S t. pet er C atholiC Ch ur ch WELCOMING
BLA
as Our New Pa
Blake Vajgrt and his wife, Kellie
W
e want to offer a big welcome to new Parish Catechist Blake Vajgrt — but it’s actually a combination of “welcome” and “welcome back”! Blake and his wife, Kellie — both Nebraska natives — are moving to the area from Emporia, Kan. Blake hails from Seward and Kellie from Holdrege.
Although they’ve spent time living in several cities in Kansas, before settling and becoming part of the community at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Emporia — where Blake had served as Director of Evangelization for about four years — both are really glad to be coming home to the Cornhusker State.
“There’s just no place like Nebraska,” Blake says. “We feel that in our bones. We’ve just always known we wanted to come back here.” Ever since Blake and Kellie met at Concordia University here in Nebraska and married, they have been open to following God’s will. “We have given God all of the small moments, and the Holy Spirit has always led us to the next place,” Blake says. For Blake, taking the role of Parish Catechist here at St. Peter even has a beautiful story behind it. Having grown up in Seward, Blake wasn’t really familiar with St. Peter Catholic Church. His niece, Clare, wanted to use her birthday money to light a candle. Clare and Blake’s mother ended up at St. Peter, where they lit a candle and struck up a conversation with Fr. Eric Clark. This brief, but friendly and hospitable interaction with Fr. Clark led to Blake and his family visiting St. Peter a few more times for Mass. They got to know Fr. Clark a little better, and, one time, Kellie came right out and said, “If you ever have an opening here for Blake, continued on page 5
“This is such a vibrant parish — we noticed that right away. Everyone is smiling and happy to be there. I can’t wait to be able to contribute to that.” — Blake Vajgrt 4
