My name is Barbara Koster Rigg and I’ve been a member of St. Clare Parish since my husband Bill, son Steven and I moved here from New York in 2002.

Be Still and Know that I am God.
This brief line from Psalms…chapter 46, verse 10, to be precise…has long been one of my favorite bible verses. I don’t really remember for sure when or where I first heard it. But for me it is a reminder that God is in charge. In control everyday. Always available, even when, in my humanity, I feel like I am running the show. But God has a plan for each of our lives.

I am generally not one to speak about my faith. I’m usually pretty quiet in my monthly faith-sharing prayer group and on the women’s retreat. I was fairly reserved during the fellowship and sharing time of the weekly bible study I attended for 8 years a few years back. Maybe I’m more of an Actions-Speak-Louder-Than-Words-kind of person.
I was born and raised Catholic—here in Detroit, actually. 12 years at Catholic school, attendance at weekly Mass, plus every activity our parish sponsored! My parents set a beautiful example of faith in action—they were always running up to church to set up for this event or to attend that meeting and as a family, we experienced the value of actively participating in the Body of Christ.

And so I continue that practice today with my own family.

Be still and know that I am God.
I am always surprised with how God uses my life to influence others. If you ask my husband Bill what attracted him to me, he might tell you how he was impressed with the fact that I always made my bed when I got up in the morning…I’m not sure that’s a basis for “happily ever after.” But he might also tell you that he liked the fact that in spite of having a busy career that required a lot of travel and time at the office, when I was at home in New York City—where we both lived at the time--attending church was important to me.

After a car wreck caused by a drunk driver in a stolen car cost Bill his left hand, and a divorce separated him from our three now “big kids,” Bill had re-started his life in NYC and was seeking a faith community. He wasn’t sure he fit at the Methodist church of his youth—in New York, the Methodist congregation had liturgical dancers flitting thru the aisles and a pastor who told stories and funny anecdotes with no serious teaching.

So there was really nothing to lose when Bill started to attend my catholic church with me. In his opinion, my Catholic faith was stronger than his Methodist faith. Before long, he was signed up to help with parish soup kitchen, and more importantly, he started to explore the possibility of becoming Catholic. While I was delighted he wanted to join me in my faith, I was also a bit overwhelmed—is “my way” the right way? This is a huge commitment, and what if he didn’t like it, and what would his family think about his conversion to Catholicism?

Be still and know that I am God.
And then he asked me to be his sponsor. I am also the sponsor—actually the godmother to 3 other people, but in those cases, friends or relatives asked me on behalf of an infant. In this case, my faith, my religion, my Catholicism had such an impact on Bill that he was determined to have it for himself. So I attended some of the RCIA classes with him. We stood in St. Patrick’s Cathedral with Cardinal O’Connor at the Ceremony of the Elect for the Archdiocese of New York. And at the Easter Vigil that year, Bill was confirmed and came into full communion with the Catholic Church. With my parents and our friends, we celebrated afterwards with a cake that said “Welcome to the Club!” It was a powerful, profound and humbling experience.

And so today, as a family we share, celebrate and enjoy our Catholic faith. We send our son to a Catholic high school, and we each try to share our gifts and talents with the community here at St. Clare. It’s not always smooth. It’s not always easy. But we persevere.

Be still and know that I am God.