CHARLOTTE — Teaching kids about the seven deadly sins might seem like a daunting task, but John R. Wood has come up with a unique way to do it.
Wood, who hails from Ohio, turned each sin into a “dragon” and wrote a series of children’s books about a young knight, Sir Rolland Paterlot, who learns how to “slay” each dragon by using the weapons of faith and holiness.
On Thursday, Wood and assistant Christopher Akree visited St. Ann School to offer a program about slaying those dragons as part of the celebration of Catholic Schools Week.
Wood dressed up in knight’s garb as Sir Rolland, while Akree portrayed “Sir Topher.” They led students through two raucous and fun sessions filled with games, songs, and lessons about how following the Catholic faith can help them overcome sin and work toward happy lives filled with holiness.
“Every day you face a lot of sins and you make a lot of choices,” he said “Dragons are deadly and sin is real, but you don’t have to be afraid of dragons because God gave you a supernatural power called grace.”
Many of the students had dressed up to portray what they want to be when they grow up, and Wood encouraged them to strive to “become saints” alongside whatever other career goals they have.
Wood and Akree performed against a backdrop of colorful, large cut-outs of Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Philomena and other prominent Catholic figures, as well as figures of . the seven dragons: red dragon of pride, orange dragon of envy, yellow dragon of sloth, green dragon of greed, blue dragon of wrath, indigo dragon of gluttony and violet dragon of lust.
He described the seven deadly sins in ways students could understand. Envy, he said, rears its head if you become jealous of another student who has a toy you want. Sloth is laziness that can take two forms: physical laziness where “you don’t clean your room even though your parents tell you to” or spiritual laziness, which comes “when you sleep in instead of going to Mass.”
The books and program are an offshoot of Wood’s ministry, Extraordinary Mission, based in Toledo, Ohio. He founded it in 2012 to promote faith education for young parents and their children.
In 2019, he began holding sacramental retreats for second-graders and their parents in the Toledo, Cincinnati and Detroit dioceses. In 2024 the “7 Deadly Dragons” series of books, which
Wood wrote along with his wife and five children, was published. He also produces a podcast and “Dragons Slayers TV,” a streaming service on the ministry website that includes music and other content for families.
“I started my ministry to especially reach out to young parents because there are thousands of families that are disengaged from the faith,” Wood said. “My goal is to inspire parents to help their children grow in faith.”
Wood also offered a special program geared toward parents.
Learn more about the “7 Deadly Dragons” book series and Wood’s ministry: www.extraordinarymission.com.
— Christina Lee Knauss
