'Ordinary' Man Spearheads Extraordinary Event 

John Lacke thinks he’s just an ordinary guy.

“Just ask my wife,” he urged. “I’ve failed at many things before. Typically, I’m not capable of these kinds of things.”

But when he and a handful of people from the Sheboygan area began to plan for a Catholic evangelization conference almost two years ago, “The Hound of Heaven,” as he said, just kept after them until everything was accomplished. Their efforts culminated on February 8-9, when "Awakening the Spirit" was held at the Kohler Memorial Theater.

The original conference planning committee was comprised of just three people and none of them had ever planned anything like this before. But, as each month passed and their vision grew, they looked for additional help. Word miraculously seemed to spread and little by little people began showing up to volunteer for the many tasks at hand.

“That,” Lacke said, “was the most amazing part of the story.”

Mark Hanna, Sheboygan Common Council president and a member of St. Clement Parish, agreed to help when he was approached at his weekly Wednesday morning Bible study.

“They thought that my participation would have a draw in the community and to some degree it did,” Hanna said.

Hanna, who acted as Master of Ceremonies, also credited the strong list of speakers and the fact that Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan was the main celebrant at the closing liturgy for success of the conference.

The idea to host an evangelization conference first came to John Lacke during a meeting at Holy Name of Jesus Parish more than two years ago. As he sat and listened to his pastor detail how membership was declining, how giving was down, and expenses were on the rise, he remembered thinking “This Church is 2,000 years old. It’s not going to go away.”

Lacke had himself attended Promise Keepers rallies in Milwaukee and Indianapolis that drew thousands of men from many different Christian backgrounds. He knew from this experience that people hungered for a deeper spirituality. He believed that now more than ever, men and women were asking questions like “Is there a God? Does He love me? What does He want from me?” And, he believed that Catholics could have those questions answered within their own Catholic community.

So, after almost two years of planning and hundreds of hours of preparation, almost 800 people participated in “Awakening the Spirit.” Men and women of all ages, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, came together to be inspired and enriched in their Christian faith.

The conference, which was intentionally planned for the beginning of Lent, was organized into three main themes: “The Call to be Catholic,” “The Call to Reconciliation,” and “The Call to Holiness.”

The two-day event included speakers, a communal Penance service and individual confession, as well as the Mass celebrated by Archbishop Dolan.

More than two dozen organizations also hosted booths. They provided information about Sheboygan County parishes and other organizations within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

What inspired Lacke to take on this project?

“It was an overwhelming presence that urged me on and gave me ideas along the way,” He said.

“The Holy Spirit also surrounded me with all the right people to make this happen,” Lacke said. “The real story is that God can use anybody, even me, to accomplish His work on earth. All you need to do is give Him your ‘Fiat’ as Mary did.”

With the success of the event, Lacke and other committee members are already looking to host another conference some time in 2010. In the meantime, individual parishes in the Sheboygan area will plan similar, smaller scale, activities in 2008 and 2009 as a way to inspire their congregations and encourage others who may have stepped away from the Church to reconsider.

What else can Catholics do to reach out to those who have “fallen away” or those who may be searching to renew their spirituality?

“It’s a one-to-one effort. We must continue to live in simple ways, with love for each other, in the culture of the world and yet apart from it,” Lacke said. “Conferences like ours only find people who are called, those who are seekers. They in turn must reach out to the poor, the disenfranchised, the elderly and the needy.”

Joe Zenk, pastoral associate at St. Dominic, Sheboygan, and a member of the planning committee, felt that the weekend was perfect for those Catholics in the pews who needed to rejuvenate or reinvigorate their own faith, and when re-energized, to share that faith at work, at home, in their marriage and in the community.

“I will use the example of the Gospel story of the woman at the well,” He said. “Two-thirds of the story is spent in dialogue with Jesus. Only when she has had adequate time to come to a full understanding of Jesus as Messiah is she able to go out and bring this good news to the townspeople.”

That, Zenk said, was what they were attempting to do with the conference. Allow the people to stay in dialogue - remember who they are and remember who Jesus Christ is. And, once remembered and re-energized, to take the good news with them to the townspeople in a similar manner.

To increase attendance at Mass, Lacke believes that we need to continue to pray and that that those prayers should include petitions for an increase in the number of people who hear the call to priestly and religious vocations. He has faith that the Holy Spirit will raise up those who will lead us.

“We will see another Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II in our day because God cannot abandon His Church,” He said.

Lacke, a self-described “ordinary man” doesn’t have plans to give up on his Church either.