November 22, 2024 // Diocese

Bishop Luers Student Touches Hearts

Georgia Lieb

Sometimes students can express God’s love in profound and unexpected ways. Recently, freshman Kennidy Chapin did just that.

Bishop Luers bus driver Tom Federspiel often visits classrooms with trivia questions related to Catholicism and the Bible. Students, teachers, and staff look forward to answering his questions. If they answer correctly, they receive a piece of candy.

One day, Federspiel tried to stump the students with a question from the Gospel passage found in John 8:1-11, where Jesus interacts with an adulterous woman who is about to be stoned to death by the Pharisees. He asked a freshman theology class, “What did Jesus write in the sand in the scene with the woman accused of committing adultery?”

Student Kennidy Chapin immediately raised her hand and said, “Take Me instead.”

Federspiel said: “As soon as she answered, I lost all the breath in my chest, and my eyes started to tear up because of the profoundness of her answer. I heard the teacher start to cry. I knew something divine had come out of this girl’s mouth.”

This so inspired Federspiel that he contacted an artist in Toledo to etch “Take Me Instead” on a wooden cross. Bishop Luers High School Principal Scott Kreiger presented the cross to Chapin in front of her theology classmates a few weeks later, while Federspiel explained the reason why she was receiving this award. Of course, the whole class also received some chocolate from Federspiel’s bag.

Federspiel said: “I was very proud that the students wouldn’t know the answer, because there is no answer in the Bible to this question. I thought I was going to knock their socks off! God had other plans. The tremendous faith of the students has inspired me to continue doing this trivia. It not only makes them think and bring out their faith, but they get a treat, too!”

That day, the words “Take Me instead” were a testament to a Bishop Luers student’s understanding of the Lord’s endless mercy.

Photos provided by Bishop Luers High School
Bishop Luers Principal Scott Kreiger presents freshman Kennidy Chapin with an inscribed cross during theology class. Right: Chapin poses for a photo with Kreiger and Bishop Luers bus driver Tom Federspiel.