Meet the Sandner Family: Living out Faith and Stewardship Together

Family life can get busy. It takes intentionality to live out our faith and make time to serve in the parish community. Parishioners Molly and Jason Sandner have five boys and strive to serve in many ways, even amid the busyness of life.

For the Sandners, living out their daily life as Christians happens first and foremost through their vocation as parents.

“The logistical chaos of running a household of seven can easily become a distraction from the highest priorities — staying focused on Christ,” Molly says. “Amidst that chaos, things like daily prayer, weekly Mass, consistent time in adoration and at reconciliation, weekly Rosaries, and the like are things we aim to incorporate consistently. Like all on a faith journey, sometimes we’re better than other times.”

The Sandners have also been intentional about where their boys attend school, committing to providing them with a Catholic education and environment. They first joined as parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes in 2010 when their oldest son, Jackson, started school here.

“Having experienced other local parishes, we really connected with OLL when we began attending Mass and when our kids started in school, helping us to expand our parish family of friends,” Molly says.

Molly and Jason met at Towson University in Maryland. Jason, a baseball player, was pursuing an accounting degree, and Molly competed in gymnastics while earning a degree in elementary education. They began dating as sophomores in college. Molly had been raised in a devout Catholic family, attending Catholic schools and receiving her sacraments. Jason, however, went through the public school system and received only some of his sacraments.

“During college, Molly reintroduced me to the Catholic faith, leading to my Confirmation process before marrying,” Jason says.

They married after graduation and after Molly had completed her student teaching assignment. They lived in Maryland for a couple of years until Jason’s career led them to Raleigh in 2003. They are parents to five boys — Jackson, Drew, Gavin, Austin, and Tyler — and the family enjoys raising their pup, Lambeau.

Both Molly and Jason are very involved in our parish community.

“Serving in various ministries at OLL allows us to live out our faith, not overlooking the time and talent elements of sharing our time, talent, and treasure,” Jason says.

Jason serves on the Finance Council and the Diocesan Finance Council for the Diocese of Raleigh. He also coaches the middle school baseball team at OLL. Molly is involved with the Women of Grace Ministry, a weekly Bible study, as a volunteer at the OLL school, and she attends daily Mass several times each week. Both Molly and Jason are regular adorers in the Adoration Chapel.

“Consistently serving in some capacity enables us to develop good habits and quality use of our spare time, surrounding ourselves with fellow parishioners who are likewise committed to the parish,” Jason says. “Serving has allowed us to move beyond checking the bare minimum boxes, and truly engaging in our faith and parish life.”

The Sandners have enjoyed the relationships they’ve developed with other parishioners through their service in our community. They also appreciate the opportunity to lead as examples to their children.

“Serving shows our boys a more well-rounded way to live out our faith and has led to some great friendships with those that we’ve worked with in ministry,” Molly says.

The members of the Sandner family are actively involved in our parish community.