About

Hi!  I am a soon-to-be 55-year-old woman who has served the Catholic Church in various professional roles for 30 years.  I began my career in north-central Louisiana working for the Diocese of (then) Alexandria-Shreveport, first as associate to the office of Youth Activities and then several years as the Director for the Office of Youth Ministry.  From there I worked a year in Shreveport consulting St. Joseph Catholic Church in the area of Youth Ministry and Barksdale Airforce Base Catholic Chapel in the area of Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education. 

I took a year off to finish my graduate work in Pastoral Ministry at Boston College’s Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.  In 1985 I took a job at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Ann Arbor, Michigan as the Director for Religious Education.  During that time I met and married my husband and in 1991 I quit my job at St. Thomas to be a full-time stay at home mom for my baby girl.  During the next few years I continued to teach in local parishes and dioceses on a part-time basis — mostly Catechist Training but also Adult Education and Confirmation Retreats.  In 2000 I went back to full-time ministry for a Parish in Westland Michigan, St. Theodore of Canterbury and am presently still working there as the Director of Educational Ministries.

At present I split my time between my very involved ministry at St. Theodore’s; raising my now 19, year old daughter  who is turning into a wonderful young woman, and working on yet another Master’s degree at University of Detroit-Mercy.  

At one time I was in partnership with friends as we tried to develop and sell a program for Middle School Students called STATIC. STATIC means Students Taking Action Together In Christ. My two partners ands I were working to resolve the painful gap that occurs in dealing with Middle School students. Most young children begin loving the adventure of Catechism or Sunday School, but somewhere around 4th/5th grade (if not earlier) they become bored and disenchanted because we continue to treat them like small children and they are not. We developed a multi-dimensional program based on a Youth Ministry model that emphasizes learning faith that involves and invests the student. For more information click on the website STATIC Youth Programming on my blog roll. From this adventure my partners and I also started a small catholic store.  This was for me, and still is for others a wonderful adventure but I believe my life and ministry has called me elsewhere.

On a personal note, I am a fallen creature and because of that I am working through dealing with a divorce and my own personal demons and addictions.  God has been the foundation on which I stand but too often, uncertain of the love I experience from him, I step off and find something much more tangible to “feel” ok through food and TV and the approval of others.  What I write about in my blog is not necessarily what I know but what I am dealing with, struggling with, hoping for, running away from…  Get the idea.  Like the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) if I share with you my thoughts and ruminations and you respond back (if not in comments but in your heart) then Jesus will be present.  Thank you for reading my reflections. I hope they have blessed you and will continue to do so in the future. I remain, Your Servant in Christ,
Theresa