The 2020 Idaho Catholic Women's Conference looked a bit different than normal.
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Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this conference was held virtually, thanks to the Crowdcast platform. Our beautiful ladies were able to attend through any browser, and many hosted watch parties with small groups to maintain health and safety protocols and still experience the fellowship that is such an important part of this conference.
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Our speakers were Sister Miriam James Heidland, Heather Kym, and Father Justin Brady. Mass was streamed live from St. Paul's Catholic Church in Nampa, ID; a separate Adoration stream was live throughout the day from Nazareth Retreat Center; and many groups of women throughout Idaho chimed in to lead decades of the Rosary for the whole conference. In addition, the conference chat filled up with words of encouragement and delight throughout the day.
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We had over 300 live attendees, and over 200 who watched the conference afterwards; attendees tuned in from across the continental United States and even a few internationally.
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Most fun of all, this conference was preceded by the Serenity Lounge, a novena of live streamed events with speakers from around Idaho, sponsor spotlights, and rosaries led by different religious. These mini conference nights were a big hit among attendees!
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Thank you to the many women who joined us, who made this unusual conference a success, all our speakers for the conference and the Serenity Lounge, the priests and deacons who made Mass and Adoration possible, all the men and women who prayed for us, and to all the sponsors and exhibitors who joined us in our virtual exhibitor hall.
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See you at the next conference!
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2020 Sponsors & Exhibitors
Key sponsors:
Valiant Sponsors:
Serenity Lounge Sponsors:
2020 Speakers
Sister Miriam James Heidland
Sr. Miriam James Heidland is a former Division I athlete who had a radical conversion and joined the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) in 1998. Her story has been featured on EWTN’s The Journey Home, SEEK Conference, USCCB Convocation, Relevant Radio and other outlets. She holds a Master’s degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute and speaks regularly on the topics of conversion, authentic love, forgiveness, healing (and sports!). She is the author of the book Loved As I Am and she tweets at @onegroovynun.
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You can learn more about Sister and get a taste of her wisdom at the Abiding Together Podcast.
Heather Khym
Heather Khym has been serving in ministry for over 20 years and passionately shares the Gospel through speaking and leading worship. She has ministered to a variety of audiences throughout North America and has a passion for evangelization, discipleship, and creating an environment for people to have a personal encounter with God. In 2005, Heather and her husband, Jake, founded Life Restoration, a ministry which seeks to help people become fully alive and experience freedom and restoration in Jesus. Currently, Heather lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia with her husband Jake and their 3 children Maria, Judah, and Evangeline.
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Visit Heather’s Website
Father Justin Brady
Fr. Justin Brady is an Idaho native, born and raised in Boise. Fr. Brady received all his sacraments from Baptism to Ordination at St. John’s Cathedral in Boise.
He graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in 1991, and spent the next few years either attending B.S.U. or serving on a full time youth mission program called REACH. It was during his service for REACH, while speaking with a priest in a parking lot, that he heard strongly inside him, “I can do that”. From that moment in the spring of 1993 he began to discern his vocation to the priesthood. After a second year of service for REACH, Fr. Brady felt the call to apply to the seminary.
Fr. Brady attended Mt. Angel Seminary in Oregon and completed degrees in philosophy and theology. He was ordained on June 9, 2005 and has served as a parish priest for the Diocese of Boise ever since. He served in Pocatello, American Falls/Aberdeen, Rupert, and Burly before coming to Our Lady of the Snows and St. Charles Borromeo in 2013.
In his free time Fr. Brady is an avid bicyclist, fly fisherman, and skier. He has also come to love Cross Fit, which helps him keep up with the youth. In addition to his responsibilities as a parish priest, he assists the Diocesan Office of Vocations for his region and works with the Diocesan ministries for evangelization and healing.
