Alfaratta Tebo Gerard O'Brien

Late 1976, a green and brown station wagon literally covered with charismatic and anti-abortion bumper stickers found its way into Faith Village. It quickly became at home with the other well-used members of the Motor Pool.

Alfaratta Gerard had arrived. The Alleluia Community would never be the same; and likely now, Heaven will not be either.

The joy that her bubbling spirit contained even poured over into her Wake Service Monday night in what has been called one of the most joyful memorial services ever enjoyed by the Alleluia family.

The honorings shared by her children left no doubt in anyone’s mind that our sister, Al, was a treasure as a mother to her ten children. To those in Alleluia who had laughed, cried and shared in the eartly part of her spiritual journey, she was a sister who was as real as they get. Without even thinking about it, Al could keep a support group meeting in stitches. At the same time, she was a fierce prayer warrior.

Last Tuesday we buried Al. Tears were shed, hugs lingered. Al blessed us with her life…and even in her death. We know in our hearts Jesus blessed Al.



Her Testimony:

It’s Good to Be Here...Where Else Would I Be?

I belong in an ecumenical community. I am not a cradle Catholic. Baptized Methodist, I changed to the Baptist church at about 10 or 11 years old, because all my friends were Baptist and I enjoyed their youth meetings.

My father died when I was 11. Mother remarried and moved to Bay City, Michigan, where “Mom’s people” were. They said, “That girl should be raised Catholic!” They sent me to Catholic school, and sure enough, I became a Catholic. I was always religious. I attended Mass, even services during the week; did novenas and made a retreat at least once a year.

In due time [1946], I married a Catholic boy, Raymond Gerard. We were going to have this big family of four. In the course of about 16 years, I was pregnant about 15 times. Eleven of these were full-term babies of whom 10 are presently living. One drowned. I really didn’t get over it until I got down here to Alleluia about 20 years later. It just shakes you up when it’s a child—something of your own flesh and bones being buried—different than when your husband dies.

I came to the Lord in about 1969. I was a medical librarian for a couple of hospitals in Michigan. One day the previous librarian, Betty Crawford, asked me if I died the next minute if I knew for sure I’d go to heaven. I said, “Nobody knows if they’d go to heaven.” She said, “I do!” She was actually the one who brought me to the Lord through a prayer meeting held in her home. When asked if I was a Christian I replied, “Of course I’m Christian—I do all these things...!” Betty introduced me to Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. Everyone prayed over me and I was baptized in the Holy Spirit.

At the same time, we also attended church services led by a priest and a minister. When they began singing How Great Thou Art, I started crying and had to leave the service. “What’s going on with me? What’s wrong with me?” I got hold of myself, went back in and started crying again. I hadn’t cried in 20 years—just not something you’re supposed to do.

I started attending ecumenical meetings in Notre Dame during 1969-70. Ralph Martin and all that group were still praying over people for Life in the Spirit Seminars. They prayed over us. Still living in Bay City, 150-200 miles from South Bend, we’d go to South Bend once a year. I’d call that Ray’s once-a-year prayer meeting because he sure wouldn’t attend any other.

In 1974 the feedback from all the local prayer groups was that people should be getting into community. That year they had invited the heads of other communities as speakers—one of which was Alleluia Community in Augusta, Georgia. Dennis McBride and Dale Clark spoke along with the elders of other communities. On the way home Ray and I thought that the only one of the communities we’d fit with was Alleluia. We were supposed to go home and listen to the Holy Spirit. We had a big family of 10 children, nine of whom were under 11. We thought, “No community would want a family that size.” We decided to wait till the kids got older and then move to Augusta.

In February 1976, Ray got called home to the Lord. I followed through on what Ray and I had done and went to the big meeting at Notre Dame. Georgia, one of my older daughters, went with me and we decided to visit Alleluia afterwards. At the meeting Dennis prayed over me as to whether or not I was called to Alleluia.

In Augusta we stayed in the Alleluia Retreat Center (ARC). Lots of exciting things happened there. One family had all their clothes stolen while there. It seemed that police would pick up “strays” around the city and bring them to the ARC and we, being generous Christians, would take them in.

I told Dennis I hadn’t moved in 30 years—only from my mother’s house to my husband’s house. If the Lord were really telling me to move, He’d really have to show me how because, “I don’t know how to move.” Dennis said I should just put all my stuff on a U-Haul up in Bay City, and, “We’ll unload you down here.” Still not settled in that, I went back to Bay City and asked one of my prayer meetings to pray over me. They said they thought I should move down.

The doctor I was working for died three weeks after Ray, and I had to close out all his business, probate, etc., so I couldn’t leave right on the spot anyway. So I had another prayer group pray over me and they said the same thing. It’s narrowing down. I didn’t feel like the Lord would want me to move to Augusta with all my kids. I had so many kids by now in high school and college that I couldn’t move them all down anyway—it would have cost too much to move everyone, pay out-of-state tuition, etc. I decided to leave the boys up north and let them be in charge of the house. (Wrong! The health department had to come!) Saints I did not raise. I got a daughter and her family to move into the house and whip the sons into shape. Two of my children came with me, plus a neighbor’s kid.

By late 1976 I was well entrenched in Faith Village. There was a little old lady who lived about three doors down from me named ‘Maa-Maa’ O’Brien. She was having cataract surgery, so they asked if someone would look in on her. I said I’d do it, but I’d have to be introduced to her. Afterwards, her son, Gilbert, asked me if I’d like to go to dinner as thanks for looking in on his mother. I OK’d it with Dennis, my head.
Gilbert had a disappointing marriage. My own included 10 kids. We each felt we didn’t want to go down that matrimonial bonanza again—so we figured we were ‘safe dates.’ But in due time, after seeing him off and on, he invited me to his alma mater, Clemson, for a football game. I, who’d never been to a college ball game, had seen school spirit before, but this was beyond anything I’d ever seen! I went to that ball game and then he kept inviting me to various things—I’d have to get permission from my head, and he from his.

Alleluia singles have to go through a process of not dating until you have permission to date—no matter how old you are. I was 52, he was 60 and we still had to do it. I went through a special process of signing Covenant before I got married—about two or three weeks before our wedding [in 1978]. Everything worked out pretty good. Gilbert and I got along well together, I continued to go to Clemson games and we were good companions.

Gilbert died in 1994 and again I became a widow. The support from our family and the brothers and sisters has helped me through the grief. I’ve done all right in the Community. When I’m gone for any length of time, I can’t wait to get back to Alleluia. It’s good to be here! Where else would I be?



Children: Sister Raymond Marie Gerard, Georgia Gerard Howell, Carolyn Gerard, Camille Gerard Moxon, Christopher Gerard, Raymond Gerard, Peter Gerard, Patrice Gerard Cook, Cindy Gerard, Paul Gerard