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Dennis Teach
Business owner, convert helps others find God through RCIA
By Joyce Coronel, news@catholicsun.org
September 4, 2008
FLAGSTAFF — You know those 10-year-old bank statements stuffed in cardboard boxes in the attic? Or the yellowing invoices crammed in a cabinet at your place of business? Dennis Teach can help with that. After years as a salesman, the San Francisco de Asís parishioner began a document shredding operation about a year ago. And for Flagstaff residents and businesses, Teach’s Makoshred is the only game in town.
He wasn’t always a Catholic. Baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass in 2002, Teach said he realized when the youngest of his three children was born that he needed to take his role as the spiritual leader of the family more seriously. His wife, a cradle Catholic, had never pressured him about converting.
After completing the RCIA process and becoming a Catholic, Teach decided to stick with the program. For the last five years, he’s been a member of the ministry’s team.
“RCIA had such a profound effect on me — it truly changed my life. Having gone through that, I just wanted more and to keep learning,” Teach said. “Being part of the team has allowed me to do that. Watching the candidates go through the program helps me to grow, too. It’s a very rewarding ministry.”
He also thinks watching the funeral Mass and coverage following the death of Pope John Paul II was something that touched him deeply.
“Seeing those thousands of people gathering to celebrate his life after he passed away was just an incredibly powerful experience for me and being part of that was a great feeling,” he said.
Teach is a man of action. He served on the school board for San Francisco de Asís, where his 10-year-old son is a student, but when his term expired, the principal suggested he apply for the Diocesan School Board. He was accepted and attended his first meeting Aug. 8, representing the three Catholic schools in northern Arizona.
Even though he runs his own business — a one-man operation for now — and is busy with commitments to the school board and RCIA, Teach says he still finds time to develop his spirituality.
He made a cursillo in 2003 and has been on three of the cursillo teams since then. “Being on the team develops you more spiritually than going on it the first time,” he said.
Teach also finds time for a weekly Bible study with a small group of men from the parish.
“We have gone through a lot different formats. We did ‘Why Catholic?’ and we’ve gone through different books of the Bible,” he said. “Right now we review the weekly readings and discuss what they mean to us.”
What do you like most about being Catholic?
I would have to say the sense of community. It’s very strong here in Flagstaff. We have a wonderful parish, but I also have a real sense of belonging to a worldwide community. That was one of the things that drew me to the faith.
How does your faith affect your daily life?
It has made me a much more open and caring person. I guess I was always what you call a nice guy. But I always seemed to have judgments about people. If you’d see a homeless person, you think, ‘That guy just needs to get a job.’ Now I think, that could be me or any of us. It’s a matter of life circumstances that people that get in these situations. It’s made me a lot more understanding person. I’m a sucker. Every guy I see, if I have any money in my pocket I give them some cash.
Your favorite Scripture or quote?
From the Old Testament, when Moses is fighting the battle. When he holds his arms up, his armies are succeeding. When he’s tired, his arms fall, so they hold up his arms to support him. It’s such a powerful statement. That’s what your brothers in Christ are there for.
What’s your favorite movie?
I have three favorite movies, and I always go back and forth between them. They all have similar messages. My favorite is “Blade Runner.” The other two are “2001” and “Gladiator.” A couple of the movies have some significant violence in them, and I tend to shy away from movies like that now, but in “Blade Runner” the overwhelming message is that life is sacred no matter what form it takes.
If you could meet one person…
Pope John Paul II. But I’ve always been a huge sports fan and one person I would like to meet is Roberto Clemente. For me, it is the way he gave back. He died in a plane crash flying aid to Nicaragua. He was obviously a wonderful human being.
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Photo: Joyce Coronel/CATHOLIC SUN
Flagstaff Catholic Dennis Teach says RCIA, Bible study and Cursillo have deepened his faith in God.
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