A provincial education organization has given a Moose Jaw Catholic deacon an award for his efforts to support students and teachers in Holy Trinity Catholic School Division.
During a ceremony in mid-November, the Saskatchewan Catholic School Boards Association gave Deacon Lamont Dyck the SCSBA appreciation award, which is provided to people to honour their commitment and contribution to Catholic education in Saskatchewan.
Dyck has volunteered with the school division and been a pastoral assistant at St. Joseph Parish since 2006, while he has been a deacon since his ordination in 2018. The division asked him to become more involved after his ordination.
“Deacon Lamont shares his gifts abundantly. His love of his faith and passion for Catholic education is contagious for anyone who has been fortunate enough to meet him … ,” the division wrote on his nomination form. “Staff, students and our community are very lucky to have his support and expertise.”
That same nomination form shows Dyck is a busy guy.
Some of his activities include participating in vice-principal faith meetings, leading presentations for students about the Mass, giving church tours, giving blessings to Bibles, wreaths or candles, leading school prayers and liturgies, celebrating graduations — and generally being in schools often.
“I’m very honoured. It was very unexpected, to say the least. The award shows more about the community than me … because they’re the ones that nominated me,” Dyck said. “And to be very honest, Holy Trinity … has given me the opportunity to serve, so that’s always a great privilege.”
Young people are the future, so it’s important to form them in the image of Jesus Christ, he continued.
His first mandate as a deacon is to lead people closer to Jesus. So, he does that in schools — and the community — by acting as Christ’s hands and feet via involvement in people’s lives. This includes discussing faith or hot-button topics or coaching basketball at St. Agnes School for four years.
With a chuckle, Dyck said most hot topics revolve around sexual morality. He approaches the issue by discussing sexual ethics from a Catholic and Christian perspective and offering his view.
“What’s kind of interesting when we talk about morality (is) I don’t think you have to be a believer to agree with the morality of the Church,” he added. “You don’t have to have supernatural faith. You can gather those conclusions by reason.”
It was tough for Dyck to pinpoint what he enjoyed most about doing in schools, although he thought everything he did brought joys and challenges similar to other activities.
As an introvert, volunteering stretched him and made him slightly uncomfortable, especially when interacting with staff and students — especially during difficult or personal situations.
“There’s a big joke that I say, ‘No one phones the church when they’re having a good day.’ So being in the thick of things in a lot of struggles and sadness paradoxically brings joy,” he said. “When you’re phoning me up … I’m usually at the bottom of the list.”
Meeting the community’s needs is a great joy for Dyck, while coaching basketball is his “bread and butter” that brings him “raw joy and happiness.” This is most noticeable, he added, when he’s coaching on the sidelines.
