Dough Howden

My Church Family

My name is Doug Howden and I am privileged to have been part of St. George for two years now.

I was raised on a farm in the Swift Current area. My parents were dedicated Catholic church people, and very devout church goers. We went to church regularly and were very much part of the church community. I was in the Catholic school system until I moved into junior high which was public school. I grew up with an understanding and belief in God, saints and angels.

As I got older and moved away from home I stopped going to church altogether. I never felt good about not going, I just could never see that God had much to do with me, God always seemed far away to me and as far as I could see it did not make to much difference whether I was going to church or not.

In my later twenties I was encouraged by a friend to attend a non-denominational, evangelical church. These churches look very appealing to people who are feeling lost spiritually. They are modern, upbeat and happy. In fact if things suddenly are not happy, everyone thinks God must have left for some reason. Everyone was talking about the great things God was doing in their lives and how God was speaking to them personally. What is not to like?

In my mid-thirties I was married to Karen whom I had met at church. We continued to attend on a regular basis. We were involved in every aspect of the church over the years. My wife was involved in music ministry and were both served at all levels, usher, greeter, book store, outreach, whatever there was. I ran a men’s ministry for a number of years and served as a member of the church board for a number of years.

All this time I was basically happy in my church life, but I always had questions about many of the things they taught. Any non-denominational I was ever involved with was strongly anti-Catholic. They considered Mary, the saints and angels to be fringing on the occult beliefs. I came to disagree with many of their teachings and the things I thought were compelling, the modern, relevant, upbeat services, became to me their weaknesses. I am not saying the Protestant evangelical movement does not work for many people or even help many people. That is obviously not true. I just came to the point where it was definitely not working for me.

I began feeling that what I needed was a more traditional church that could trace a lineage back to the original church Fathers. The only thing I knew of that could make this claim was the Catholic Church.

Then one day I ran into Brendan Olenick in a coffee shop. He told me about a church he was going to that worshiped in a way that could be traced back to the Apostles and church Fathers. I decided I had to see this for myself.

The first time I walked into St. George I was fascinated by the sight of the priest wearing vestments, the smell of candles and incense and the chanting. It was all like coming home again. The Liturgical service and prayers make so much sense.

We never really left again. For several month we came to St. George about every other week as we were finishing up a few jobs in our old church. By Christmas of that year we were attending full time. In December 2025 my wife was baptized and I was Chrismated. We enjoy the services and the Catechelical class with Father Cristian are true learning experiences. We appreciate the support and friendship of the people of the St. George.

Thank you,

Doug Howden