'THIS IS WHERE MY FAITH HAS LED ME"

'This is where my faith has led me’ HCH photo by Anna Weaver David Pendleton takes advantage of some peace and quiet in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. ‘This is where my faith has led me’ Former state representative and Seventh-day Adventist minister will be received into the Catholic church this Easter Vigil By Anna Weaver Hawaii Catholic Herald When former state representative David Pendleton receives his First Communion and Confirmation this Easter Vigil at St. John Vianney Church in Kailua, he will be answering what he says was a gradual call of the Holy Spirit. The lifelong Seventh-day Adventist said there was no “eureka” moment that led to his decision to become Catholic. Instead, Pendleton said, “It was awareness over time that Catholicism and Catholic Christianity were speaking to me, heart and mind, head and soul.” Pendleton’s family has Catholic roots in the Philippines and much of his family there remains Catholic. However, when his grandmother immigrated to the United States in 1930, “it was a new citizenship, a new world” and she joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pendleton, 41, was born in Glendale, Calif., and moved to Hawaii when he was in preschool. He and his younger brother were raised in a devout Adventist household. Pendleton went to Windward Adventist School and then Hawaii Mission Academy. In high school, he already had an interest in government and politics, and was elected class and student council president. For a short time at La Sierra Campus, now a separate university from Loma Linda University in California, he was a pre-med student. But Pendleton soon switched to a history and political science double major with a theology minor. He went on to receive a master’s in religion from Loma Linda and became a Seventh-day Adventist minister. As part of his graduate studies, Pendleton learned about various Christian religions. He remembers being fascinated by the documents of the Second Vatican Council, particularly the ones that focused on religious freedom, which he found to be “kind of the borderline between law and religion, government and religion, state and church.” At the time, he was debating whether the best way to serve in his career was as a minister or in public service. Pendleton decided to get a law degree from the University of Southern California. Legislative days In 1995, Pendleton moved back to Hawaii and worked as a lawyer for a year before running for the State House of Representatives. He was elected and eventually served four terms as a Republican for Kailua and Kaneohe. During his time in office, Pendleton was minority whip, assistant minority leader and minority floor leader. At the capitol, Pendleton participated in a Bible study group that brought together politicians of different political and religious backgrounds. Two Catholic politicians in the group were then state Reps. Jun Abinsay and Bob McDermott. Pendleton’s conversations with them and their example positively influenced his perception of Catholicism. “They never tried to invite me to church or to give me some literature to persuade me about a doctrine,” he said. “It was just that friendship, that sincerity, that integrity, that Christian faith that pervaded how they conducted themselves at the legislature.” While at the capitol, Pendleton also encountered Father Marc Alexander, who was then the executive director of the Hawaii Catholic Conference. Father Alexander remembers Pendleton as a legislator who “could make both biblical and theological arguments, as well as, very secular arguments” with his law background equally well. Pendleton kept in touch with Father Alexander, and remembers telling him recently, “Who knows but that my time in the legislature was brought about by God, [not only to] serve the people, but also for my life and Father Marc’s life to intersect, as well as with those other Catholic legislators.” During his representative days, Pendleton also enjoyed reading the Hawaii Catholic Herald, which is sent to every legislator. “I would always say, ‘Wow, look at how much we actually have in common in terms of our perspectives.’” After leaving office in 2004, Pendleton joined Gov. Linda Lingle’s staff as a senior policy advisor. In July 2006 the governor appointed him to the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board for a 10-year term. Faith quest The “aesthetic experience” of Catholicism — Gregorian chant, incense, church architecture and religious art — had always appealed to Pendleton. But it wasn’t until 2005 and 2006 when he began reading extensively about early Catholic Church history and theology that he first seriously considered becoming Catholic. “Some people watch television,” he said. “What really got me excited was just connecting with what the early Christians believed and taught and lived.” He says he felt himself drawn more and more to the church. He especially liked the “breadth of perspective” among Catholics and the Communion of Saints, which to him was “a tremendous thing that you are a part of this large extended family.” In March 2007, after further discernment, Pendleton turned in his Seventh-day Adventist ordination credentials and a few months later started taking classes through the RCIA program at St. John Vianney Parish in Kailua. This past fall he made the final decision to become Catholic. “For me I didn’t want to be in a particular faith tradition just out of habit, or just out of comfort, or because the recent generations of my family had been there,” Pendleton said. “I needed to choose for myself and to learn for myself where God willed me to be.” Tom Cajski, a friend of Pendleton’s from their time in the Great Books Club in Kailua, said he was surprised and delighted to get a call from him a few months ago asking Cajski to be his sponsor. “I hope to stand by to give him my view as a long-time member of the church,” he said. Pam Aqui, St. John Vianney’s RCIA coordinator, said jokingly of Pendleton, “He’s basically more Catholic than the pope.” She said he has put a lot of thought and study into his decision and added, “We’re very pleased to have him. He’s a bright light in our community.” Pendleton said that people at St. John Vianney who recognized him from his time as their district representative have come up to him and said, “Wow, Dave, you represented us for years in the legislature and I had no idea you were Catholic!” He added with a hearty laugh, “And I said, ‘I didn’t know either.’” As he approaches his “big day” of coming into “full communion” with the Catholic Church on March 22, Pendleton continues to be a voracious reader. On a recent day, he was returning “The Catholic Catechism for Adults” and Boniface Ramsey’s “Beginning to Read the Fathers” to the State Library’s main branch in Honolulu, which he said has an extensive collection of Catholic-related books. However, Pendleton added, “I don’t want my faith to be just an intellectual faith. I’m learning more about the various devotions and finding myself blessed by those as much as I am by reading theology.” His friend from their legislative days, Bob McDermott, said Pendleton’s thirst for knowledge won’t stop once he becomes Catholic. “He’ll go down to the Pauline bookstore and he won’t know where to start,” he said, likening him to “a kid in the candy store.” “He’s successful at everything he does,” McDermott added. “Whatever organization he’s a part of benefits from him. So I am sure our church will benefit.” The challenges of conversion The decision to become Catholic hasn’t been an easy one. His wife, Noemi, whom he met at college, has been very supportive, but it’s been a big change for the active Adventist family and they are “practicing Christian patience.” The couple has four children: Roland, a high school senior; Raquelle, a high school freshman; Danielle, a fourth grader; and David II, a kindergartner. The kids are adjusting to being an interdenominational family. They go to Adventist services with their mom and attend occasional social gatherings at St. John Vianney. The reaction from Seventh-day Adventist church friends and ministers has been mixed. According to Pendleton, some have been supportive, others disappointed. “There are some Protestants who no longer consider me a Christian brother,” he said. Pendleton said that adding to the difficulty of becoming Catholic was the fact that he’s a former politician and Seventh-day Adventist minister. “An imperfect analogy would be someone switching [political] parties,” he said. “People take their faith much more seriously than politics so you can understand why some have reacted the way they have.” “But for me, I just had to be honest with where I felt I was, where I was being led,” Pendleton said, adding he hopes that over time relationships can be healed. He has only good feelings toward his Adventist friends, he said. Whenever he’s tempted to feel sorry that a friendship has been estranged because of his conversion, Pendleton looks at how much harder it was for other converts like Cardinal John Henry Newman, who was publicly ridiculed in the press for leaving Anglicanism, and for the early Christian martyrs. “There might be some who think of Sunday Mass as an obligation,” he said. “But look at the freedom we have. Christians were meeting in catacombs for fear that they might be killed by the Roman government.” Pendleton said that’s why whenever he can he attends noon Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. “It’s such a nice oasis in one’s work day,” he said. “I’ve always believed that your faith has to make a difference in every aspect of your life. It’s not just something you do when you go to a church service,” Pendleton said. His best witness to being a Catholic Christian is being a good husband, father, neighbor, and labor appeals board member. “My only regret is that I waited until I was 41 before I realized where I belonged,” Pendleton said. “But maybe sometimes the Holy Spirit speaks and we’re so caught up with the busyness of life that it takes us awhile to hear.” “This is where I feel I’m at home. This is where my faith has led me.”

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 (Archive on Friday, April 18, 2008) Posted by pdownes Contributed by pdownes Source: http://www.hawaiicatholicherald.com/Home/tabid/256/newsid884/1259/Default.aspx Also appears on a Seventh Day Adventist site: At sda: http://www.atoday.com/content/adventist-news-roundup-6