Inform, inspire, energize.
These words sum up what I hope will define my service to our diocese as a reporter for the Superior Catholic Herald. I feel I am answering a call from God, made through the voice of Anita Draper, who reached out and asked me to consider this position as part-time reporter. A personal call to deeper discipleship and of drawing others closer to Christ and an engaged and active faith. I am a member of St. Francis de Sales Parish in Spooner where my children attend the parish school. After moving from the metro Detroit area seven years ago, I got involved with the school’s marketing committee and then worked as the cluster’s bulletin editor and website administrator. This past year I have been involved with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women as the Spirituality Commissioner.
Born and raised in Northern (Lower Peninsula) Michigan, I am the oldest of 12 children, as well as an only child. I have family members both Catholic and non-Catholic, have been influenced by a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and schools of thought. My life’s experiences include growing up with two families, living abroad, discerning a religious vocation, grieving the death of a sibling, navigating single motherhood, going outside my comfort zone to meet and marry my Prince Charming, wondering if my first child (now 13) would ever have siblings and then welcoming three children in two-and-a-half years, being both a stay-at-home mom and a working-from-home mom, navigating the challenges of keeping personal balance and family first while being involved with church and community.
All this has given me something in common with just about every person I meet. And I hope to meet many of you, and discover where God is leading us as members of one diverse but united family. I do not see myself as an employee of this diocese, rather a servant of her people; tasked with the mission to inform and engage minds in understanding the truths and beauty of our Catholic faith, to inspire hearts and souls to desire God and seek a personal relationship with Him above all else, and to energize wills in a deeper commitment to finding God’s presence every day and experiencing the joy of surrender to His loving plan for our lives.
Together on the journey, Jenny
