by Brad Brestel
Interim Manager, Immigration Legal Services
Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska
I have lived my entire life in Lincoln. I went to public schools, the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska Law School, all in Lincoln. I was baptized in a Methodist church when I was born, and I was baptized again at First Baptist Church when my family attended there.
I grew up surrounded by friends from the Baptist church. We all studied the Bible and learned lots of information about our Christian faith. I am thankful for the mountain of Bible knowledge the Baptist culture afforded me.
Later, after I married and graduated from law school, I worked at the Unicameral, then joined a family business. Nancy and I had two daughters who have now married. We have seven grandchildren. Early in our marriage, we attended a large Protestant church that had a vibrant children’s program. Our girls enjoyed it, so we were happy to attend there.
After 10 years attending, I was asked on staff as a pastor. My role was to give financial and legal wisdom to the attendees. A few years in, I asked God to give me a pastor’s heart, and I began to move from “the financial guy” on staff to a pastor to confide in, conduct weddings, funerals, baptisms and teach classes.
My heart was being moved to seek a different kind of understanding of my faith. I turned to a retreat center in Chicago for spiritual formation. For two years, I attended its quarterly retreats. It was there I experienced Catholic writers for the first time.
I had lived in a well-defined Baptist world with zero Catholic influence for 50 years at this point. In Chicago, I read St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross and St. Benedict for the first time. Reading St. Teresa, I was sure I had never read of such a passionate love for Jesus. I began to be intrigued by the early Church Fathers, the mystics, then Church history. I know now, after watching “Journey Home” on EWTN, that path of curiosity is a highway to Rome.
Thankfully, Nancy was very open to the same journey. I stopped reading what other Protestants wrote about Catholicism and began reading only original documents of Church Fathers, Councils, and popes. After reading John Paul II (Theology of the Body) and Benedict XVI, I concluded I no longer wanted to be “protesting” and I wanted to come home.
As a full-time pastor, I knew I would have to resign my position. My health had been deteriorating for 10 years due to side effects of cancer treatment, so health issues also brought me to the point of resigning full-time work. After 20 years as a Protestant pastor, I resigned July 2, 2023.
In my quiet times, I was asking God what to do with my life after being a pastor for 20 years. The answer came clearly that I was to pursue Catholicism and to go back to legal work, helping the many immigrants in Lincoln.
Having decided to convert, I called one place for work: Catholic Social Services. I tried to explain why a Baptist pastor wanted a job with CSS. The receptionist, Sandra, was very kind and said she would pass along my unusual interest in working there. A few days later, I received a call from Katie Patrick, the executive director. I was thrilled to get an interview and hoped I could find a part-time role with its immigration program. The interview went well, and I was hired to work part-time. I started July 12, 2023, and began learning immigration law.
The Immigration Program does a particular work of mercy, welcoming the stranger. We file forms with the government that keep our guests in legal compliance with the dizzying number of permissions needed to make a new home here. Our clients consist mainly of refugees from war; families and individuals who our government brings here for humanitarian reasons.
Along with serving “the widow, orphan and alien,” a favorite part of the new job is coming into the office, entering the chapel, and starting the workday on my knees with other staff. The other attorney at CSS resigned, so I became the only attorney on staff last October. I am interim program manager until we can hire a full-time attorney. Pray for CSS to fill that position!
Nancy and I are in OCIA class at St. Joseph Parish and look forward to Easter Vigil when we can participate fully in the sacraments. We are counting down the days!
