February 2012: Facilitator of the Month

Gretchen Ridgely

Endow’s “home office” is in Denver, but we are fortunate to have “outposts” all over the country where some wonderful things are happening. One of these locations is in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia where Gretchen Ridgely has taken the mandate to evangelize very seriously. When Endow called for a phone interview, Gretchen was in the middle of watching EWTN’s coverage of the Respect Life March in Washington. She came to the phone breathless with excitement over the concluding speeches.
Gretchen’s story of growing up Catholic but poorly catechized is a familiar one. She recalls that her religious education in the 1970’s left many things unexplained and so she reached adulthood clinging to her Catholic faith but unsure of exactly what that meant.
Marriage to husband, Chuck, and later giving birth to Vivien and Thomas, now ages 6 and 3, gave new purpose and direction to their family life. It became important to know the faith into which their children were baptized and to really learn to live it fully. This quest brought Gretchen to a series of talks in Catholic churches here and there, but she often left disillusioned, suspecting that the teachings were somehow distorted. Was she learning the truth? How could she know? Then, a gentleman at her parish threw her a lifeline. His name was Deacon Keith Fournier.
Today she recalls that deacon at her parish of St. Benedict in Richmond with affection even as she wonders a little at the workings of Divine Providence. Deacon Fournier, a constitutional lawyer with numerous theological degrees to his name, is an author of many Catholic books and articles and was serving at St. Benedict’s at the time Gretchen was searching. He told her about Endow and that sent her scrambling to her computer to investigate the site.
“It was so refreshing! In time, we were able to receive [limited] approval from our bishop’s office.” Gretchen received training and was off and running. “The women in our parish love it! Most of us are young moms; seems someone is always pregnant or nursing but we all love our group and make it a priority.”
Gretchen shares that great things go on at her parish under the leadership of Fr. Kauffmann. “Ours is a destination parish. Chances are, when you land here, you’ve been looking for a St. Benedict’s: truly Catholic, beautiful, with really excellent formation.”
Her group has a consistent core of close friends, though some members have come and gone. During their recent exploration of Edith Stein, Gretchen observed that it is a perfect study for our time, so relevant to today. “Religious liberty today is being slammed at by the chisel blows [of a dominant culture] that is forcing us to act against our religious principles.”
Gretchen credits Endow with equipping modern women with the tools to defend the faith and the inspiration to live it with joy.