The author of the Along the Way stories and reflections is Deacon Richard Shewman. A native of Rochester, New York, Deacon Shewman went to Micronesia as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1973. After completing his Peace Corps tour of duty in 1975, he ended up staying in Micronesia for the next 23 years.

 

Richard Shewman was ordained a permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church in September 1984 and was incardinated in the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). At the time he was ordained, Deacon Shewman was employed as Executive Director for the CNMI Criminal Justice Planning Agency. In 1988 he entered full time ministry with the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa serving in various ministries.

 

Deacon Shewman has a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland, Ohio. His emphasis is in spirituality. He has also earned a Master's degree in Behavior Science, a Master of Arts Degree in Pastoral Theology and a Licentiate degree in Canon Law. He is employed currently by the Diocese of Erie as a canon lawyer and teaches graduate students in pastoral ministry part-time as an adjunct professor of theology at Gannon University. He also exercises his diaconal ministry at St. Luke's Parish in Erie.

 

Your questions, comments, suggestions or reflections are welcome. Deacon Shewman will respond to any inquiries to the best of his ability.

Deacon Shewman wrote a user's guide for the annulment process several years ago. It's purpose is to help the person who is considering an annulment or already in the middle of it to understand the process better and more effectively participate. The user's guide is available at Barnes and Noble.com.

Distance learning is becoming a more and more popular way for people to continue their college education and further develop their knowledge of tipics important to them. Deacon Shewman is an adjunct professor at Gannon University in the master of arts in pastoral theology program. He will soon be offering a course in foundational theology for college credit over the Internet. If you are interested in taking the course or would simply like more information, please send him an email using the form on this page. He will provide you with further information about the course.