Meet Our Lady of the Angels Parishioner Meghan Middendorf

Last October, Ben and Meghan Middendorf began a beautiful journey together, one that has united their hearts in God’s merciful love, until “death do them part.”

“We got married at Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Sauk Centre by Fr. Greg Paffel on Oct. 12, 2019, a snowy day!” Meghan says. “The one true hope we have for our marriage is to create a happy, healthy family centered on Christ. So far I have enjoyed moving into our first home together and starting our family.”

Ben and Meghan received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony after years of friendship.

“Although Ben and I went to high school together, we never really talked much until he ended up asking me to prom our senior year,” she says. “After that, we dated through the summer, as well as through college. Right from the beginning, he was so good with my family and that was an important part of us being together.”

As a couple, they share many interests and dreams.

“We both enjoy watching football and hiking when we have time,” she says. “We plan to live out our faith together by raising our family with God at the center. This would include praying daily together, attending weekly Mass, reading the Bible, and teaching our children how to be kind to everyone. It is so important to make God an active part of our everyday lives, and we will do everything we can do to make that happen in our home.”

Meghan has a deep love for our parish family — one that goes way back. “I was baptized in Our Lady of the Angels and my family eventually joined St. Paul’s Parish,” she says. “When Ben and I got married, we loved the community at St. Paul’s, so we became members ourselves. Altogether, I have been at our parish for 24 years.”

As our Area Catholic Community (ACC) Secretary, Meghan’s duties include taking notes/ minutes during meetings; collaborating with office staff, priests and other parishioners; updating calendar with ACC events; and printing and distributing important documents.

“Our ACC leadership team is filled with passionate, caring, driven and open-minded people,” she says. “It is a healthy group with which I can share new ideas or opinions, without fear of being dismissed or put down. I truly feel like I have made a connection with all members of our leadership team and am thankful that God brought us all together. Each meeting is a great way for me to ‘refill my cup’ and hear about all the positive contributions that the team plans to make to the parishes.”

Meghan is grateful for the amazing work the ACC team has been able to accomplish.

“So far, we have started vocation Masses; created a priest rotation in the parishes; worked towards increasing the availability of Eucharistic Adoration; worked on stewardship efforts; and figured out better ways to serve all of the parishes,” she says.

In the end, being involved in our parish community has helped Meghan embrace the Catholic faith with enthusiasm.

“What really inspires me to live out my faith are the parishioners, parish office members, and priests in our parish community,” she says. “I love seeing all the hard work that they do for our community, and for our church.”

Further, it has also helped her authentically embrace the stewardship way of life.

“I try to live out stewardship by being welcoming, inviting people to come to Mass, going to Mass myself, volunteering and praying,” Meghan says. “I believe these things are so important because some people believe that stewardship is solely based on your financial contributions, but that is not the case. While giving your treasure is part of stewardship, there are so many other ways to be a steward in the church and community by providing your time or talent!”

Being involved in our parish community has helped Meghan Middendorf embrace the Catholic faith with enthusiasm.

Ben and Meghan Middendorf were married at Our Lady of the Angels on Oct. 12, 2019, uniting their hearts in God’s merciful love.