Rich Scanlon brings a thoughtful and a philosophical approach to his new position as director of evangelization and discipleship mentor in Resurrection Parish, Delran.
“The smoke of Satan is permeating our culture today and my generation is getting caught up in Satan’s deception, making us lukewarm and too busy to tend to our souls and our salvation and to pass on the faith to our children,” said Scanlon, who will direct the religious education and adult faith formation programs and oversee the leaders who head the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, youth ministries and “other ministries that we are hoping to launch in the near future.”
“Having the opportunity to oversee programs that proclaim the Gospel and establish modern day disciples that have a deep, intimate, personal relationship with Christ is the foundation of our programs, and if successful, it will create stronger families, increase vocations [to the priesthood and religious life] and bring more joy to individuals with the goal of a continual deepening of this relationship with Christ,” Scanlon said. “Ultimately, we are trying to give adults, children, teens and families an opportunity to become saints and experience more joy than they currently experience.”
Scanlon, who grew up in Warminster, Pa., comes to the Burlington County parish with an undergraduate degree in health/fitness and exercise science from Springfield College, Springfield, Mass.; a master’s degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, and a master’s degree in sports psychology from Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Conn.
He has worked in education as a theology and physical education teacher and in administration as the dean of formation and discipline for grades K-12 at Donahue Academy in Ave Maria, Fla. On the parish level, his experience has included serving as a Bible study coordinator, adult faith formation, teaching apologetics and evangelization. He has also been involved with the parish council, youth ministry board of directors, pro-life club and has served in liturgical ministries as a reader and an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus. His athletic skills have been utilized as a high school and college football coach for 25 years, and he was vice president and coach of a roller hockey league in Naples, Fla.
“My leadership and teaching positions both in education and athletics should help in creating an organized plan to systematically run programs effectively,” said Scanlon, noting that Resurrection Parish’s religious education program currently has about 200 students and 21 catechists.
Scanlon has been married to his wife, Laura Kraemer Scanlon, for 17 years, and they are the parents of four children, Dominic, 14, Isaiah, 10, Gabriel, 7, and Maria, 4. They also had two children, Chris Francis and Therese Marie, who passed away.
~ By Mary Stadnyk, associate editor