Breakout Sessions
You’ll have the opportunity to attend up to three breakout sessions from different speakers while at DRAW NEAR. Review our speakers and the sessions they’ll be leading here, and begin to plan your day!
In this breakout session, Claire Dwyer explores the traditional classification of the four temperaments: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic, and how they relate to the spiritual life and transformation in Christ.
Through the lives of biblical figures and saints, discover how our natural temperaments, though affected by sin, can be transformed through grace, grow in virtue, and lead us toward greater integration, expansiveness, and interior freedom.
Women will gain a deeper appreciation for God’s design, the particular predispositions to vice and virtue in each temperament, and the call to authentic human freedom and flourishing—not through the destruction of our temperament, but through its transformation.
Transformation of Our Temperaments by Claire Dwyer
Claire Dwyer is a Catholic writer, speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director whose work explores the intersection of spiritual direction and the feminine genius. She is the author of This Present Paradise: A Spiritual Journey with St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a personal and prayerful invitation into the interior life through the spirituality of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity.
Her work has appeared in Blessed Is She, Abiding Together, Endow Groups, Theology of Home, the National Catholic Register, and other publications. Claire holds a theology degree from Franciscan University and graduate formation in Spiritual Theology from the Avila Institute. She accompanies women with warmth, wisdom, and a deep desire to help them discover what it means to let themselves be loved by God.
Through the story of Elijah’s exhaustion in 1 Kings 19, this workshop explores how God provides for us through the people He places in our lives and why we were never meant to walk our spiritual journey alone.
Discover practical ways to build meaningful friendships, from taking the first step and moving beyond surface-level conversations to establishing regular rhythms of prayer, gathering, and showing up for one another.
Come learn how to intentionally cultivate a community of women who will encourage you, pray with you, challenge you, and help you keep walking toward Christ.
For the Journey is Too Much for You by Taylor McKeegan
Taylor McKeegan is a Catholic public speaker with a master’s degree in theology and seven years of experience as a youth minister in Pittsburgh. She is passionate about helping people encounter Christ and creating spaces where faith can flourish in community.
Taylor is also a mother of four who loves hosting events and bringing people together. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, crafting, reading, and homeschooling.
The Healing Power of God by Heather Perry
“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.” — Matthew 26:39
Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane speaks to our shared human struggle with suffering. Heather Perry will share personal stories of God’s healing miracles while exploring His invitation to trust Him and accept the cup of suffering in our own lives.
Heather Perry holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Franciscan University. She has been married for more than 27 years and is the mother of five adult children.
From 2017 to 2023, she founded and led Ad Gentes Mission, a global missionary organization for college men and women. She serves on the board of Franciscan University’s Institute for the Study of Man and Woman, substitute teaches, and is a Life Teen Core Member.
Heather loves sharing the story of how she encountered Jesus in Las Vegas while in high school.
Jesus Draws Near in Spiritual Direction by Cindy Costello
The human heart has a deep hunger to be seen, heard, and known. God draws near to walk with us and offer His own Heart in response.
In this presentation, Cindy Costello explores the heart-to-heart encounter of spiritual direction, where a road to Emmaus can open up. The person seeking direction is reverently seen and compassionately heard as a spiritual director accompanies her journey of prayer. Attuned to the Holy Spirit, the director also learns to recognize His presence within her story.
Come discover how spiritual direction gives God’s Heart a place to satisfy our deepest longings, leaving both hearts burning within.
Cindy Costello holds a master’s degree in theology and a certification in spiritual direction from Franciscan University, as well as a certification in Catholic coaching from the Human Formation Coalition. She is also a certified instructor of the Theology of the Body through the Theology of the Body Institute.
Cindy enjoys speaking, instructing, spiritual direction, and coaching from the heart of Mary. She and her husband, Tom, have been married for 41 years and are the parents of five adult children and grandparents to four granddaughters.
Hearing God’s Voice by Riley Sciarappa
You can know a lot about your faith and still wonder whether you’re hearing God in prayer. You can pray every day and still long to know Him more deeply.
Whether you’re new to prayer or have been praying for decades, this session will offer an opportunity to pray together and practice listening for God’s voice in a way that is unique to each of us.
Riley Sciarappa is a wife, mother, real estate agent, and president of Joan of Arc Ministries. She has served as a missionary for the Catholic Church in both the United Kingdom and the United States and serves in the youth ministry program at her parish.
The Genius of God’s Design: Man and Woman in the Order of Creation by Dr. Deborah Savage
Dr. Deborah Savage is a professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she also serves as director of the Institute for the Study of Man and Woman.
For nearly two decades, her work has focused on developing a scientifically, philosophically, and theologically grounded understanding of man and woman, their identity, their unique genius, and their mission. Her research also explores Catholic social thought, the theological meaning of human work, and the conversion of the acting person.
Dr. Savage’s writing has appeared in publications including Nova et Vetera, Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, First Things, The Humanum Review, Catholic World Report, the Journal of Christian Bioethics, and Public Discourse. Her publications include essays on the genius of man and woman and the relationship between man, woman, and the Fall from Grace.
A recognized scholar of Karol Wojtyła (St. John Paul II), she has written and spoken extensively on his philosophical anthropology and its implications for human work, the complementarity of man and woman, and the dignity and vocation of women. Her mission is to help the academic community, the Catholic faithful, and others discover the beauty of the Church’s teachings on these subjects.