When Deanne Waguespack and her husband moved to Tulsa from New Orleans, Louisiana, they initially had some difficulty in finding community.
“We were active in my home parish,” Deanne says. “One of the challenges with moving was finding that sense of community that you left behind. That was one of the hardest things for us — you go from being third-generation Catholics in the parish, to not knowing anyone.”
The Waguespacks began by going to the parish connected to the school where their children were enrolled but didn’t get too involved at the time. They started attending daily Mass here once their children were grown and began getting to know other parishioners as well as Fr. Kastl. When asked to become marriage mentors, they agreed. That was the start of their service here in the parish.
“Our involvement has been growing,” Deanne says.
Over the years, the Waguespacks served as marriage mentors, lectors, and with the Hospitality Committee. Now, Deanne has taken on a new project related to the adult faith formation program here in the parish — small-group faith sessions.
“What we’ve been trying to springboard here at Holy Family is some small-group adult faith sessions, to find people who are in similar stages of life who would benefit from being in a small group that can help their faith grow and help them through the stage of life they’re in,” Deanne says.
Whether you are newly married, retired, empty nesters, or married with young children, the idea is to have a group that will support you and journey with you in the present stage you find yourself.
“It’s essentially a place where people who are going through some of the same life experiences can find some community, a place to develop their faith, pray, and have support,” Deanne says. “That’s the goal.”
While still in the planning stages, there are some specifics Deanne has in mind for the program. The idea would be for the small groups to meet once monthly, either in someone’s home, at the church, or in a public place like a park or coffee house.
There are a few existing small groups, so while those continue, the hope is for each demographic to have their own by the end of the year. Deanne hopes that parishioners will join in on this endeavor as it develops.
“I think the reward would be love and acceptance from people who understand what’s going on in your life at that particular time — somebody to share the joys and the sorrows,” she says.
For more information or to offer ideas for this new Adult Faith Formation/Small Groups project as it unfolds, contact Deanne Waguespack at deanne@tulsacathedral.com.