Although Jill Niehaus and her family officially became members at St. Alexius in April, her family had started to get involved a couple years before they even registered. As her children benefitted from faith formation at the parish, Jill found herself helping out with things like Vacation Bible School, which led her to involvement with Children’s Liturgy of the Word. Jill found that faith formation was rewarding in a number of ways.
“I enjoy seeing the kids learn and grow their faith in Jesus,” Jill says. “They are so inquisitive and they have so many questions. I love hearing how they see their relationship with Jesus, helping them grow, and watching that happen.”
Jill and her husband, Joey, have four kids, ages 3 to 9. While her kids were one of her primary reasons to get involved at the parish, serving has in turn benefitted Jill’s own faith.
“I do it as an example for my kids because I think that it’s important to be active at the parish,” Jill says. “But I also do it for my own faith. It keeps me accountable and helps me to learn and grow in my faith as well.”
In addition to Vacation Bible School and Children’s Liturgy of the Word, Jill helps out as a substitute teacher for faith formation. This gives Jill a variety of times and places to use her gifts. With her kids involved, she serves in places where she was already going to be present, but she takes on an active role.
“It’s definitely made our family feel like a part of the parish,” Jill says. “We’re not just going to church every Sunday, but we’ve gotten to know people and people have gotten to know our kids. We just feel like when we go to church, we’re seeing people we know and are part of a community.”
As her kids get older, Jill can see her involvement shifting in some ways, but she always wants to be an example for her children. Since officially registering at the parish, Jill signed up to serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
“I think it’s important for them to be part of the Mass,” Jill says. “I hope my example will help them to serve, maybe by being altar servers.”
As she continues to get to know the parish and share her own gifts and talents, Jill sees her service as a two-way road, benefiting both the community by making more opportunities available to families, and herself by continuously challenging her to deepen her faith.
“Find something you are passionate about and enjoy,” Jill says. “But also find something that challenges your faith that will help you grow.”
