What people are saying about Joyce’s presentation:
“Joyce speaks with a prayerful fervor that deeply touches people. Her strong faith and care for others is very evident in her talks and personal interactions. Joyce is an incredible witness of perseverance through pain, hope through humility, commitment through crisis, patience through pressure, and through it all, finding joy in the journey. Beautifully transparent about her faith, God has given her the strength to share the deep personal struggles in her life with courage, vulnerability and humor. Her strong faith and authentic character are the reflections of a life refined through fire. Joyce’s words of conviction will challenge and her heart of compassion will encourage and inspire.”
Dee Gray, Adult Faith Formation Leader, St. Clare of Assisi Parish
“Joyce speaks from the heart, speaks about what she knows deeply and leads her audience to knowledge, to inquisitiveness. She causes her audience to laugh, to cry and to want to know more. She spoke for approximately 45 minutes, but I know she would have kept her audience fully entranced for even longer. Since her speaking engagement ended, I have heard nothing but praise from numerous members. Joyce truly has a gift that blesses us as we listen! I would not hesitate to recommend her as a speaker for your organization. I believe she is called to do God’s work through spreading her knowledge and interests to others. ”
Cheryl Segneri, Vice –President, Blessed Sacrament Women’s Club
“Last summer Joyce, such a faith-filled woman, enthusiastically shared her faith journey with the women on Retreat at the Franciscan Renewal Center. To this day, I am still reminded by those retreatants of Joyce’s awesome witness and her message of hope in a broken world. The transparency with which she shares her faith is such a marvelous witness of her love for Christ and the Church. If you are in search for a woman who is gifted and blessed to articulate the “Good News” of Jesus Christ in a spiritual challenging manner, I would highly recommend Joyce Coronel.”
Sister Jean Marie Cihota, OSBM, Assistant Religious Education Director, Byzantine Eparchy of Phoenix
“Joyce’s faithfulness to the Church and her gifts as a storyteller have provided countless opportunities for the Diocese of Phoenix’s 800,000 Catholics to learn and grow in faith. She is indispensable to us at The Catholic Sun — the second largest paid circulation newspaper in Arizona and 2012 recipient of the Catholic Press Association’s highest honor in being named Best Diocesan Newspaper in the country — where she’s been sharing her God-given gifts with us as a columnist, reporter, translator and proofreader. I have been in awe watching Joyce blossom into an author and speaker. She has my full support as she seeks to share her gifts with new audiences.Simply put, Joyce is an articulate, faithful Catholic with an inspiring message.”
Rob DeFranceso, Director of Communications, Diocese of Phoenix
“Joyce Coronel came to St. Joseph’s Parish to speak to approximately 65 people. Looking at their faces and seeing the tears touched my heart. Everyone was captivated. Her message with the Chaldean Church and her experience made me appreciate my parish in a deeper way. There is never a concern that I will be killed going to Mass in Phoenix, Arizona. Perhaps we take our freedom for granted. During this Year of Faith I highly recommend more parishes to open their doors to this message.”
“Joyce brings a message of compassion, courage and honor. Hearing the stories of our Chaldean brothers and sisters is at once heartrending and invigorating. When I pause to reflect on the stories she shared, I am compelled to increase the urgency in my prayer.”
Wayne Rich, President, Serra Club of Phoenix
Joyce Coronel’s concern for the Chaldean Catholics is so evident. She has written about their plight in her column in the Catholic Sun Phoenix diocesan newspaper as well as having organized two concerts to raise funds to help support the relocation of persecuted Iraqi refugees who have come to the U.S. We have been privileged to hear her speak at St. Timothy’s Women’s Fellowship in Mesa, AZ. I am looking forward to reading her book
Anne Wilson, St . Timothy’s Women’s Fellowship
I have interviewed Joyce Coronel several times over the last five years. The last, on the occasion of the release of her first novel, A Martyr’s Crown, inspired by the heartbreaking sacrifices of those present day Chaldean Catholics in the Middle East, who have willingly offered their lives for their faith. She is articulate, thorough, and incisive as she answers questions. But she brings more than her gift of communication. She shares her passion for these people. She aches with them and for them. Through her written, and now her spoken words, Joyce paints indelible pictures of a faith community whose very existence is threatened. Listen to her, and you will never again take your faith for granted.
Michael Dixon- Host of The Bishop’s Hour- Diocese of Phoenix (KABC, KCBS, KMOX, WCCO)
