Introduction to An Unexpected Detour

Last summer I was peacefully going through my life in fairly expected directions when something unexpected happened. I learned that there was going to be training for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) at a local parish. I knew these few facts at the time:

• That CGS was a Montessori-based religious ed program (and I've loved Montessori for a long time) 
• That friends of mine had traveled to neighboring states to take the training.
• A friend of mine from my parish was planning to take the training (because our pastor wanted to get the program going at our parish).
• The second person from the parish would only be charged half price. 

Connecting these dots caused me to check into whether my parish would want to send me along for the training as well. I was already working at the parish as a liturgical assistant, but thought it might be handy to have a staff member (who already loved Montessori) to take the training in order to help advocate for it, even though I didn't expect to be able to be a catechist - and I definitely had no intention of applying for the open position of DRE (who would be expected to implement the program).

 The pastor said yes and I rearranged my schedule in order to free up the week for Level I, Part 1 training. And fell instantly in love. Although she missed the first day of training, my daughter Kate joined me beginning on day 2 and has been by my side ever since.

We (Kate and I) took the fast track with training by taking Level I, Part 2 at another neighboring parish just a few weeks later. I tentatively and tenuously started to do what I could to help brainstorm getting
the program started.

There are a lot of twists and turns to the whole story, but, in a nutshell, my pastor asked me to take the job of DRE and promised to get me help (and hired a full-time assistant within a few weeks) and be very flexible regarding our family/homeschooling needs. After a lot of prayer and intense family discussions I said yes.

Just wanted to share a brief introduction to this new piece of my life as I am hoping to blog about some parts of the story/journey.

Beautiful Peg Doll Apostles painted by Bernie (age 18)

On Living Differently today, a guest essay by Karen Edmisten and a book giveaway!


I highly recommend this terrific little book for those who wish to share their faith with others – especially with their family and friends. Karen is an atheist-turned-Catholic who shares in this book many common aspects of the conversion journey through her own experiences and those of a number of her friends. These stories are organized around a very practical set of “do’s” and “don’ts” that will help readers be better prepared to witness to and support those who are being drawn to the faith. Karen’s tone is gentle and friendly (and prayerful!), but not at all timid about tackling many important issues, concepts, teachings, relationships and potential misunderstandings. The end result is a very great set of connections to help believers be more loving, patient, understanding and supportive of others. - AVH