About Jerry

Jerry’s Story

A Brief Autobiography

Let’s see, what to tell you about me…  Well, I’ve lived a bunch of places:

• southern New Jersey (born and half raised)
• Houston, Texas (the other half grades 3-7)
• Wilmington, DE (high school in the next state!)
• Memphis, Tennessee (Rhodes College, BA in English Lit & Philosophy)
• Boston, Massachusetts (Boston College, MA in Philosophy)
• New Orleans, Louisiana (Notre Dame Seminary, MA in Theology)
• Omaha, Nebraska (living the cubicle life in a bank’s customer service department – good times)
• Mundelein, Illinois. (teaching religion at Carmel Catholic High School)
• Wadsworth, Illinois (DRE at St Patrick Church)
• Libertyville, Illinois (DRE and Youth Minister at St Joseph Church)

So, as you can see, I’ve been fortunate enough to live in a lot of places. I picked up my climate preferences from my time in Texas, which explains my college and seminary time in the south. I was studying for the priesthood from the diocese of Memphis in Tennessee. I had no difficulty considering committing the rest of my life to a very hot city on the Mississippi River. Which is rather ironic since I’ve now made my life in Chicagoland, a rather chilly place at times (like right now, since it’s snowing as I type this sentence). So how did a wannabe southern boy end up in the wintry midwest? Well, you see there was this girl… Let’s just say that she assisted in my discernment process and is from the midwest.

What else would you like to know? Here’s a list of some of my interests and hobbies:

• science fiction
• podcasting
• singing
• epic fantasy
• parenting
• technology
• podcast novels/authors
• Roman Catholicism
• movies
• religion in general
• unicycling
• exercise and fitness
• independent music/musicians
• weight loss
• family politics
• philosophy
• literature
• TV (of which I watch far too much)
• and how all of the above play nicely together!

Goals & Dreams

There have been two constants in my life: Catholic faith and geekery. I’m a cradle Catholic who remembers his Commodore 64. While coordinating Catholic Mass on campus in the Bible belt, I was living in the first dorm wired for the internet at Rhodes College. I love the digital technologies of today and the truth of eternity revealed through Jesus. I hope to bring the two together in powerful and world-changing ways.

I want Catholic Media Resources to become a hub for collaboration and communication by ministers of the Gospel through the use of the most current digital technologies. I want to help those who are amazing at communicating the love of God but don’t know URL from UHF to share their gift with so many more by producing audio and video of it. I want to create courses that help Catholics understand why it’s so awesome to be Catholic and inspire them to pass it on by using internet technologies that integrate with their busy lives. I want to provide a place for Youth Ministers to share their wit and wisdom in connecting popular culture and faith (and earn a little extra money in the process!). I want to offer a forum for ministers of the Church to discuss what’s going on in the church, in the world, and how the two should be impacting each other. In short, I want to do what every entrepreneur wants to do: change the world. Of course, I didn’t arrogantly come up with that mandate on my own; I’m just following orders.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20