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Gary Cattell, also known as “The Willard Preacher,” at Penn State University, presented the first Lecture on Tuesday, October 4th, entitled: “Understanding Today’s College Students from an Orthodox Street Preacher’s Perspective”. During his presentation Gary outlined how he recently needed to change his approach to reach out to today’s college students, while similarly sharing his perspectives concerning how they view themselves and our cultural context today. Seminarians present connected with the value of his sharing in preparing them to interact with young people in parish and college contexts alike. Gary encouraged all present to similarly reach out to others, not copying his approach, but utilizing the unique gifts that each of us are given.
Gary began preaching and dialoguing with students at Penn State as a Protestant in November of 1982. In the spring of 1999, he became an Orthodox Christian. He now ministers to Penn State students from the perspective of the Orthodox faith. He is married to Karen, his wife for more than thirty years, and has four grown children and four grandchildren.
