Meet Mike Goulet

 

We found our way to Holy Cross at the end of what I would call a long road of small events and coincidences. Kerri and I came from very different religious and spiritual backgrounds, but along the way we’ve shared common beliefs and values. We had both come to realize that we needed something more than just our own personal, private belief in God.

 

After driving by the sign on Rt 114 so many times, we finally worked up the nerve and went to church. Right from the beginning, everyone was warm and welcoming, and we realized that there was a community there that we could be a part of. From that first Sunday on, we’ve grown to love Holy Cross for so many different reasons.

Father John’s homilies are truly enlightening. We’ve always felt that he is like us, because he knows what it is like to be married, to have children, to have real-world stresses, that he is somehow qualified to speak to us… that he truly understands what it is like for all of us. Also, we feel that when he speaks, it reflects the Episcopal Church’s larger sense of inclusiveness and acceptance of others.

 

Another thing we love is how the church includes the kids. Holy Cross is not just “kid friendly” or well structured. It’s not just the quality of the Atrium teaching. It’s the whole thing… Laura Arvin and Laura Starr-Houghton are so good with our kids and what they are teaching is so wholesome and true. Coupled with that, their Sunday school starts early, giving us probably the first opportunity of the week to sit down and have meaningful discussions with others about issues of spirituality, morality, society, etc. All of this is possible because the kids are a fundamental part of the process of Church.

 

Ultimately, all of this works together to form a community of people who love and respect each other and who love God, and that’s what we love most about Holy Cross. As a young family, we’ve realized that we need this community for support. We probably have much in common with the other young families in this church, but we also hunger for the experience and wisdom of our church’s older members.

 

And so perhaps it is a feat of Holy Stewardship just to wrangle our family into the minivan on Sunday morning and go to church…to take the time…to make it a priority… But what we realize is that not only do we need Holy Cross in our lives, but that Holy Cross needs us in its life… that we need to give something more than just our mere presence on Sunday morning… that the community depends on our stewardship.