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What does it take for faith to move from something taught by our parents to something we truly own? Jean Thiele shares her powerful conversion story, rooted in 1 Peter 1:8-9—a verse she didn't understand at first but heard proclaimed three times in one weekend until she finally "got it." At age 37, Jean experienced an indescribable joy when God spoke to her through Scripture for the first time, transforming her understanding of Eucharist and the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection. She connects her mountaintop experience with the ongoing challenge of doubt, finding kinship with Doubting Thomas and discovering that the trials in her life—skepticism, anxiety, and uncertainty—have become the very areas God has transformed into her strengths. Drawing on the first reading's account of the early community enlivened by the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, Jean reflects on how she sees that same Spirit at work today in Christ Renews His Parish and in communities of believers breaking open the Word together. Because without Jesus dying on the cross, we would not know the Holy Spirit as we do now. So as we enter the Easter season, Jean invites us to shake off our worries and dance to "Shake" by MercyMe—just as she does before every Christ Renews meeting.
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Jean Thiele was born and raised in Iron Mountain Michigan and attended St. Mary and St. Joseph grade school. In 1978, she graduated from Iron Mountain High School. She attended Michigan State University and graduated in 1982 with a bachelor in Nursing and in 1992 with a Masters in Geriatric Nursing. She later received a certificate to become a Lay Minister in the Saginaw Diocese and after 4 years became a Spiritual Director from the Dominican Center in Farmington Hills Michigan. She is a grief facilitator, centering prayer practitioner, and retreat leader. She loves biking with her husband, Scott, golf, and traveling with family and friends. Faith to Jean is service from a trinitarian spirituality, having the freedom to make a choice to co-create with our Loving God.
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