Teacher returns ‘home,’ helps rebuild campus ministry

They say, “You can’t go home again.” Jonathan Krings, who returned to teach at his alma mater 10 years after his high school graduation, is living proof.

To begin with, St. Francis High School in Humphrey no longer exists. The building is the same, but a merger with Holy Family High School in Lindsay brought a new name and a new mascot. Krings graduated as a Flyer of St. Francis, but he teaches at Archangels Catholic High School and coaches the Defenders.  

Campus ministry also changed during Krings’ absence. Father Wayne Pavela, who had been campus minister since the early 1990s, retired. Though students still attended weekly Masses, the school gradually lost the tradition of campus ministry because of faculty shortages and clergy changes within the family of parishes.

When Krings was in high school, he lived his faith by attending and volunteering as a junior counselor for retreats like J.C. Camp, Quest and Teens Encounter Christ (TEC).  He also was part of his school’s youth group and campus ministry.

Campus ministry helped form him as a young Catholic, he said. Now as a campus minister, he hopes to inspire students at the school he still considers home.

“When I was in high school, Father Wayne Pavela was my theology teacher and campus minister,” Krings said. “He was a constant presence and an example of what it means to be a man of faith. The way Father Wayne could take simple daily moments and turn them into prayerful moments was inspirational.”

Father Wayne Pavela

The job of campus minister isn’t easy, Krings acknowledged, especially because the lives of teenagers in a small school are filled with activities and sports.  He said he’s learned that it required great organization on the part of Father Pavela to keep the activities he planned running smoothly while sprinkling them into an already packed schedule of events.

“He definitely made a difficult job look easy,” the new campus minister admitted with a smile.

GRATEFUL

After graduating from Wayne State College and before his return to Humphrey, Krings taught a variety of disciplines, including English, science and theology, at Norfolk Catholic High School in Norfolk. He also coached students in cross country and one-act plays.  At Archangels Catholic, he teaches seventh, eighth and ninth-grade English and coaches cross country and speech.

Faculty members are excited to have campus ministry fully back and enjoy watching the program return to its previous strength. Having Krings on board to schedule and organize events has moved the school forward in forming students in faith.

Parents are also thankful for the revival, including Theresa Pfeifer, whose six children have either graduated from St. Francis or currently attend Archangels Catholic.

“We are very excited to have Mr. Krings teaching at Archangels Catholic High School,” Pfeifer said. “He is full of energy and strong in his faith.”

She said the prioritization of faith in each school day is the reason they sent their kids to Catholic school years ago and seeing that anew is a blessing.

Jonathan Krings works from his desk. TINA SCHUMACHER

Jeanne Brockhaus, whose youngest of five children is now a junior, agreed with Pfeifer.

“My husband and I were both blessed to have attended Catholic schools, and we wanted that for our children,” she said. “Having a good education that prepares a student for college and life beyond high school is important. Having the opportunity to grow in faith and a relationship with God is vital for life.” 

Campus ministry helps provide that opportunity at Archangels Catholic.

Father Stan Schmit – pastor of a family of parishes that includes Humphrey and Lindsay – also has witnessed the revival happening at the high school, thanks to Krings and others.

“He has taken the opportunity and responsibility to share the faith, which is important, especially with the new evangelization that is taking place,” Father Schmit said. “We (Father Schmit and Father Dan Wittrock, senior associate pastor) can take care of the sacramental pieces, but we, in all honesty, don’t have the time to do many of the other pieces.” 

The two priests are shepherds of Rural Family G, with five parishes, three elementary schools and the high school.

PRAYER IS A PRIORITY

Krings is responsible for organizing all events related to faith formation at the high school, including class retreats and service projects for students in grades 7-12.  He oversees student mandation for lectors and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and oversees students’ community service hours, which are a graduation requirement.

Krings organizes special prayer opportunities during Advent and Lent, as well as rosaries and prayer services throughout the year. He’s also a member of the committee that plans Catholic Schools Week events.

The teacher and campus minister is busy, so he prioritizes prayer time. Each school day he encourages faculty, staff and students to join him in praying the Morning Prayer from the Breviary that day.

“In terms of my faith life,” Krings said, “there are a few devotions that I am especially drawn to: adoration of the Eucharist, asking for the intercession of the Holy Spirit, and praying with the Holy Family.

“I find that these three are the staples of my prayer life, and the first two are especially ones that I will try to encourage and promote within our community.”

At Monday Morning Revival, new this school year, students spend the first 25 minutes of the school week in the gym with Krings in prayer.  One Monday each month, students spend this time with community members who go to the school to pray with the students in small groups. While the students are occupied, the remaining faculty gather in the chapel to pray for one another, the school and the community.

To enhance the faith experience of the school community, Krings modified the school’s chapel space with the help of students and parent volunteers. Previously, the room that had been designated as the chapel had been repurposed as both office space and for use by special education teachers, while the chapel was moved to an unused classroom.

While the new chapel space had all the features of a chapel, it didn’t seem to have the atmosphere of a holy space. Krings helped bring in a back altar, Communion rail, statues of Jesus and St. Francis and Sacred Heart images. Those pieces that had been in storage were brought out, dusted off, touched up and now highlight the space, giving it a sense of holiness.

In the Tabernacle, Jesus is present in the Eucharist throughout the school year.  The addition of a stained-glass window hanging above the back altar will polish off the changes after the window has been refurbished.  

Krings said he wants students to not only know about God but to have a relationship with Him. So he encourages students and faculty alike to sit with the Lord in silence in the chapel so they get to know Him better and live their lives for Him and with Him.

READ MORE FROM THE CATHOLIC VOICE: