Their program, Called & Gifted, is bolstering lives around the world and bringing people closer to God.

On March 8, the Catherine of Siena Institute is holding a Called & Gifted workshop at St. Paul the Apostle Church from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. featuring speakers Roberta Schomberger and Christina Krutza.

This all started in 1993, when Sherry Weddell began working with Catholics searching for deeper meaning and mission in their lives. She helped them uncover their gifts from the Holy Spirit and encouraged them to go forth and use those special talents for the good of others.

Then she carried it forward by co-founding the Catherine of Siena Institute in 1997. Today, Weddell is amazed how it inspires believers to apply their gifts and make disciples of those around them.

“God has made you for this,” Weddell said. “He has set this up. The Holy Spirit is guiding others to you to be a channel of his provision in a special way for other people. Your obedience to that call not only changes your life, it changes other people’s lives.”

Weddell is right. It engages people to participate in the life of the Church.

She said people notice those charisms in Christians and are drawn to them. That allows Christians to plant the seed of faith and let God take it from there. Weddell said the Called & Gifted discernment exercises "in some way strengthens the Church."

It changed Bonnie Murray’s life. Murray is a parishioner at St. Paul. She went through the program, discovered that she loves to teach and now is using that charism to bring parishioners closer to God.

“I knew in sixth grade I wanted to be a teacher,” Murray said. Called & Gifted helped her crystallize that gift and then act on it. She was also shown the gift of helping others, adding that she loves assisting Norma Stokes, director of religious education at St. Paul. “I do whatever she needs me to do,” Murray said.

That get-it-done spirit benefits the parish. While she enjoys facilitating Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), her “heart is with the children.

"I love being in the classroom and the sharing, and the love that you have seeing these children sop up this information,” Murray said.

She is so inspired that she wants others to uncover their charisms, too. So Murray is taking the lead in organizing the March 8 event.

“I’ve been through it,” Murray said. “You need to know yourself and to know what God has given you, so you can be the best you can be… These gifts are for you to share with other people. We’re going to help you recognize these charisms.”

That help starts with the workshop and continues with a one-hour interview with a specialist from the Siena Institute. Follow-up includes a six- to eight-week guided experience of intentional discernment as people begin to work with their gifts.

“This is open to anyone,” Murray said. “I’ve got people calling me from Georgia and Tennessee. I’d like to see the gym filled… That’s my request to the Holy Spirit.”

The power that can come from this process and the exercise of Spirit-led gifts means ordinary people touch the lives of others by letting God work through them.

“It’s very energizing. It’s joyful,” Weddell said. “And it’s deeply rooted in the Church’s teachings.” She cited the Second Vatican Council as well as Sts. Paul and Thomas Aquinas.

“As lay people, we have a responsibility. Every one of us is to discern our charisms,” Weddell said. “We’re going to help you recognize this. It strengthens our relationship with God.”

There is a catch, however.

Beverly Garza, administrative coordinator at the Sienna Institute, said the faithful who are learning about their gifts must answer God’s call.

“The charism will not manifest until the person says, ‘Yes, Lord, use me.’ We have to say yes. The Lord is not going to force us to use them (charisms),” Garza said.

Weddell agreed, saying our gifts won't be utilized “until our faith becomes personal. As you grow in a personal relationship with God, these things (charisms) show up in your life.”

Our faith beings to flourish as others notice our gifts of the Holy Spirit and are drawn to them.

The Called & Gifted workshop will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Spartanburg on March 8 and costs $20 per person. Email Norma Stokes at nstokes@charlestondiocese.org and send her your first and last name. She will send information to the Catherine of Siena Institute, and the institute will email you an inventory of charisms to study prior to the event. Deadline to register is Feb. 27.