How Attending Catholic School Inspired Josh to become the First Catholic in His Family

Sitting across from bespectacled Josh Ingraham, it’s hard to imagine that he was once “quite a handful,” as he calls it.
 
The earnest young man, a junior this year at St. Philip Catholic Central, seems more interested in discussing his latest adventure camping trip than in causing trouble. But it was his troublemaking, he says, that got him kicked out of two public schools before second grade — a series of events that led his mom, Renee, to enroll him at St. Joseph Elementary School in Battle Creek.
 
Renee confirms Josh’s description of earlier years. Smiling, she says, “One of the social workers who was working with Josh just loved him and she saw Josh for who he was. She recommended St. Joseph’s Elementary School [in Battle Creek] and told me how amazing the principal was. She was right — Pat Riley was perfect with him.”
 
Long gone is the “troublemaking 8-year old.” Today, Josh is like many other teenagers. He loves hanging out with his friends, playing video games and is planning his Eagle Scout project. But it’s been his eight years surrounded by the love and support of his Catholic school community that Josh believes was instrumental in the decision he made this past spring to convert to the Catholic faith — making him not only the first Catholic in his family, but the only one.
 
“I didn’t really know anything about religion until I went to St. Joe’s,” says Josh. He explains that his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents do not adhere to any religion.
 
“I knew there was a guy named God and heaven was good. That was about it.”
 
He recalls visiting the school with his mom shortly before deciding to enroll there.
 
“I just happened to visit during the time the students were in theology class. They were talking about Jesus and the Last Supper and some of the kids were dressed up in robes to re-enact the Last Supper. I thought that sounded pretty cool,” he says.
 
And it was perhaps that moment that planted those early seeds of curiosity for Josh.
 
Josh also recalls that his troublemaking didn’t automatically stop just because he switched schools.
 
“Pretty much I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, like speaking out of turn in class. I had all this built-up energy,” he says. “I didn’t really hurt anyone ever, but I would try and start fights.”
 
But as Josh explains, his classmates didn’t take his bait by fighting back. “Instead,” he recalled, “everyone was really nice, and I felt the teachers were not giving up on me. That really helped.”
 
Josh remembers being a daily visitor to the principal’s office during that second grade year, not so much for punishment but more to provide a quiet place for the 8-year-old with lots of energy to read and work on his homework.
 
“She seemed more like she was trying to help me than scold me.”
 
Josh retained his curiosity about the faith, learning alongside his classmates.
 
“I remember throughout third and fourth grade people would ask me what my religion was. I would say I didn’t have one, but I believed in what the Catholic Church teaches.”
 
As early as the fourth grade Josh started thinking about being baptized into the faith. His parents respected his decision, but encouraged him to wait until he was older.
 
“Mom was supportive, but wanted me to know more about my faith and understand all the responsibilities that came with it.”
 
Josh set aside his thoughts about converting for a while, but those desires came back to him in full force his freshman year at St. Phil’s. Father John Fleckenstein, Pastor at St. Phil’s, was his freshman theology teacher.
 
And it was earlier this year that he made his decision.
 
“One night I was upset, so I decided to take a run. I suddenly remembered something Mr. Wojik [sophomore theology teacher and later Josh’s confirmation sponsor] had told our class: If you have any anger or sadness, just offer up to God and ask him what to do. So, I did that and had a strong feeling I had to talk to Father John. I just felt like that was what I wanted to do.
 
“When I went to meet with him, I was ready to schedule my baptism and thought I would just give my mom the date. I told Mom, and she wanted to first meet with Father John.”
 
Renee did meet with Father John and then agreed with Josh’s desire to convert to the faith.
 
“Her initial concerns were that she didn’t want me to rush into anything and also wanted me to know as much as I could and to make sure it was something I wanted and not something someone else wanted me to do,” he says.
 
“I don’t really recall if people ever asked me. I developed my beliefs at my own pace.”
 
So this past May, it made perfect sense for Josh to receive the sacraments of initiation, baptism and his first Communion from Father John, surrounded by his parents, his best friends Miles and Haydn (also his godparents) and many of his fellow classmates.
 
And while Josh admits that being the center of attention in front of large groups of people generally make him anxious, he kept his nerves in check.
 
"My knees stopped shaking during my baptism and I got less and less nervous.”
 
And shortly after his baptism and first Communion, Josh was able to be confirmed by Bishop Bradley when he came to St. Philips Parish.
 
He acknowledges that he may be a bit more attentive in religion classes and Mass than his friends because he’s still learning. But he’s grateful for their support and their encouragement along the way.
 
“[My friends] were extremely supportive and helpful anytime I had a question. When I was talking about getting baptized — in the early stages — they were like, ‘We want you to get baptized but we want you to make the decision and be happy with your decision.’ They wanted the best for me—they believed being baptized was the best and they helped me and guided me along the way.”
 
What advice does he offer other young people who may be considering joining the faith?
 
“It doesn’t really matter what people think, but what’s important is what’s in your heart. I like just knowing all that Jesus did for all of us. Even when I feel like there’s no one there for me — there’s still Jesus.”