OUR STORY

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”

-Acts 2:1

OUR MISSION

Pentecost Today USA continues the work begun by the National Service Committee in the 1970’s to raise up, connect, and equip Renewal leaders in new and dynamic ways in order to:

  • BRING baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church
  • BUILD unity in the Body of Christ
  • SERVE the Poor

A group of over 50 Renewal leaders from across the U. S. serve as board and council members of Pentecost Today USA.

In 2020, we prayerfully decided to rename and align our organization with the threefold mission of CHARIS to bring, build, and serve.

Launched at Pentecost in 2019, CHARIS (Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service) is the new unifying body that operates on international, continental, and national levels to help coordinate and support the life and growth of the Charismatic Renewal within the Church and beyond. Pentecost Today USA supports this mission, and has many current and past members who also assist with roles within CHARIS.

  • Read the details of the CHARIS commission here
  • Learn more about CHARIS and how it serves the Renewal with juridical personality here

Bring

baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church

Baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church

We raise up, connect, and equip renewal leaders to bring baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church, igniting the fire of renewal – a new and ongoing Pentecost.

Build

Unity in the Body of Christ

Unity in the Body of Christ

We build unity in the Body of Christ through holy collaboration – among renewal leaders, Church leaders, ecumenical leaders, and young leaders – cultivating the unity Jesus prayed for in John 17.

Serve

the Poor

the Poor

We embrace the Holy Spirit as the Father of the Poor, by entering into holy collaboration with Renewal leaders and ministries across the nation, to identify areas of poverty, and invite the Holy Spirit to lead us in building the structure, formation, and communication needed to serve in those areas.

What is Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

“Baptism in the Spirit is a life-transforming experience of the love of God the Father poured into one’s heart by the Holy Spirit, received through a surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

It brings alive sacramental baptism and confirmation, deepens communion with God and with fellow Christians, enkindles evangelistic fervor, and equips a person with charisms for service and mission.”

– Baptism in the Holy Spirit: International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services Doctrinal Commission

OUR STORY

The work of the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, now Pentecost Today USA, is done through a servant leadership structure that was created in the earliest days of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

In the early days of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, groups in Ann Arbor and East Lansing, Michigan, and South Bend, Indiana, among others, were being asked for help from across the U. S. and internationally – specifically, they were asked for guidance, teaching, and resources.

In response, they met as early as 1970 to pool their gifts and resources to provide vision, leadership, and service to the growing Renewal. The entity was first called the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service Committee/Charismatic Renewal Services.

The original board of directors was made up of William Beatty, Jack Bromback Steven B Clark, Rev. Harold Cohen SJ, Paul C. DeCelles, Kerry Koller, Ralph Martin, Kevin M. Ranaghan, Rev. Michael Scanlon TOR. Each one of these people played an important role as mighty, holy fire starters in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States.

In 1975, the entity became two: Charismatic Renewal Services became the distributor of materials (printed and audio,) as well as the administrative arm for Renewal conferences held at the University of Notre Dame; the newly re-named National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal of the U.S. (NSC) was a group of leaders from throughout the country, who joined together to provide leadership, vision, and services to the Renewal.

In the mid-80s, the NSC adopted the name Chariscenter USA for its office, and then in 1990/1991 moved its office from South Bend to Locust Grove, Virginia, about an hour plus, on a good day, outside of Washington, DC.

Today

Today we are stepping into the action of our mission to bring baptism in the Holy Spirit to the whole Church, to build unity in the Body of Christ, and to serve the poor with a new name that signals the urgency and glory of our mission: Pentecost Today USA. Pentecost 2021, we announced the official move of our headquarters from Locust Grove, VA, to The Ark and The Dove, home of baptism in the Holy Spirit, in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, located about 20 minutes north of Pittsburgh, PA.

With the encouragement of the Holy Father, we look to the Malines Documents, a set of writings developed between 1974 and 1986, as a foundational guide as we move forward into how the Holy Spirit is calling us to raise up, connect, and equip Renewal leaders in new and dynamic ways.

Come, Holy Spirit!

OUR TEAM

Pentecost Today USA Board of Directors (Formerly known as the National Service Committee)

Over the years, Pentecost Today USA’s Board of Directors (formerly known as the National Service Committee) has had 84 members from all across the U.S., including the current President of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR, Ralph Martin of Renewal Ministries, Kevin and Dorothy Ranaghan of the People of Praise Community in South Bend, Bishop Sam Jacobs, now Emeritus of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, LA, David Mangan, one of the participants in the “Duquesne Weekend,” when the Spirit fell in 1967, Tom Mangan, his brother, of The People of God Community in Pittsburgh, Sr. Nancy Kellar, SC, co-founder of the first and longest-serving House of Prayer in the U.S., Johnny Bertucci, Chairman of The Ark and The Dove, ‘Home of Baptism in the Holy Spirit,’ location of the original retreat in Pittsburgh, and Mother Lucy Lukasiewicz of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pentecost Today USA Council (Formerly known as the NSC Council)

Several hundred Renewal leaders from across the U. S. have served on the Pentecost Today USA Council (formerly known as the National Service Committee Council) through the years. The Pentecost Today USA Council is a broad-based support team for the work of Pentecost Today USA and connects the leaders of many ministries across the country. We continue to see the Holy Spirit raising up leaders of all ages who are willing to serve and support the fire and formation of Renewal.

Pentecost Today USA Consultants

In addition to the counsel that Pentecost Today USA receives from the Council, it receives specific counsel in the areas of theological and Episcopal. The Chairperson of the Association of Diocesan Liaisons will also be a consultant.

Pentecost Today USA Staff

In addition to the counsel that Pentecost Today USA receives from the Board, Council, and Consultant, it is supported by our in-office staff of people with a heart for the mission.

ABOUT THE RENEWAL

Learn more about the history of the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church.