Dr. Allen Hunt: A Man on a Lenten Mission

Dr. Allen Hunt, once a former mega-church Methodist pastor in Alpharetta, Georgia, and now a Catholic convert, will be the guest speaker at Saint Jude the Apostle Catholic Church’s Lenten Parish Mission on February 29 and March 1.

Dr. Hunt, who is a nationally known speaker, a best-selling author, and a talk radio host and speaker, will join Saint Jude the Apostle Catholic Church parishioners and the community at-large for this year’s themed mission: “The Meal and the Man – Two Nights to Create Your Best Lent Ever” from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. on both nights. The Lenten Mission will be held in the church sanctuary located at 7171 Glenridge Drive, Atlanta, GA 30338.

“I want people to feel closer to God. I want them to be intentional this Lent, and I want them to have an anticipation for Easter,” disclosed Hunt.

On the first night of the mission, Hunt will discuss how the Meal shares the power and beauty of the Eucharist. As a former Methodist pastor, “I always believed the Eucharist was just a symbol of Jesus,” Hunt said.

His fifteen-year journey changed that. It began when he and a Catholic priest visited a group of 50 Dominican sisters at Monastery of Our Lady of Grace in North Guilford, Connecticut to give two Lenten lectures. He entered the weekend retreat as a teacher and left as a student. And from that moment on, he began his exploration of the Catholic faith.

Dr. Hunt joined the Catholic Church on January 6, 2008, six months after he stepped down as a Methodist pastor. “The very first time I received the Eucharist was a powerful moment for me. I had a very physical yearning for the Eucharist. I was not entitled to receive it. And not receiving was very powerful and overwhelming,” Hunt explained about his Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults’ (RCIA) journey.

RCIA is an ancient process of early Christian times revised by the Second Vatican Council to fully initiate persons into the Roman Catholic Church. The RCIA is for adults who were never baptized or were baptized in another Christian tradition and who wish to become Catholic.

“To this day, I feel Him every single time or darn close to every single time, Hunt explained about receiving the Holy Eucharist.

After Dr. Hunt converted to Catholicism in 2008, his youngest daughter converted the following year. His older daughter joined them five years later. This year the Hunt family welcomed their first grandchild, a grandson, in February. He will be baptized the week following Easter, which will be one week after his son-in-law joins the Catholic faith.

Dr. Hunt received his undergraduate degree from Mercer, his Masters in Divinity from Emory University, and his Ph.D. in New Testament and Ancient Christian Origins from Yale University.

For more information about Saint Jude’s Lenten Mission, or for directions to the church, please go to their website:www.stjudeatlanta.net

Contact: Lisa Ausman

Media and Communications Mgr.

Saint Jude the Apostle Catholic Church

lausman@stjudeatlanta.net