A Nice Story from Dodge City Catholics

Here’s a sweet conversion story. At last, one that is simple, peaceful and joyful, with love of children and the Lord, and not full of anger, meanness and angst. Thanks to the Dodge City Daily Globe for such a gentle and personal story.

http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/100607/loc_20071006002.shtml
Change of faith
Former DCHS teacher becomes principal at Sacred Heart
By Ashley Nietfeld
Dodge City Daily Globe

Only one year ago, if you had asked Laura Mead to imagine where she would be today, she probably wouldn't have said, "Principal at Sacred Heart School." And yet, that's where this former high school teacher has found herself.

"This opportunity has been so wonderful for me," said Mead. "I'm not so different from these kids in the classrooms learning their prayers."

When Mead and her husband first decided to send their son to Sacred Heart, Mead decided she wanted to learn more about the faith. Growing up in a Protestant household, she wasn't familiar with the saints and prayers that her son would soon be learning.

"I asked a friend if there was a class that I could take to learn more about the Catholic religion, and I was directed to the RCIA," said Mead. "I had no idea what the RCIA was, but I signed up and began taking classes once a week at the cathedral."

The RCIA, or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is an educational and spiritual process that eventually leads to baptism and confirmation into the Catholic church.

As the Christmas season drew to a head, the Rev. Ted Skalsky approached Mead about becoming a member of the church.

"All I knew at the time was that I didn't want to stop going to the class, but I'd never considered becoming Catholic before," Mead said.

After sitting down with her husband and son, Mead finally made the decision to convert.

"We decided that perhaps we were being called to do this," she said.

She received the Sacraments of Initiation during Easter Vigil and was surprised when Skalsky once again approached her, this time about a position that had become available at Sacred Heart.

Mead, who had taught social studies at Dodge City High School for the past 10 years, had just received her master's degree in education administration from Fort Hays State University.
Although she had wanted to move into administration, she hadn't considered a job at an elementary school, and a Catholic school at that.

"I told him that I didn't even have all the prayers memorized," remembered Mead. "He simply asked, 'Do you think you know them as well as first-graders?'" [This was so cute!!]

Only a few weeks into her new job, Mead has become a beloved member of the school. Receiving hugs from the kids has become the most gratifying part of her day, and she said she enjoys the family atmosphere that the school imbibes. [She sounds like a great lady.]

"There is a lot of parent involvement, and it is such a giving community," said Mead. "There are not only shared values, but a shared faith. You get to know families on an academic level as well as a spiritual level."