In his early years, Dennis McIntyre was a member of the Methodist Church, where he was baptized as a child and eventually became a lector for the church. His wife is Catholic, and his children were baptized as Catholics, which helped him discover that he was looking for something more. Dennis was welcomed into the Catholic faith and received the sacraments as a full member of the Catholic Church in 2004. He is a Spiritual Director and is very active in ministry, serving as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister while also providing spiritual direction. Dennis has spent time working with the sick and the terminally ill in local hospitals and hospice care centers and found these ministries to be very difficult but extremely rewarding.
When asked about contributing to Patheos, Dennis said, “I think the freedom to write what I want is one of the main reasons I like writing for Patheos. While there are editorial guidelines and categories, Patheos has been very hands-off with what I write about. This isn’t the case with all sites out there. There is a review process, and I have selected some very controversial topics and received harsh feedback from those who do not agree with me, but Patheos has never restricted what I could write about. They have been very supportive of me and have been good partners. The infrastructure they provide has made it easier to start my writing career, and I enjoy the opportunity to grow as a writer.”
He offers this advice to other Patheos contributors: “Speak your mind. Some will love it, and some won’t, but either way, they read the column. In the beginning, some of the challenging comments bothered me, but the readers are entitled to their opinions, and I always thank them for it, whether I agree or not. We have a strong supporting organization in Patheos; your success is their success, and they are there to help you.”
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