December 2, 2023 // Diocese

‘The Flock’ Aims to Build Community at St. John in Goshen

Denise Fedorow

Freelance Writer

Two parishioners of St. John the Evangelist in Goshen recently started a podcast with the goal of bringing the parish community closer together.

Brian Sapp and David Post met at a Christ Renews His Parish retreat at St. John several years ago and discovered they lived close to each other. After the retreat, several participants started a men’s group that became a Rekindle the Fire chapter. A mutual friend, Brian Krider, was involved on the diocesan level, and in 2021, Sapp and Post were slated to be co-chairs of a Rekindle the Fire conference in South Bend, but because of COVID restrictions, the live conference wasn’t held.

Instead, the duo prepared monthly videos to help keep other chapters connected. They utilized the well-known speakers they had lined up for the conference and went around the diocese to interview priests and asked them to give closing prayers.

“That was so edifying and affirming for me to see the depth and love of these young priests throughout the diocese. We’ve had young priests at St. John’s, but it really struck us that there are so many, and we talked about it on the way home,” Sapp told Today’s Catholic.

Post said going through that process gave him the confidence to start work on “The Flock” podcast.

Sapp, an experienced videographer and photographer, said, “I wanted to do a podcast, wanted to do more Catholic media, but I wasn’t sure what that would look like, so when David came to me with the idea in April or May, the simplicity of it and the timing was right.”

Sapp explained that Krider had just given him studio space in his business’ building two days before Post came to him with the idea. Post told him, simply, ‘I have an idea. What if we just talk to parishioners?’”

After pitching the idea to his wife, Jeanette, Post said he wanted to get her involved in the podcast, and they discovered that she had a talent for scheduling and organization. Post said having Jeanette in charge of booking the guests “has made it so easy – she’s got the difficult job, and so does Brian; I have the easy part!” Post does the actual interviewing, and Sapp takes care of the recording, editing, and posting.

They did their first trial recording in June and wanted to have a couple podcasts done before they approached their pastor at St. John, Father Royce Gregerson, who was “way more on board than I thought,” Post said.

Sapp said, “I was a little apprehensive, but he had almost no reservations and started suggesting ways to promote it.”

When asked how they came up with the name Post said, “I wanted something short that really focused on our idea of highlighting the parishioners of St. John’s, and I came up with ‘The Flock.’”

They launched the podcast the first week of September, and they’ve been filling recording time slots twice a week. They’ve obtained guests by going through an old directory, asking guests to make suggestions, and when attending parish events, Jeanette will often ask someone if they would be on the podcast.

 

They were asked if any of the interviews surprised them.

“Every single one,” Post responded. “Honestly, it always goes differently than expected.”

“You think you know them, but then you get the chance to hear a deeper part of their story,” Sapp said. “Like Donna Wiktorowski – I knew her and saw her come into the church, but then to hear her story – her parents were Old-Order Amish, and to learn her conversion was facilitated by listening to Catholic radio!”

He continued, “Or Kathy Fredrickson – learning how long she’s been at St. John’s and what the church was like then. Or Andrew Studebaker, a young man who just joined the church on his own.”

They’ve received positive feedback from parishioners who’ve said they’ve listened and enjoyed the broadcasts.

Post said, “One compliment I really appreciated was when Sister Colleen said she listened to an interview with someone she saw at church but didn’t know and never talked to. Because that’s the overarching goal – to connect people in the parish and have them get to know one another. It’s hard to stir up a conversation and get much depth; hopefully this helps people get to know each other better.”

Post and Sapp said they hope the podcast creates an icebreaker for someone to approach a parishioner they don’t know and gives them something to talk about.

During the interview, Post typically asks parishioners to share about their background, how they ended up at St. John, what ministries they are involved with, and who in the parish has made an impact on them.

Post said there are two ways the podcast has helped his own spiritual life.

“Number one, it keeps me connected to the church community; and two, it’s a bright spot in my week. If things aren’t going well at work or life’s stressful, I look forward to it. I enjoy it, and I enjoy listening to it afterward. It’s energizing to hear someone share their love of the faith or what they love about St. John’s; it connects you.”

Sapp added that “it’s hard sometimes for us to see how God moves in our lives, and to hear people’s stories helps you reconnect and see God’s love acting in other places and gives you the grace to connect the dots and see Him acting in your life.”

“The people we’ve interviewed might shy away from this, but it is inspiring to hear their faith, how they’re living it and devoting their lives to God. It is inspiring to hear that,” Sapp added.

Sapp said he has been thankful for “all the different ways people have helped. God’s had His fingers in a lot of this. All the wonderful things we’ve gotten out of it shows He’s involved. I don’t want to presume we’re doing what He wants, but I can’t see anything but fruits from it, which is humbling in itself.”

Both men spoke of how much they’ve enjoyed doing the podcasts.

Sapp said that producing “The Flock” has given him a chance to use his talents to serve God and the St. John community. “I’ve been doing media production my whole career, and it’s work, but it doesn’t feel like it. Everyone’s been so supportive.”

Post said if there was a chance to expand the podcast, he’d be open to it. “It’s so enjoyable to do that it doesn’t feel like work. I feel like we’ve been reinforced that we’re on the right path. So many of our interviewees talked about Christ Renews His Parish as the gateway to community – it’d be awesome if this was a gateway for people to enter into the community and feel connected so that it’s easier for them to do that and make that step.”

“The Flock” podcasts can be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, and on the parish’s website, stjohncatholic.com.