“No matter where you go, the most important thing that you need to do is to love God,” said Will Walton, a young adult who lives near Verona and works as a technical solutions engineer at Epic Systems close by.
Walton, a parishioner of St. Andrew Church in Verona, part of Divine Mercy Pastorate, moved to Madison three years ago to begin his career.
In his job, Walton supports a subset of Epic customers — hospital systems — by providing technical support as they upgrade software versions, have questions, and run into issues.
But for Walton, work is more than solely providing for himself, preparing for his future, or, plainly, making money, “That’s not your most important thing you’re doing at work,” he believes.
For Walton, loving God is first, and it’s what he tries to do most earnestly, meaning that he spends his free time leading a men’s Bible study, helping with middle school catechesis, staying active in his pastorate’s young adult community, studying Scripture and Church documents, but through all things, being open to the call to evangelize.
‘No one told me’
Walton’s desire to share his faith is rooted in the conversion he had as a college student.
Growing up Protestant in Illinois, Walton said, “I didn’t meet a good Catholic until junior year of college.”
His view until that point, he explained, was full of questions: “Why would I convert to Catholicism? Why would I even look into Catholicism if every Catholic I know hasn’t given their life to Jesus? If they don’t know the faith, if they don’t have a relationship with Jesus, why would I even give it a look?” he remembered thinking.
It wasn’t until his junior year of college, when a Catholic joined the same Protestant Bible study he was participating in, that Walton met one who was outwardly living his faith.
After being confronted by that living witness, Walton began to investigate the Catholic Church on his own, and from there, began a formal conversion.
Now, as a Catholic who was Confirmed in 2023, Walton’s motivation to share his faith is because “Catholicism is true.
“I didn’t have anyone tell me that for the longest time,” he said, adding, “I want to be able to tell people that,” and “I want other people to experience that.”
Remembering, he said, “I wish that a Catholic in high school would have told me about Catholicism.
“I would have looked into it sooner,” he lamented.
‘Little things’
Walton gave simple examples of how he lives his faith at work, stemming from the confidence he has that “everyone at work should know that you are a Christian.”
“It’s pretty easy to do,” he continued.
At Epic, “You can wear whatever you want,” he explained, saying that he wears Christian T-shirts and hoodies at the office.
Additionally, to “make the Sign of the Cross throughout your day, pray before your meals, [when people ask what] you’re doing this weekend, say ‘I’m going to this event at church,’” are other good ways, he said.
It’s “little things like that,” which help start conversations, Walton said.
In the conversations he has at Epic, Walton said his fellow coworkers, who are primarily also recent college graduates, are “searching [and] open to the truth”.
“They’re smart people. We get a lot of smart people at Epic, and so they’ll actually take evidence,” he said, and because he approaches them as a fellow employee, he’s “not just dismissed”.
In talking to coworkers, Walton keeps a few things in mind.
One is that with Protestant coworkers, “They have the same daily life as [Catholics] do: They pray, they read their Bible, they go to church every week, they volunteer, they lead young adult groups.
“Christianity is the most important thing in my life; Christianity is the most important thing in their lives, so, we bond over the most important things,” he said.
“If you don’t bring up stuff to debate about, you’re not going to debate.”
Another is that “If someone you know is atheist and they don’t believe in God because of what they think are strong reasons, then go into evidence.
“Say, ‘I think the evidence points to God,’” and explain your reasoning.
To “let [atheists] know you’re a real person,” explained Walton, is to say: “I’m a smart person. I’m still convinced by the evidence for God. Maybe you should [be], too.”
If the person you’re talking to says, “I’m Protestant, I’m Evangelical, because I think it’s about relationship, not religion,” then Walton responds with the Catholic understanding of “growing relationship through religion”.
“Everything you do is religion,” he said.
“When you’re talking to God, there is religion; singing is religion; reading your Bible is religion. All these things are religion because they grow you closer to God,” he continued.
Walton believes that whatever another religion or denomination does well, whether that’s preaching, teaching, community, or any number of things, “We as Catholics should do better because we have the truth. We have the fullness of Christ.”
Ultimately, “If you love God, you’re going to evangelize,” Walton said.
Do you know someone who shares their “faith at work” and serves to evangelize others? We want to tell their stories! Send your ideas to [email protected].