A Fisher of Men Karen Dill, Spiritual Director
“Put Jim in a room full of strangers and in about ten minutes, he’ll have every one of them wanting to join the Church!” Several times in recent years I have had the privilege of serving as a sponsor for an OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, formerly RCIA) candidate wishing to join the Catholic Church. As part of that process, on a Sunday in February the candidates and their sponsors attend the Rite of Election at St. John Berchmans Cathedral, where the bishop formally acknowledges the candidates and catechumens from each parish. Every year, our parish participants took up a couple of pews in the church. The group from St. Joseph’s parish in Shreveport usually occupied most of the front quadrant of the Cathedral. “How are they motivating so many people to want to become Catholic?” I began to wonder. Then I ran into Suzanne Beadles in the grocery store. Her husband Jim heads up the OCIA program at St. Joseph’s. When I asked her that question, she smiled and told me, “Put Jim in a room full of strangers and in about ten minutes, he’ll have every one of them wanting to join the Church!” I decided I needed to sit down with him and find out what the St. Joseph’s OCIA Team is doing right. Jim exudes the energy of the Holy Spirit. A convert himself, he was appointed director of the OCIA program at St. Joseph’s just a few years after he joined the Church. He started out by explaining that he belongs to a vibrant parish where many parishioners are involved in evangelization, led by an enthusiastic priest, Fr. Long, who 14
CATHOLIC CONNECTION
strongly supports this ministry. He sees a real hunger for Christ in his parish, which of course is the work of the Holy Spirit. Of the 150+ converts he has helped usher into the parish, the average age is 28 with outliers ranging from elementary school children to senior citizens. He began by stressing that OCIA at St. Joseph’s is a team effort. His team is made up of over 20 parishioners, each with his or her explicit task. These include: administrative coordinator; sponsor coordinator; facility coordinator; communications coordinator; resource coordinator; alumni coordinator; Advent and Lent coordinator (Suzanne fills that role); even a medical advisor who keeps him current on the Covid restrictions. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. By working together, his team creates the OCIA “family” that Jim lovingly refers to often. And by delegating these tasks, he can devote himself to his two chief roles of teaching and developing relationships. Jim keeps two OCIA groups running all year, depending on each individual’s circumstances. Classes meet for one hour on week nights. He teaches most of them but brings in team members to present specific topics. He opens with prayer and the Scriptures for next Sunday’s Mass, followed by a brief introduction to one of the Church Father’s teachings on the topic for the evening. He strongly encourages sponsors to attend class as well. The topics for the next four weeks are listed in
