Every apostolate sees staffers come and go. It’s always a joy to have new faces in the office and always bittersweet to see long-time friends leave for other pursuits. In many cases our former staffers have continued to engage in apologetics and evangelization. Here are updates on a few of them.
Patrick Madrid came aboard in early 1988 and bid us farewell at the end of 1995. While here he established, as a side venture, Basilica Press, which published the widely-read Surprised by Truth. Buoyed by that book’s unexpected success, Patrick decided to pursue publishing on a full-time basis. His first major endeavor, brought to fruition last year, was Envoy, a graphically-rich bimonthly. It has been very positively received and is highly recommended. (Subscriptions are $29.99 and can be obtained by writing to the Envoy Subscription Department, New Hope, KY 40052-9989, or call [800] 553-6869.) Patrick recently moved to the Columbus, Ohio, area.
Matthew Pinto wore several hats when with Catholic Answers and achieved noted success in establishing what, by all accounts, was the most successful parish-based young adult group in our diocese. Today he lives near Philadelphia, and he’s completing a question-and-answer book targeted at teenage Catholics. The title: Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons? When not giving the final touches to the text, Matt serves as the managing editor of Envoy.
Jack Gergurich was for many years our controller. A certified public accountant, he was brought on to get Catholic Answers’ bookkeeping in order, and he did so with alacrity. His guidance got us through many tights spots. Eventually Jack left Catholic Answers to begin a business that provides Catholic books and tapes by mail order. Canticle Communications’ new catalogue recently went in the mail. If you didn’t get a copy, write to Canticle at P.O. Box 711809, San Diego, CA 92171, or call (800) 859-8415.
Mark Brumley was working as one of our staff apologists when he was recruited by the Diocese of San Diego to serve as director of social ministries, a post he held for several years. He now resides in Napa, California, and commutes into San Francisco, where he works with Ignatius Press. Mark is the managing editor of two fine magazines, Catholic Dossier ($24.95 a year; write to P.O. Box 591120, San Francisco, CA 94159-1120, or call [800] 651-1531]) and The Catholic Faith ($24.95, P.O. Box 591090, San Francisco, CA 94159-1090; [800] 651-1531).
Clayton Bower was with Catholic Answers in the early 1990s and gave slide-show presentations on the papacy, the history of the Church, and other themes. Still residing in the San Diego area, he gives occasional seminars that remain noted for a pleasing combination of visuals and narration.
Mark Wheeler managed our shipping department and handled apologetics questions that were phoned in. He left us last year and now lives in Escondido, California, where he has been developing a speaking ministry. He hopes to begin republishing out-of-print children’s books that have Catholic themes.