The Beginning: When I was teaching in a one-room NB school house in 1840, the local store clerk was home on leave from seminary school in Montreal, and he suffered my questions all summer long. I had been raised in the United Baptist church, as well as attending a Baptist school from K-12. I had so many questions along the lines of, "Why do you do this? Why do you believe that? It's not in the Bible!" Mr. Handrahan patiently explained as best he could.
Mr. Handrahan pointed me in the direction of some early church writers, and my research into the roots of Catholicism began. I liked how the core teachings lined up with Jesus' message in the gospels. I learned that I had been misinformed about many aspects of the Catholic faith. I was intrigued by the idea of the Saints as still being part of the spiritual battle, still being present with us. I thought, "If this is true, how exciting is that?!" I continued my research, readings, and questions for the next 2.5 years, through by BEd degree, and into my first teaching job.
While I was living and teaching in the northern Cree community of Garden River, AB, I attended their small Catholic mission church. Father George was happy to talk to me about the Catholic faith. At this point, I had been practicing some Catholic prayers and learning the Rosary. I had some interesting experiences with Mary, who had been quite an obstacle for me in deciding whether to convert. After Easter 2013, I asked Father George if I could begin RCIA classes. He made arrangements for me to come to his home in John D'Or Prairie after school. I would listen to him for two hours, ask my questions, and then drive back to Garden River. At the end of May we got the unfortunate news that our contracts were not being renewed, and suddenly I only had one month left for classes with Father George. He gave me an intense crash course on "everything I need to know" to be Catholic. He knew that it was in my nature to continue my studies and investigations into the deeper study of Catholicism after I left his parish. On June 23, 2013, I was Received into the Catholic Church, Baptized, and Confirmed all in one ceremony. After the Baptism, I felt a dark weight lift form me that I have been carrying all my life. I knew this was the right path for me.
The following week I received a terrible blow, a very personal, life-shattering loss. I was stunned, panicked, and never more in need of closeness with the Lord. I cried, and prayed, and did little else over the next few weeks. Suddenly I did not know where my next job would be, where I would live, or how I would get there. I prayed for God's direction. I applied for 11 teaching positions all over Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC. No one was contacting me. I said, "Lord, I don't know what to do. My life is on your hands. I am going to trust that whoever calls and hires me first, is the place you want me to go." I had also been experimenting with praying my first novena. The day after it was finished, I got a call from Ed Buckle of the Grande Prairie Catholic School district. He set up a time for a Skype interview with me. I prayed for the whole hour before the interview. "Lord, if this is where you want me to go, let this interview go well." The Lord heard and answered. Suddenly I found myself not only employed, but also as a Catholic school teacher! In the space of a month, I had been formally converted and found myself a Religion teacher, among other subjects. I furthered my Catholic study over the summer, and continued to pray for guidance. The Lord provided each of my basic needs in the nick of time: transportation, housing, and access to the school for some early prep. Through all of this, I was still dealing with my loss, and each time I turned to God for comfort or guidance, He showed me He was there, and told me to have faith it would all work out. He even provided me with a friendly neighbour who helped me with some much appreciated material needs.
Faith in the Classroom: At first, I was concerned about teaching Religion in a Catholic setting to which I was so new. The Lord guided me to "be myself", which for me means, be honest and open with the students about what I don't know, and share with them what I do know. I know the Bible and how to live closely with God. I could learn the Catholic traditions and prayers along with the students, and give them opportunity to teach me at times as well. Our Grade 7 focus is the Apostle's Creed. We have had so many wonderful opportunities for discussion, applying their prior knowledge to how it affects their real life, investigating the facts of a story in scripture vs what people think it's about, and many talks about how the students see or experience God in their daily lives.
One project we did in the fall was an Apostle's creed storyboard. I hoped that creating their own visuals to go with each section of the Creed would help them to organize it in their minds and retain it. The students were tasked with breaking the Creed into "scenes" or topics which could be represented by an image. They were to write the appropriate section of the Creed with its image, divided up on the poster board like a page form a graphic novel. The students really enjoyed exploring how to represent abstract concepts like the Holy Spirit or descending to the dead. The produced beautiful, funny, clever and insightful images. They presented their storyboards to the class and explained their thinking behind their graphics. They remembered the Creed much better when it was all said and done.