Coffee and Conversation short bio
My name is Peter van Kampen, I grew up here in Calgary, mostly in the Southeast. I am second oldest of 10 kids, and have been raised as a Catholic by my parents.
However, in my early teen years I started questioning a lot- and not so much out of legitimate intellectual integrity so much as out of a desire to not have to go to Church. Some friends of mine invited me to some fundamentalist protestant youth groups, and it was there that I first began to take ownership of my faith. Unlike some people, I can't isolate a particular day that my faith became important to me. It was an ongoing journey of getting deeper into the faith and coming to know God. But the fact that I had other Christian friends who sincerely believed the faith and lived it out was probably the biggest factor in my taking ownership of it.
It is perhaps because of this that I believe so strongly in the importance of youth ministry, and in particular of challenging teens to own their faith.
After High School I attended the John Paul II Bible School in Radway, Alberta. There I got a new love for Catholicism within the greater context of Christianity. Since then I have been involved in many forms of youth ministry- I joined the Team at Our Lady of Victory Camp, a catholic summer camp near Bentley, Ab. I also worked as the Youth Minister at St Peters Church in Silversprings, and as a Core Member with Life Teen at st Mikes.
However, two years after Bible School I felt strongly led to join the seminary with the Companions of the Cross, a new community of priests in Ottawa. I studied with them for 2 years, before discerning that I should leave that community. I finished my degree in Philosophy from the College Dominicain, in Ottawa. Within these years I also spent some time traveling with the Challenge Team- a Team of young adults who went into High Schools to promote Chastity from a non-religious perspective, throughout Canada, the USA, Ireland and England.
After having received my degree, I knew that I wanted to work in some form of youth ministry- however, there were no opportunities to do so in Ottawa at that time. So I became a Youth and Child Worker, working in a grouphome for boys aged 9-14 with behaviour problems.
I went on to become the Youth Coordinator at Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Ottawa. There we ran the Life Teen program, along with several sub ministries, including the Edge (grades 7-8), Bible Studies, Apologetics, a passion play and 2 chastity groups, one for guys and another for girls. The Chastity groups met once a week for six weeks to learn about Chastity, hold each other accountable, and finally at the end to make a commitment to Chastity in front of the parish.
Eventually I decided to move back to Calgary, and for the past year have had to work several combined jobs because I could not find full time work in Youth Ministry. So I have worked as the Youth Coordinator at St Cecilia's parish, the Program Coordinator at Our Lady of Victory Camp, and as a School Bus Driver.
I am very excited now to be starting work as a Dean of Students at Clear Water Academy. I first heard about the position from Becky Bienvenue, who was a teacher here last year. The school setting is new for me, though the issues that need to be addressed are not. I am excited for the opportunity to work more closely with individual youth in their personal development.
My vision for the School is that I will be able to help with the idea of integral development- that I will not merely be enforcing exterior discipline, but actually helping the boys to develop the kind of character they need to become men of God. I hope to help inspire them to own their faith, as I was inspired to do so when I was a youth. I believe firmly in the idea of character deplopment especially in the acquisition of virtues and, in turn, the elimination of vice. I also firmly believe that any real growth in this area will be rooted in a real and personal relationship with God.
I want to be able to go even further, especially with the older guys. I believe that teenage boys in particular enjoy rising to a standard of excellence, and need to be instilled with the confidence that this is possible. We hope to create a kind of mentoring program at the school, where the older students will help the younger students to become apostles. This will benefit the younger students, who already consider teenagers to be their role models, and it will help the older students who, I believe, will find the challenge inspiring, and through helping others to grow will come to a place of greater conviction regarding their own development.
This year the boys will have a chance to develop in these areas in apostolic classes, campaignes, apostolates, clubs, the mentoring program, and retreats that I will help to facilitate throughout the year. Thank you for your support of these programs, and please pray for the boys, especially on retreat days.
I will also have contact with you the parents. If there is a serious offence or concern, I will naturally call you. I will also be calling you if there are any notable achievements that I want to make you aware of. I would also like to invite and encourage you to contact me, either by phone or by making an appointment, if there is anything you would like us to be aware of with your son. My responsibility is to work most closely with your son in areas of discipline and character development, so if you have anything you wish to make me aware of, don't hesitate to call. You can also contact me if you have any concerns about other students in the class, should there be issues like bullying or inappropriate behaviour among your sons classmates.
I look forward to working with you and your children. Thank you.
However, in my early teen years I started questioning a lot- and not so much out of legitimate intellectual integrity so much as out of a desire to not have to go to Church. Some friends of mine invited me to some fundamentalist protestant youth groups, and it was there that I first began to take ownership of my faith. Unlike some people, I can't isolate a particular day that my faith became important to me. It was an ongoing journey of getting deeper into the faith and coming to know God. But the fact that I had other Christian friends who sincerely believed the faith and lived it out was probably the biggest factor in my taking ownership of it.
It is perhaps because of this that I believe so strongly in the importance of youth ministry, and in particular of challenging teens to own their faith.
After High School I attended the John Paul II Bible School in Radway, Alberta. There I got a new love for Catholicism within the greater context of Christianity. Since then I have been involved in many forms of youth ministry- I joined the Team at Our Lady of Victory Camp, a catholic summer camp near Bentley, Ab. I also worked as the Youth Minister at St Peters Church in Silversprings, and as a Core Member with Life Teen at st Mikes.
However, two years after Bible School I felt strongly led to join the seminary with the Companions of the Cross, a new community of priests in Ottawa. I studied with them for 2 years, before discerning that I should leave that community. I finished my degree in Philosophy from the College Dominicain, in Ottawa. Within these years I also spent some time traveling with the Challenge Team- a Team of young adults who went into High Schools to promote Chastity from a non-religious perspective, throughout Canada, the USA, Ireland and England.
After having received my degree, I knew that I wanted to work in some form of youth ministry- however, there were no opportunities to do so in Ottawa at that time. So I became a Youth and Child Worker, working in a grouphome for boys aged 9-14 with behaviour problems.
I went on to become the Youth Coordinator at Annunciation of the Lord Parish in Ottawa. There we ran the Life Teen program, along with several sub ministries, including the Edge (grades 7-8), Bible Studies, Apologetics, a passion play and 2 chastity groups, one for guys and another for girls. The Chastity groups met once a week for six weeks to learn about Chastity, hold each other accountable, and finally at the end to make a commitment to Chastity in front of the parish.
Eventually I decided to move back to Calgary, and for the past year have had to work several combined jobs because I could not find full time work in Youth Ministry. So I have worked as the Youth Coordinator at St Cecilia's parish, the Program Coordinator at Our Lady of Victory Camp, and as a School Bus Driver.
I am very excited now to be starting work as a Dean of Students at Clear Water Academy. I first heard about the position from Becky Bienvenue, who was a teacher here last year. The school setting is new for me, though the issues that need to be addressed are not. I am excited for the opportunity to work more closely with individual youth in their personal development.
My vision for the School is that I will be able to help with the idea of integral development- that I will not merely be enforcing exterior discipline, but actually helping the boys to develop the kind of character they need to become men of God. I hope to help inspire them to own their faith, as I was inspired to do so when I was a youth. I believe firmly in the idea of character deplopment especially in the acquisition of virtues and, in turn, the elimination of vice. I also firmly believe that any real growth in this area will be rooted in a real and personal relationship with God.
I want to be able to go even further, especially with the older guys. I believe that teenage boys in particular enjoy rising to a standard of excellence, and need to be instilled with the confidence that this is possible. We hope to create a kind of mentoring program at the school, where the older students will help the younger students to become apostles. This will benefit the younger students, who already consider teenagers to be their role models, and it will help the older students who, I believe, will find the challenge inspiring, and through helping others to grow will come to a place of greater conviction regarding their own development.
This year the boys will have a chance to develop in these areas in apostolic classes, campaignes, apostolates, clubs, the mentoring program, and retreats that I will help to facilitate throughout the year. Thank you for your support of these programs, and please pray for the boys, especially on retreat days.
I will also have contact with you the parents. If there is a serious offence or concern, I will naturally call you. I will also be calling you if there are any notable achievements that I want to make you aware of. I would also like to invite and encourage you to contact me, either by phone or by making an appointment, if there is anything you would like us to be aware of with your son. My responsibility is to work most closely with your son in areas of discipline and character development, so if you have anything you wish to make me aware of, don't hesitate to call. You can also contact me if you have any concerns about other students in the class, should there be issues like bullying or inappropriate behaviour among your sons classmates.
I look forward to working with you and your children. Thank you.
posted by Peter van Kampen at 10:05 AM
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