Meet the Founders & Teachers

OUR FOUNDERS

The Lord inspired Community Moderator, Br. Winston Garcia, to establish a School of Accompaniment and Spiritual Direction in Trinidad and Tobago. In discussion with Dan Almeter from the Alleluia Community about his search for a good programme to adopt, brother Dan informed brother Winston about the programme at Alleluia in Augusta, Georgia and recommended a conversation with Michael Firmin, co-founder of the Alleluia School of Spiritual Direction. 
Br. Mike as Michael Firmin is fondly called, insisted that POP first experience the school before making any decisions to adopt the model.  Members enrolled in the Summer and Winter programmes of 2022 and 2023 respectively to experience the programme in person at the Alleluia School of Spiritual Direction and the rest is history.

After 3 academic years, POP members Br. Winston Garcia, one of the Council of Elders – Debbie Garcia, as well as POP member and clinical psychologist, Luscia Kanneh and Deacon Tony Romero (a Trinidadian and associate of the Community, incardinated for the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia), received their certification in spiritual direction in July 2024. 

 Additionally, three other POP members, one from the Council of Elders – Ann Marie Liverpool and Service Team members Marcia Ashe-Gouveia and Lisa Perez— were certified in January 2025, all from the Alleluia School of Spiritual Direction in Augusta, Georgia. 

In alignment with the vision to establish the People of Praise School of Accompaniment and Spiritual Direction, new students from POP – Service Team Leader Kevin Downes and Music Ministry Head of Department Sharon Adams – enrolled as year one students, in the Summer of 2024 at the Alleluia School of Spiritual Direction.

MEET OUR TEACHERS FOR THE 2025 SEMESTER ON PRAYER

Mrs. Beverly Firmin

Beverly Firmin is a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Augusta Georgia. She is wife of 41 years to Michael and mother of 9 children and grandmother to 11. Beverly received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and her master’s in social work at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 20 years’ experience in counseling and therapy. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Social Work, working with the formation of social work students in their field placements.

She received her certificate in spiritual direction from Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spirituality in Clearwater, Florida. She has experience in spiritual direction and faith formation. She has been a member of the Alleluia Christian Community, an ecumenical covenant community, for 34 years and been involved in teaching and mentoring women over these years

Mr. Michael Firmin

Michael Firmin is a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Augusta, Georgia. He is married to Bev for 41 years and is father to 9 and grandfather to 11 grandchildren. Mike’s educational background has been in theology and philosophy at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans and Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Mike received a call on his life to serve the poor in his early 20’s and this has been his life’s work. He started three organizations to serve the poor in Louisiana before moving to Georgia in 1981 to join the Alleluia Christian Community. He has been a member of this community for 34 years. Mike was the founding director of the Golden Harvest Food Bank, a non-profit organization to feed the poor. He recently retired from this position after 31 years, having built it into a work that feeds the poor in 30 counties in Georgia and South Carolina. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Mike spearheaded an inter-church humanitarian relief effort to the newly-independent Republic of Georgia from 1993-2003. He sits on the boards of several non-profit organizations including SOS DRS, an international disaster relief agency. He gives retreats several times a year, and has extensive experience in leadership, mentoring and spiritual direction. Mike received his certificate in spiritual direction from Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spirituality in Clearwater, Florida.

Ms. Ellen Hogarty

Ellen Hogarty grew up in Hawaii where her parents became involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and hosted a weekly prayer meeting in their home for many years. Ellen attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville, and it was there that she met Fr. Rick Thomas, SJ, when he visited the campus. Ellen joined other students for a mission trip to the Lord’s Ranch to participate in their work with the poor on the U.S./Mexican border and felt a strong calling from the Lord to stay. She has spent the last 40 years as a full-time missionary with this lay apostolate. Mentored in Ignatian spirituality by Father Thomas for over 20 years, she has also been trained in giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and directs many individual and group retreats. She is currently serving as the president of Our Lady’s Youth Center, the non-profit organization that operates the ministries of The Lord’s Ranch Community.

TESTIMONIES

We have witnessed countless transformative journeys as students journey deeper in their faith and experience profound encounters with Christ through participating in spiritual direction training. Through comprehensive teachings on prayer, healing and personal growth, many have found renewed purpose, healing, and a closer relationship with God and have grown in compassion for others. The following testimonies are heartfelt accounts from students, sharing their life-changing experiences and the incredible impact that spiritual direction training has had on their spiritual journey.

  • My life has been and is being transformed by the Holy Spirit through my ongoing Spiritual Direction training at the school of SD at the Alleluia Community.  It took me just over a year from when I was first introduced to Spiritual Direction before I decided to see what it was all about..  In just two weeks, I had so many deep personal encounters with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ... I have no doubt that the Father loves me abundantly more than I can ever know, and experience at this time, and that He loves each and every one of us just the same... Just as He gave Alleluia community the grace to guide His people into a deeper relationship with Him, so too I believe He is opening the People of Praise Community to do the same for us in Trinidad and Tobago and beyond. 
    I have only done one semester so far, Prayer, and this is exactly what I know the Lord wanted me to begin this journey on.  My prayer life and relationship with my Lord has changed significantly for the better and with continued support of my spiritual director, the Holy spirit continues to draw me closer to Him through all situations.  I am excited to continue the program and share the Love of God with others, Amen.
    Kevin Downes
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  • I came to the School of Spiritual Direction expecting to be taught skills and methodology.  What I experienced however was an immersive encounter with Christ and a deepening of my relationship with God that has further transformed my life.  I was thirsty for more of God in my life and I experienced an overwhelming infilling and outpouring of God’s great grace and yes I learnt skills …. skills that I am able to use in pastoral ministry as well as in everyday life with my family, friends, co-workers and even strangers!  The programme brought me into tremendous healing, wholeness and the grace of those weeks at school, even post graduation, continue to grow in me.
    Debbie Garcia
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  • If we love the Lord, we will try to foster an intimate relationship with Him. If we desire this spiritual intimacy, then training in Spiritual Direction will open the doorway to Our Lord’s heart and mind to us. This access will bring a deeper understanding of His mercy, love, and compassion for us and His people.
    Further, it will bring healing and deliverance to our spiritual ears and eyes to hear and see His marvellous work in us and those He will lead to us for ministry.
    Friends, I have always sought ways to deepen my relationship with my Lord and frustratingly encountered dead-ends due to spiritual ignorance and a lack of understanding of how God operates in my life. 
    Becoming a Spiritual Director under the auspices of the Alleluia Community has brought wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and clarity of how God operates in my life and others to bring about spiritual intimacy with me and others for His glory and honour.
    Indeed, if you allow yourself to surrender to the Lord’s calling, your relationship with the Lord will bring tremendous growth and advancement to your faith journey. Be prepared for “Ah Hah” moments and constant baths in God’s love and mercy.
    Deacon -Tony Romero
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  • My experience in the program has taught me to rely on God’s transforming power for healing and freedom. This transformation took place through praying scriptures and sharing my experiences, insights, and blessings. The combination of the Ignatian prayer model and the contemplative evocative model played a significant role in my inner healing. Through prayer, teachings, supervision, and spiritual direction, I became more compassionate, empathetic, and a better listener. During my time in the program, I was transformed into a useful instrument of God’s grace for the benefit of those I guided.
    Ann Marie Liverpool
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