SPEAKING

THE LATE, GREAT MSGR. LORENZO ALBACETE GALLANTLY REFRAINING FROM GETTING A WORD IN EDGEWISE

I’m available to take a limited number of speaking engagements per year.

I can speak to  religious and laypeople, young and old, rich and poor, seekers of all stripes.

I’ve had a conversation with the late, sainted Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, led a staff Day of Recollection for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Ministries, and been a keynote speaker for the San Antonio Women’s ConferenceENDOW, the annual Catholic Press Association Media Conference, and the annual Religious Ed Congress in Anaheim, CA.

I’ve given talks for parishes in Omaha, NE, St. Louis, MO, Sioux Falls, SD, St. Paul, MN, Westwood, MA, New Orleans, LA, Pittsburgh PA, Monterey, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and throughout the greater LA area..

I’ve given retreats on sobriety, Lent and St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

I share my experience, strength, and hope. I speak from my heart. 


GIVING BISHOP BARRON SOME PUBLIC SPEAKING POINTERS,
DOWNTOWN LA CATHEDRAL

SAMPLE TALKS

PARCHED: ADDICTION AS SPIRITUAL THIRST

The story of my own journey through low-bottom alcoholism that eventually led me to Christ and the Church. Discussion of addiction as a misplaced search for God and of recovery as a kind of resurrection.

REHABILITATING ST. THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX

 Far from being a namby-pamby lightweight, St. Thérèse achieved her desire to be a martyr, a missionary and a saint—all from her obscure Carmelite convent in France and without an atom of social media. Her spirituality is deeply relevant to our contemporary culture, and perhaps especially to women.

OUR ONGOING CONVERSION: A RADICAL ADVENTURE

Highlights from my story as a recovering alcoholic of quitting a high-paying job as a Beverly Hills attorney to come into the Church and to embark on the precarious life of a Catholic literary writer, followed by divorce and annulment, breast cancer, unrequited love and the development of my prayer life as a contemplative laywoman in the midst of Los Angeles.

THE WORLD WILL BE SAVED BY BEAUTY

What does it mean to be Catholic? What does it mean to live out the Gospels? One mark of the follower of Christ should be an expansive, wide-ranging curiosity. A discussion of how I’ve come to my own way of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth through my blog, books, photographs, weekly arts and culture column, daily Mass and walks.


TESTIMONIALS

We invited Heather King for three different talks to various target audiences over three days. We laughed, we cried, and we marveled. Heather is as captivating and uniquely articulate in person as she is on the page. Her “voice” and vision are a treasure of our Church. Informed by gratitude for finding a place at the banquet of the Father, she has found a Daughter’s voice which women and men alike will find riveting, wise, humorous, and inspiring. For audiences seeking greater integrity in Christ, Heather is the perfect speaker.
–Rebecca Pettigrew, Director, Adult Faith Formation, St. Louise de Marillac Parish, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


 With deep insight, and joyful humor, Heather King’s keynote talk at the annual Catholic Press Association Conference was a provoking reminder. Each of us – especially those of us serving the Church as professionals in the media – are challenged to remember that the real deal is first and always, life with Christ. The writing and other work we do is a way to deepen that relationship.
–Maria Scaperlanda, Director and Vice-President of the Catholic Press Association Board


When Heather King speaks, what is heard out loud is what most of us are only willing to admit in the quiet of our thoughts: we are flawed, inadequate sinners and scared silly we will be found out! From her courageous honesty, we find our ourselves laughing and crying in our shared humanity and praising God that our failures are no match for His victorious Love and Healing.  With a captivating authenticity, Heather shares a sad past of seedy bars, bad choices and distorted perceptions. I praise God for the blessing of Heather King; this ‘spark through stubble’ (Wis 3:7), fellow sinner and sister-in-Christ!   
–Nan Balfour, Events Coordinator, San Antonio “Come to Me” Catholic Women’s Conference


Heather King touched our hearts deeply through her heart-rending, yet witty personal stories and the amazing lens through which she understands the writings of Thérèse of Lisieux. She summoned us to the true self-giving to which we are invited by Christ. 
–Vicki Schmidt, Director of Theresians International


HEATHER KING is a member of the CATHOLIC SPEAKERS ORGANIZATION.

WATCH MY CONVERSION STORY ON EWTN’S “THE JOURNEY HOME”