by Clint Hammeke

John Schlessiger is a long time friend of mine going clear back to my high school years.  Back then, most of his time was spent working on their farm North of Claflin. That hasn’t changed, but his presence in the RCIA class is new!  I am really enjoying having John in class. John may be new to RCIA this year, but he is definitely not new to the Christian faith. John has been a lifelong member of the Lutheran church.  I recall the two of us discussing religion several years ago, and him saying “Since you all had your Vatican 2, you are all basically Lutherans now.” In most ways, I believe this is probably true.  When people compare churches they usually just talk about differences, but if you look at the similarities they can be almost endless. John had great experiences in the Lutheran Church and was very well educated there.  In class, it often seems as though John’s role could just as easily be on the RCIA team as that of a candidate. John appears to have spent a lot of time studying the Catholic Church and has as good of understanding of our theology as I do.  This has helped lead to some very good discussions in class. We are lucky to have a wonderful class of interactive fun personalities that make going to RCIA a pleasure.

John’s wife Laura has been a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Claflin since their marriage in 2005.  You have probably often seen John there with Laura and their four children Charlee, Jake, Jonah, and Jude. The oldest three started attending St. Josephs School in Ellinwood this year.  I am really excited to have the kids at our school and John in our church. They will be a great addition to our parish family!