RCIA: St. Dominic Parish welcomes group of 9

Mom wanted more understanding of what kids are learning

- WCR photo by Ramon Gonzalez Eileen Hryzulak and Eileen Stewart (standing) helped catechumens Lori-Ann Goodyear, Marnie Hempel, David Featherstone and Bryce Wooly make their way towards acceptance into the Catholic Church at St. Dominic Savio Parish

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

Marnie Hempel is so excited about becoming a Catholic she has already begun the countdown to the Easter Vigil.

"I'm very excited because my children and my husband are Catholic and I have been coming to church with them and not understanding anything," Hempel said in a recent interview.

"Now I'll be able to have Communion. Up to now I've just had a blessing. Out of this whole journey, Communion is what it's all about. For me, it's going to be the touching point."

Hempel, a mother of two, is one of five adults and four children from St. Dominic Savio Parish who will officially join the Catholic Church at Easter.

More than 130 adult and child catechumens from across the Edmonton Archdiocese will celebrate the sacraments of initiation - Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist - at the Easter Vigil.

Catechumens must participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) before they are received into the Church. At St. Dominic's the RCIA goes from September to Pentecost every year.

"This is a wonderful group we have this year," said Eileen Stewart, RCIA coordinator for the past six years. "They are very receptive, not afraid to give an opinion. We have to rein them in sometimes."

Participants meet for two hours every Monday at the church, 14406-62 St., to study the basics of the Catholic faith, from the nature of God to the history of the Church.

Never felt ready

Hempel has attended church since she married her husband Daniel 10 years ago but never felt ready to join. Daniel wanted her to become a Catholic and so did her in-laws. She never relented "because I wanted to do it on my own."

Hempel joined the RCIA in September. "My children attend St. Dominic's (Elementary) School and my niece attends J.J. Bowlen (Junior High) and I wanted to understand what they were going through and be part of a community," she said.

Now she will be able to get involved in the parish. She wants to be a reader, be part of the Marriage Encounter program and help with Sunday school. "The RCIA has brought me so much joy and a sense of community. So I'm very proud."

David Featherstone, a former Baptist, has been attending St. Dominic Parish for the past three years and is excited about joining the Church officially. "I've been looking forward to this for such a long time," he said. "It's incredible."

The 58-year-old heavy-duty mechanic joined the RCIA because he wanted to formalize his relationship with the Church. He is also engaged to a Catholic woman and wants to marry in the Church. He is enjoying the RCIA process so much "I don't want to miss a class."

But Featherstone is no stranger to the faith. In fact, he attended a Catholic parish in Surrey, B.C. for 10 years until the late 1960s. "I participated in most of the parish's functions but I never got baptized," he recalled.

Later on he married a Baptist and started attending the Baptist Church. He divorced in 1999. "I'm following through what I should have done long ago," he said. "The Catholic faith is much more structured for me."

Catholic schools

For Bryce Wooley, a 20-year-old management studies student at Grant MacEwan College, joining the Church is also a formality of sorts. He was never baptized as a child even though he was brought up a Catholic and attended Catholic schools all his life. He graduated from Archbishop O'Leary High School.

"I learned everything I know (about the faith) at school but here I'm learning things more in-depth," he said. "I'm really excited about this." Wooley is also happy that his upcoming wedding will be blessed by the Church.

Lori-Ann Goodyear, 29, joined the RCIA at St. Dominic's to gain access to Catholic education for her children but now is excited about the faith.

"When I joined I thought I would be so bored but now I'm interested and I can relate it (the faith) to everyday life," she said. "I'm very excited."

A mother of two, Goodyear wants her five-year-old daughter Martina to attend St. John Bosco Catholic School so she will learn Catholic values. But she was told the school could not guarantee her a spot unless she was a Catholic. So she decided to become one.

"I've enjoyed this course so much; it's totally opposed to what I first thought," Goodyear said. "I definitely recommend it."

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