ATLANTA—Linda Scharnhorst, who co-hosts the Proclaim My Word Bible study podcasts with Keri Allen on The Quest Atlanta Catholic Radio, will be the speaker at the next Magnificat gathering for women to be held on Saturday, Aug. 24. Scharnhorst is a Catholic convert, and a member of All Saints Church in Dunwoody. 

Linda Scharnhorst

All women are invited to the Magnificat meal, which will be held at Holy Cross Church in Atlanta from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Atlanta chapter of Magnificat hosts the meal, which includes breakfast, a time of praise and worship with music, and the speaker’s testimony. 

The international Catholic women’s ministry is inspired by the joyful meeting of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, related in the Gospel of St. Luke. 

As a child, Scharnhorst was an avid reader of her children’s Bible. She could not get enough of the Bible stories from faraway places like Moses in the bulrushes on the Nile River and would read from Genesis right through to the story of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. But something about that story never fully made sense to her as a child. It was not until many years later that she would comprehend how Paul’s conversion story is the calling for each of us. 

Scharnhorst’s parents believed travel was a great education. Thus, she traveled to all 50 states by age 15. After receiving her MBA from Loyola University Maryland, she entered the business world and experienced worldly success. However, through a series of unexpected events, Scharnhorst began to reevaluate her life. No longer prioritizing the “bottom line,” she dove into her faith and rekindled that love of Scripture from her youth. Everything was on the table, including potentially becoming an Episcopal minister, but the Lord had other plans that would lead her to the Catholic Church. 

Scharnhorst is passionate about sharing her compelling testimony, teaching RCIA, podcasting, and traveling to Marian shrines, the Holy Land, and anywhere she can walk in the footsteps of the saints. She will invite us to look back at our own conversion story as a means to go deeper and be truly converted day by day.  

The Magnificat ministry began in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and has spread globally. Chapters are under the guidance of the local bishop. The Atlanta Joyful Visitation chapter has been active since 1992. The purpose is to help women open more to the Holy Spirit through a deeper commitment of their lives to Jesus as Lord and to impart the Holy Spirit to one another by their love, service and sharing the good news of salvation. 

Advance reservations for the gathering are required and can be made either online or through the mail. The cost is $25 per person. No tickets are sent. Check-in is at the door for those with reservations only. 

To register online, visit https://tinyurl.com/202408Meal. Those who have provided contact information to the ministry will receive an emailed invitation. To be added to that list, send a request to joyfulvisitation@gmail.com. 

To register by mail, please send name, address, parish if applicable, contact information, and a check made payable to Magnificat Joyful Visitation to Debbie DuPont, 315 Rose Court, SW, Lilburn, GA 30047. Online registration closes on Wednesday, Aug. 14. Mailed reservations must be postmarked by Aug. 10. 

The doors open early. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 9 a.m. Holy Cross is located at 3773 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, less than a mile from the Chamblee Tucker Road exit on Interstate 285. 

Priests and religious are invited to attend free of charge, but reservations are still requested to plan for the meal. Since the morning is designed to speak to the hearts of women free of distractions, it is respectfully requested that young children not attend. 

For information, contact Debbie at 770-696-6216.