In Austin, Texas

Thomas Cogdell is the real deal, a genuine man of peace.  When you first meet him you sense a great spiritual reservoir of grace and dignity.  This is combined by an all insatiable determination to see and experience the reconciliation of the Body of Christ.  He is Protestant and his wife is Catholic.  Their devotion and love for Christ’s Body is both compelling and joyous.  Restoration is the work of the heart and it is with heart that we will experience the reconciliation of the Body of Christ.  I highly commend Thomas and Christ the Reconciler to you.

- Dr. Rich Carney, Executive Director, Austin Bridge-Builder's Association (ABBA)

Theologian Yves Congar once said, "the way through the door of unity is on our knees."  The quintessential passion of prayer and discipleship have pervaded all my interactions with both Thomas and Amy Cogdell, whom I feel fortunate to call friends.  Amy is one of our parishioners at St. Austin Catholic parish; and Thomas and I are partners at the annual Lausanne Catholic-Evangelical dialogue in Chicago.  Through prayer, fellowship and respectful dialogue we continue striving to respond to the prayer of our Lord Jesus that "they may all be one." (John 17:21)  I look forward to seeing the beauty and scope of the Holy Spirit's work and their humble yet firm response in making Christ visible through this holy retreat grounds in Central Texas.

- Fr. René Constanza C.S.P., President, Paulist Fathers

Thomas and Amy Cogdell have given themselves to the costly work of reconciliation. Theirs is a work of love that has crossed many boundaries of entrenched pain in the body of Christ. Theirs has been a journey that dares to peacefully question the value of adversity between various ethnic groups, and more, between Catholic and Protestant. Their journey has not compromised on the hard-held doctrinal differences between the various groups, but seeks to simply celebrate the unity that Jesus prays for in John 17.

Their commitment to peaceful integrity has resulted in the formation of a community of friends sharing the hope of the Gospel. The community in formation shares many of the attributes of the Taizé community in France that has attracted so many young people in Europe who are on a quest to find the reality of Christ.

I have known and blessed Thomas and Amy since they were members of our high school youth group at Hope Chapel in Austin, Texas back in the mid 1980s. It has been my joy to see their marriage and family be such a rich testimony of Christ's grace.

Now, with great anticipation, I stand on tiptoe to see the next step of their dream of a creative center of Godly vocation, of restoration, and of renewal of vision and soul.

- Dan Davis, founder, Pastors In Covenant

From the international Wittenberg 2017 Initiative

The way of reconciliation on which Amy and Thomas have walked themselves so diligently is definitely the most effective tool for regaining the unity in the Body for which Christ prayed in John 17. I was honored to join them in this “Wittenberg 2017” initiative and to see great fruit coming out of it.

- Deacon Johannes Fichtenbauer, European Network of Communities

By faith and through countless impossibilities, Thomas and Amy obeyed when God called them. After 500 years, wounds were healed in the body of Christ.

- Sr. Joela Krüger, Evangelical Sisters of Mary (Lutheran), Darmstadt Germany

Thank you, Thomas and Amy, for your obedience to the Lord and your wise leadership in the face of many challenges.

- David and Greetje Sanders, Protestant / nondenominational, Berlin Germany

The Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit spoke to us in so many ways. Our hearts were opened. I was privileged to meet so many of God’s people, outside my bubble. Thank you, Amy and Thomas, for the invitation, and your welcoming!

- Flora Ruiz, Roman Catholic, Los Angeles Archdiocese Pastoral Council, California USA

What an awesome, Holy Spirit–inspired movement of the unity of the body of Christ nationally and internationally. It took years of preparation and was mainly initiated by Thomas Cogdell, who has found favor with God and gathered a wide range of the body of Christ in Wittenberg on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by Martin Luther. Humility and repentance paved the way for these days of prayer, penance, and intercession for one another. This movement was and is — as it continues in Germany — a milestone of what God still has in plan for us.

- Walter Heidenreich, Pentecostal, founder and president of FCJG and HELP International, Germany

The meeting in Wittenberg was excellent, wonderfully led in a graced way by Thomas and Amy Cogdell.

- Father Peter Hocken, Roman Catholic, Austria

The highlight of this gathering was meeting with Thomas and Amy Cogdell, from Texas, who welcomed us with open arms. We were deeply impressed with their leadership, which they conducted with great humility and with much grace. It was amazing to behold the various movements in the body of Christ as they joined hands in unity, humility, and forgiveness.

- Ben Girod Sr. and Benjamin Girod Jr., Amish, Montana USA

- From John Dawson, leader of Youth With a Mission (YWAM)