The Lifelong Faith Team

Dr. Kathie Amidei

Kathie serves as Pastoral Associate at St. Anthony on the Lake Parish in Wisconsin. She was formerly the Associate Director for Catechesis and Child Ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. She has served in a number of parishes as a teacher and a director of religious education. She holds a Doctorate in Education and Leadership. Kathie is a national speaker and author of Forming Families: A Faith Resource on Catholic Identity (OSV, 2019). Her website is www.kathieamidei.com. 




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Jane Angha MTS

Jane is the founder of Ministry Blueprints, a company dedicated to hospitality, welcome and engagement training for faith communities. Jane served a Director of Faith Formation and Youth Ministry in Catholic parishes for over 20 years, worked as Project Coordinator for Young Neighbors in Action with the Center for Ministry Development and as a Diocesan Coordinator for Young Adult ministry in the Diocese of Green Bay. She is a national speaker, consultant, coach, teacher and trainer as well as a national conference speaker. Her website is www.ministryblueprints.com. 



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Rev. Dr. Tanya Marie Eustace Campen

Tanya is an ordained deacon in the Rio Texas Conference and currently serves as Director of Intergenerational Discipleship for the Rio Texas Conference Office. She has a Masters of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a Doctorate in Christian education and congregational studies from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Her research focus is children's spirituality. She has more than 20 years of experience as a Christian educator, youth director, and minister to children and families in the local church. She regularly teaches faith formation courses, webinars, and workshops for ministry leaders. Tanya is the author of Holy Work with Children: Making meaning together. You can find out more about her ministry and research at tanyacampen.com. 

Rev. Michael Droege

Michael has been in youth and family ministry for over 30 years. Along with his church coaching work, Michael currently serves as Pastor of Wilson Memorial Church in Watchung, NJ, as an adjunct professor at Drew Theological School (Drew University), and is a frequent workshop and conference speaker with two decades of experience training and coaching leaders. Michael is also currently working on his PhD in Adolescent Faith Formation through the University of Pretoria. ​



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Rev. Christine V. Hides

Christine is the Minister of Discipleship at Kenilworth Union Church, and author of the website, Bless Each One: ChristineVHides.com. She has two daughters in college and lives near Chicago. As a deacon in the United Methodist Church, she is called to develop faith formation resources that nurture imagination and participation in God’s vision of peace and justice.



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Sarah Jarzembowski ​

Sarah is a native of Philadelphia, with a BA from Wagner College in New York, she began her church career in the Archdiocese of Chicago where she met her husband Paul and is currently working toward her Masters of Pastoral Studies with the Loyola Institute for Ministry. Sarah began her ministry volunteering for religious education in her home parish and participating in retreat leadership at a young age. Sarah has worked in youth and young adult ministries in the parish, college and diocesan levels including the Diocese of Joliet and most recently for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Sarah has spoken at numerous conferences and workshops across the country. ​

Catherine (Catzel) LaVecchia

Catherine is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Church of the Presentation, Upper Saddle River, NJ. She  has served in various ministry capacities for the past 30 years, including youth ministry, family faith formation, and lifelong faith formation. Catzel is most passionate about parish ministries, ministering to the differently-abled, and creating effective and meaningful faith formation opportunities for all ages. She has also taught theology and spirituality to college students for many years. She has a Masters Degrees in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education and a Certificate in Church Management from Villanova’s Center for Church Management. 

Jim Merhaut

Jim is an award-winning author, a leadership consultant, a musician, and a certified coach. He holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Duquesne University with an emphasis in adult formation. He also has a PCC level certification from the International Coach Federation and is a certified reinvention practitioner. He lives in Youngstown, Ohio with his wife, Debbie. They enjoy organic gardening and a variety of other outdoor activities and have five grown children and one grandchild. Jim’s website is www.coachingtoconnect.com. 

Rev. Kathy Pittenger

Kathy is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church and serves as Children’s Initiatives Coordinator for the Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church. She has served in a variety of faith formation roles over 25 years. She earned her BA in Educational Ministries and an MDiv with an emphasis in faith formation. Her passion lies in the areas of children¹s ministry, faith formation, and accompanying ministry leaders in their work. Kathy enjoys leading workshops, webinars, small group and individual conversation with ministry leaders. ​



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Sister Janet Schaeffler, O.P.

Janet is an Adrian Dominican Sister who has worked in parish and archdiocesan ministry in faith formation. She is currently ministering as a retreat and adult faith formation consultant and presenter. The author of hundreds of articles and several publications including Deepening Faith: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish (Liturgical Press, 2016) and Let This Be the Time: Spiritual Essentials for Life's Second Act (Twenty-Third Publications, 2020, Janet teaches online courses through Boston College and the University of Dayton. She created and publishes GEMS - a monthly newsletter flowing from an ongoing international adult faith formation best practices study. Her website is www.janetschaeffler.com. ​

Debbie Streicher

Debbie is Co-Director at Milestones Ministry and has written, coordinated, and led workshops and webinars for faith formation programs of all ages in the congregational setting for the past 30 years. She helped design the Milestones Ministry modules for the congregation and home and coordinated and contributed to the  writing of the Adult Milestones. For years, she has and continues to use Milestones in the congregational and home setting. She is a writer, speaker, certified coach, and teacher. Debbie is also involved in the Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers and enjoys telling the gospel through puppets. ​Her website is https://milestonesministry.org. 

Denise Utter

Denise is a freelance consultant, speaker, and writer, who has been coaching with Vibrant Faith since 2018. She loves working with church leaders and their teams exploring new possibilities in faith formation and parish engagement. Her experience at both parish and diocesan levels shapes her work in the areas of family faith formation, parenthood as God’s calling, and the idea of engaging a parish by becoming a storytelling community. Her book, Engage Every Family: A Parish Guide to Integrated Faith Formation (Twenty-Third Publications) is coming out in late summer/early fall 2022.