“EC training has helped me to be more comfortable and confident in sharing my faith in an organic way.”
“EC training has helped me to be more comfortable and confident in sharing my faith in an organic way,” Warren, of St. Dominic’s in Brookfield, Wisconsin, explains. “There is no one way that is the right way. There are so many ways. EC training has helped me find my way.”
This lawyer and father of four came to the faith in 2004, shortly after graduating from college, having grown up in an evangelical Protestant home. Now he and his wife (also an attorney) send their kids to St. Dominic’s school, explore the faith together in prayer as a part of their daily routine, and credit EC formation and training with working major changes in their personal and professional lives.
Warren discovered The EC as a parishioner at Christ King Parish, when he was living in Wauwatosa back in 2012. He participated in the first EC training group at that parish and went on to join the Point Team at Christ King. Now, six years after that initial formation, Warren appreciates EC training giving him “more awareness of what my vocation is, as a husband and father, and the importance of that within the context of my faith life.” He recognizes the total change in lifestyle EC training has given him: “This formation has helped me to see that my growth needs to be in my home in addition to the parish. This has probably been the biggest impact the training has had on me.”
EC formation and training have helped Warren see that God needs to be the source of his fulfillment, happiness, and approval. Warren has learned that marriage “isn’t just you and your spouse.” Rather, it’s “you, your spouse, and Christ,” and that makes all the difference. He and his wife now place their hope in God, and the little daily disappointments they experience help them examine where their ultimate hopes truly lie. “Before EC we never talked about faith at home. We never prayed together, never talked about it as a part of our normal everyday life. Now we do it all the time.”
One of Warren’s current areas of focus for using his EC formation involves his kids, particularly his preteen daughter. “I’ve become more aware of my role as primary educator, and don’t want to rely solely on the school—even a good Catholic school—to form her.” Warren is about to begin a bible study with her. In talking about all of his kids, he recognizes that “they’re getting older, and forming them well is getting more and more critical.” But for his daughter especially, life is getting more “real,” so he’s feeling the Lord call him to spend more focused time with her to guide her as she begins adolescence.
Another focus area for Warren involves being more intentional about bringing his faith into his friendships and interactions with others. He keeps himself open to opportunities for organic, natural conversations to develop around topics like faith and the deeper things of life. For example, co-workers may see a spiritual book sitting on his desk, and it may spark a conversation. Warren’s training with The EC has brought more unity between faith and daily life, including unity between his home and professional lives. His EC formation has truly provided a springboard to a lifelong journey of prayer.
