Office Volunteers: Faithfully Sharing Time and Talents to Make Our Cathedral a Welcoming Place

Our parish office is certainly a busy place, and there is always something to do — from mailing letters and answering the phone or door, to helping with recording sacramental records. The various odds and ends of operating Holy Family Cathedral are supported by a small, but devoted group of office volunteers.

“It’s been more than 25 years since I started volunteering here at the parish,” says Rod Notzen, parish office volunteer. “I first started volunteering because they asked one Sunday for people who could type to help with counting money on Monday mornings. Before long, one of the other counters volunteered me to help even more in the parish office and I decided to do it.”

Over the years, Rod has been blessed to get to know many of the people who visit the parish office. In addition, he has helped make connections between the faithful and priests they had known long before, and he has guided people to the Outreach program.

“Occasionally, someone will come to the door and ask desperately to be let into the cathedral to pray,” Rod says. “It happens only a few times a year, but I know their desire to pray and be in His presence is incredible. These people come at their lowest and to help them find peace by quiet prayer is a blessing.” In fact, one of Rod’s favorite memories of volunteering in the parish office happened over 15 years ago. A woman and her husband stopped by during office hours — the woman was dying from cancer and wanted an opportunity to simply pray inside Holy Family Cathedral one last time. So, Rod let them in and the couple prayed for some time. It just so hap-pened that organist Ernest Neal was also in the cathedral practicing, so Rod took the opportunity to ask the couple if they had a song request. Ernest deeply moved the couple by performing Ave Maria that day and the woman passed just two days later.

For Rod, having to the opportunity help in such poignant circumstances truly makes his time spent volunteering worth it.

“It’s been a blessing for me to help in the parish office for Msgr. Gier, Fr. Jovita, and now Fr. Kastl,” Rod says. “They all bring a different dynamic to the parish office, but it makes it fun to come and help as I am needed.”