Here are some beautiful images accompanied by some powerful words. Saint John the Evangelist parish in Jackson saw 26 men, women and children received into the Church at Easter. Deo gratias.
In the days beforehand, the parish pastor, Father Chas Canoy, asked some of the catechumens and candidates if they would be open to sharing their personal testimonies with others. Below are some of the stories he received in return, re-published with the permission of each new Catholic. Enjoy!
Testimonies from Neophytes Easter Vigil 2025
Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Jackson, Michigan
* Shane Batdorf:
As a young child, I attended Saturday evening Mass with my Mom on a regular basis until I was about 5 years old. I’m not sure what happened, but there was a huge fight between my Mom and Dad (who was what I would call an agnostic). All I remember about the fight was that I wasn’t going to be one of those knee-bending redneck’s that sin on Saturday and are saved on Sunday.
My Dad passed away in January of 2024, and in July I blew two discs out of my neck and had to have emergency surgery to keep me from being a quadriplegic. My brother-in-law, John Dullock, asked Father Chas to visit me and give me confession. I was overwhelmed with relief, and the surgery was successful.
As I get older I feel a much greater need to come closer to God, and Saint John is doing a wonderful job fulfilling that need. Thank you so much for doing all you guys do; it’s very much appreciated.
* Peter H. Behncke:
Imagine this world with all of God’s goodness removed; all beauty, truth, and hope gone; you can never escape or die. This was me, I felt this. I had lost hope. I had willfully turned away from God. I had forged a path that I thought was best for me. I had rejected God’s plan for me, and I failed miserably.
Although I looked like a complete human on the outside, I was a complete mess on the inside. I was lied to, not by God, but entirely by the Evil One. I was told to eat a little more food, have a little more drink, do the things that feel best for you, you deserve it. And I listened. I was told to curse those people that don’t agree with you; they will get what they deserve for not supporting you; you don’t need them. And I listened. I was told I wasn’t good enough, I was useless, that I’d never succeed. And I listened. I was told so many lies that I began to believe them. I was completely surrounded by the evil that rules this world. I was so alone and afraid. I really thought that I had lost my God-center.
In all of the darkness, lying on the floor, broken, beat up, and succumbing to the evil that was surrounding me, I saw the light of Jesus Christ. My God, Jesus Christ, had come for me! He walked through the cloud of evil and picked me up in his arms and cast away the Evil One. He filled my heart with His love that I had known before, but I had willfully rejected. My life was changed in an instant; I was saved; He filled me with His love. All the hope in this world had been fully restored in me.
This moment with Jesus Christ gave me a new perspective on my life. My priorities are God, my wife, and my children. All other people and things fall into place after I meet these obligations. With this new perspective I asked God what should I do? The response was crystal clear, and I was inspired through the power of the Holy Spirit to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. I have loved the process. I’ve re-learned so much that I had forgotten from my 12 years of Catholic school education. I now want to learn more, to understand more, to fill the empty cavity that can hold so much knowledge about my faith. I’m on a journey that is not my own; I have my God next to me, guiding me, leading me closer to my savior Jesus Christ.
I’m so excited to be a full-fledged member of the Catholic Church, and I’m ready to be a warrior for God. Through the guidance of all-knowing God the Father, the all-powerful Holy Spirit, and the ever-lasting love of my savior Jesus Christ, I look forward to the path that is before me. Amen.
* Richard E. Cooper, Jr:
While I have been a Christian my entire life, my worldview was always through the prism of the Protestant faith. But for the past 32 years, the Catholic worldview has been the more prevalent in my life. When my wife and I were married we agreed to raise our children in the Catholic Church. We also agreed that, to fulfill their needs as young Catholics, they should attend the Catholic schools here in Jackson.
Within the past year, I have begun to examine my own faith needs and felt the calling to become Catholic myself. Father Brian, the previous chaplain here at Lumen Christi, counselled me in making this decision. So, in order to meet my own faith needs, I started attending the OCIA classes at St. John’s Church. My journey in becoming a practicing Catholic will culminate in my acceptance into the Church with the Easter vigil this April.
* Tim, Pat, Ryan Grace, and Nathan Ehlert:
Tim, Pam, Ryan Grace, and Nathan Ehlert made their decision to convert to Catholicism as a family. Our journey began with Pam’s health crisis in 2021. Pam had a cardiac event; the family wasn’t sure if Pam would survive and, if she did, what her quality of life would be like after everything that happened. It was during this time Tim began to contemplate his religious beliefs and values. He started to research the Catholic faith. Pam did recover and with work was able to return home.
In late summer of 2024, Tim contacted Todd Gale at St. John’s and began to ask questions about converting to Catholicism. Pam and Tim discussed the possibility of converting, but Pam had strong ties to the Lutheran (ELCA) church. She had been raised Lutheran since birth. Both Ryan Grace and Nathan were baptized and had their first communion as Lutherans.
During this time, the Lutheran (ELCA) church seemed to shifting to more liberal beliefs and values. It was a difficult decision, but Pam finally made the decision to leave the Lutheran Church. We were feeling that the Lutheran (ELCA) church was not aligning with our religious beliefs and values. Tim and Pam sat down with Ryan Grace and Nathan and discussed the Lutheran church and the option of converting to Catholicism. The decision was made as a family to begin OCIA classes, after we met with Todd Gale. Todd had made us feel at home and welcome at St. John’s. After attending church and classes, meeting members of the congregation and Father Chas, we knew that we had made the right decision to convert and to become members of the St. John’s Parish.
* Anthony Kulka:
Looking into my future, a lot of new things are coming my way. Whether it be college, living away from Jackson, or not seeing my family everyday. All of these sudden changes are scary. I am a person who loves routine, and for my routine to be completely different in the matter of months, it's going to throw me off. With all of the upcoming confusion and uncertainty, I knew I needed to find certainty, and what better way to do that than my faith.
Throughout my whole life, I am fortunate to have loving parents who raised me in the Catholic faith. As a family, we would go to church on Sunday, then go to Los Tres Amigos afterwards; these are some of the happiest times in my life. We have been going to St.John Evangelist Church for at least 8 years, and it’s a place that’s comfortable to me. However, when the time for my confirmation in the 8th grade came around, so did the pandemic. With all of the craziness that was going on, and with school already having zoom classes, the idea for more zoom classes deterred me, so I missed the confirmation classes as an 8th grader.
But from that point, I’ve still been close to my faith. In fact, I transferred to Lumen Christi High School my sophomore year to grow even closer to my faith. With changing schools, so many great people came my way, such as my girlfriend, new teammates, and my theology teacher who is also my confirmation sponsor today.
So, that is why I’m getting confirmed, to commit to the Lord before I go off to the new world of college. Not only do I believe getting confirmed will provide certainty for my upcoming confusion, I also believe it will provide peace. In the past, I’ve leaned on the Lord in my times of trouble, whether it was initial loneliness at my new school, anxiety from big tests, or even frustrations on the golf course, Jesus swoops into my life and declutters my messes. So now, as a graduating senior in high school, getting confirmed was the most important thing to do.
* Nicole Marzec
“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11). My name is Nicole Marzec, and this is my faith journey.
From a young age I always felt something was missing in my life. I knew I was different from other kids just by my family dynamic. I grew up an only child from a teen mom, who lived with her grandparents, and who never met her father before.
My family didn’t go to church. There was no faith practiced at home, except for my grandpa watching Mass on his TV alone in his bedroom. My grandpa was the closest male figure I had to a father, and he struggled with his health for years. I believe God used my grandpa to guide me to Jesus and eventually to Catholicism. He passed away in 2005 when I was 18 years old, and his last words to me were, “Don’t worry, we’ll meet again in Heaven.”
My first encounter with Jesus was when I first accepted him as my Lord and Savior. I found Him at the Federated Church in Grass Lake and was baptized in 2006. I was now a Child of God, but I still felt that same emptiness in me as before. My faith journey had just begun, and I was just a babe.
Years passed by, and I had backslid in my walk with God. It turned out I had loved sin more than God and chose my own will over His. Still He never gave up on me. He continued calling me back to Him, telling me to “Let GO and Let God.” It took three failed marriages, domestic abuse, fear, rejection, depression, and a family torn apart and not speaking to each other, before I fully surrendered to Jesus. I was at rock bottom financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I felt I didn’t have much left to live for, not even my children.
I was at my worst, and Jesus saved me. He showed me all things can be made new, just come back to your First Love. A lot like the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus showed me how I chased after men searching for love rather than seeking Him. If I could drink of the living water, I would never thirst again. I wasn’t an abandoned child without a dad anymore, because I had a Father in Heaven that loved me. For the first time in 38 years, I felt True Love.
So why the Catholic Church? For years I church-shopped from one Protestant church to the next and never felt at home. I fell in love with Jesus, and with that it meant desiring the Euchrist. Now I am convinced I am exactly where I am supposed to be. How I am walking with Jesus now, He has picked me up from rock bottom and kept his promises to me by making all things new.
After not speaking to my family for two years, He brought us back together and is restoring relationships. He has mended my broken heart and wounds by breathing new life into me. He has made me debt free, financially and spiritually speaking, as he paid it all FOR ME. He has promised He has a plan for me, a bigger, brighter future if only I trust in Him and endure until the end. Because the best is yet to come. Thanks Be To God!
* Catherine Shackelford:
Before September 2024, I have no specific memory of the last time I attended a church service. I believed in God throughout my life, but I didn’t have much, if any, of a relationship with him. I rarely prayed and when I did pray, I felt insecure or embarrassed or that I shouldn’t be praying. I lived most of my life with the mindset of, if you’re a good person who believes in God you should go to heaven.
A few years ago, I watched the movie, Heaven is for Real. After the movie was finished, I felt bad and guilty that my kids did not know who God was. I had an overwhelming feeling to talk with my kids about Jesus. I became aware in that moment that it was my duty as their mother to introduce them to God. I started by talking with them about God and having bedtime prayers. I ordered children bible story books to read to them. I was also learning from those books because it had been so long that I could not answer any questions they may have had about Jesus.
My sister, Shiela, was pregnant with a baby girl named Clara. On May 19, 2024, Clara was born. She lived for an hour and a half. Shiela requested a priest to come to the hospital room. I remember watching and praying along and feeling good/hopeful/peaceful in those moments. The peacefulness came from feeling like there was something “bigger” happening.
In September 2024, I attended Shiela’s confirmation at St. John’s. It had been a decade, maybe two since I attended church. I instantly liked Father Chas. I thought he was charismatic and a good speaker. I watched as my sister and strangers were baptized and confirmed and felt envious of their relationship with Jesus. I wanted the knowledge of Jesus they had and to belong to something bigger than myself. My stepdaughter, Ryali, and I both felt good leaving church that day. During mass it was mentioned that the OCIA classes would start within the next couple of weeks. We started classes and haven’t looked back.
I do not know why Clara did not live; however, I do believe that she was given to my sister by God and that her existence was the beginning of a domino effect that has brought six members of my family to church and strengthening their relationship with God.
* Ryali Shackelford:
Before Christ I felt hopeless and lost. I felt as if no one was there to help to support or understand me. Before I came into the church I knew very little about God, I thought he might be real but I was very confused on what to believe.
During my sophomore year in high school is when I started to struggle with my mental health and it got to the point where I was at my very lowest. I felt as if I had no one and I was always sad or upset and I pushed that on to the people. My struggle with my mental health made me feel lost and I had zero hope in getting better. I started first talking to God, asking him to take my life before I went to bed. I asked him to make it end and to not wake me up in the morning because I felt that my life was not worth living. I prayed to him almost daily to make the pain go away.
During one night while I was praying to God to end my life, I started to feel a chill across my entire body. I felt an overcoming sense of warmth of love and support. That was my sign that he was real, and he was listening to me.
A few days later from my first experience with God, my stepmom Catherine was telling me about how my Aunt Sheila was going to church and how that has helped her. We first went to my Aunt Sheila's confirmation, and as soon as I walked in, I felt that same warmth as I did when I was in my room. After church, I have never felt so light and felt as if things were going to get better.
Catherine and I started to feel a connection to the church and started getting into OCIA. The OCIA experience was amazing, they taught us so much information and Angel and Todd were so kind and they made every single person feel as if they belonged in this program. As we started to go to church and the classes, I started to fall in love with the Catholic religion. I started to pray to God daily, and things started to get better. The reason we decided to go to St. John was because Catherine and I loved the church and Father Chas.
* Bodelle Spearman:
As I begin to tell my story of where I am now, I do have to joyfully say my faith journey is far from over. Praise the Lord that this walk with Him is not a short one. I have come and gone from His presence many times, and yet He is so utterly faithful. Beyond reason I have seen and known His love, even though I loved Him not.
My story begins as a child, I was raised in an evangelical Christian household and was continuously steeped in a biblical worldview. I count this as both a blessing and at times a setback. The blessing being that I was raised in mind that there was great value in my being and that the giver of this value was an all-encompassing Creator who loved and cherished me. The setback came as I grew older. Because I knew of this God and had known of him since I could recite the alphabet, I thought that also meant that I loved him. Thinking I loved God without actually loving God put me into a reality that brought pain after pain.
I did not come to see him for who he really was until I was 15 years old. I had just moved to Tucson, Arizona, and I was at my lowest of lows. I was alone and angry. I had nowhere to turn, and so I turned to the only thing I had left. I began praying, not the cute little prayers I knew from my childhood, but guttural prayers. Asking God if He was real, and if he was, I needed Him right now.
By the grace of God, my eyes were opened to who He truly was and the reality that He was indeed there with me. He showed me, through prayer and through the Bible, his unending faithfulness and that, even when I did not see or feel him, he was indeed there. This truly began my knowledge of the Lord. I began to read the Scriptures totally differently. I had this awareness that this God was deeply in love with me, and it made me begin to fall in love with him.
The years started to go by; I had not yet surrendered to the Lord and to the commands he called those who loved him to follow, but I continued to pray, surround myself with followers of Christ, and kept reading the bible. I deeply fell into the lukewarm/double-minded category. I would go to church, be in Bible studies and worship nights, and then the next moment I was sneaking around with my several boyfriends, giving myself over to whatever they asked and living this double life as if it was not an issue.
My life began to spiral downward and my depression that had crippled me most of my life took hold. The more and more I tried to be a “better Christian,” the more hopeless and broken I felt. I came to the end of my rope and planned the end of it all. I realized that there was no point in following God. Both the evil and the good suffered regardless of who they called god or not. I packed all my religious stuff up, slid it under my bed and swore to never go back. A few months after walking away, I wrote all those near me farewell letters and bid them all good luck and let them know that I loved them all deeply, but I just couldn't do this anymore.
One random evening shortly before I planned on ending it, I had a sweet friend reach out and ask how I was doing. Some pull within led me to be brutally honest and admit that this was the end. Upon hearing this, my friend asked to meet and this led to an 8-hour conversation at the Lansing Mall where this dear friend led me back to the Lord. I faced all that I had been running from, and I gave it all to Christ Jesus and surrendered it all to him. This new found freedom and Savior that I found changed me on the inside, and by his sanctifying grace and mercy He continued (and continues to this day) to grow and change me.
Since coming back to the Lord I began to study His Word; I wanted to know God for who He said he was and not just simply take the words of men. I began to study the past theologians, the creeds, doctrine after doctrine. I sought truth, and the Lord answered. After about a year I felt called to step into theological studies, as well as double majoring in psychology, at a local Christian College called GLCC. I wanted so badly to know the Lord more.
While there I met a young man who was the first Catholic I had ever met in my life who took his faith seriously. We began talking and exploring faith together, and I came at him with pride and tried over and over to show him how wrong his belief was and how modern reformed evangelical worship and teachings were the true way to go. Through nothing but pure kindness and humility, he walked with me as I began reading and studying Catholic theology and the Church. I vividly remember the first time I went to Catholic Mass; I sat there baffled as to how these people could be so deceived, and yet I was met with peace and love from these people. Thanks be to God because the more I sought him and studied the faith, the more my pride began to fall and I found myself faced with the truth I so badly wanted.
As the months went by, I moved from Lansing to Rives and began attending St. John Parish. The parishioners met me with such kindness and love, the likes of which I had never seen before. They wanted to know me, they sought to get me connected into the Church, and they welcomed me with open arms. The hardness in my heart was gone and, through prayer and seeking, I realized that I wanted to be a part of this faith. A dear friend invited me to join OCIA, for nothing more than to just learn. The more I went the more I fell in love with this Church and all the beautiful history and practices, and I truly wanted to continue. All those questions that I held, some even from the beginning of my youth, were answered. It felt as if the puzzle pieces fell into place.
By the grace of God I am now here. The preparation to partake in the sacraments, to know my Savior all the more and to join His Church has filled me with such an unwavering joy. Unwavering joy that has allowed me to continue even in the face of my family's disapproval, my friends mocking tones, and the blatant sneers of those who call me a heretic and a liar. I stand in the knowledge through this all, that this is what my dear Christ went through, will I not be allotted the same? I know where He has called me and I will walk in boldness towards it. I thank all of you who have accompanied me on this journey and I pray that the Lord would bless you abundantly. All glory to the Father Almighty.
* Ajalon St. Charles:
I was born into a Protestant family and was brought up around and in Christianity. However, I was also exposed to drug use, physical and sexual abuse, manipulation, and domestic violence from a young age. I connected Christianity with hypocrisy and the emptiness I felt. I had hardened my heart to Christianity and presented myself as an atheist when I was 14.
By 21, I had graduated with a full ride scholarship to my preferred university, civilly married to my high school sweetheart, and was in peak physical shape. I had also completely pushed out thinking about religion, and for some reason a special distaste for Catholicism had set in.
By 23, I had failed in my life-long goal, owed my scholarship money back, was underemployed, divorced, and my hero, my grandfather, was on his deathbed. I was broken and listless. Despite my atheism, I was angry with God.
I participated in an employment program. In this environment, I met my friend, Chad. Chad would pray with me as I struggled with the rejection of my previous wife, the weight of my own mortal sins, loss of purpose, and anger towards God. By the end of our time together, I had reversed many of my thoughts on the Catholic Church and decided to find out more for myself.
While I picked up the Catechism, the Rosary, and read the Bible for the first time in years, I was not developed in faith, and I still wrestled with emotion being foundational to salvation. I started work for the Michigan Department of Corrections, and I found it easier to cope with life by throwing myself into work.
Then in 2022, Uncle Tim would pass away from unexpected brain cancer. Shortly thereafter, my mother passed away from a heart attack. While driving shortly after their deaths, I would cry out to God and demand a reckoning. Why? For the first time I felt that I had an audience with him. I spoke all my grievances and felt heard. But while I felt heard, I still didn’t hear answers. As I continued to grieve and hurl accusations, I felt the scales on my heart start to fall away. The hardness of my heart softened, and I received a non-auditory locution, a calling on my heart to join the Church. I finally recognized all the idols that I placed up before Him, and how they had been smashed, and my arrogance humbled.
I am here now with my wonderful, soon to be convalidated, wife, Taylor, and our beautiful daughters, Joséphine and Geneviève. They have been gifts from God, surely, as I could not have done anything to deserve them, nor the growth they have brought out of me.
* Taylor St. Charles:
By the time I had made it to middle school, I would consider myself an atheist. I was so sure God wasn’t real and I would get angry if someone tried to push that belief at me. By 2020, nothing had changed my mind or heart. In March of that year, I would meet my now husband AJ. He was still in the beginning stages of his journey to Christ, and I was still keeping my heart hardened to God.
In August of 2022, we found out that we would be having our first child, a beautiful baby girl named Joséphine would be born April 19th, 2023. The moment my daughter had been settled into my arms for the first time, her screaming had immediately ceased. Her head settled over my heart, and the only thing I could think was, “How could God not be real?” Having this precious baby, so small and innocent, was nothing less than a gift from God.
From there, the Holy Spirit lit a fire in my heart. I went back to church for the first time in years. AJ and I were civilly married in September of 2023, and during this time, he would begin to ask me questions to get me thinking. He had wanted to begin OCIA classes, and I wasn’t too sure about taking that leap with him. But he asked me to attend just one class with him, test the waters, ask questions, and get some information to think about my next steps.
We attended our first class shortly after the new year and I knew in my heart that this was where God was calling me to be. We started attending Mass together as a family. Prayer was said before every single meal. God had taken center stage in our lives. The love and joy and lightness that has taken over are unmatched. God has renewed my heart and given me strength and comfort and peace.
And now, on the anniversary of my oldest daughter’s birth, my husband and our two daughters, Joséphine and Geneviève will be baptized together, I will confirmed into the Church, and AJ and I will have our civil marriage made sacramental. All because God’s love conquers all.
* Laura and Henry Whitaker:
Laura: My journey to the Catholic faith began just over 14 years ago when I married my husband, Josh, who has been a lifelong Catholic. I always felt I had a solid Protestant faith background. When we had our son it was never a question; we were, and are, raising him in the Church. As he has gotten older and looked deeper into his own faith, many questions about the Catholic faith and the Church have come up, and I realized that I would need to do some of my own research (I hate not knowing the answers to things!) to answer his questions.
Throughout these past 14 years I have been peer-pressured to become Catholic, but I was NOT doing it just because other people wanted me to. Doing so would not have come from my heart, but only a desire to please others (no thanks).
I think one of the greatest gifts God gave me is a treasured relationship with my friend Natalie, who is someone I have been able to have deep, meaningful conversations with about our faith. We have been friends for over 12 years, and through thick and thin, she has led with her faith and her support of, “When you decide you want to be Catholic, I’m here for you!” And she is! She is here at the Vigil (or will be on the 19th, haha)!
The other blessing in my life is, by far, my amazing husband, Josh. He has never pressured, pushed, or guilted me into what he thought I should do. But these last months have drawn us closer and into a more meaningful relationship than I ever would have thought we’d have. He was already an amazing dad and the best husband, but now as a spiritual partner, we have grown in many new ways together.
So now fast forward to this past summer, and I realized, with great clarity, my biggest hurdle to coming into the Church was my own misunderstanding of what it means, truly means, to be Catholic. I began to think more and more about taking the steps to be Catholic, and was it really what I wanted to do? And why? I’ve been going to Mass for 14 years. That counts for something, right?? But it wasn’t enough, and I felt this deep urge to do more.
One morning at Mass, it was announced that OCIA had begun, but it wasn’t too late to join. On the way home, I told my family I was signing up. Now, I had already decided this in my heart, and the moment I did, I experienced spiritual warfare unlike any I have ever encountered, or thought I could survive. It led me to really TRULY listen to God and put an amount of trust in him I would have never considered before.
There was a day when my husband and I both came home and said to each other, I think you need to quit your job. The spiritual warfare we were experiencing was mostly coming from that area of our lives. So I resigned my position and put all my faith in Christ. Whewwwwww.... That was HARD to do!! I have held jobs–multiple–from the time I was 14. I’ve never not had a job or a backup plan. But here we were. And it has honestly been the best decision we have made, as hard as life has been. Our faith and our spiritual life has renewed itself a thousand-fold in the past months and there is no doubt in my mind I would not be where I am today, in this Church, without listening to what God put on our hearts.
As another, short, sidebar, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is also a culmination of 14 years of prayer from my mother-in-law! The phone call to tell her I was
committing to this was pretty epic, and she has been a constant support through this whole journey of ours (and stands-proudly today as my and Henry’s sponsor).
Then the most special thing happened. I attended my first OCIA class alone and was so inspired by the people and what was placed on my heart. I went home and was so happy my boys had stayed up to wait for me to see how class was. I was familiar with a lot of the content but really enjoyed getting to the nitty gritty of the Faith. Our son, Henry, wanted to come to the next class with me, and I was thrilled he wanted to spend some time with his mom learning about the Faith!
After his first class, he wanted to keep going back and that’s what we did. Mom and Henry at every class together. Our drive to class was filled with questions and things he had thought of, and our ride home was reflecting on what we learned. Then Mr. Todd told us that he noticed Henry’s participation and commitment and if we wanted, he could do his confirmation with me. The kid lit up like it was Christmas morning! Now, not only am I getting to come more deeply into the faith, but I get to do it with my 12 year old son standing with me. I really couldn’t ask for more than that.
To wrap up, we have always loved coming to St. John’s. When we met and got married, we had gone to a couple different churches, and I did not feel welcomed or comfortable being there (I hate to say that, but it really is the truth). But we came to St. John's one day out of a sense of nostalgia, and from the moment we walked in the door, I had this feeling of, yes. This is home, this is where I want to be.
I have been so excited for this moment. Every time I am in mass, I am praying and telling God, I cannot WAIT to receive Eucharist and be connected with Jesus on that level. For years I have felt joined in my soul, but now I get to be joined in the body and blood. So thank you. Thank you for being a church and a people who lovingly bring people into this amazing faith. Thank you for being shepherds of the people and disciples of the Lord. I am so grateful to have had this time and opportunity to grow and learn with you.
Henry’s Witness Statement (written by Henry, Edited by Mom :
The reason I want to be Catholic is so I can be closer to Jesus Christ. Another reason why I love being Catholic is that it helps me be the best version of myself. I like to come to these classes with my mom and learn all the new things about Jesus Christ and
the Eucharist and all that cool stuff. The classes are fun and they have good food.
I love to learn about Christ and all the cool things. I find all the history facts and scriptures interesting and fun to learn about. One reason I wanted to come with my mom is because she would come home all happy and talking about what she learned, and I wanted to learn what she was learning. So I asked if I could go.
I am really happy that my mom is doing it because I have wanted her to become Catholic for a long time. I was watching the Confirmation videos Ms. Angel and Mr. Todd gave me with my mom and dad, and the guy on there said the earlier you can get close to God, the better, and I want to be close to God now. I love the church (St. John’s) because of its beauty and how good it makes me feel when I am there.
P.S. By the way Fr. Chas, I love your humor and you, Mr. Todd, with all your fancy gifts and gadgets on the presentations. They always make me laugh. Why?? It’s in the Bible! And I also like that, when I have questions, you all answer them for me. The End.
* Autumn Todd:
I grew up attending the local Baptist church. In middle school and the beginning years of high school, I joined the youth group at our church. During youth group, I started reading the Bible more outside of church and reflecting more on how God fit into my life outside of just going to church on Sundays. This time of my life was when I was the most involved at church. We made three trips to Camp CoBeAc as a group. These times at camp were when I always felt closest to God.
One year, after responding to an altar call the last night of camp, I came home determined to quit all of my sports teams. I played AAU volleyball growing up, and we had started playing in Sunday tournaments. As a Baptist, if you didn’t make it to
church on Sunday, you just didn’t make it to church. I was sure that, because of this, sports were what was stopping me from getting closer to God. My mom was shocked and upset, and not supportive of this decision at all. We argued about the subject for days, and eventually, I continued playing sports.
By my senior year of high school, my dad had been sober for around 9 years, my youngest brother and sister were old enough to be involved in sports themselves, and as a family, we weren’t going to church consistently anymore. We were busier and had stopped making it a priority.
In college, I drifted further from God and started questioning my beliefs. I hadn’t thought much at all about God or church in general in years before I met Brandon. The first time I went to Mass, I was nervous and unsure. I didn’t want to do something the wrong way or make a fool of myself, and I was a little convinced I wouldn’t like it. I knew it was different from the type of church I grew up going to, and I had some preconceived notions about what Catholic Mass was like. I thought attending Mass would confirm all of those thoughts I had. However, as I was leaving, I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I was still confused about a lot of things, but I was open to going again.
As I started going more often, I had a lot of questions that Brandon didn’t always know the answers to. So he suggested OCIA, just as a way to learn more. I was skeptical about going to OCIA at first. I felt like it was one more thing to add to my already busy week. But, as I went each week, I began to understand Mass and Catholicism on a much deeper level. I found that I had started really listening to the readings at Mass and finding meaning every week. I understood why we were doing certain things, rather than feeling like it was all a silly ritual. It just clicked for me. The memorized prayers that I once thought were rote and meaningless gave me something to rely on. They gave me a way to talk to God when I wasn’t always sure what to say. I remembered why having a relationship with God and going to church was once so important to me.
At the Ash Wednesday service, Fr. Chas kept referring to the Lord
as our rock, which immediately reminded me of the first tattoo I got for Psalm 61:2, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” I got that tattoo when I was 18, even though I wasn’t very close to God when I got it. I think I just knew that I would eventually find my way back. After the service, I felt so reassured that I was exactly where God wanted me to be, doing exactly what He wanted me to be doing.
* Nicholas Wurmlinger:
I was born and baptized as a Catholic, though I had fallen away from the Church. When I started this journey to reconnect with my faith, it was October 2023; I knew something was very wrong with my life, and I needed to fix it. I know that COVID hit me kind of hard. I lived an isolated kind of existence and mainly stayed online for my interactions with other people. I was living a double life for a very long time. I just went online and vented my various frustrations on my roleplaying characters.
I sank further and further into despair. Online roleplaying was an escape. I despised the real world so I wanted to escape from it. I was drawn deeper and deeper into sexual sins and temptations. Eventually I was able to numb every bad feeling of loneliness, despair, frustration, and hatred with my online life. I still had to cry myself to sleep on occasion when the loneliness was still more than I could bear. But it also numbed every good feeling I had too. My achievements and accomplishments felt fake. I didn’t take joy in even the things that I loved as a child.
That’s what giving in to constant sin does to you. It’s an addiction to living life cut off from every uncomfortable feeling. I wasn’t sad about being alone anymore; I was just cold. The only form of excitement for me was doing whatever it took to get back to my addiction. Something needed to change. So I told my dad that I was going to make an effort to go back to church every week.
In this past year I have made some drastic changes in both my spiritual and physical health. I was 417 when I started this, diagnosed with diabetes, and spiraling quickly. I am now 350; I am pushing to try and lose more weight, but I am much happier with myself.
But it's more than that, much more. Last year during Lent, I was actually trying to keep to the disciplines of the Church. I was getting more and more involved in fighting to stop my addiction to my online life and started feeling more connected to the world around me. God actually reached out to me, someone that felt completely unworthy of love; he reached out to me. I still remember this to this day.
I have never been one to put much stock in dreams, but I saw myself as a kid standing in my parents backyard. It was a bright and sunny day, and I was looking up into the sky for some reason. All of a sudden I saw a white dove flying over my head. It dropped one of its feathers down to me, and it hit my chest. When the feather touched me, I felt warmth spreading throughout my whole body. It wasn’t painful; it was just warmth. I had been feeling so cold and numb for the past 20 years, it was like nothing I had ever felt before. But it didn’t go away when I woke up either. It lasted the entire day. It actually felt so real.
I would love to be able to tell you that I was able to stop sinning completely and that I don’t have feelings of loneliness or despair anymore. But I can’t, and I don’t think it will ever fully go away for me. Even though I am in a much better place in my life, I still struggle constantly questioning if I will ever fall in love with someone. Even when I do struggle with those things, I know that at least God still loves me and that he will always have my back.
* Andrew Zielinksi:
My name is Andrzej Zielinski. I was born in Poland, and I go by Andrew. Growing up, we were apart of the Roman Catholic faith, and it has always been a part of my life. I vividly remember good memories of certain years from Christmas to Easter.
I moved in 2002 to Michigan and had a culture shock here, but overall I learned to accommodate into the USA. Currently I work in a prison in Jackson and work quite a lot of mandatory overtime every week. I am single, but if the time comes, I would want to get married in the Church. I decided it was a good time to take the next step of my faith and chose St. John as it has been the church I have gone to since I was a kid.
My family has more kids and more family members where church has been a consistent part of life now. At 32, I am more involved, and I want to go further with my faith. My brother has had new babies, and I'm excited to be godfather to these kids and see them grow up in the Church.
Jesus has been an important part of my life from work to everyday life. The highest qualities Jesus has taught me are his humility and strength. If I need more strength or something seems wrong, I can always look at Jesus and think what he would do. Jesus’ humbleness is something that I look up to and try my best to follow his path. I'm excited and proud to be a part of the Church and call myself Catholic.
* Photographs by George Mietelka
