This article was originally published on April 11th, 2020.

Each month we’ll be featuring a profile on one of the Saint Benedict Parish staff members so parishioners can get to know them a little better and get a better sense of what they do at the parish. This month, we’re featuring Arlene Sibley.                       

What’s your job at the parish?
ARLENE: Game Plan Support & Pastor’s Assistant.                      

What staff team are you on?
I’m on the Disciple Formation Team.                      

How long have you worked at Saint Benedict Parish?
Nine months.

What does your job entail? What’s a typical week look like for you?
For my Game Plan Support role, I mostly focus on the Alpha program. The Game Plan’s goal is to form disciples who joyfully live out the mission of Jesus. I can tell you first hand Alpha has been a life-changer for me, so I know it is fulfilling the mission. A good portion of my week is preparing for our Alpha guests on Fridays. As Fr. Simon’s assistant, my goal is to do whatever I can to support him in being the best leader. As he mentioned at the Leadership Summit, “The best of the best leaders do fewer things.”

What did you do before you worked at Saint Benedict Parish?
From college, I went into Travel & Tourism and spent 30 years as a Travel Counsellor, specializing in Corporate & Group travel. From there, in order to fulfill the urge to be a grandmother, I opened Ar’s Wee Ones Home Childcare, where I worked for the next 6 years. We did daily crafts, singing, reading, and playtime with six wee ones ranging in age from 11 months to 4 years old. Then I participated in Alpha in the Fall of 2017, and God put me on a new path to Saint Benedict Parish.                       


Do you have a favourite memory from your time working here?
About eight years ago, when I was not practicing my faith, I joined a hiking group. I was at a point in my life when I felt very alone and wanted to do something I normally would never do. I would meet 25 strangers in a parking lot, carpool to a trail in the woods, and go on an adventure (and hopefully return). This was definitely way out of my comfort zone, but it became the thing I looked forward to each week. I met some great people, and it got me out of the house and into nature and along many beautiful coastline trails, which are my favorite. I love the ocean, the sound of waves crashing on the shore, the sound the tiny rocks make as the waves pull them out.                       

About a year into hiking, I really started to pay attention to sounds and sights, capturing what I could on my camera. Then I started to notice hearts on at least 90% of the hikes I was on. Once, I saw a perfect heart melted in the snow. I saw rocks, sea glass, seaweed, clouds, and trees. I’m not sure when it occurred to me, but God had been showing me that he had my heart. Perhaps it was when I stepped out of my comfort zone again and tried Alpha. I was going to a place full of strangers in the basement of a church that I had been to once or twice for Easter or Christmas. I was hoping I would make it through the first night without running away, but then it also became something else I looked forward to each week. After about a month, I started attending Mass, sitting at the back for a quick escape. Every week I came back, and eventually, with my brother’s encouragement and the new friends I met at Alpha, I moved closer to the front. It was there that I saw a heart in the grain of wood on the pew in front of me. I was right where I needed to be, and God was still watching over me.

Everyday has been a blessing on this journey and I am constantly being shown that I am not alone. Recently I decided to go back to where I started in the church and sit in that back section close to the door. This time it was not to escape, but it was to meet new people and share new experiences. My wonderful friends have joined me as they too agree we are to embrace the whole family we have in this parish. Two weeks ago as we were standing to pray, I looked down and saw the heart in the grain of wood. God brought me back to see that even then he was with me.                       

What do you like to do outside of work?
I like to be outside: hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, and a bit of amateur photography. I have created a group in the church on WhatsApp of like-minded outdoor adventurers called “Way Makers”. The idea is that once a week, weather permitting (no blizzard and no rain), you dress accordingly and we go out on a hike. We pack a lunch, enjoy fellowship, have a time of prayer, and sing a song or two. We enjoy the gifts of nature that we are so blessed with and the freedom to venture off trails for a little while.