NCS New Canaan

Founding Chapter

Losing Your Mind for God: A Full-Circle Journey to Radio (Steve Lee – 9/22/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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Steve Lee vulnerably shares the amazing faith journey that led to starting Veritas Catholic Network, including the time his wife asked “Have you lost your mind?!”

He talks about his childhood in New Canaan, CT and the impact of growing up in a Christian home watching parents who served others generously but quietly.

Lee explains the years spent as a missionary after college, travelling the United States and the world sharing the Gospel door to door, and how he decided to make the dramatic shift from missionary evangelism to pursuing business school and a Wall Street career.

Steve transparently shares the tensions he felt and some of the difficult situations he faced as a Christian in a Wall Street trading floor environment. He also talks about how it was a period of sharing his faith through actions more than words.

Lee then describes the extraordinary series of events through which God seemed to bring him full-circle back to the evangelistic roots of his youth. They were the incredible steps that led him to make a second dramatic shift from working at a top Wall Street research firm to starting a non-profit Catholic radio station in the NYC area. Steve vulnerably shares how his wife went from wondering if he had lost his mind to being the one to encourage him to step out in faith.

Steve then reminds us of the importance of being prepared to explain and share our Christian faith and the source of our hope–being willing and able courageously to speak up about the reality of Jesus and the truth of the Gospels, always trusting that God is with us. He reminds us that we can all point to Jesus and trust the Holy Spirit to guide us through the next steps.

Journeys of Grief (Lewis Trippett – 6/9/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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Modeling NCS authenticity, transparency and vulnerability, Lewis Trippett courageously shares the grief journey he has experienced since his wife of 42 years went home to Jesus on July 8, 2021.

Using illustrative slides (a link to the slides is provided below), Lewis describes four distinct aspects of his grief journey:

  • A Physical Journey
  • An Emotional Journey
  • A Social Journey
  • A Spiritual Journey

After describing his wife’s illness and passing, Trippett explains some of the common grief “models” and “stages” and then vulnerably shares how they failed to capture the reality of his pain and experience.

In walking through the four aspects of his grief experience, Lewis explains how every person’s grief experience is different.

In describing the Social Journey, Trippett transparently shares his experience with people who “showed up” and his disappointment with those who were absent. He also authentically offers advice on how to walk with a friend through grief, helpfully providing specific “dos” and “don’ts”.

This is a talk for everyone–those experiencing grief and those who care enough to “show up” for a grieving friend.

SLIDES

Journeys of Grief (Trippett)Download

Everything Matters: 5 Things Worth Fighting For (Allan Houston – 5/26/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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Through transparently sharing the journey of his life, NBA star and Olympic Gold-Medal winner Allan Houston reveals five basic principles that have guided the journey–five things he believes are worth fighting for as we seek to let the glory of God be seen through us daily.

Houston explains that these principles came from his parents and have helped shape not only his basketball career but also his role as a husband and father. He talks about how the five words, revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, reflect lessons learned listening and watching his mother and father.

  • Faith
  • Integrity
  • Sacrifice
  • Leadership
  • Legacy

Allan emphasizes that we are in a “spiritual street fight”–a fight for a Kingdom life, for our family, for our children and for righteousness–and these principles provide a strategy for navigating the fight.

He shares the challenges of being a parent in the current culture. In describing the challenge of raising seven children, Houston honors the sacrificial role that his wife has played in holding the family together and helping him grow.

Houston also talks about the importance of remaining sensitive and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we engage in this spiritual fight. He stresses the importance of “believing” in times of difficulty and uncertainty because our belief can release the Holy Spirit to guide us through the challenges.

Finally, Allan describes the FISLL Project (FISLL)–a new business and brand to make these principles aspirational and tangible for the next generation by infusing them into aspects of the culture that are impacting that generation–aspects such as technology, fashion, and content.

Walking on [Frozen] Water: Miracles in Maine (Rev. Richard Berry – 4/28/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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When we first heard from Pastor Richard Berry in 2016, he shared miraculous stories of how God–or “Dad”, as he affectionately refers to Him–responded to the heartfelt and desperate cries of a small-town pastor wanting to provide a home for the homeless and food for the hungry in Skowhegan, Maine.  

With tremendous humility, Berry explained how his eyes were opened and his heart changed toward the homeless.  It was a message of hope.  “Dad” is still in the miracle business when his children get on their knees and ask for help.

When he came back (via Zoom) in 2020, Richard shared more stories of hope, human dignity, miracles, joy and self-reflection from the Covid pandemic. By this time, he had published three books chronicling the miracles happening in Maine.

Richard has now written four books and the fifth is scheduled to be published in 2023. In his third visit, he described the extraordinary lengths to which “Dad” will go for one person. Richard explains how he thought he was dying, but it turned out to be an elaborate and amazing ruse from above in order to reach another person with the hope of Jesus.

Berry also describes how “Dad” opened his eyes to miraculous healing. He explains how, after 30 years as a cessationist preaching that God’s miracles stopped nearly two thousand years ago, God used him as an instrument to completely heal a person from cancer.

Why should you listen?  For the same reasons you should listen to the earlier talks and might want to read his books:  If you want to smile, if you need to laugh, if you are willing to cry, if you are lacking hope, if joy seems to be hiding, or especially if you are questioning your belief in God, Jesus or the role of his Church in our world today.

To contribute to Dad’s homeless shelter in Skowhegan, Maine, click HERE.

Do the “Good Works”: The Story of a Life (Fred Hans Sindel – 3/31/23 – NCS New Canaan)

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Chick-fil-A has an employee training video that drives home the point “Every life has a story.” This is the story of a life prepared for, and now living out, Frederick Hans Sindel’s most-quoted Bible verse, Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Fred Sindel, one of our most senior and most faithful NCS brothers, shares the extraordinary and the ordinary story of his life. It is the story of a husband, father, grandfather, retired engineer, and lifelong accordion player. It is also the story of a man who has been using his “retirement” to pursue God’s Word and seek the “good works” God had planned for him to do.

Fred shares the formative years growing up in Brooklyn during WWII as the son of German immigrants and learning the accordion. He describes playing gigs in clubs with his accordion at 16, the pivotal “choice” that saved him from prison, and 40 years with GE as an engineer (including working on nuclear reactors for subs).

Fred also explains his passion for God’s Word and reveals how supporting the Bridgeport Rescue Mission through oranges, grapefruits and clementines came to be the focus of his “good works” and how God has been keeping him alive to keep carrying out the plan.

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