email: phaack@saint-johns.net
Multimedia & Worship Ministry
After living in Minnesota for eight years, Pete returned home to Lawrence to attend KU, where he earned degrees in Mathematics and Astronomy and worked in web development. After earning a graduate degree in Secondary Education, Pete taught math in the Lawrence high schools and began leading music at the 5pm Mass. He met his wife Emily in Lawrence and they were married in 2010, and they are now blessed to have two young boys.
In his free time, Pete enjoys helping Emily chase after their two sons, hiking in the Rockies, and traveling to see family in Iowa, Wisconsin, and beyond. He also has a mean jump shot from beyond the arc, and fondly remembers January nights spent ice skating on the frozen lakes of Minneapolis (and sneaks up there every chance he gets).
Five Questions For Pete
What are your duties at St. John?
My responsibilities include editing the weekly bulletin, building and maintaining websites for the parish, school, and youth groups, and any graphic design work therein. You’ll probably see me with my camera at many St. John events documenting the action, and on the musical side of things I lead a wonderful group of singers and instrumentalists at the 5pm Mass. I also enjoy working with the teens in our youth group and leading worship for parish events such as Reservoir Adoration.
What are you listening to right now?
Tons of podcasts, many of which strengthen my Catholic Faith: Catholic Stuff You Should Know, Word On the Hill, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Catholic Answers Live … and Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! when I need a good laugh!
What are you reading right now?
We just finished working through Rediscover Jesus as a parish, so now I am re-reading C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity … and Calvin and Hobbes always has a place on my bookshelf!
If you weren’t in Lawrence right now, where would you be?
Watching my brother-in-law play basketball for the University of Northern Iowa … on a back porch in Wisconsin watching the sun rise at my brother’s house … hiking a mountain with my sister in Colorado … helping Emily scout out our next family vacation (Disneyland, anybody?)
Where do you encounter Christ at St. John?
I see Jesus in the faces of so many people who are involved in worship, ministry, and social events at St. John. But perhaps my favorite place to encounter Christ is in the silence of the church, before the Blessed Sacrament in Eucharistic adoration.