The Hooper Family: Savoring The Gift Of Our Parish Family

When Shaun and Noelle Hooper adopted Escher about three years ago, he was not only embraced by their loving arms but those of our parish family as well.

“The adoption was expensive, so the parish community donated a lot of things towards a garage sale fundraiser in order to help us out,” Shaun says. “They announced the event at church, explaining that if anyone had anything they weren’t using, the church would be more than happy to accept donations. People gave tables, chairs, and other high-value items. We ended up raising a few thousand dollars!”

The fruit of sacrifice is joy, and Escher, now 6, is definitely a joy to have around.

“Everyone at our parish really loves Escher,” Shaun says. “He loves to sing and say prayers. In church, he sings ‘loud and proud’! You can even hear him over the priest some times, and the priest just smiles.”

Over the years, there have been many times that the Hoopers and their three children — including Kahlan, 17, and Inara, 15 — have experienced such wonderful fellowship at our parish.

“We like the close-knit, supportive nature of our community, and we have a lot of friends at the parish,” Shaun says. “We appreciate how we can all work together and how much we care about each other. We pray for one another, and help each other however we can.”

They are grateful for the opportunity to give their time, talent, and treasure to our parish community, as well. Noelle sings in the choir, volunteers with the Youth Group, and helps prepare students for Confirmation.

“Noelle majored in Christian education in college, so she has enjoyed getting involved with young people again,” Shaun says.

As an active member of the Knight of Columbus, Shaun helps out with various fundraising events and outreach activities. Having been blessed by the Knights of Columbus in the past, Shaun is thankful to have a way to participate in their efforts as well.

“I joined the KCs because I enjoy helping out,” Shaun says. “I like all of their events, and I especially like doing the Tootsie Roll Drive with my son to raise money for children with disabilities. Years ago, the KCs donated money to help cover our travel expenses to pick up Escher from China. God has given us quite a bit, so we want to give back.”

Shaun is a computer technician and thus has offered to look at some of the computers at our parish as well.

When asked what stewardship means to them, Shaun answers simply.

“Stewardship is just what we do,” he says. “It is something natural to us, along with just being part of the community.”

The members of the Hooper family are grateful for the opportunity to give their time, talent and treasure to our parish community.