Coming home together

This article highlights the stories of two families and their unique journeys into the Catholic Church. Their stories originally appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of The True Voice magazine. Copies of the magazine can be found at parishes across the archdiocese.

Family of five enters Church at Easter Vigil

By Ron Petak

A journey that began more than a decade ago for Janel Hamilton culminated in joy April 4 when she and her husband, Jamel, were received into the Catholic Church at St. Gerald Parish in Ralston.

The Hamiltons were confirmed and for the first time received Holy Communion during the Easter Vigil.

Their daughters Janessa, 8, and 5-year-old twins Jessenia and Jessalyn were baptized that night.

“As a family entering the Church, it feels like coming home together rooted in Christ,” Janel said.

Lea-Ann Virnig, director of adult formation at St. Gerald, said it was a joy accompanying the Hamiltons, “to see how the Lord is working in their lives and their excitement and discovery of the Catholic faith.”

ERVIN PHOTOGRAPHY

From the start, the Eucharist drew Jamel.

“That feeling from that first Mass, the feeling of the Eucharist as well as adoration – it just feels as the Heavens opened up to a feeling I never felt before,” he said.

His wife’s path toward the Church was years in the making, beginning when she befriended a priest living at the nursing home where she worked.

“He was truly a light on our unit,” she said. “Never complained, put others before himself, continued to pray and bless, and encouraged and comforted others in their grief.”

Though inspired by the priest’s faith, Janel wasn’t ready to become Catholic.

“I wanted to go to a Catholic church just to check it out,” she said. “I talked to people close to me and (they) kind of discouraged it a little. I let the fear take over and didn’t explore it any further.”

The then-dating couple were baptized together 13 years ago in their Protestant church and married nine years ago. In December 2024, they decided to become closer to God.

“Ninety days straight we gave up TV and read the Bible cover to cover (and) started to desire to go to church,” Janel said.

The Hamiltons were attending a non-denominational evangelical church when Janel, working at Children’s Nebraska, met Jodi Kozol after answering an ad for a Christians connect group that met at Children’s.

At her first meeting on Ash Wednesday 2025, the group prayed with her “and I wanted to surrender my life back to God,” Janel said.

Kozol invited Janel to a Bible study and Mass at St. Gerald. That eventually led her and Jamel to a meeting with Virnig, and they began Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) classes.

Kozol and her husband, Jim, became the Hamiltons’ Confirmation sponsors.

At St. Gerald, the Hamiltons found “the most compassionate, loving, welcoming people ever,” Janel said. “I felt that right when I walked through those doors for my first Bible study.”

Spiritual longing leads family to Catholic Church

By Mike May

After investigating a particularly disturbing crime involving a child victim, Omaha Police Detective Justin Barnes felt emotionally drained.

While also mourning the recent loss of both of his parents, Barnes felt a need for consolation and a deeper relationship with God.

At the same time, his wife, Samantha, was experiencing her own crisis of faith, and their 15-year-old daughter, TayLeigh, was searching for spiritual meaning.

Altogether, those needs set in motion the family’s exploration of the Catholic faith and Samantha’s and TayLeigh’s initiation into the Church this Easter at St. Patrick Parish in Elkhorn.

Justin, who was raised Catholic, said he never developed a faith life until he met Samantha, who held a strong faith foundation as a Lutheran.

Their family became practicing Lutherans, and upon moving to Omaha 10 years ago, attended a local Lutheran church.

While the spirited services initially connected with Samantha, she eventually found them lacking.

“I began to feel more distant in my relationship with my faith and with God,” she said.

“Ultimately, I found myself longing for more in my faith.”

As she shared her concerns with Justin, he suggested trying something different – attending Mass at St. Patrick.

MIKE MAY

“There was so much about that sermon and that Mass that felt like coming home,” Samantha said. “It didn’t take long for me to say I think this is where we want to be, but I have so many more questions.”

With Justin also feeling drawn to Catholicism, the couple began attending Order of Christian Initiation of Adults classes at St. Patrick.

TayLeigh, also inspired by the Catholic Mass and wanting to learn more, soon joined her parents.

“I had a Catholic friend who was so passionate about her faith that I wanted to see why,” she said, “so I started looking into it and wanted to know more the more I read.

When we went to St. Pat’s, it just started growing.”

TayLeigh said her relationship with Christ has grown beyond a Sundayonly event. “This isn’t just a one-day thing. You’re supposed to build this relationship daily.”

For Justin, reconnecting with the Catholic faith is helping him be a spiritual leader for his family.

“Growing with them is my major motivation,” he said. “Our family is getting stronger in both our relationships and our relationships with God.”

His wife agreed. “Going through this as a family has really brought us together,” she said. “We now have so many conversations that we weren’t having as a family. We were religious and we had faith, but now it feels like there’s a deeper meaning and greater connection.”

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