Please join in welcoming Seminarian Benjamin Reinhart who will spend his Pastoral Year with Prince of Peace!
Please allow me the opportunity to introduce myself to your parish family. My name is Benjamin Reinhart. I was born in Shawnee Mission, but moved to Denver when I was two years old. I grew up in Denver before moving to Atlanta and have lived in several other places since then. I have just completed Second Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver, CO. I am excited that I have been assigned to Prince of Peace for the year. This is an excellent opportunity for me to grow in my identity as a minister of God. It is also an amazing opportunity to get to know you all.
I would love the chance to share a meal with you and get to know you better. There is a saying I really love that fits perfectly here: “Make a friend, be a friend, and bring a friend to Christ.” I trust that I will encounter Christ in all of you, and pray that you will encounter Him in me.
I am an older vocation. I entered seminary when I was 35 years old. Before I entered formation, I practiced as a Licensed Addiction Counselor. In my time working as an addiction counselor, I saw first-hand a lot of human brokenness. I saw shattered dreams and people who make many poor choices. But most of all, I saw a deep emptiness, an existential emptiness which caused a crisis in identity that could only be healed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. This was when I heard his call to ministry. His gentle invitation to encounter him more intimately, to love him more deeply, and to give of myself more generously.
This seed of a vocation was nurtured in the different movements that I have been blessed to be a part of. I am a member of the Cursillo Movement as well as the Charismatic Renewal. I enjoy Opus Dei, Days of Recollection and other opportunities to grow in my faith and encounter the love of God.
Some of the goals that I have while at Prince of Peace are to lose weight and build a healthy lifestyle. Any help you might be willing to give me would be greatly appreciated. I enjoy weightlifting and working out. I enjoy watching sports with the guys. I enjoy attending conferences and retreats. I love to travel and have travelled all over Central and South America and most of Europe. I love pilgrimages and seeing the different places where one saint completely transformed their environment.
I hope to do some teaching while I am with you here at Prince of Peace, to share with you the beauty of our faith and of the Scriptures and maybe even some literature. I would love to pray with you and for you. I ask you to pray for me. I am looking forward to spending a wonderful year with you all here at Prince of Peace.
Benjamin