of the staff in the restaurant, he sensed that he was meant to give all the proceeds from book sales that morning to the restaurant staff serving the group. And he does.

Listen, Leap and Let God Be God (Kevin O’Bryan – 4/1/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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With NCS humor, humility and honesty, Kevin O’Bryan shares the incredible journey that led him to walk away from a successful career in architecture and project management in order to partner with his wife, Maria, in a new film and TV venture they call First Fruits Entertainment. He reveals how he has learned (through trial and error) to listen to God, take leaps of faith and then let God be God.

O’Bryan humbly shares a circuitous journey that revealed to him the truth and power of Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Kevin describes how the idea for their first film, Blue Jacket, came to him before he went to college when he was acting on the TV show “Buffy and the Vampire Slayer”. O’Bryan then shares how his life took many twists and turns before that idea resurfaced years later.

He explains how his life began to change in dramatic ways when he heard the voice of God and decided to follow it. Most dramatically, in college God gave him the plan and promise that would follow him to this day: If he took a leap of faith and moved to NYC and started a career in the arts (abandoning his planned career as an architect), God would take him on an incredible journey, he would meet his wife, and his family would join him in his new-found faith.

With tremendous transparency, Kevin shares how every element of that plan and promise from God has unfolded. He talks about how he took a leap of faith and moved to NYC to pursue the arts, and he met Maria. He vulnerably recounts how worldly financial concerns and the feeling that he had to be the “provider” for his family led him to put that plan and promise aside for 18 years pursuing financial security through a successful architecture and project management career. He also reveals how, when the stress from that path became too much and he hit a wall, God lovingly showed him his disobedience, reminded him of the plan and promise, and then showed him what was possible if he listened for God’s voice, took a leap of faith and let God be God.

Kevin admits that when he shared with Maria that he wanted to quit his secure job and pursue First Fruits Entertainment with her, she replied “Finally.”

During Kevin’s talk, he showed a “sizzle” teaser for Blue Jacket. Although the audio of that teaser has been edited out of his talk, you can watch it below.

For more information on Blue Jacket (including how you can participate), visit the Blue Jacket website HERE

Finding Rest for Your Soul (Andrew Palau – 3/18/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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Like a conversation between old friends, Andrew Palau shares his faith journey with remarkable honesty and humility. In fact, it is a conversation between old friends–the Palau family and the New Canaan Society have had a special relationship for over 20 years.

Andrew shares exciting news about the Palau CityFest coming to Southwest Connecticut in 2022 (www.cityfest.org).

He tells about his “wayward” days (as described in his book “The Secret Life of a Fool”) and how his parents never gave up on him. Andrew describes his father’s heartfelt letters and talks and the prayers that came from around the world.

He describes the tortured, sleepless nights wrestling with shame and the direction of his life. He also shares about the trip to Kingston, Jamaica that changed everything–the trip when he met Jesus and Wendy, who became his wife.

Andrew also talks about his father and his legacy and what it has been like to be called to continue that legacy. Those who knew Luis will recognize his uniquely disarming honesty and humility in Andrew.

Finally, Andrew offers a way for us to “find rest for our souls” as he finally did in Jamaica.

The Path of Faithfulness and Dangerous Questions (Pastor Alfred Watts – 2/18/22 – NCS New Canaan)

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Pastor Alfred Watts shares the amazing journey of faith and faithfulness that took a kid from inner city New Haven to the elite boarding school Choate Rosemary Hall to Cornell University to Howard University Law School to a Federal Court clerkship to some of the most prestigious law firms on Wall Street to becoming the senior pastor of a vibrant church in Milford, CT.

Pastor Watts explains that the most important lesson his father taught him was to remember God’s command, challenge and promise in Malachi 3:10-12 (NLT):

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease.[a] Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

He shares how he faithfully gave “a penny from every dime, a dime from every dollar“, from his first job earning $150/week to his career as a Wall Street corporate lawyer and beyond.

Pastor Watts tells about the amazing blessing and provision that has come into this life. He describes how God guided him along the path, even transparently admitting the times he strayed from trusting God’s provision or delayed in his obedience and the way his heavenly Father guided him back.

He also explains how he was able to balance the demands of A Wall Street legal career with serving in his church and prioritizing his family. He talks about the boundaries he established and how he knew it was time to change jobs.

Watts also reveals how he asked God one of those “dangerous questions”. In October 2000, he cried out to the Lord, “I want to know what you can do with one man completely sold out to you!” One month later, he was asked to become the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church. Pastor Watts left the legal profession and was officially installed as Senior Pastor on June 17, 2001.

It is an amazing story of one man’s faithfulness to God’s commands and directions and God’s faithfulness to His word and a faithful man.

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