News

Easter Vigil marks new life for Howard man

By Tony Staley
Compass Correspondent

	NEW CONVERT: Kevin Brennenstuhl credits his wife Ann for inspiring him to become a Catholic. He will receive the sacrament of initiation at St. John the Baptist Church in Howard. (Rick Evans photo)

HOWARD -- When Kevin Brennenstuhl is received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil at St. John the Baptist Church, he will join his twin sons as parish firsts.

E a s t e r

Gavin and Quinn, newborn sons of Kevin and his wife, Ann, were in the first group of four children baptized in the church, a week after it had been dedicated. Now, five-and-a-half months later, Kevin will be in the first group of RCIA candidates and catechumens to be received into that same church.

As a youth, Brennenstuhl was active at Christ the Bay Missouri Synod Lutheran Church in Green Bay, attending services nearly weekly, singing in choir and participating in youth groups, summer youth camps and vacation Bible school.

While attending UWGB, where he double majored in political science and social change and development, Brennenstuhl said he didn't attend church as often.

"I was still very a very religious person, but I just didn't get as involved in it as I probably should have," Brennenstuhl said.

Wife drew him to faith

"I met my wife at UW-Green Bay," he said. "She's a very, very strong Catholic. Her faith runs very deep. She drew me back into the Catholic side of the religious part. Seeing how strong she was and that faith was very important to her, and likewise to me, I started learning a little bit different stuff and I ended up saying 'I'll become Catholic.'"

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Ann and Kevin were married in 2006 at her home parish, St. Matthew Church in Campbellsport, which they also attended when visiting her parents. After that, he started in the RCIA process at St. John the Baptist in Howard.At St. John, Brennenstuhl said he found the strong sense of community he treasured as a youth.

"Of all the churches I've ever attended, even the ones just a couple times, St. John's is by far the best for the community. I have never been to a church where I felt more welcomed on the very first day. I just walked in and said 'Yes, this is where I want to be.'"

Brennenstuhl also believes strongly in the importance of a common faith within a family and how much he enjoyed worshiping with his parents in the Lutheran church.

"I didn't want to have any confusions and differences in religion," Brennenstuhl said. "So I made that choice too, that I want to bring up my boys under one religion and instill that in them early."

Something was missing

Before he returned to regularly practicing his faith, Brennenstuhl said he "knew something was missing, but I couldn't tell you what it was. When I met my wife and I started going with her to Catholic church every week, something came back. The best I could say is that sense of having people that want me there, that sense of community where I could turn to the people next to me and say 'Hello.' I think that was probably missing more so than anything else."

"Prayer and time for reflection, that was always there," Brennenstuhl said, "but having other people around to say, 'We're here with you. It's not just you alone. We're all here to worship God.' It was that sense that was missing the most."

The Brennenstuhls live in the Pulaski area. Since January he has been a victims' witness specialist with the Menominee tribal police. He serves as an advocate for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child sexual assault, by providing counseling and other assistance as the case works its way through the criminal justice system.

Prior to that, he worked in a residential treatment facility for youth, supervising a team of 25 that helped meet the youths' mental health and conduct placement needs.

"I am a human services guy. I like helping out people. I'm not getting paid very well, but you know that's the service I'm in and I take pride in knowing that I'm helping out people the best that I can. That's more important to me so far than anything else," said Brennenstuhl, who has a master's degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota.

RCIA process beneficial

"I'm very glad to be going through the RCIA process," Brennenstuhl said. "I met some wonderful people there and it's opened the door more to me wanting to be at St. John's and continuing to be more involved."

Brennenstuhl said he was glad that the RCIA process, under the direction of Marge Schiffer, pastoral associate, takes so long.

"It's a big commitment," Brennenstuhl said. "I didn't realize how big of a commitment it was, but I'm glad it is because it gives me a chance to get to know more people, be in church and see faces that I haven't recognized. I missed one of the dates and the two staff members, Vicki Torres and Len Rizzo, they made time out of their busy week to meet with me and go through the lesson I missed. They bent over backwards for me."

Brennenstuhl said he especially enjoyed learning theology and church history and looks forward to learning more theology.

Although his wife's faith and a desire for a common religion were factors in his choice to become Catholic, the decision to join the church was his own, Brennenstuhl said.

"It benefitted me greatly," he said. "It's going to benefit not just me, but my family. It's like a drip in the pond, it goes all the way out. The ripples affect everybody."

For anyone considering joining the Catholic Church, Brennenstuhl offered encouragement: "Give it a shot and get in touch with the local parish and look into it. It was a very rewarding experience for me for that community thing that I was missing. Maybe there are individuals who are looking for that or for something else and could find it through RCIA. It's a great stepping stone into more activity in the church."