Hello my St. James family, this is Gary "A." Doninger. AKA: Lil' Gary, Gary Alan, Gary "Jr.", and Gary the Cleaning Guy and Mr. Gary to some of the little ones. I guess you could also call me "The Magician" because, in case you don't know who I am, I am the one in the back of the church on Sunday mornings who rarely sits still so, "now you see me, now you don't", depending on which minute you are looking. I am excited (and a bit anxious) at the opportunity to be the new Senior High Youth Coordinator and be an additional source of guidance for the teenage members of our family here at St. James. I hope to inspire them and help them however I can to navigate the "dramatic" years of high school so that they can be even more confident in their beliefs and abilities as they transition to young adulthood. And to know that God is ALWAYS with them, giving them strength.
Most of you probably already know who I am or at least know (or knew) my family. I have been the custodian here at St. James for the last three years and I am the third generation of Doningers at St. James. Born, baptized, and raised here. Even had Pastor Gene as my youth leader some 40 years ago. Many of you remember my grandparents Charlie and Algene (hard to forget Algene if you knew her) and most of you probably know my dad Gary "R." Doninger and my mom Debi Doninger. Though mostly bred on the Westside I actually went to that Northside school on the hill Central High. But I made up for it by marrying my amazing wife Carol thirty-'one'derful years ago who IS a Reitz girl. But she just began her 18th year working at Mater Dei so I will let you draw your own conclusions on that. We have an AWESOME son Daniel who also graduated Reitz and then U of E and has been a Facilities Project Coordinator for the Gulf coast states branches of One Main Financial for the last 10 years. SOOOO proud of him !!!
As mentioned earlier, I am rather high-energy and seldom sit still. I hope to bring that energy to our youth and keep them motivated to continue learning about our Lord, strengthen and deepen their faith in Him, and to live the lives he has intended for them. This is a new journey for me and will certainly be a period of personal growth as I will be learning as much from them as (I hope and pray) that they will be learning from me. I thank ALL of you for your confidence in me in this new position and for entrusting me with the well-being of your children. I do not take that responsibility lightly!! And any suggestions, concerns, help, and prayers will be truly welcome and appreciated.
Philippians 4:13 : "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
