March 7, 2025 • 22 mins
This week on the Open Seat Podcast, we welcome Adrian Public School Superintendent, Nate Parker, who also happens to be a parishioner and confirmation catechist at Holy Family Parish. Mr. Parker shares his journey of faith, family, and dedication to education. From his upbringing in a Catholic family to his career as an educator, Nate discusses how his faith has shaped the way he witnesses to others. He talks about the importance of making faith a priority, even amidst busy schedules, and reflects on the joy of teaching and learning from others. Nate also offers insights on how parents can instill faith in their children and emphasizes the value of intentionality in both faith and education. Join us for an inspiring conversation that underscores the importance in learning more about our faith and serving others through education.
This is a podcast of Holy Family Parish, located in Adrian MI. We are a Catholic people, not a place, striving to Live Jesus through celebrating the sacraments and forming disciples in Adrian and beyond.
www.HolyFamilyAdrian.org
Instagram: Instagram.com/holyfamilyadrian
Facebook: Facebook.com/adrianCatholic
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@holyfamilyadrian
Open Seat es un podcast Parroquia de la Sagrada Familia ubicada en Adrian, Michigan. Somos un pueblo católico, no un lugar, que se esfuerza por vivir a Jesús celebrando los sacramentos y formando discípulos en Adrian y más allá.
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Episode Transcript
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Nate (00:00):
wherever somebody may be in their faith journey,
(00:02):
from the cradle Catholicwho's done it all their life,
there's always more to learn.
Jesus is always callingus to come closer.
maybe you're a lapsed Catholicwho's not coming to Mass
anymore, come closer and,restart that and, Jesus's
love is is so incredibleone of my favorite parables
is the prodigal son.
It was the minute he saw thatthe son was returning,
he ran to reestablishthat relationship and,
(00:24):
to take that son back.
So, I can't imagine livingmy life without that
rock of my faith right now.
Katie (00:30):
Welcome to Open Seat, the podcast where we
create a space for authenticconversations about faith,
unfiltered and unapologetic.
Here, we believe thatevery story matters.
Whether you're questioning,seeking, or steadfast in
your beliefs, you'll findsomething relatable in
these heartfelt discussions.
(00:51):
So grab your seat, getcomfortable, and let's
dive into today's storyhere at Open Seat.
So today on The Open Seatwe have Superintendent Nate
Parker joining us today.
Nate (01:07):
Good to see you.
Katie (01:08):
Good morning.
Good morning.
So tell us a littlebit about Nate.
Nate (01:12):
I'm married with four children.
I have a freshman in college,and I have a junior in high
school, a freshman in highschool, and then I have
a sixth grade daughter.
grew up in St.
Johns, Michigan, justnorth of Lansing.
And first came to LenaweeCounty because I was an
Adrian College student,so I spent four years at Adrian
College.
I got my teachingcertificate and degree, and I
went and taught Spanishfor five years at
(01:32):
Morenci and then Ibecame the high
school principal.
I did that for 10 years,and then, came to Adrian
as a principal atSpringbrook Middle School.
Did that for 12 years,and then there was
an opportunity and Iapplied for the superintendent
position, was fortunateenough to be selected, and
this is my third full year ofdoing that.
So I've been ineducation for 26 years
(01:53):
One year before MorenciI was at Columbia Central at the
Alternative Education Program.
Katie (01:57):
Wow, so education's a huge part of your life.
Nate (02:00):
it's kind of what I've done.
Katie (02:01):
Did your parents grow up as teachers
Nate (02:03):
They did not.
My father worked for GM,was a tool and die maker,
my mom, for a while, was astay at home mom, and then
she was a youth ministerfor a little while, and
then she was a directorof religious education.
for several years atSt. Jude and DeWitt.
then finished hercareer just recently.
She, worked for Faith Magazine.
And she's now, they're bothretired.
Katie (02:22):
I think I had the chance to talk
to her on the phone.
On She's a nice lady.
She did a couple of articleswith kids down here.
Nate (02:30):
mainly not writing, but editing, organizing
and pulling things together.
But I think she mayhave written a few articles.
Katie (02:36):
Yeah, she was great to work with, I give her all
the props in the world forbeing Youth Minister and
Director of Religious Ed.
That's a reallyhard job, I hear,
Nate (02:47):
She was Youth Minister first, and it
was not a dual role at thetime like you're doing.
Katie (02:51):
And speaking of that, you're teaching, helping
teach confirmation this year.
So how's that going?
Nate (02:56):
Good.
I enjoy it.
I enjoy the kids.
Some of them areAdrian kids that I know
a little bit from that.
And some are not Adrian kids.
So it's always good to me.
It's great workingwith Michelle.
She's done it for a whileand knows what she's doing.
I learn a lot moreabout my faith by
being in that role.
And I think we learned that,when we're teaching, others.
we learn a lot ourselves.
So, we were a memberof Sacred Heart Parish.
Starting when I wasin Morenci, until I
(03:16):
became superintendent,we lived over by Hudson.
So, I taught seventh andeighth grade catechism there
for five or six years as well,and I've learned a
lot more about my faith throughdoing that.
as well.
Katie (03:26):
Mm-hmm Can you give us some
examples of things you'velearned about your
faith through teaching?
Nate (03:31):
I think just, a, deeper knowledge, and, we're
constantly learning more,and it's, a journey, and we
learned the basics as comingup as kids and, the more
you can read the samething or hear the same
thing and, in another wayevery time you hear it.
But, then as you're teachingand trying to help others
to understand as well, ittakes you to a deeper
level, I think.
Katie (03:50):
I know I learn all the time
from the kids.
Jesus talks aboutfaith like a child
and that's reallywhat it is, right?
So you were at SacredHeart and now you're
here, parishioners here?
Yes.
We're, we're happy to have you.
We're happy to haveall new people.
So, bring some friends nexttime when you come here.
Nate (04:04):
Okay.
yup.
Yep.
Hopefully I can do that.
Katie (04:07):
It's, one of the great joys in my life
is watching the kidswhen they walk in and see
your teaching, because a lotof times they see you
in a different role.
So, has anyone saidanything to you, like,
oh my gosh, Ididn't know you were
Catholic, or,
Nate (04:20):
You know, I really haven't heard that yet.
I have,a few of the kids that say,
Hey, you know your son's in myclass, but not
Katie (04:26):
Not, not those alarming things.
Yeah.
So, have you always had astrong Catholic faith or develop
over time,
Nate (04:32):
I think it's always been a big part of
my life.
you know,attended Catholic school,
and then, seventh andeighth grade, went over
to the middle school,the public school, in St.
John's, where I grew up, hadjust, St. Joseph
Catholic school, was aK six program, so we
went there, and thenwent over to the public
school, my parents aswell, it was, big part
of their life, and wewere gonna be in church
every Sunday, no matterwhere we were or what
(04:54):
we were doing, there'salways a place you can find
a Catholic Mass, and I thinkthat's something I've tried
to Make sure with my kids aswell, and obviously life is
busy and you're on theroad sometimes on the
weekends, but, a lot of goodthings about being Catholic,
but one of them definitely isno matter where you are, you
can find a church,and you can find a Mass
time, and find away to get to Mass
on the weekend and that was oneof the subtle things, I
(05:15):
think is we just,we were going no
matter where we were andI've continued that and
Obviously my mom and herrole as a youth minister
and a DRE, it was obviouslya big part of her life
and my father as wellin a more subtle way,
but you knew for surethat he was prayerful and
he was committed to it.
Katie (05:32):
a lot of times I hear people say their children
fall off if they've been aDRE or a youth minister
because they had to spendso much time at the church.
Was that ever an issue for you?
Nate (05:44):
You know, it wasn't because it wasn't that
we were there that much.
When we were young,she was a stay at home mom.
as we got older, shetook on some of that.
And then, the partas a DRE was really
after we had grown up.
that dynamic wasa little bit different
in that regard becauseit was, the
timing of when she wasdoing those things.
Katie (06:04):
Yeah, because I hear it's a common thread amongst
people who are like oh yeah,our children don't go to
church anymore because I had toall the time when they
were little do you havea hard time getting your
kids to go to church?
Nate (06:15):
you know, not really.
it's just, I think,'Because we've know
It's what we do, yeah,it's not a conversation
Katie (06:22):
I can speak, to your daughter.
I've coachedher now in basketball
season And she did afabulous job of walking
the faith.
there was this interestingdynamics because
they all knew eachother and they were
all friends andI, watched some things unfold,
and, Casey justhad the outlook of optimism.
(06:43):
Like, oh, that person wouldn'treally do that on purpose.
while we all saw ithappen on purpose,
but that's okay.
And she's like, I don'tthink she really meant that.
And a couple other timesshe, had displayed her faith.
Not in, like, an inyour face way, but just
in a very public way,which was interesting.
So, is that.
somethingthat is instituted in your
house, like, we're workingreally hard to promote what
we do on Sunday Cause in, a lotof, cases we go to
(07:06):
church on Sundayand then it stops on Sunday.
Nate (07:09):
one thing we've done, I don't know, maybe
it's been the last five yearsor so, is we do have,
Wednesday night is prayer night.
that could mean wewatch an episode of The Chills,
and It could mean we listento, and then, Father
Joe Krupp was a,was the priest at
Sacred Heart when wewere there for a while.
He now puts his stuff online.
He's up in Flint somewhere, soit might be we listen to that.
(07:29):
We might read the readingsfor the next Sunday or whatever.
that's one intentionalthing we've tried to do.
and I think therest of it, is, it's not, you
know, in the day to day, justyou got to live your faith
It doesn't do any good ifit's just, ritual and
tradition, whichthose things are important.
But if, if it's not changing howyou live and what you
do in your daily life,we're missing the boat.
So, treat people the right wayand we're here to help others.
Katie (07:51):
So how does your faith play into your job?
You're in a publicschool, separation of church and
state to an extent.
How do you think your faithplays into your
choice of career?
Nate (08:00):
I mean, education is definitely a service industry
and our faith tells uswe're here to serve
others so whether it'sa public school or
a Christian, you know, it's,Our faith tells us
we're supposed to serve.
And I think educators, that'swhy we do what we do.
Because we want toserve people, we want to
help others, we want tobe there for people.
So, how we talk or rulesand, statutes and regulations
and stuff, it still doesn'tmean that we can't serve people
(08:22):
and, we live our faith, and wewitness just by how we
treat others and, that'sthe core, of our faith,
it's how you treat othersand what you're doing to make
that next person's day better,to make sure that they're,
moving forward in life and,I think at the core that's
what we do as educators.
Katie (08:36):
do you get to get a lot of interaction with the kids?
Nate (08:38):
I try to make sure I still do Obviously as a
teacher, there's, and then asa building principal,
it, you get a little bit moreseparated,
but you got to make it apoint to do that, because
that's why we're thereis for the kids, and
if you get too farseparated, you lose that
anchor to what you're doing,so I try to make sure I get in
the buildings, andit's nice at Adrian,
the superintendent's officeis at the high school.
So, daily, you can walk thehalls, and you can do That
(08:59):
and I always, I scheduleto get into the
buildings, so on my weeklyschedule, there's, go to
this elementary, startmy day there, and just,
Intentionality.
Intentionality, Ican't imagine not
having that energy fromthe kids because that's
what keeps you going.
Katie (09:14):
I imagine it could get bogged down with
paperwork, or meetings,
Nate (09:17):
Yep, for sure.
you, just gotta schedule it.
To get into the buildingsand see what the kids are doing.
Katie (09:21):
So how has that helped you intentionally
scheduling all of these things?
Like if you don't do it, doesit throw your whole week off
Nate (09:29):
Sure, Yeah.
I think if we're gonnamake the most of
the time we have Yougot to schedule things.
if it's on the scheduleit's gonna get done.
if it's not it might getdone the busier things get
the more we get involvedin the more that
schedule is important.
Katie (09:41):
what have been key components to
keeping your faith strongfor you
Nate (09:45):
again, as I've mentioned, just making
that commitment, we're goingto find somewhere to go to Mass,
that's thatfeeds you every week.
That's the centerof what you do.
And it's that worship, but alsothe lessons you hear
there in the homilies, I think.
I get up early and spendprobably a half hour I read
the dailyscriptures and then spend
spend some time.
I might, like right now, I'vemade part of that, Oh, what's
(10:05):
the book they just gave us?
The threeordinary voices of God,
because as I've said, even ifyou schedule it with my job
and with kids if, The rest ofthe day is crazy.
So I try to getup early and make that
first half hour of my day issomething, the daily readings
and there's other things Imight do, or, once in a
while, pray a rosaryor Sometimes just sit
and pray and ponder and,I think that's been key
(10:27):
this podcast would be oneexample, but we
are blessed that.
A lot of people in thechurch are using social
media to get the wordout, to amplify the word.
And, again, I mentioned, FatherJoe,he's got several
podcasts through the week totry to, There's a lot of
garbage out there on themedia, so I try to make sure if
I'm, do have time to beon media, it's something
(10:48):
that's positive, andyou know, I do some
professional things aswell, but trying to feed
that faith and listen toother people talk about
it and their experiencesis, is key to doing that.
Katie (10:57):
you talk about social media and the faith,
I, it amazes mewhen I talk to kids.
I'll say somethingabout, the rosary
or something random.
And, and they go, yeah,I learned that on tikTok.
I'm like, what, excuse me?
But, there are a lot of positiveresources.
We just have to lookat what they are.
you know?
and the kids canhelp you find them.
it's amazing to me.
(11:17):
Like, we'll, talkabout the weekly reading
for, Sunday Gospelfor middle school.
And the kids will be,yeah, I saw that on Tik Tok.
Nate (11:23):
Again, it's like anything else.
There's a lot of gooduses of it,
but there's a lot of garbageout there, too, that we
gotta make sure we'remonitoring what our kids are
doing, and what they're on it,Because, but, you're right,
if used in a good way,it can bring the gospel
into your home and to your
Katie (11:36):
Yeah, do your kids use a lot of social media?
because you haveall different ages.
Sure.
Right?
College to, to sixth grade?
Nate (11:43):
So.
Yes, they do.
none of my kids got to have aphone till they were
freshman So I think wedelayed it some, but
yeah, they're on,but we also monitor
it and we talk about it.
There's positive uses of it.
And when they're incollege classes and stuff.
Some of that stuff is handledthrough there, so, yeah, you
can't.
avoid it, but Ithink you can talk
about it, monitor it,and make sure it's being
(12:03):
used in a productive way.
Katie (12:06):
So, your parents were a big instrument in
your faith growing up?
Was anybody else instrumentalin your faith growing up?
Nate (12:12):
I can mention some uncles and aunts
and probably some teachers andthose types of things, but,
specifically, Most ofmy uncles and aunts were
also Catholic and, it wasimportant to them.
Family definitely is the big oneI think I would mention.
Katie (12:25):
it's always interesting to me when people come on
here and they'll saylike a name of a
teacher and we've hadthat a couple of times.
The interesting thing abouta teacher is oftentimes
it doesn't just end at that day.
Nate (12:36):
That's always one of the biggest rewards
of being an educatoris when a student or somebody
comes back and mentionsit's how important
you're, you know,whether it was your
class or, justa conversation and I coached
for quite a while too,but yeah, there've been
students who have done thatand that's, It's flattering,
you're honored by it, it'sone of the I guess, the
intrinsic rewards of being aneducator and working with kids
(12:58):
that you have that that impacton some of them.
Katie (13:01):
What kind of advice would you
give a parent to helpthem impact their child
in a positive way abouttheir faith?
you have some family dynamicswhich are super helpful.
How would another family getthere?
Because oftentimes,like Parents will be like
I can't get my kids togo to church You you have
any suggestions on thatrealm for them?
Nate (13:20):
I think obviously starting when
they're little and that it'sjust, it becomes,
it's just what we do.
I think you got to doit from the time they're
young, and I think I'm tryingto remember what book it
was anyway, it was,it was a, it was a book
about fathers andpeople writing in about
how their fathers impactedtheir life.
And I'm trying to rememberthe name of the guy.
He used to do one ofthe Sunday shows, But,
one of the stories thatsomebody had sent him was
(13:42):
about how When their fatherdied, and they're talking about
memories of him,one of his memories
would he say, you know,I remember I would see him
when, either when I'd get upin the morning or go to bed,
and he'd be kneelingdown at the rocking chair
praying in that he reallynever really talked to us
about his faith.
He never really spokeabout it or pushed it.
But the fact that I saw him toldme how important
(14:03):
And then all of the othersiblings shared, I saw that too.
That impacted me.
So, obviously, youwant to talk to them about it,
but they need tosee you practicing
it in that way.
And it doesn't haveto be a deliberate way,
but if they see youpraying, they're
going to know it'simportant to you.
If they knowthat, hey, every Sunday,
no matter how busy itgets, we're finding a
way to get to church,it's going to
(14:23):
become important to them.
Katie (14:24):
I can't imagine, with a son
in college, does helive at the school?
Nate (14:29):
Yes.
Katie (14:29):
So, it's a deliberate choice to come home because
you could hide out atcollege when we're doing
all these family activities.
I don't want to go tochurch, I'm trying to hide
out at college.
So it's got to bean intentionality on his
part, too.
Nate (14:41):
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, he is,fortunately, he's at
Adrian College, sothat's not too far away.
But, he's notalways with us, but,
I always tell him Igot eyes everywhere.
Katie (14:49):
No, I have seen him at 8:00 Mass by himself
it's a nice sight tosee because here he is,
are the Parkers coming?
No, just him.
Nate (14:59):
Right.
He knows it's important andit's important to him.
it's, that's nice for me to seetoo that he does
Katie (15:05):
Is it interesting to have your children at the same
school you're thesuperintendent of?
Nate (15:09):
You know, I always wondered how that would
be as I was coming up as ayoung educator and, you heard
people who said both andmade choices both ways, that
there are people, you know,they wouldn't go anywhere
else but except for him,You heard other people
say, you know, I really,I don't want them
working the same place I ambecause I want them
to have their own.
And so I always kind of wascurious how that all would go.
And what I would say is it'sbeen great.
(15:30):
It really has.
there's never been anissue with it.
I believe what we do atAdrian Public Schools is great.
We do great things.
I believe in our staffand we have great
people working there.
So why wouldn't I want mykids there?
And they have had outstandingexperiences and and I also
think I've been able tokeep the separation
good that I'm,wanting them to be able to
(15:50):
be whothey are it'd be interesting
to see what their take onthat is too, And you know,
I've never really asked themdeliberately.
I just know the staff have beengreat and they've had an
awesome experienceat Adrian Public
Katie (16:03):
Dayton We were talking to Patrick McDaid and his dad
taught and so he hadhis dad as a teacher.
And he was glowing abouthow wonderful
the experience was.
I think some of it is,Tom McDaid was a phenomenal,
educator But he said, yeah, hesaid, I heard for years
all these stories abouthistory and then I finally got
to be in my dad'sclass and it was real,
(16:24):
So, I just alwayswondered how that would on the
opposite side of That Howdoes that look?
Nate (16:29):
And obviously when I've had them I've been the
administrator, nottheir classroom teacher.
So there's some separationthere too, I think has been
neat is, Whenthey're middle school
students, so at that,time we were still living
over by Hudson So, we hadabout a 25 minute drive.
That meant I got 25minutes in the car
with him every morning.
and a lot of times 25minutes on the way home And
we all know how importantthose middle school years are.
(16:49):
kids are becomingwho they are and
In making choices and decisions.
So, that was just kindof an unintended perk
of having a 25 minutedrive every morning when they
were in middleschool, they'd come to
work with me every morning.
And we gotta spend that time inthe car, and sometimes it
was silent, there wasn'tmuch said, and other times there
was, but how often canyou say, I've got 25
minutes of undividedtime with my kids.
Katie (17:10):
That's true.
I think what you do in those25 minutes is so important.
too, Right.
Because, like you said,sometimes it's just silence.
But it's the presence of, you'rein that car.
They know they're safe.
And sometimes, It'stalking about everything
that happened, Oris going to happen.
So do you miss that time then?
Do you get that timeby yourself now
on the way to work?
Nate (17:30):
So no.
We've moved into Adrian now.
We've lived here for about,three years now
So now we're fiveminutes from the school.
Again, and there's alot of perks to that as well.
I mean, now that I'm home more,and again, the age
there are, they're atthe school all the time.
So, it's a perfectplace to be right
now and we love Adrian but Iwill say, I do kind of miss
not having that, weget the time other
places, I think, but, andnow, of course, two of the
(17:52):
three drive, and the otherone in high school, they ride
to school together, but, whenCasey's at Springbrook
next year, I'llprobably make sure I take her,
and even though it's onlyfive or ten minutes, that'll
be a good morning for us.
Katie (18:03):
One of the things I think you were involved
in is sports as a parent.
How do you make faith apriority, because I know, it's
it's a good thought to saythat when we travel
we go to church Buthow do you make it a
priority, because,travel sports aren't set up
for, families to be involved.
So, how, how does that work?
Nate (18:22):
I say this with all humility, is
that in all the timewe've done travel sports
with all the kids,There's never been a Sunday we
couldn't find a Mass somewhere.
Sometimes
at 7 (18:31):
30 in the morning.
Sometimes it's the five o'clock.
They've gone in baseballuniforms.
I guess having saidthat, Yeah, it is difficult
cause they aren't set up.
But, I'm trying to remember.
The name of the appslips my mind Mass times.org I
think it And we've, weuse that all the time.
You know, okay, we're here, thisis where we are.
Alright, where's the masses?
Where's the game schedule?
(18:52):
yeah, I mean with three,four kids soon.
We're in a lot of differentplaces, but that MassTimes.
org, boom, this is wherewe are, we're in the Mass
Times, where can we go, andit's always possible, and
I think if it wasn't, we'dprobably be missing a game to
make sure we get to Mass
Katie (19:06):
It's a priority.
right.
right.
That's the key to all of it.
I guess my, my numberone question right now
is 'cause you work withchildren, what advice would you
give a child growing up todayabout their faith
Nate (19:16):
to get to know more about Jesus
and the faith, and FatherTom's homily
I don't know, littlewhile ago that, you
should hear the voicesaying Come closer.
Come closer.
And No matter where you are,you can always come closer,
you can always learnmore, the story
of Jesus is amazing.
What his life is amazing,what he taught is amazing, you
(19:37):
You never learn it all.
we always have more to learnabout it and, that
alone Seeking tolearn more about
Jesus and to clingto Jesus, whatever is
going on, we're going tofalter, we're going to
have struggles, we'regoing to have doubts,
that's part of the wholejourney, but always clinging
to that rock of, Hedied for us, He loved
us, our God came to earth tobe with us because He wanted
so much to have a relationshipwith us that He was willing
(20:00):
to be tortured and killed forus and then rose and that's
somebody you wantto learn more about.
You want to learn everything youcan and I think that is,
whatever your doubts,whatever the struggles,
whatever the barriers, if youhold it on to that.
I need to learn more becauseof What he did for me,
I need to learn more.
(20:23):
I think take some time forsilence.
And in that silence, reading,you know, daily readings,
especially, that's another,you benefit of social, Social
the internet.
You know, there's somany sites out there to have
a Catholic daily readings.
And that's another cool thingabout, the faith is that
every day they're prescribedreadings, and it truly,
you can read throughthem in about five
minutes and then sit insilence and reflect
(20:45):
and world is so noisy now.
It's so busy that I thinkyou've got to take time for some
silence inreading the word of the
scriptures every day.
wherever somebody may be intheir faith journey, from
the cradle Catholic who'sdone it all their life,
there's always more to learn.
Jesus is always callingus to come closer.
maybe you're a lapsed Catholicwho's not coming to Mass
(21:07):
anymore, come closer and,restart that and, Jesus's
love is is so incredibleone of my favorite parables
is the prodigal son.
It was the minute he saw thatthe son was returning,
he ran to reestablishthat relationship and,
to take that son back.
So, I can't imagine livingmy life without that
rock of my faith right now.
I'm by no means am I perfect,or by no means am I doing
(21:30):
everything I probably shouldbe doing as a Catholic or
as a follower of Jesus.
But, I feel fortunateto have so many positive
examples of the power ofthe faith and the power of
just, every day try toget a little closer,
try to learn a littlebit more and, reflect
that light to otherpeople, because a lot of
people need that light.
Katie (21:47):
if people would like to talk to you, I'm
thinking children wouldlike to talk about their
faith with you sometime,is that a possibility?
Nate (21:54):
Sure, yeah.
Yep.
Katie (21:56):
Because I think you shared some
things that would behelpful, but people may
not know how toget into reading the daily
readings or those of things.
Nate (22:03):
I'd be more than happy to, any way I could help.
Katie (22:05):
Great.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us, Mr. Parker, and we
appreciate you being here.
Nate (22:10):
well thank you, and thank you for
what you're doing, forhaving this podcast, because
I truly think this is oneof the benefits of media.
We can get this message out topeople, and it's, the Gospels
are an incredible message.
Once again, we thank youfor joining us today.
We hope that wherever youfind an open seat in your
life, you will invitesomeone to join you.
wherever somebody may be in their faith journey,
(00:02):
from the cradle Catholicwho's done it all their life,
there's always more to learn.
Jesus is always callingus to come closer.
maybe you're a lapsed Catholicwho's not coming to Mass
anymore, come closer and,restart that and, Jesus's
love is is so incredibleone of my favorite parables
is the prodigal son.
It was the minute he saw thatthe son was returning,
he ran to reestablishthat relationship and,
(00:24):
to take that son back.
So, I can't imagine livingmy life without that
rock of my faith right now.
Katie (00:30):
Welcome to Open Seat, the podcast where we
create a space for authenticconversations about faith,
unfiltered and unapologetic.
Here, we believe thatevery story matters.
Whether you're questioning,seeking, or steadfast in
your beliefs, you'll findsomething relatable in
these heartfelt discussions.
(00:51):
So grab your seat, getcomfortable, and let's
dive into today's storyhere at Open Seat.
So today on The Open Seatwe have Superintendent Nate
Parker joining us today.
Nate (01:07):
Good to see you.
Katie (01:08):
Good morning.
Good morning.
So tell us a littlebit about Nate.
Nate (01:12):
I'm married with four children.
I have a freshman in college,and I have a junior in high
school, a freshman in highschool, and then I have
a sixth grade daughter.
grew up in St.
Johns, Michigan, justnorth of Lansing.
And first came to LenaweeCounty because I was an
Adrian College student,so I spent four years at Adrian
College.
I got my teachingcertificate and degree, and I
went and taught Spanishfor five years at
(01:32):
Morenci and then Ibecame the high
school principal.
I did that for 10 years,and then, came to Adrian
as a principal atSpringbrook Middle School.
Did that for 12 years,and then there was
an opportunity and Iapplied for the superintendent
position, was fortunateenough to be selected, and
this is my third full year ofdoing that.
So I've been ineducation for 26 years
(01:53):
One year before MorenciI was at Columbia Central at the
Alternative Education Program.
Katie (01:57):
Wow, so education's a huge part of your life.
Nate (02:00):
it's kind of what I've done.
Katie (02:01):
Did your parents grow up as teachers
Nate (02:03):
They did not.
My father worked for GM,was a tool and die maker,
my mom, for a while, was astay at home mom, and then
she was a youth ministerfor a little while, and
then she was a directorof religious education.
for several years atSt. Jude and DeWitt.
then finished hercareer just recently.
She, worked for Faith Magazine.
And she's now, they're bothretired.
Katie (02:22):
I think I had the chance to talk
to her on the phone.
On She's a nice lady.
She did a couple of articleswith kids down here.
Nate (02:30):
mainly not writing, but editing, organizing
and pulling things together.
But I think she mayhave written a few articles.
Katie (02:36):
Yeah, she was great to work with, I give her all
the props in the world forbeing Youth Minister and
Director of Religious Ed.
That's a reallyhard job, I hear,
Nate (02:47):
She was Youth Minister first, and it
was not a dual role at thetime like you're doing.
Katie (02:51):
And speaking of that, you're teaching, helping
teach confirmation this year.
So how's that going?
Nate (02:56):
Good.
I enjoy it.
I enjoy the kids.
Some of them areAdrian kids that I know
a little bit from that.
And some are not Adrian kids.
So it's always good to me.
It's great workingwith Michelle.
She's done it for a whileand knows what she's doing.
I learn a lot moreabout my faith by
being in that role.
And I think we learned that,when we're teaching, others.
we learn a lot ourselves.
So, we were a memberof Sacred Heart Parish.
Starting when I wasin Morenci, until I
(03:16):
became superintendent,we lived over by Hudson.
So, I taught seventh andeighth grade catechism there
for five or six years as well,and I've learned a
lot more about my faith throughdoing that.
as well.
Katie (03:26):
Mm-hmm Can you give us some
examples of things you'velearned about your
faith through teaching?
Nate (03:31):
I think just, a, deeper knowledge, and, we're
constantly learning more,and it's, a journey, and we
learned the basics as comingup as kids and, the more
you can read the samething or hear the same
thing and, in another wayevery time you hear it.
But, then as you're teachingand trying to help others
to understand as well, ittakes you to a deeper
level, I think.
Katie (03:50):
I know I learn all the time
from the kids.
Jesus talks aboutfaith like a child
and that's reallywhat it is, right?
So you were at SacredHeart and now you're
here, parishioners here?
Yes.
We're, we're happy to have you.
We're happy to haveall new people.
So, bring some friends nexttime when you come here.
Nate (04:04):
Okay.
yup.
Yep.
Hopefully I can do that.
Katie (04:07):
It's, one of the great joys in my life
is watching the kidswhen they walk in and see
your teaching, because a lotof times they see you
in a different role.
So, has anyone saidanything to you, like,
oh my gosh, Ididn't know you were
Catholic, or,
Nate (04:20):
You know, I really haven't heard that yet.
I have,a few of the kids that say,
Hey, you know your son's in myclass, but not
Katie (04:26):
Not, not those alarming things.
Yeah.
So, have you always had astrong Catholic faith or develop
over time,
Nate (04:32):
I think it's always been a big part of
my life.
you know,attended Catholic school,
and then, seventh andeighth grade, went over
to the middle school,the public school, in St.
John's, where I grew up, hadjust, St. Joseph
Catholic school, was aK six program, so we
went there, and thenwent over to the public
school, my parents aswell, it was, big part
of their life, and wewere gonna be in church
every Sunday, no matterwhere we were or what
(04:54):
we were doing, there'salways a place you can find
a Catholic Mass, and I thinkthat's something I've tried
to Make sure with my kids aswell, and obviously life is
busy and you're on theroad sometimes on the
weekends, but, a lot of goodthings about being Catholic,
but one of them definitely isno matter where you are, you
can find a church,and you can find a Mass
time, and find away to get to Mass
on the weekend and that was oneof the subtle things, I
(05:15):
think is we just,we were going no
matter where we were andI've continued that and
Obviously my mom and herrole as a youth minister
and a DRE, it was obviouslya big part of her life
and my father as wellin a more subtle way,
but you knew for surethat he was prayerful and
he was committed to it.
Katie (05:32):
a lot of times I hear people say their children
fall off if they've been aDRE or a youth minister
because they had to spendso much time at the church.
Was that ever an issue for you?
Nate (05:44):
You know, it wasn't because it wasn't that
we were there that much.
When we were young,she was a stay at home mom.
as we got older, shetook on some of that.
And then, the partas a DRE was really
after we had grown up.
that dynamic wasa little bit different
in that regard becauseit was, the
timing of when she wasdoing those things.
Katie (06:04):
Yeah, because I hear it's a common thread amongst
people who are like oh yeah,our children don't go to
church anymore because I had toall the time when they
were little do you havea hard time getting your
kids to go to church?
Nate (06:15):
you know, not really.
it's just, I think,'Because we've know
It's what we do, yeah,it's not a conversation
Katie (06:22):
I can speak, to your daughter.
I've coachedher now in basketball
season And she did afabulous job of walking
the faith.
there was this interestingdynamics because
they all knew eachother and they were
all friends andI, watched some things unfold,
and, Casey justhad the outlook of optimism.
(06:43):
Like, oh, that person wouldn'treally do that on purpose.
while we all saw ithappen on purpose,
but that's okay.
And she's like, I don'tthink she really meant that.
And a couple other timesshe, had displayed her faith.
Not in, like, an inyour face way, but just
in a very public way,which was interesting.
So, is that.
somethingthat is instituted in your
house, like, we're workingreally hard to promote what
we do on Sunday Cause in, a lotof, cases we go to
(07:06):
church on Sundayand then it stops on Sunday.
Nate (07:09):
one thing we've done, I don't know, maybe
it's been the last five yearsor so, is we do have,
Wednesday night is prayer night.
that could mean wewatch an episode of The Chills,
and It could mean we listento, and then, Father
Joe Krupp was a,was the priest at
Sacred Heart when wewere there for a while.
He now puts his stuff online.
He's up in Flint somewhere, soit might be we listen to that.
(07:29):
We might read the readingsfor the next Sunday or whatever.
that's one intentionalthing we've tried to do.
and I think therest of it, is, it's not, you
know, in the day to day, justyou got to live your faith
It doesn't do any good ifit's just, ritual and
tradition, whichthose things are important.
But if, if it's not changing howyou live and what you
do in your daily life,we're missing the boat.
So, treat people the right wayand we're here to help others.
Katie (07:51):
So how does your faith play into your job?
You're in a publicschool, separation of church and
state to an extent.
How do you think your faithplays into your
choice of career?
Nate (08:00):
I mean, education is definitely a service industry
and our faith tells uswe're here to serve
others so whether it'sa public school or
a Christian, you know, it's,Our faith tells us
we're supposed to serve.
And I think educators, that'swhy we do what we do.
Because we want toserve people, we want to
help others, we want tobe there for people.
So, how we talk or rulesand, statutes and regulations
and stuff, it still doesn'tmean that we can't serve people
(08:22):
and, we live our faith, and wewitness just by how we
treat others and, that'sthe core, of our faith,
it's how you treat othersand what you're doing to make
that next person's day better,to make sure that they're,
moving forward in life and,I think at the core that's
what we do as educators.
Katie (08:36):
do you get to get a lot of interaction with the kids?
Nate (08:38):
I try to make sure I still do Obviously as a
teacher, there's, and then asa building principal,
it, you get a little bit moreseparated,
but you got to make it apoint to do that, because
that's why we're thereis for the kids, and
if you get too farseparated, you lose that
anchor to what you're doing,so I try to make sure I get in
the buildings, andit's nice at Adrian,
the superintendent's officeis at the high school.
So, daily, you can walk thehalls, and you can do That
(08:59):
and I always, I scheduleto get into the
buildings, so on my weeklyschedule, there's, go to
this elementary, startmy day there, and just,
Intentionality.
Intentionality, Ican't imagine not
having that energy fromthe kids because that's
what keeps you going.
Katie (09:14):
I imagine it could get bogged down with
paperwork, or meetings,
Nate (09:17):
Yep, for sure.
you, just gotta schedule it.
To get into the buildingsand see what the kids are doing.
Katie (09:21):
So how has that helped you intentionally
scheduling all of these things?
Like if you don't do it, doesit throw your whole week off
Nate (09:29):
Sure, Yeah.
I think if we're gonnamake the most of
the time we have Yougot to schedule things.
if it's on the scheduleit's gonna get done.
if it's not it might getdone the busier things get
the more we get involvedin the more that
schedule is important.
Katie (09:41):
what have been key components to
keeping your faith strongfor you
Nate (09:45):
again, as I've mentioned, just making
that commitment, we're goingto find somewhere to go to Mass,
that's thatfeeds you every week.
That's the centerof what you do.
And it's that worship, but alsothe lessons you hear
there in the homilies, I think.
I get up early and spendprobably a half hour I read
the dailyscriptures and then spend
spend some time.
I might, like right now, I'vemade part of that, Oh, what's
(10:05):
the book they just gave us?
The threeordinary voices of God,
because as I've said, even ifyou schedule it with my job
and with kids if, The rest ofthe day is crazy.
So I try to getup early and make that
first half hour of my day issomething, the daily readings
and there's other things Imight do, or, once in a
while, pray a rosaryor Sometimes just sit
and pray and ponder and,I think that's been key
(10:27):
this podcast would be oneexample, but we
are blessed that.
A lot of people in thechurch are using social
media to get the wordout, to amplify the word.
And, again, I mentioned, FatherJoe,he's got several
podcasts through the week totry to, There's a lot of
garbage out there on themedia, so I try to make sure if
I'm, do have time to beon media, it's something
(10:48):
that's positive, andyou know, I do some
professional things aswell, but trying to feed
that faith and listen toother people talk about
it and their experiencesis, is key to doing that.
Katie (10:57):
you talk about social media and the faith,
I, it amazes mewhen I talk to kids.
I'll say somethingabout, the rosary
or something random.
And, and they go, yeah,I learned that on tikTok.
I'm like, what, excuse me?
But, there are a lot of positiveresources.
We just have to lookat what they are.
you know?
and the kids canhelp you find them.
it's amazing to me.
(11:17):
Like, we'll, talkabout the weekly reading
for, Sunday Gospelfor middle school.
And the kids will be,yeah, I saw that on Tik Tok.
Nate (11:23):
Again, it's like anything else.
There's a lot of gooduses of it,
but there's a lot of garbageout there, too, that we
gotta make sure we'remonitoring what our kids are
doing, and what they're on it,Because, but, you're right,
if used in a good way,it can bring the gospel
into your home and to your
Katie (11:36):
Yeah, do your kids use a lot of social media?
because you haveall different ages.
Sure.
Right?
College to, to sixth grade?
Nate (11:43):
So.
Yes, they do.
none of my kids got to have aphone till they were
freshman So I think wedelayed it some, but
yeah, they're on,but we also monitor
it and we talk about it.
There's positive uses of it.
And when they're incollege classes and stuff.
Some of that stuff is handledthrough there, so, yeah, you
can't.
avoid it, but Ithink you can talk
about it, monitor it,and make sure it's being
(12:03):
used in a productive way.
Katie (12:06):
So, your parents were a big instrument in
your faith growing up?
Was anybody else instrumentalin your faith growing up?
Nate (12:12):
I can mention some uncles and aunts
and probably some teachers andthose types of things, but,
specifically, Most ofmy uncles and aunts were
also Catholic and, it wasimportant to them.
Family definitely is the big oneI think I would mention.
Katie (12:25):
it's always interesting to me when people come on
here and they'll saylike a name of a
teacher and we've hadthat a couple of times.
The interesting thing abouta teacher is oftentimes
it doesn't just end at that day.
Nate (12:36):
That's always one of the biggest rewards
of being an educatoris when a student or somebody
comes back and mentionsit's how important
you're, you know,whether it was your
class or, justa conversation and I coached
for quite a while too,but yeah, there've been
students who have done thatand that's, It's flattering,
you're honored by it, it'sone of the I guess, the
intrinsic rewards of being aneducator and working with kids
(12:58):
that you have that that impacton some of them.
Katie (13:01):
What kind of advice would you
give a parent to helpthem impact their child
in a positive way abouttheir faith?
you have some family dynamicswhich are super helpful.
How would another family getthere?
Because oftentimes,like Parents will be like
I can't get my kids togo to church You you have
any suggestions on thatrealm for them?
Nate (13:20):
I think obviously starting when
they're little and that it'sjust, it becomes,
it's just what we do.
I think you got to doit from the time they're
young, and I think I'm tryingto remember what book it
was anyway, it was,it was a, it was a book
about fathers andpeople writing in about
how their fathers impactedtheir life.
And I'm trying to rememberthe name of the guy.
He used to do one ofthe Sunday shows, But,
one of the stories thatsomebody had sent him was
(13:42):
about how When their fatherdied, and they're talking about
memories of him,one of his memories
would he say, you know,I remember I would see him
when, either when I'd get upin the morning or go to bed,
and he'd be kneelingdown at the rocking chair
praying in that he reallynever really talked to us
about his faith.
He never really spokeabout it or pushed it.
But the fact that I saw him toldme how important
(14:03):
And then all of the othersiblings shared, I saw that too.
That impacted me.
So, obviously, youwant to talk to them about it,
but they need tosee you practicing
it in that way.
And it doesn't haveto be a deliberate way,
but if they see youpraying, they're
going to know it'simportant to you.
If they knowthat, hey, every Sunday,
no matter how busy itgets, we're finding a
way to get to church,it's going to
(14:23):
become important to them.
Katie (14:24):
I can't imagine, with a son
in college, does helive at the school?
Nate (14:29):
Yes.
Katie (14:29):
So, it's a deliberate choice to come home because
you could hide out atcollege when we're doing
all these family activities.
I don't want to go tochurch, I'm trying to hide
out at college.
So it's got to bean intentionality on his
part, too.
Nate (14:41):
Yeah, I think so.
I mean, he is,fortunately, he's at
Adrian College, sothat's not too far away.
But, he's notalways with us, but,
I always tell him Igot eyes everywhere.
Katie (14:49):
No, I have seen him at 8:00 Mass by himself
it's a nice sight tosee because here he is,
are the Parkers coming?
No, just him.
Nate (14:59):
Right.
He knows it's important andit's important to him.
it's, that's nice for me to seetoo that he does
Katie (15:05):
Is it interesting to have your children at the same
school you're thesuperintendent of?
Nate (15:09):
You know, I always wondered how that would
be as I was coming up as ayoung educator and, you heard
people who said both andmade choices both ways, that
there are people, you know,they wouldn't go anywhere
else but except for him,You heard other people
say, you know, I really,I don't want them
working the same place I ambecause I want them
to have their own.
And so I always kind of wascurious how that all would go.
And what I would say is it'sbeen great.
(15:30):
It really has.
there's never been anissue with it.
I believe what we do atAdrian Public Schools is great.
We do great things.
I believe in our staffand we have great
people working there.
So why wouldn't I want mykids there?
And they have had outstandingexperiences and and I also
think I've been able tokeep the separation
good that I'm,wanting them to be able to
(15:50):
be whothey are it'd be interesting
to see what their take onthat is too, And you know,
I've never really asked themdeliberately.
I just know the staff have beengreat and they've had an
awesome experienceat Adrian Public
Katie (16:03):
Dayton We were talking to Patrick McDaid and his dad
taught and so he hadhis dad as a teacher.
And he was glowing abouthow wonderful
the experience was.
I think some of it is,Tom McDaid was a phenomenal,
educator But he said, yeah, hesaid, I heard for years
all these stories abouthistory and then I finally got
to be in my dad'sclass and it was real,
(16:24):
So, I just alwayswondered how that would on the
opposite side of That Howdoes that look?
Nate (16:29):
And obviously when I've had them I've been the
administrator, nottheir classroom teacher.
So there's some separationthere too, I think has been
neat is, Whenthey're middle school
students, so at that,time we were still living
over by Hudson So, we hadabout a 25 minute drive.
That meant I got 25minutes in the car
with him every morning.
and a lot of times 25minutes on the way home And
we all know how importantthose middle school years are.
(16:49):
kids are becomingwho they are and
In making choices and decisions.
So, that was just kindof an unintended perk
of having a 25 minutedrive every morning when they
were in middleschool, they'd come to
work with me every morning.
And we gotta spend that time inthe car, and sometimes it
was silent, there wasn'tmuch said, and other times there
was, but how often canyou say, I've got 25
minutes of undividedtime with my kids.
Katie (17:10):
That's true.
I think what you do in those25 minutes is so important.
too, Right.
Because, like you said,sometimes it's just silence.
But it's the presence of, you'rein that car.
They know they're safe.
And sometimes, It'stalking about everything
that happened, Oris going to happen.
So do you miss that time then?
Do you get that timeby yourself now
on the way to work?
Nate (17:30):
So no.
We've moved into Adrian now.
We've lived here for about,three years now
So now we're fiveminutes from the school.
Again, and there's alot of perks to that as well.
I mean, now that I'm home more,and again, the age
there are, they're atthe school all the time.
So, it's a perfectplace to be right
now and we love Adrian but Iwill say, I do kind of miss
not having that, weget the time other
places, I think, but, andnow, of course, two of the
(17:52):
three drive, and the otherone in high school, they ride
to school together, but, whenCasey's at Springbrook
next year, I'llprobably make sure I take her,
and even though it's onlyfive or ten minutes, that'll
be a good morning for us.
Katie (18:03):
One of the things I think you were involved
in is sports as a parent.
How do you make faith apriority, because I know, it's
it's a good thought to saythat when we travel
we go to church Buthow do you make it a
priority, because,travel sports aren't set up
for, families to be involved.
So, how, how does that work?
Nate (18:22):
I say this with all humility, is
that in all the timewe've done travel sports
with all the kids,There's never been a Sunday we
couldn't find a Mass somewhere.
Sometimes
at 7 (18:31):
30 in the morning.
Sometimes it's the five o'clock.
They've gone in baseballuniforms.
I guess having saidthat, Yeah, it is difficult
cause they aren't set up.
But, I'm trying to remember.
The name of the appslips my mind Mass times.org I
think it And we've, weuse that all the time.
You know, okay, we're here, thisis where we are.
Alright, where's the masses?
Where's the game schedule?
(18:52):
yeah, I mean with three,four kids soon.
We're in a lot of differentplaces, but that MassTimes.
org, boom, this is wherewe are, we're in the Mass
Times, where can we go, andit's always possible, and
I think if it wasn't, we'dprobably be missing a game to
make sure we get to Mass
Katie (19:06):
It's a priority.
right.
right.
That's the key to all of it.
I guess my, my numberone question right now
is 'cause you work withchildren, what advice would you
give a child growing up todayabout their faith
Nate (19:16):
to get to know more about Jesus
and the faith, and FatherTom's homily
I don't know, littlewhile ago that, you
should hear the voicesaying Come closer.
Come closer.
And No matter where you are,you can always come closer,
you can always learnmore, the story
of Jesus is amazing.
What his life is amazing,what he taught is amazing, you
(19:37):
You never learn it all.
we always have more to learnabout it and, that
alone Seeking tolearn more about
Jesus and to clingto Jesus, whatever is
going on, we're going tofalter, we're going to
have struggles, we'regoing to have doubts,
that's part of the wholejourney, but always clinging
to that rock of, Hedied for us, He loved
us, our God came to earth tobe with us because He wanted
so much to have a relationshipwith us that He was willing
(20:00):
to be tortured and killed forus and then rose and that's
somebody you wantto learn more about.
You want to learn everything youcan and I think that is,
whatever your doubts,whatever the struggles,
whatever the barriers, if youhold it on to that.
I need to learn more becauseof What he did for me,
I need to learn more.
(20:23):
I think take some time forsilence.
And in that silence, reading,you know, daily readings,
especially, that's another,you benefit of social, Social
the internet.
You know, there's somany sites out there to have
a Catholic daily readings.
And that's another cool thingabout, the faith is that
every day they're prescribedreadings, and it truly,
you can read throughthem in about five
minutes and then sit insilence and reflect
(20:45):
and world is so noisy now.
It's so busy that I thinkyou've got to take time for some
silence inreading the word of the
scriptures every day.
wherever somebody may be intheir faith journey, from
the cradle Catholic who'sdone it all their life,
there's always more to learn.
Jesus is always callingus to come closer.
maybe you're a lapsed Catholicwho's not coming to Mass
(21:07):
anymore, come closer and,restart that and, Jesus's
love is is so incredibleone of my favorite parables
is the prodigal son.
It was the minute he saw thatthe son was returning,
he ran to reestablishthat relationship and,
to take that son back.
So, I can't imagine livingmy life without that
rock of my faith right now.
I'm by no means am I perfect,or by no means am I doing
(21:30):
everything I probably shouldbe doing as a Catholic or
as a follower of Jesus.
But, I feel fortunateto have so many positive
examples of the power ofthe faith and the power of
just, every day try toget a little closer,
try to learn a littlebit more and, reflect
that light to otherpeople, because a lot of
people need that light.
Katie (21:47):
if people would like to talk to you, I'm
thinking children wouldlike to talk about their
faith with you sometime,is that a possibility?
Nate (21:54):
Sure, yeah.
Yep.
Katie (21:56):
Because I think you shared some
things that would behelpful, but people may
not know how toget into reading the daily
readings or those of things.
Nate (22:03):
I'd be more than happy to, any way I could help.
Katie (22:05):
Great.
Well, thank you so much forjoining us, Mr. Parker, and we
appreciate you being here.
Nate (22:10):
well thank you, and thank you for
what you're doing, forhaving this podcast, because
I truly think this is oneof the benefits of media.
We can get this message out topeople, and it's, the Gospels
are an incredible message.
Once again, we thank youfor joining us today.
We hope that wherever youfind an open seat in your
life, you will invitesomeone to join you.
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