First-ever ‘clergy convert conference’ to take place in May

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 15, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Coming Home Network will host its first-ever “clergy convert conference” next month to foster fellowship among former Protestant and other non-Catholic pastors and ministers who have become Catholic or are preparing to enter the Church.

In partnership with the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, the network will hold the weekendlong retreat May 30–June 1 in Steubenville, Ohio. The event will be “focused on fellowship among clergy converts, encouragement on the ongoing journey of faith, and on reigniting the fire for living out and sharing the Gospel now as Catholics.”

The conference is scheduled to feature speakers from different religious backgrounds, including Marcus Grodi, former Presbyterian pastor, founder of the Coming Home Network and longtime host of the EWTN program “The Journey Home.”

The Ohio-based Coming Home Network is an organization with the mission “to help non-Catholic Christians, clergy and laity, discover the truth and beauty of Catholicism and to make the journey home to full communion with the Catholic Church.”

Grodi started the network in 1993 “out of the seemingly isolated experiences” he and several other Protestant clergy experienced, according to the Coming Home Network website. 

“Upon leaving their pastorates to enter the Catholic Church, these clergy and their families discovered with surprise that there were many others being drawn by the Spirit to take the same journey ‘home.’” Since then, the network has offered vital support for convert pastors.

The executive director of the network and current host of “The Journey Home,” JonMarc Grodi, Marcus’ son, told CNA that although the network provides resources including its newsletter, published books, and retreats, “the core of the work has always been pastoral care.”

JonMarc said the network has “a team of people on staff who work one-on-one with people,” including a former Baptist pastor, Ken Hensley, who is the director of the organization’s pastoral care team.

“We do have videos, articles, and books,” but JonMarc said what makes the network unique is that when pastors reach out to them, the “pastoral care team will then form a relationship with them and follow them all the way through [to] make sure they have whatever resources they need and then continue to counsel them and mentor them.”

The network prioritizes support for pastors, JonMarc explained, as “many of them lose their job, their income and enter the Church with some uncertainty about their future.”

JonMarc added that the network continues to provide guidance long after such pastors choose to enter the Church. “Even once they become Catholic, even if they get a job, there’s a continuing journey of learning their new identity,” he said.

Regarding the upcoming conference, JonMarc said it is something the network is “hoping to hold every year.”

The organization’s director of outreach, Matt Swaim, told CNA that since the beginning of 2025, 47 pastors have already reached out to inquire about the journey to becoming Catholic, have converted, or are trying to figure out where they fit in the faith.

He said that in 2024, the network worked with 99 pastors, which was almost double the amount it helped in 2022. The network caters to more than 10,000 Coming Home members from more than 200 religious and denominational backgrounds.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/263371/first-ever-clergy-convert-conference-to-take-place-in-may