Community
FEATURE RESIDENT
Father David John by KRISTA TURCASSO When I think about the holidays, Christmas Eve is at the heart of it all. We always were allowed to open one present (once we opened them all, and that was a lesson learned), and my mom made sure it was a dress for that evening’s celebrations. When we were younger, we would attend the family mass, many times singing with or playing piano for the choir. As we got older, we not-so-patiently awaited the year we were allowed to attend Midnight Mass. One by one, my sisters’ and I gained access to this coveted event, and the magic of Erin Teeple’s beautiful voice singing “Oh Holy Night” from the mezzanine. As I got older ‘church’ shifted to the mountains – it’s where I find solace and feel connected. But I still enjoy spending time in places of worship. When travelling, I seem to gravitate to them, light a candle/ make an offering/kneel or sit in silence and just take in the energy. In Fernie, we have many magnificent places of worship and beautiful individuals who support congregations and our community. As the holidays approach, I reached out to Father David at the Catholic Church as this building is as magnificent as they come and if you’ve met Father David, you know his love and energy embody the true spirit of this time of year. Father David was “born and bred” in southwest of England, having been adopted to “the best mom and dad in the world,” he tells me. After school, Father David studied mathematics and after graduating, secured a job with Lloyd’s of London. “It was the greatest fun you could imagine. It was the 1980s and computerization was just coming in. This big group of insurance companies took me on as suddenly there was all this data! They would come to me
Submitted photo with a worry, and I would turn it into something and present it, and they would look at me in awe… it was nothing to do with me, it was the massive computer they bought!” So, what changed? “At first as a young kid it was a dream and a bit of an ego trip. But at the time, the company was privately owned by someone who was the 70th wealthiest person in England. I completed a project that resulted in 2.3 million pounds and I thought, why am I working to make a very rich man even richer? I was working ridiculous hours and giving my heart and soul to the company. There was an exec who I had fashioned myself after, who was laid back and honest. One day he was let go and I realized there was no sentimentality. I worked out what was valuable in life.”
Father David starting thinking things through, and always had this idea of priesthood in the back of his mind. “I thought it would be so boring. What does a priest even do? I thought I would be braindead in no time, that I wasn’t the type. But I met a number of different priests or students who did not fit that mold and realized, either I need to go and exercise this feeling or it will be with me for the rest of my life. I knew I could leave my job and come back if it didn’t work out. After a year, I knew it was something I really wanted to do. It had more value than anything else I have ever done,” he shares. Father David worked for a Bishop in England, who regularly sent priests to areas in need. In Canada, there was a real need for priests. 21 years ago, Father David was sent to Northern BC. In 2005, he received an email saying his biological parents
