September 17, 2010
Carol Ann Gaddis
Holy Rosary DRE says her work in the parish is a vocation
Carol Ann Gaddis, the DRE at Holy Rosary Church in Evansville, holds a prayer blanket made by second graders in the school. Working with children is part of Carol Ann’s responsibilities as the parish director of religious education. (Message photo by Mary Ann Hughes) Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
The hours every week that a DRE spends in a parish can be long, but the joys are commensurate. That’s probably because it’s less of a job, and more of a ministry — maybe even a vocation.
That’s what Carol Ann Gaddis says about her work as the DRE at Holy Rosary parish on Evansville’s east side. (Related: See all directors/coordinators of religious education in the diocese)
She’s spent most of the decade there. She grew up in Minnesota, and spent years working in parishes in Alaska before arriving in southern Indiana in the late 1990s.
She has found that every parish has a different idea of what a DRE’s responsibilities are. “Some of us are responsible for children’s programs, and that’s where most of our energy goes. Some of us — like me — have the parish and school religion, the vacation bible school, all the sacramental preparation, the adult formation, the RCIA.”
What is universal in all parishes, she believes, is that “there is always more to do,” and if something needs to be done, the work can be given to the DRE “because we are used to handling multiple assignments. We juggle a lot of balls at one time.”
She says her favorite times as a parish DRE occur with the second graders on their First Communion day when “they get the importance of what they have just received.”
She also savors working with the adults in the RCIA program especially at Easter. There is also joy in “seeing people 10 years later who are still connected to the Church and who are connected to God.
“I love those things — recognizing how God works through people, that gives me the most joy. Those are ‘ah ha’ moments.
“Anytime adults celebrate the sacraments, when they get it, those are the ‘ah ha’ moments.”
Of her work, she says, “I love parish life. It is a call. It’s a vocation.”