About
On this page you can learn about our mission, our story, our logo, and meet the team!
Our Mission
Educate. Encounter. Embody
The mission of Image & Gift Ministries is to educate Catholic Christians, especially parish & Catholic school leaders, in an authentic Christian anthropology and empower them to embody this anthropology through encounter with one another and with Christ.
Our Story
Image & Gift began as an original course on Christian Anthropology based on Theology of the Body and was developed by Jennifer Prather, MATS. Image & Gift differs from other courses on Theology of the Body in that it presents the actual text of St. John Paul II's Theology of the Body. As it is written, this great work can be applied to many contemporary issues facing Catholic christians today including the meaning of being embodied as male and female, the nature of marriage, the importance of the celibate vocation, same-sex attraction, gender identity and the relevance of the sacramental life. The first curriculum was written for high school students and taught as a semester course.
Soon, several parents of these first students also desired to take the course as well. A new adult curriculum was formed and classes began for adults. Then, the course for adults was proposed to the Diocese of Baton Rouge and accepted as a requirement for all Catholic parish & school employees and voluteers. Shortly after this agreement, Covid-19 lockdowns began. In response, an online introductory version of the course was developed and offered online. Now the course is offered in both formats, online & in person in the Diocese of Baton Rouge and will be offered under the same kind of agreement in the Diocese of Lake Charles beginning in the Fall of 2022. Through a verbal agreement, entered into in May of 2022, part of the Image & Gift course will also be offered in the Lafayette Diocese. In May of 2022 Image & Gift also become an international course with the International Institute of Culture and Gender Studies with students in Australia, India, the Philippines & the United States attending online.
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Due to the growth of demand for the course in various formats and configurations, Image & Gift became Image & Gift Ministries, LLC in May of 2022. This change will allow for the continued development of the course as well as the development and offering of other courses, seminars & retreats.
Our Team
"Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” - Genesis 2:18
About Our Logo
The Image & Gift logo, designed by Robert Frey, was inspired by the core message of the Christian anthropology of the human person as it is presented by Saint John Paul II in Theology of the Body.
At the center is the human person, who is the image of the Trinity and whose existence & call is to make a gift of self. This gift of self is represented by the gift box.
The Trinity, surrounds the human person to indicate in whose image the person was created.
The Father is symbolized by the crown, the Son is symbolized by the cross, and the Holy Spirit is symbolized by the dove.
The color teal symbolizes fulfillment which, for the human person, is found when one lives out the call to holiness.
The color gold symbolizes the love, wisdom & Kingship of the Trinity who, in His wisdom, is the author of the nature of the human person.