Among the first things the families you will meet in this story wanted to make clear: they do not consider themselves perfect or even models for others. But they are willing to share some of what makes their families who they are, what works for them and why faith is such a key aspect of healthy family life today.
“The Joy of Love experienced by families is also the joy of the Church,” wrote Pope Francis in the opening line of his apostolic exhortation “The Joy of Love in the Family”, which was published after recent synods focused on the situation of families today around the world.
We hope to show, not perfect families, but some ways that bring to life what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.” ~CCC2207
While Sioux Falls native Dusty Coleman’s goal of playing major league baseball remained when he got married and started a family, it did change him.
“Getting married and having children has changed the game for me,” Coleman said. “Being part of a family is a major factor in becoming a better person. Life has become less about me and more about making the best decisions for the four of us as a whole.
“As Christians, we are called to put others first. Family means unconditional love and support- Sarah (his wife), Noah and Quinn (his children) make me want to be a better version of myself each day,” said Coleman, now playing AAA ball with the El Paso Chihuahuas, part of the big league San Diego Padres organization.
“In this baseball lifestyle, one of the things that makes our family life special or different is the amount of travel,” Coleman said.
“We are forced to move to different places away from other family so Sarah and I greatly depend on each other. Also, having to go on road trips often, I have to be away from my wife and kids for 4-8 days at a time. This makes the time we are together more precious.”
He credits the strong faith in the family of origin for both he and Sarah, who is Methodist, as helping their family dynamic.
His parents, Brad and Julie Coleman are members of Holy Spirit, Sioux Falls, and themselves come from families committed to their faith.
“We grew up on a farm in a predominantly Catholic community in Hartington, Nebraska,” said Julie. “Daily prayers, the rosary, values, hard work and faith was instilled by our parents and grandparents at a very early age and continued to be an important part of family life. We attended Holy Trinity Church and School and Cedar Catholic also played a part of our community faith process,” she said.
“I grew up in a Lutheran family when I lived in Colorado and Wyoming and although we practiced our faith in a little different way than Catholics, our faith in God was very important to our family,” Brad said. “Fortunately, for me there are a lot of similarities between the Lutheran and Catholic faiths, so my learning curve was not that steep, although I need to continue that development every day. It wasn’t until shortly before we got married nearly 34 years ago, that I became Catholic and continued my faith journey as Catholic.”
The Diocese of Sioux Falls is made up of about 36,000 families, spread across the more than 35,000 square miles of eastern South Dakota and belonging to one of the 119 parishes. The roots of some families go back to origins of the state and diocese.
Jane and Jeremy Wiebersick live in Montrose and are members of St. Patrick. Their children represent the next generation of faithful members of that parish.
“We both grew up here, had grandparents that grew up here, between the two of us, we have seven siblings living in Montrose as well as many cousins, aunts and uncles,” said Jane Wiebersick.
Jeremy Wiebersick’s mom, Mary Lou said, “Our family is blessed to have Jeremy and Jane’s family as the 5th and 6th generation to belong to St. Patrick Catholic Church.”
“It makes me smile to see their children recognize cousins and other relatives as they join in the celebration of the Mass. Prayers for the faithful departed following the grace before our Sunday dinners as well as hugs with three pats for “I love you”, or “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” exemplifies the trickle down affect to that 6th generation as they live their faith,” said Mary Lou.
“God is present in the kid’s conversations often as explanations of the world around them and speaking of heaven, prayer and angels is common,” she said.
…Do you pray together from time to time as a family? After all, prayer seems to be something personal and besides there is never a good time, a moment of peace… Yes, all that is true enough, but it is also a matter of humility, of realizing that we need God… all of us! And we need simplicity to pray as a family: simplicity is necessary! Praying the Our Father together, around the table, is not something extraordinary: it’s easy. And praying the Rosary together, as a family, is very beautiful and a source of great strength!
~POPE FRANCIS*
A common theme shared by these families is the necessity and the power of prayer.
“My parents taught me and my eight siblings that ‘a family who prays together stays together’, said Jane Weibersick’s mom, Audrey Cleveland.
“We have followed their teaching by beginning all of our milestone birthday celebrations by going to Mass together. The last family Mass held in May had 85 family members present from four generations,” she said.
“Not only are the sacraments readily available for us, the votive candles we can light for special needs are a lasting example for the younger members of our family,” Cleveland said.
“For generations, lighting votive candles has been a comforting sign of our faith. Quite often we receive phone calls or text messages from our children, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren asking for prayers and a candle be lit when prayers are needed. Lighting a blessed candle in our home during a storm or an anxious time always brings a calming effect.”
How do we keep our faith as a family? Christian families are missionary families. …They are missionary in everyday life, in their doing everyday things, as they bring to everything the salt and the leaven of faith! Keeping the faith in families and bringing to everyday things the salt and the leaven of faith.
~POPE FRANCIS*
For a good number of families in this diocese, farming and ranching is the way of life, and it truly is a special way to raise a family.
“Our life is farm life,” said Mike Kieffer, who along with wife Tina, belong to St. Peter, White Lake. The family consists of son Ross and his wife Brooklyn, who grew up in Kimball, son Todd, and daughter Molly and her husband Leo who live in Dickinson, ND.
“I wasn’t so sure until we had kids just what farm life could or would do to influence their life,” Kieffer said. “Be assured the children raised around livestock learn at an early age about birth, life and death. It’s a life only some can even experience.”
Kieffer believes that generations of solid family life makes a big difference.
“No doubt a strong family life helps you to live your faith well,” he said. “I notice when a family is all headed in the same direction concerning their faith it seems they have a much better chance of keeping that family together.”
“The one thing we have always promoted is to tell the truth among us,” Kieffer said. “The kids don’t always like what we tell them but they get our thoughts straight and true. They know we are telling them as it is.”
Tina Kieffer said the drought this year is a challenge. “You have to stick together through the ups and downs. We’ve been through tough times but for the younger ones it is a test,” she said.
Being active in parish life is part of their faith, carried on by the next generation. Daughter Molly serves on her parish council in Dickinson and along with her husband is active in the Search retreat program.
There are special moments when the strength and meaning of family come together with parish and faith life.
“In April our son Ben and my niece, Ella, were both 2nd graders at St Patrick (Montrose)”, said Jeremy Wiebersick. “My family and my sister, Sarah’s, family were able to join Father Bob (Krantz) at the altar to receive communion and a special blessing together as a family. It was pretty special to be able to be present at the altar and share in the special moment.
“Jane and I are both communion ministers at St. Patrick and have been since we were seniors in high school,” he said. “Jane is part of the altar society, and I am a Knight. We feel it is important that our kids see us volunteering and making a commitment to help our parish family.”
Added Jane Wiebersick, “It dawned on me last month while on our family vacation what an impact prayer can have even on little ones. Trying to keep our two year old entertained on the car ride, we sang songs. One of her requests was ‘Hail Mary’. So I started saying a Hail Mary with her.
“The other kids all joined in and afterwards were very curious what we just prayed for. I told them Taya must have had a feeling that our family needed a prayer right then to keep us safe on our vacation.
“We often tell our kids to listen to the little voice in your head because that could be God telling you what to do. When I am crabby, our two-year-old will give me a hug and say ‘smile Mommy’, I think God may be a voice in two-year-old heads too,” she said.
Shared memories like these are surely also part of what makes families strong.
Brad and Julie Coleman, in addition to son Dusty, also have daughters Sonia (and husband Brad) and Tabitha (and husband Sean), and five total grandchildren, with another on the way in November.
“I think family life gets more important the older you get,” said Julie Coleman. “One thing is to appreciate each other and the memories you have the opportunity to create. It can be difficult at times with work and coordinating all the activities and life in general,” she said.
“But I love my father’s saying which is to ‘make memories’ – even if it is a simple act or silly or momentous. Now as grandparents, I think it is even more important for us, our children and grandbabies. It is my hope that Brad and I will create memories with them that they will cherish forever,” she said.
“Sarah and I both believe that God should be at the center of our family unit,” said Dusty Coleman.
“Trust in God and His plan for us is a major factor, especially in the baseball lifestyle. Sometimes we think we will go one place and the day before leaving will find out we’re heading somewhere completely different.
“With our children in tow, we are heading to an unfamiliar city, unsure of exactly where we will live. But the Lord always takes care of us. We have to remind ourselves often that God is in control,” he said.
“Faith is a funny thing…You think you have a lot of it and then boom, something happens and you question your faith in yourself and in God,” said Brad Coleman.
“He challenges me every day to ‘keep the faith’ and never question his plan. It sounds really easy, but as you know, it can be the hardest thing we have to do each day.
“Also very important in my family and faith life is keeping a proper balanced between my work and family life. This is a very important part of my overall balance. When my work life gets overwhelming, stressful or takes more time than I would like, I have to take a step back and ask myself what is really important in my life and here is where my trust in God is most needed.
“I’ve learned more about faith from Julie and my children and their faith lives than I ever taught them,” Brad said.
The Colemans said following their son’s journey in baseball has been amazing and humbling.
“Every mother and father wants their children to succeed at whatever they choose to pursue, no matter what it is. Because Dusty’s chosen field is a little more public than other careers, professional baseball, it’s been very humbling, exciting and special to follow him as he continues his journey and the pursuit of his dreams in baseball,” they said.
“People outside of any professional game don’t really understand the commitment and sacrifice these athletes have to make in order to ‘maybe’ get the chance of playing on the biggest stage. Without question, Dusty’s faith in God and his plan for him has kept him in this very difficult game for many years. His demeanor, commitment and attitude never seem to change, whether he goes 4-4 or 0-4.
“His faith has kept him very grounded and a very good person both on and off the field. Also very important in his faith and his journey is his wife Sarah’s faith in God, her support of him and what they are trying to accomplish as a family. As a former Division I athlete herself, she understand the commitment, drive and sacrifices that need to be made to make it to the top. It’s ‘Team Coleman’ at their household and it will remain that way until the good Lord decides to push him/them in a different direction.”
And that sense of remaining faithful through the ups and downs may be the other most common theme among these families and perhaps, yours, summed up by Dusty Coleman:
“We have gone through some difficult times, ups and downs, during our years in professional baseball. The Lord is faithful. The Lord hears our prayers. It is by His grace, mercy and love that we make it through each day and we are so thankful for his unending blessings,” he said.
How are things when it comes to joy at home? Is there joy in your family? Dear families, you know very well that the true joy which we experience in the family is not superficial; it does not come from material objects, from the fact that everything seems to be going well… True joy comes from a profound harmony between persons, something which we all feel in our hearts and which makes us experience the beauty of togetherness, of mutual support along life’s journey. But the basis of this feeling of deep joy is the presence of God, the presence of God in the family and his love, which is welcoming, merciful, and respectful towards all.
~POPE FRANCIS*
*These edited excerpts are taken from a homily given by Pope Francis during the Holy Mass for the Family Day on the Occasion of the Year of Faith in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, October 27, 2013.
