Building faith: St. Joseph seminarians hone skills in worship and woodworking
The St. Joseph House of Formation seminarians studying philosophy spend much of their days in their heads pondering the greatest thinkers in history.
Former high school religion teacher David Graver is giving them some respite from their brain exercises.
Fr. Chad Arnold, the director of the House of Formation, asked Graver to teach the men to work with their hands, giving them a break from their formal studies.
Graver is perfect for the task. He taught high school religion for 15 years at Bishop Carroll Catholic and Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic high schools and has a graduate degree from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute.
Graver now full-time woodworker
He made his own move from head-work to woodwork about 16 months ago and now works full-time as the owner of Shelterbelt38 in the former Elderslie Woodworks in Kechi.
But teachers have to teach, Graver said. “I felt I really had to continue teaching.”
About 10 of the 43 seminarians from the St. Joseph House of Formation are taking woodworking classes about once a month at his shop. They learned about shop safety and how to use basic shop equipment.
“This past class we gave them a little better understanding of finishing out a product. They were able to understand the basics of routing and sanding, putting a finish on, and then hammering the corpus onto the cross. It was a neat little mini-project for them.”
Graver said nailing the image of Jesus to the cross carried a deep meaning. “It was a sobering experience to reflect on the Catechism quote that, ‘It is you who have crucified him and crucify him still, when you delight in your vices and sins.’” (CCC ¶598)
He said that future projects will incorporate other aspects of woodworking.
Working hands and heart
“There’s a real integration that can happen with the physical trades. As Fr. Chad articulated, they’re in their heads and in their hearts in prayer but this is for their hands, they have to work with their hands. It’s an integration that is healthy and helps ground them.”
Graver said he is inspired by the seminarians. “They’re great. I never knew teaching a topic like shop would be so fulfilling.”
The seminarians study for a degree in philosophy at Newman University. The St. Joseph House of Formation is located on the campus of St. Joseph Parish in Wichita.
Graver and his wife, Erin, have five children. David and Erin are the co-directors and instructors at the Encounter School of Ministry’s Wichita Campus.