John Michael Talbot~in Memphis

Christian music legend and best-selling author John Michael Talbot was in Memphis Thursday, February 11th, 2016 at St. Louis church. He was brought to Memphis by Lumen Civitatis @www.lumencivitatis.com. Lumen Civitatis or "Light of the City" was founded to support and promote Catholic culture and education in Memphis.

In 1980, John Michael Talbot founded "The Brothers and Sisters of Charity", a Catholic-based community. The members live at the Little Portion Hermitage in Berryville, AR (just outside of Eureka Springs).

Talbot says “We are rebuilding the church one parish at a time, and renewing hearts one life at a time!”

Talbot both sang and preached to a full house Thursday in Memphis, calling for a re-energizing of the American Catholic Church. He met and prayed with attendees following his performance. 

Talbot is a Grammy Award winning pioneer of what is known as "Contemporary Christian Music, " he has recorded 54 albums. A prolific author, Talbot has also written 27 books.

http://johnmichaeltalbot.com/

John H. White~ Photojournalist

"Newspapers may come and go, but great storytellers will be with us forever" Karen Pulfer Focht

Berto Guerrero and his baby Massi were strolling in the west loop last Saturday. John H. White and I were heading to get breakfast and catch up. John H. White is my hero, dearest friend and mentor.  He is the kind of person that is a blessing to everyone he meets.

White is a Pulitzer Prize winner who worked for the Chicago Sun Times before they decided to lay off their entire staff. Even though White is retired, he still carries his camera everywhere he goes; he still has the rookie spirit with a pro's eye and a passion for visual storytelling.  

Guerrero happened to catch John's eye. It was the way he lovingly carried his baby while multitasking, carrying his dry cleaning and drinking his coffee. White stopped to take his picture. As the two started to talk White determined that he and this baby shared the same birthday. Coincidence? White told the baby's father that he would send him a photo of the sunrise from the day the baby was born.  It is Whites habit to start each day on the lake as the sunrises over lake Michigan and meditate.

Guerrero mused of how much love he felt for his new little baby. We stood outside of the Oprah Winfrey Harpo Studios and exchanged some pleasantries. We smiled together all feeling blessed by our chance encounter. I told Guerrero it was his lucky day and that he had no idea how special the man is who just took his picture.

 White said as we walked away "there are some pictures we take and there are some pictures that say take me" Always the teacher he then added "there are visual treasures out there for those who see them and those who are alert to them."  

"Be blessed,” he said to Guerrero as we walked away. White who is a minister’s son, in many ways is unaware of what a blessing he is to everyone he encounters, whether he takes their picture or not.