Witness the Difference

Y'all know how I love to write. But these days, I never get to. My fondness for writing nowadays comes out in the form of letters of recommendations and talks I'm asked to give at work or church. Lucky for me, I was recently asked to give testimony about what Catholic schools mean to me and my family for my kiddos' school, St. Thomas. I was honored. I took to my thoughts, and my computer, and punched out a five minute diddy that I gave at 11:00 Mass this morning.  

I'm a product of Catholic schools myself--high school, at least. I went to Mother of Mercy High School and Cincinnati, and of all of my alma maters (I have three--they're all excellent: Mercy, Ohio University, and Indiana University), Mercy is the one that's left the most lasting impact by far. It's where I found my voice. So it's no surprise that I value Catholic education. 

I fully recognize the privilege I have to be able to send my kiddos to Catholic school and am thankful every day that I can. The very least I can do is spread the word when asked and encourage others to seek out such opportunities for their kiddos.

When in Bloomington, we were part of a wonderful parish there that we loved (still do)--so what a blessing it was to find a soft place to land in St. Thomas, upon moving to Ann Arbor two and a half years ago. I'm not sure St. Thomas will ever know how much it means to us. They've been a tremendous blessing on the Goetz Family's Camino.

I love St. Thomas because Pili's teacher thought to take this picture--then thought to send it to me

My testimony, titled 'Witness the Difference,' is below.   

Good Morning St. Thomas parishioners,

It was an honor for me to be asked to speak to you all this morning about what a Catholic education, particularly at St. Thomas, means to my husband and me, and to our little family. My name is Stephanie Goetz, my husband is John Goetz, and we are parents to Joseph and Pilar Goetz, who attend St. Thomas, and also Lourdes, who will be attending in the next two years as a pre-schooler.

Our reason for choosing St. Thomas as the place for our children to attend school is nothing short of God’s grace. To make a very long story short, the summer of 2013, my husband, John, and I came to Ann Arbor for a long weekend together, away from our kids, to celebrate his birthday. We had a great weekend here. On that Sunday, we checked online to see what Mass options there were around town, as it’s always been one of our favorite pasttimes to attend Mass in other cities. It just so happened that St. Thomas offered the time that best fit our timetable for the day. I’ll never forget that day. We came to the 11:00 Mass, held hands, actually got to listen to the Homily—remember, our kids weren’t with us!—and felt something very powerful. We even said as we were leaving to head back to where we were living at the time, and had spent the last ten years living, which was Bloomington, Indiana, that we had this strange feeling we’d be back some day.

Fast forward to August 2014, and sure enough, we were moving to Ann Arbor, MI, due to a fantastic job opportunity I had at the University of Michigan. When we made the decision to move here in March of 2014, I only had one school in mind for our then two children to attend, and that was St. Thomas. Our powerful and peaceful experience at Mass here one summer earlier—almost a year to the day of us moving here—was all I needed to know that St. Thomas was the parish for us. After checking out the school’s website, the Little Saints pre-school program handbook, and talking with Mrs. Steffy in the school’s main office several times by phone, I was even further committed to St. Thomas. Keep in mind that we were coming from Bloomington, Indiana, where we had only one Catholic school to choose from—so moving to Ann Arbor, where there were lots of Catholic school options to choose from, you would have thought we’d have shopped around a bit more. But no—the heart knows what it feels, and I knew our kids would feel home at St. Thomas. In fact, when we came here in May of 2014 to look for houses, our first stop was here at St. Thomas, our new parish and the kids’ new school. It’s again a visit I’ll never forget. It was about 5:30 pm, and the church was empty, but the light of spring was still shining brightly through the stained glass. My heart was so happy and it felt good to be so certain about our choice for our kids’ school.

I love St. Thomas because they appreciate Pili for who she is!

So, this nostalgic little story doesn’t tell you much about why we chose St. Thomas for our kids initially—because I firmly believe it was God who made that choice—but it will help you understand why we stay. Our family is blessed enough to have a *choice,* to have options, as to where our kids will go to school. So now I will share the reasons we continue to choose to stay at St. Thomas, year after year.

Reason 1: the welcoming committee. When I drop my kids off to school every morning, at least three people are there to greet them, rain, snow or shine: the principal, one of our priests, and another teacher (this sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it?). What does this mean? This means my kids are welcomed and called by name before they even enter the building. This means they feel HOME. What more could a parent want?

Reason 2: the heart of St. Thomas school, its teachers. Speaking of called by name—these teachers were called by name—by God—to be my—and to be our—children’s teachers. Anyone who is in education or knows about the field of education knows teachers teach because they love kids. St. Thomas teachers are no exception. They love our children. They hug them when they need it. They pray with them when they need guidance. Every time I dialogue via email with my daughter’s kindergarten teacher, who was also my son’s kindergarten teacher, she never fails to tell me how lucky she considers herself to teach our children. Considering my daughter spends just as much time with her teacher as she does with me—if not more—I am always at peace knowing there’s no place my daughter’s teacher would rather be during the day than with her students. I have a strong sense that all the teachers at St. Thomas feel the same way.

Reason 3: the soul of St. Thomas school, and that is the Lord. If you’re on the fence about if St. Thomas is the right school for your kiddo, or if it’s a financial commitment that’s worth making, I encourage you to come to Wednesday School Mass at 8:00, or Adoration on Friday around the same time. There is a sense of community, of faith, of FAMILY, and of deep love felt at School Mass (that’s thanks largely to Fr. Bill and Fr. Todd leading the way for them) and School Adoration that’s impossible to describe with mere words. Just come, and you’ll see. For the past three years, I’ve consistently attended School Mass and Adoration and the growth I have seen in the students during that time is beautiful, and so sincere. When I see them coming together in their faith in a very intentional way, it is well with my soul. There is no price too high to pay for such a blessing. I should add that once a month, after the School Mass, a ceremony takes place in which one student from each grade is recognized for displaying a virtue of the month, a virtue that has been chosen by the school. My son and daughter get to see their peers recognized for trustworthiness, for self-control, for magnanimity. Their school values EMPATHY, much needed in our world today. That’s the kind of education I want for my children—who wouldn’t?

I love St. Thomas because they helped this little guy come out of his shell

Last, but certainly not least, are the other St. Thomas families. They watch out for my kids on the playground after school when I need to talk to their teachers. They text me to let me know they’re praying for my kids when they’re sick. They lend an ear, or a hand, when our family needs it. They send this full-time working Momma pictures from all the field trips I have to miss. They are also grateful for the things about St. Thomas that I am grateful for, and thus I always feel a renewed sense of purpose for our kids and our school when I’m around them.

So there you have it—we were brought here to St. Thomas by God’s grace, but stay here by a very conscious choice. The teachers, Fr. Todd, Fr. Bill, the families, the school’s values of faith and service, and the school putting God at its center—those are our reasons. I lovingly encourage you to find yours! 

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For more information on St. Thomas the Apostle school, visit the school's website. Also, check out our new video here. 

And lastly--if you're interesting in hearing the full story about how we got to Ann Arbor, read this. 

Buen camino, friends.