In the fall of 2022, MHT’s then-pastor approached Kate about becoming more involved. “He asked me what I felt called to with regard to music. I told him I loved working with young kids and creating a desire in them to share their gifts and find the ways they connect with God.” It was then that Kate was tasked with developing a choir program with the end goal of having school children singing in choirs at school Masses.

While Kate’s role has grown and the choir program at MHT has grown along with it, the desire to help young people share their gifts and connect with God remains at the core of Kate’s ministry. “What I lack in formal training I think I make up for in my ability to connect with people and create community. I try to see individuals’ gifts and help foster those. And what better way to use those abilities than for God’s Kingdom?”

Kate says the lesson in trusting God as he led her to this point is not lost on her. “The more I became involved, the more I was able to use my gifts and see the fruits of it and see the Lord working through it.” Fruits like watching hesitant middle-schoolers grow in confidence, seeing the children begin to understand the purpose of music during Mass, and helping each child recognize God’s presence at Mass. Andrea Schneider, mom of three girls in the choir, has noticed those fruits in her own children. “I have seen firsthand how my own kids have grown and become more confident in their singing. Singing and praising the Lord through song has become a natural way for them to encounter Jesus.”

With the program well established after three years, Most Holy Trinity’s pastor, Father John Whitlock, is grateful for increased participation by children not only at school Mass but also parish Masses. “It is a very vibrant children’s choir program. For the Christmas Eve Mass we had roughly 75 young people in our choir loft singing!” All school children in grades 1-4 now participate in choir at MHT School, and while choir is optional for students in grades five to eight, more middle-school students are choosing to stay with it. “When I go into classes in the fall to recruit the fifth- to eighth-graders I impress on them that middle school is a great time to try all the things,” Kate says. “You may not yet know what’s going to make you feel alive or how you best connect with God. This could be your way. And if you try it and it’s not for you, you haven’t lost anything.”

The gain is not only in numbers and in individual growth, but the choirs under Kate’s direction have afforded students the chance to be part of a community within the school and parish. “I love the idea of creating a community. Kids, like all of us, want a place to belong and connect with others.” Fostering community by designing ‘team’ shirts for the middle school choir, praying with students before every Mass, and allowing students leadership roles during mass and ownership in the group, Kate is encouraged by the students’ willingness to participate. “There’s nothing better than a live children’s choir busting out praise and worship with the congregation joining in!” Witnessing kids connect with God through music is a job benefit Kate is grateful for. “Sure, it’s a job, but just to be a part of witnessing what the Lord is doing through the music, just to have a role in helping kids praise the Lord — what is better than that?”

Kate is grateful for God’s leading her to a ministry she didn’t see coming, and for what he is doing through the ministry that she sees as his project. “I think God uses me as a tool in the toolbox. At the end of the day, the kids have to show up, use the virtue of courage, and sing. There’s only so much I can do — it’s really not about me. I just feel grateful to help them see how music can be prayerful and how it can connect them with God. It’s pretty powerful.”