By Jack Krayenhoff

HOW does a father become a Father?

In Dean Henderson’s case, the journey has been a complex spiritual pilgrimage.

Henderson was baptized in 1960 as an infant, in the United Church of Canada; but he grew up without significant spiritual input.

In fact, by the time he had gone through his teens, he had developed a mild hostility against the Christian faith – because of its claim to moral authority; he saw this  as a suppression of freedom.  Still, he was yearning for meaning and purpose.

Then, through Young Life, he got a fresh look at the person of Jesus – and realized that, in him, he had found the answer to his quest. He acknowledged Christ as his Lord.

He joined an offshoot of the Brethren Movement, Dayspring Christian Fellowship in Vancouver. “It was a sort of hippie church. I could wear jeans there, and not be so institutional.”

Next, he got into youth ministry at Cadboro Bay United Church, while studying social work at the University of Victoria (UVic). Realizing he needed theological formation, he went to Regent College in Vancouver.

On the faculty were some evangelical Anglicans; they impressed him with the combination of personal faith permeating their lives, and a strong emphasis on social responsibility. He was attracted to the liturgy, sacraments and historicity of the Anglican Church.

At this point, he got married. He and wife Linda settled in Victoria, where he worked for Young Life; but he eventually realized he was not called to a parachurch ministry.

He went to an Anglican seminary. There, he developed a further appreciation for a church which transcended national, language and cultural barriers of language and culture, through shared doctrine and morality.

Henderson was ordained, and worked as a parish priest in Nanoose Bay and Parksville. “We had a terrific parish,” he says, “and we saw people coming to the Lord.”  But  growing turmoil within the Anglican Church  became a big problem for him.

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“I was yearning to speak for one faith, one hope, one God and Father of all, but I was hampered in that proclamation by the disunity of my church. How could we proclaim the gospel, while spending inordinate amounts of our spiritual, mental and financial energy fighting against an erosion that seemed inescapable?”

While he still appreciated the ways his previous church experiences had enriched his life, he was drawn onward – seeking “a single, incarnate source of genuine authority in Christ.” In Roman Catholicism, he says, he found “what I yearned for: unity in faith           . . . I found a church that was Christ-centred, with a strong sense of mission, and a great theological and intellectual tradition.”

Henderson and his family were received into the Catholic communion. After some years working with youth in a Comox church, and then as a chaplain at Mount St. Mary’s nursing home in Victoria, he was ordained a priest in 2007, and appointed as chaplain to  Camosun College and UVic.

He and his wife now have five children. How was the problem of his married state overcome, considering that normally Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy?

Henderson says this requirement applies only to the Latin Rite. The Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church does admit married men into the priesthood, though single men are required to remain celibate. In 1986, the Pope gave permission in principle for married former Anglican priests in Canada to enter the Catholic priesthood.

However, in his case it required a long and complex procedure – and Henderson is not expected to function as a parish priest. His case remains very much an exception.

“Celibacy remains the standard,” he says. “It stands for the undivided, life-giving gift of self for the sake of proclamation and service.”

Finally: what does his chaplaincy job consist of? Primarily, celebrating mass at the UVic chapel. “I hope to provide a sense of the validity of the spiritual yearnings of the students, and their intellectual desire to pursue their studies in the context of their faith.”

April 2008