Minor Revisions – Catholic Sistas

**UPDATE: Scroll to the bottom to see the episode embed on YouTube**

Wow. What an ending! Ending to what? The ending to the first reality show by Minor Revisions featuring friend of mine and Catholic Sistas, Jen Fulwiler from Conversion Diary. The first two episodes {view parts one and two here} featured in December and then the final installment aired last night to bring a snapshot of Jen’s life to a close.

The scary part is you almost didn’t get this review from me. Why? What could be more important than watching the third episode of this wonderful new reality show? I’ll be honest. It slipped my mind. Thursday night is our parish Adult Faith Formation {AFF} night – a night when our parish campus is abuzz with all kinds of adults wandering around to the Jesus is Lord class and the many electives we offer. I love the atmosphere of those evenings. As a facilitator for the program, I’m responsible for being there each Thursday and it’s an apostolate I take very seriously.

I also take friendships seriously. And when I committed to writing a review for this show, I had both Jen and Noe in mind. I first met Noe when he first came on board to our parish almost seven years ago. I nearly helped Noe with the RCIA class that Jen and Joe attended. I came to one session and then succumbed to first trimester mack-truck fatigue.

The show highlighted one of the people I think I can safely say that Jen and I both love and admire, Noe Rocha. Before I continue, I feel like I should clarify a couple of things, lest it look like I am putting him on a pedestal. The man shines for Christ – all that he does in his ministries and apostolates are to allow Christ to shine through him. I have not once ever seen or heard him take credit for his talent – he knows it all belongs to God and is loaned to him as a gift to use to bring others to know Christ. His humble nature and warm hugs are what fuel me in my own mission for Catholic Sistas.

So, back to the talk between Jen and Noe in the Sacred Heart chapel. Noe shares one of his most inspirational stories – his conversion story. A former heroin addict and dealer, I have heard this story many times over the years and it never ceases to amaze me. Among his many gifts, story telling is without a doubt his strongest talent. Though I have heard him tell this story many times over the years, I never cease to be amazed by the raw emotion he the Holy Spirit infuses into the story. If you were moved by his story, and I challenge anyone who watched it to not be moved, you start to understand more behind my personal mission with Catholic Sistas. Each time I see Noe, I leave feeling challenged in the Faith – what did I learn, what did I take away from our conversation, what might God being trying to tell me through one of His humble vessels?

I plan on writing more another time, specifically about the influence Noe and our AFF program has had on the CS mission, but let me leave you with this. This was not just a show about someone I call friend – this was a wonderful snapshot of our parish, our community, our Catholic faith in action. Short of being in the video myself, I could not have envisioned myself more enmeshed in this project. I am right with Jen in the pride of this show and I hope that you will share it!

So, please tell us, what did you think of the series?

New Show Minor Revisions Makes Major Splash among Conversion Diary Fans

**UPDATE: Thanks to an update from Brandon Vogt, the entire first episode is now available on YouTube for viewing OR scroll to the bottom to watch an embed of the show!**

After watching friend Jen Fulwiler of Conversion Diary debut on Minor Revisions and all I can say is WOW. Way to break the Interwebz, Jen!

All social media connected Catholics gathered around the Twitter and Facebook water coolers in anticipation of the launch of this new show only to discover NET NY’s server was on the verge of a complete and utter melt down. The show, which was slated to start live on NET NY’s online broadcast at 7 p.m. CST, was choppy when I first loaded up the website – then it crashed. Just. Crashed. And I thought to myself, yup, this is about right. My router would choose now to malfunction. But as I checked my Twitter app on my phone, I suddenly realized that it was across the nation and even some friends watching in Mexico were having trouble watching. It would be about 7:15 before NET NY’s server could be brought back to life. The entire viewing for me was choppy, but I was just dang happy to be able to watch it and it was a real lesson in patience.

The premiere episode was foundational for the upcoming shows. Jen talked about her childhood and the effect her relationship with her dad had on her belief in atheism. I met Dad Bishop very briefly last year at the Dominican Sisters’ welcome back barbecue and he seemed awfully sweet. His love for Jen is apparent – I think that was highlighted at the end of the show this evening when he said some Christians choose to believe in God “just in case” and went on to say that Jen is in this 100%. I love that the differences in belief system has served to bond them in new ways. He is quite the dad!

Because I could quite literally be here for hours talking about the show, I want to bullet point my favorite parts and get you pumped for next week’s episode. The first episode covered:

her childhood and the root of her belief in atheism
her awesome dad
what a dragon and My Little Pony have in common
how love pierced her heart and challenged her atheistic materialistic worldview
Joe’s spreadsheet of area churches in a quest to find one that suited them at the beginning of their pursuit of religious knowledge {or, gray haired vs. snooty churches}
scorpions
embarrassing man screams
flying stinging insects
super cool coffee houses on Lake Austin
haters from YouTube WHO USE ALL CAPS
a poignant reflection by Jen after receiving an e-mail from her editor regarding book edits
a brief scorpumentary involving various killing products
scorpion reflections
insect reaction evaluation
YaYa is from East Texas {this is especially exciting to me because I grew up in East Texas – thems rare folk}
the Fulwilers are expecting!

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I was especially excited to do a review of this show because it wasn’t just about someone I know personally but the people seen in the first episode and in upcoming episodes are also friends as well…right down to the amazing Paul Escandon who filmed it. My oldest daughter also was fortunate enough to help out with the first day of shooting – all of the interview scenes of Jen in front of the fireplace were taken the day she was there and her name appears in the end credits. She watched the show with us, telling us what was going on behind the scenes. It was the typical, subdued teenager excitement – but I still have my teenage verbiage decoder ring – it was clear she was stoked to be a part of such an awesome project. In the next two episodes, you will see people who have had a spiritual influence on Jen’s life as well as my own. She will be talking with our beloved Father Jonathan and Noe Rocha, our Adult Faith Formation director. You will not be disappointed and you will see why both Jen and I consider these men to be instrumental in our spiritual lives as well as evangelization efforts. I can say their influence is heavily laced through the writings and mission statement of Catholic Sistas. There are no other words than they rock. Jen will also visit Dr. Kalamarides with the Vitae Clinic {note the sweet baby he’s holding is our little Josie!}, who I absolutely love and adore his work in the Austin area. She will also visit with Abby Johnson, former director for Planned Parenthood who is a local resident.

If you missed tonight’s episode, fear not! Here is how you can catch it for next Thursday, December 20:

Anyone with an Internet connection can watch it. NET, the New York-based TV station that is running the show, has a live, 24/7 internet feed of their programming. You can watch it live online at http://netny.net/watch-now/. It will also air on the NET network in the New York City area (TimeWarner Ch 97 and Cablevision Ch 30) and will be available as an on-demand show for Verizon FiOS subscribers. Unfortunately, though there may be reruns, the show won’t be archived online. So be sure to catch it live tonight at 8:00pm EST (7:00pm CST).

The other two episodes in the series will air on December 20 and January 10, also at 8:00pm EST (7:00pm CST), so mark your calendars now.

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