Jeremy Cooley

Hello, I want to tell you about ministries, my involvement, and how you can get involved. Now, you may be asking, “what is ministry?” Well, by definition it is the work or vocation of a minister of religion. My own journey and my family’s journey into ministry began not too long ago.
 
First, just a little background. I was not born nor raised Catholic. It wasn’t until I met my wife that I began to attend a Catholic Church. It was minimal at first but then we began to attend her childhood church more and more. When it came time to say our vows, we were married in the church by Fr. Nick Reina. I want to say it was Fr. Nick who opened my eyes. He was very welcoming and made me want to participate in the Catholic faith. Soon after, our daughters came along and we were all attending church regularly.
 
At this point ,I was still not Catholic and had not begun to actively participate. Truthfully, I had no intention. Like many, I was going to keep my head down and cruise along. In 2011 we enrolled our oldest, Isabelle, into St. Catherine of Siena school. This is when it all changed.
 
Now, at first, I was just going to keep going about things as usual. However, St. Catherine had other plans. Both the School and Parish community were very welcoming. I could see all the wonderful things happening and the people putting in the work to make them happen. After much prayer and conversation, I made up my mind. I was going to become a part of it. It started with me joining the RCIA program. Sister Moira was leading it and had a wonderful team of ministers helping teach. I did this, not just for my family, but for myself. I wanted to have a better understanding of our faith and a closer connection to God.
 
During this time, I decided to begin my ministry with the school. My first action was to join the school board which I have served on for 5 years—2.5 years as board president. In 2014, I decided to coach CYO basketball and have been enjoying it ever since. I have also been on the school finance committee, created a fundraising committee, and began the School and Parish Jubilee festival that is held annually.
 
Through these ministries I have learned that it is our responsibility to actively participate. It is our responsibility to help build up our community and keep it going strong. It is our responsibility to increase our bond with God and to spread his teachings. With lack of participation, our bond weakens. With lack of participation, our community shrinks.
 
So, I challenge all those who aren’t involved, to get involved. You don’t have to join 10 ministries, but start with just one. Get involved. Find something that you can enjoy. Something where you can put your life skills and teachings to work. Something that will help build this community and make it better than before. For those already involved, I get it, we already do a lot, but if you can, try one more new ministry. Maybe something different from what you have been doing. Mix it up a bit. Most importantly though, continue to spread the word as you have. Thank you and God Bless.