Boy-meets-girl-becomes deacon

Susan Laing remembers the Saturday afternoon in the mid-1990s that her husband decided to attend mass with her and their three children. Although they met at a dance held in a Catholic church she attended in Calgary—and were married in that same church— formal conversion to Catholicism was never on Dale’s short list of things he needed to do to be a good husband and father.

Baptized in the Anglican Church, Dale attended the United Church while growing up in Calgary’s Parkdale community. By the time he accepted a co-worker’s invitation to a dance to meet her sister, he was secure in his belief in God, but not given to the practice of faith. Over time, Dale saw the value of Susan’s witness to the Catholic faith. He joined the RCIA program and was confirmed in 2003.
​
The couple remembers how some parishioners were surprised to learn Dale had joined the RCIA process at St. Thomas More. Susan, a cradle Catholic, was active as an RCIA sponsor, while Dale was on the Finance Council. Over the years, they were involved in many ministries ranging from church cleaning to hospitality after mass (serving coffee). 

Vertical Divider

“I looked for ministries we could do as a family,” recalls Susan. Consequently, “A lot of people just assumed I was Catholic,” says Dale. After Dale was confirmed, the list of ministries they were part of grew to include service as lectors and commentators, Extraordinary Ministers of Communion and coordinating First Conciliation. Dale has also been involved with Together in Action and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Dale remembers the day his formal conversion took another sharp turn. “About two weeks after I was confirmed, my daughter and I were coming to mass together and she asked, ‘So what’s next on your spiritual journey now that you’re Catholic?’” His response: “maybe I’ll become a Deacon.”
​
Now a grandfather of three, Dale was ordained a Permanent Deacon of the Calgary Catholic Diocese on Saturday, November 17, 2018. He looks forward to serving at St. Thomas More parish, where Susan has attended Catholic mass since the couple married in 1982.

God's call

The call to become a Permanent Deacon began soon after Dale’s confirmation. “I dismissed it out of hand, but over the years, the thought was whispered into the ears of my mind, sometimes even at 2 a.m.,” says Dale. Eight years ago, another deacon serving at St. Thomas More approached him after mass and asked him if he’d thought about becoming a Permanent Deacon. 

Suddenly, the whisper had a voice—and that voice revealed the path to a new vocation.

Both spouses are part of the rigorous formation process that leads to the husband being ordained as a Permanent Deacon. The first weekend of that process “was a bit overwhelming,” admits Susan, who works in the business office at Bishop McNally High School. “All the way through the process you’re discussing what you’ve learned and processing what that means in your own lives. But after a while, you learn to trust in God’s plan for you. It gets easier.”

Her husband agrees. “You absorb ideas from sitting in the pews and listening to the readings and homilies. But the Permanent Diaconate process goes so much deeper and it changes how you understand the Church and its teachings.”
​
Dale, who manages one of the many parts departments at the City of Calgary, says he’s still learning what his new role at St. Thomas More demands. Sitting in the church narthex, he points to a display of flags that represents the diversity of a parish whose people come from more than 80 different nations. The soft-spoken grandfather of three knows this is a special place—and having raised three kids in the pews of this church, he’s excited about what lies ahead.

“I can now see the progression of God’s hand in my calling, from a simple thought to midnight urgings, to other people recognizing the light of Christ within me, to my joining my voice with that of Mary in saying ‘Yes’ to God’s call,” says Dale.

Written by: Joy Gregory