Australian evangelist to visit Raceland church

An Australian minister bearing the titles of Catholic evangelist, mystic, healer and visionary plans to bring his story of radical change and spiritual gifts to a Raceland church next week.
Alan Ames is scheduled to minister during a Mass and healing service scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Hilary of Poitiers Catholic Church, 333 Twin Oaks Drive, Raceland. The service is free and open to the public — both Catholics and non-Catholics.

"It was deep and moving and all I can say is after about five minutes of tears, I looked around the church and I felt like a different person," said Jacob Lipari III, a Houma native who credits Ames with changing directions in his life.Ames has traveled the world for the past 15 years to speak to audiences about his conversion from violent alcoholic to spiritual healer. His ministry, known as "Touch of Heaven," also includes seeking spiritual and physical healing for those who ask.

The 55-year-old Ames, born and raised in England, stems from a Catholic upbringing, but at a young age grew involved in a pattern of alcoholism and fighting, even joining a motorcycle gang.

His life took a sharp turn at age 40, when Ames received guidance from an angel, followed by further help, visions and direction from Jesus Christ and other divine sources, according to his Web site.

Ames visits south Louisiana periodically, and has appeared at local churches in the past, said Annette Bourgeois, a parishioner of St. Hilary's who helped organize his upcoming visit. Ames last appeared at St. Hilary's in November 2006.

Ames' ministry has impacted the lives of local parishioners, with some reporting healing of physical ailments and others of spiritual revolution, Bourgeois said.

Lipari, who played golf for Vandebilt Catholic High School and Nicholls State University, credits Ames' ministry with a drastic change in the direction of his life.

The 29-year-old went from the professional golf world to studying philosophy at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.

Lipari was pursuing a career in golf and otherwise living "the normal life of a 20-something male" when he crossed paths with Ames in November 2006, according to a written account of the event by Lipari.

Lipari attended St. Francis de Sales School and describes faith as a major part of his life as a child. He also served as campus minister at Vandebilt, but his focus changed soon after high school.

Lipari earned a Bachelor of Business from Nicholls, where he played on the golf team. He then helped manage a professional golf tour in Dallas, worked as golf supervisor at L'Auberge du Lac Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles and started the U.S. Kids Golf Tour for Louisiana.

"Even though I had found success in my mid-20s in a career, I was not going to Mass, was living a worldly life, and was starting to question if God was real or not," Lipari writes. "In my opinion, I was on a path that was leading me towards losing my soul because of sin."

Ames' influence on Lipari began with a book handed to the young golfer as he was working in the golf shop at the Ellendale Country Club in Houma. The book, "Messages from Mary" by Ames, gave Lipari the sense that the Catholic deity was speaking to him personally, he said.

Curious about the book's author, Lipari visited Ames' Web site to learn more and noticed that Ames' travels would take him to Raceland in two days.

"I really thought that was odd since he traveled all over the world," Lipari writes. "I had to go to see what this was all about. I drove up that night not really knowing what to expect, but I just wanted to be open."

When Ames started talking about his own life experiences, Lipari said the words hit him "like a brick hitting a piece of glass."

Though Lipari said he initially "ran from the call" to seminary, his experience with Ames marked the beginning of his path to the priesthood.

Lipari moved to Boston to work for PGA of America, the fulfillment of a childhood dream, but the thoughts of priesthood persisted.

He was working at a golf tournament when "an interior voice in my soul" told him to leave the golf business.

Not long after, Lipari started his studies at the seminary.

Ames' ministry affects others in similar ways, Lipari writes.

Bourgeois encourages visitors to use Ames' visit to gain a closer relationship with God.

"The biggest healing you can have is your spiritual healing," she said. "It's important that you come with an open heart and an open mind and be open to the workings of the Holy Spirit."

Another hit for golf: Ginn withdraws its sponsorships

The economic downturn cast two more tournaments into an uncertain future Wednesday when Ginn Resorts abruptly ended all professional golf sponsorships.

The real estate company says it no longer will host or produce its two remaining events — the LPGA's Ginn Open and the Champions Tour's Ginn Championship. LPGA star Cristie Kerr was also a casualty, as Ginn dropped sponsorship of the last player wearing the company's apparel.

Ginn's latest move comes on the heels of last year's decisions to end its sponsorship of the PGA Tour's Ginn sur Mer Classic and to buy out of a multiyear contract for another LPGA tour event, the Ginn Tribute hosted by Annika Sorenstam.

"We're disappointed and surprised by their actions," PGA Tour spokesman Ty Votaw said about Ginn's latest decision. "We have a contract with them through 2011, and we were in discussions with them concerning ways to modify the contract and to assist them. And in the end, we were given no notice of their actions other than to see it in a press release."

Losing the Ginn Open would figure to be a major hit to the LPGA — the event's $2.5 million purse was the third-largest on tour in 2008, behind only the U.S. Women's Open and the Evian Masters.

Ginn's contract with the LPGA tour for the Ginn Open was through 2009. If the tournament is not replaced or restructured quickly, the LPGA tour will offer 30 events this year, down four tournaments from last year. The losses also mean a drop of nearly $7.5 million in prize money that was available last year. LPGA officials were in meetings Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

"We have worked diligently with many others for several months to find solutions to our predicament with respect to these professional golf tournaments," said Robert Gidel, president and CEO of Ginn Development Company. "We did the best we could, but the economy got the best of us with respect to the tournaments."

The news about Ginn's decision to end its relationship with professional golf reverberated throughout the golf community, including PGA Tour players at the FBR Open in Arizona.

"There's some concern, for sure" about the future of professional golf, veteran Mark Calcavecchia said. "Things are tight for everybody, including Ginn and all the other huge companies. I mean, I think we're lucky to have the sponsors we have out here. My concern now, being 48 and a half years old, is how many tournaments are going to be left on the senior tour in a couple years.

"But I think the PGA Tour is going to be fine. We have a good product out here, but it's a concern. I think everybody is a little bit worried about it. I don't know how worried (commissioner) Tim Finchem is, but he doesn't outwardly come out like we're in danger too much."

While Votaw said it's hard for anyone to predict the future, he said the Tour is in good shape.

"We've always said than in any recession there is sponsorship turnover, but we have protected ourselves to deal with it," he said. "And we have to work hard to replace sponsors if we do lose them. And the players and our organization understand that."