One set of programs that Saint John has not had a focus on, especially given our Mission function #ToKnow, is continuing education and faith formation for adults. Our Catholic Faith is a wondrous and expansive world, full of history, deep theological discussions, and enlightenment. We want to make sure every individual that is part of our Parish Family has the opportunity to grow in their faith, in a spectrum of ways. Some may want to have small group discussions around certain topics. Others may want formalized classes and curriculum. Others still may desire individual discernment.
We are not waiting for our Capital Campaign to be completed in order to start these initiatives. We are very blessed to have Jack Kindsvater as a new member of our Religious Education Department. He will focus on enhancing our Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program, which is the formal process for an adult to receive the sacraments, as well as developing our Adult Faith Formation programs. In the coming months, Jack will be looking for feedback from our parishioners about the types of activities and programs that will grow their understanding of our faith, as well as suggestions on how to assist in outreach and engagement that will bring more individuals to Catholicism.
Prior earning a pastoral theology master’s degree from Barry, I studied basic engineering at Purdue and received a BS, marketing and transportation, and a MBA, finance and management, both from the University of Denver.
My experience is in a word, diverse. I have managed teams ranging from one (me) to a few hundred. In addition to traditional line responsibilities, for over a decade I identified evaluated, negotiated and integrated strategic business and technology acquisitions as a corporate officer of a NASDAQ-listed company. I have multi-cultural experience in European operations, and to a lesser extent in Latin America and Asia, all while being based in the U.S.
At the parish level, I have been a Lector for many years, and have served on a Pastoral Council (incl. President) and Elementary School Board (incl. President and Chair of the Search Committee for the first lay principal). I have experienced Marriage Encounter, Cursillo, and Christ Renews His Parish weekends, and our CRHP team continued to meet regularly for over fifteen years.