Associate Pastor
Campus Minister

dennis@STAparish.net
515-451-4052 (mobile)

I was born and raised about a half hour east of Ames in Marshalltown. Iowa State has always been close to my heart ever since, as a kid, my brother brought me to his Ames apartment for sibling's weekend. From then on, I was convinced that I would attend Iowa State. Unfortunately, I had been considering priesthood since I was in grade school and, since Iowa State didn't have a seminary, my Parents and I decided that I should attend Loras College in Dubuque for their pre-seminary program.

While at Loras, I met many inspiring priests and members of faculty, as well as a few that challenged my faith. You may, on occasion, see people spending the night in my apartment. Chances are good that they are connected to Loras either as friends, former roommates, or priests. I'm one of those people who couldn't quite graduate in four years, it took four and a half. I loved college that much! And I switched majors halfway through my senior year. I finally graduated in the Fall of 1998.

I entered St. Paul seminary on the campus of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, which proved to be an intellectually stimulating experience. Two highlights for me were going to Jerusalem and spending a summer at STA as an internship. I learned a lot from all four years of seminary, though in many ways I'm glad they're over. Finally, after twelve years of thinking and praying about it, on June 22, 2002, I was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

In my first assignment, I spent two years serving the parishes of St. Mary's in Manchester, St. Patrick's in Ryan, and St. Joseph's in Greeley. I valued this assignment because it was a little lighter workload than most. It helped me to learn what it meant for me to be a priest and develop a strong priestly identity. I would say the greatest growth that occurred in this assignment happened when I went to my first football game and cheered for the West Delaware Hawks. I had never screamed "Go hawks" or worn clothing that had that slogan on it. I now know that it's all right to cheer for the hawks...when they aren't playing Iowa State.

Two years later, I was transferred to being Associate Pastor for Holy Ghost parish in Dubuque with sacramental responsibilities for Sts. Peter and Paul parish in Sherrill, St. Francis parish in Balltown, St. Joseph parish in Rickardsville, Holy Cross parish in Holy Cross, and Holy Trinity parish in Luxemburg. This proved to be an incredible assignment with two great leaders, Fr. Paul Otting, and Br. Stephen Markham. It was very hard to leave that assignment.

I find myself in the midst of my fourth year here at St. Thomas. That is the longest amount of time I have lived in one town since High School, although I have managed to complicate that statement since I have decided to move away from campus town to Wessex apartment complex. I have also decided to take a few classes through Iowa State so I can legitimately claim to be a cyclone.