A popular author, speaker and TV host. A former NBA referee. A local faith leader. An award-winning liturgical musician.
Such dynamic witnesses will join Bishop Joseph A. Williams and Bishop Dennis Sullivan as keynote speakers for the seventh annual ManUp South Jersey Conference, which has as its theme, “Men of Faith, Messengers of Hope.”
“There are great graces that can come out of this conference, and I know men will leave the day changed and closer to the Lord,” said Deacon Anthony Cioe, ManUp executive director, noting that this year’s conference ties into the 2025 Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Speakers Chris Stefanick, Deacon Steve Javie, Eddie Morris and Tom Kendzia will join Bishop Williams and Bishop Sullivan on Nov. 8 in Haddonfield to share the Gospel and their personal experiences.
Stefanick, throughout his live seminars, and work in TV, radio and video, has devoted his life to sharing the love of Jesus, and guiding those to do the same. He is the founder and president of Real Life Catholic, which spreads the Gospel through social media platforms and online courses. A recipient of the Papal Benemerenti Medal for his achievement in ministry, Stefanick is a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Deacon Javie is a graduate of La Salle College High School and Temple University. He was an NBA referee for 25 years, and officiated more than 1,400 regular season games, 240 playoff games, 23 finals games, and two All Star games. In 2019, he became a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Morris shares his message of hope and healing through various Catholic faith-centered organizations, including In His Sign Catholic Radio. Raised in Delaware County, outside Philadelphia, he created Team Hope, which has more than 6,000 members offering prayer intentions on a daily basis.
Kendzia has been a liturgical musician for more than 40 years, having been regularly featured at national conferences, diocesan workshops and parish events throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. His published liturgical hymns include “Taste and See,” “Pieta” and “Like a River.” His song, “By Our Love,” was chosen as Liturgical Song of the Year in 2020 by the Association of Catholic Publishers. He is currently the national liturgy and musical consultant for William H. Sadlier Inc. school and religion publisher, and he has been the director of liturgical music at Christ the King Church in Kingston, R.I., since 1986.
Be it the words of the presenters, or the day’s other offerings, men of all ages can expect to find a renewal in the Holy Spirit, Deacon Cioe said.
“Whether it’s the speakers who awaken something in them; the conversations they have with men at breakfast and lunch – or during their free time or at exhibitor tables; an encounter with a priest during Confession; the morning Mass, or Eucharistic Adoration, the men’s faith will be built and enhanced,” he explained.
The daylong conference will help men “step back from the difficulties and noise of the day, and from all the activities that distract us from our relationship with the Lord,” he said. All can find “an opportunity to move in a direction that brings them closer to the joy that comes from a Christ-centered life.”
In doing so, they will return to their families and friends as “men of faith, cultivating families of hope … families that shine as lights in the darkness, reflecting God’s eternal love,” Deacon Cioe said.
The ManUp South Jersey Conference will take place Nov. 8 at Paul VI Conference Center, 901 Hopkins Road, Haddonfield. Registration and breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m., and the conference will conclude at 3:30 p.m. For tickets and information, visit www.manupsouthjersey.com.
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