For Chris Meisman, all roads seem to lead back to St. John Fisher. The parish has remained a constant reminder of God’s presence amid childhood moves across state lines, raising a family, and staying devoted to her faith through life’s ups and downs.

Born in Chicago, Chris’ family moved frequently. On one of these moves, Chris’ family briefly settled in Newtown, OH, where they attended St. John Fisher in the late 1970’s before relocating again. By chance, Chris’ family would return to the area during her sophomore year of high school for their final move. Fortunately, too, since Chris would soon meet her future husband, Steve Meisman, while attending McNicholas High School. 

The two were married at St. John Fisher and went on to have three daughters: Jenny, Erin, and Annie. Their eldest, Jenny, was born with a progressive condition that affects her mental and physical abilities. As each of their daughters grew up, Chris and Steve also witnessed the growth of St. John Fisher alongside them as the building expanded to accommodate the growing parish community. Currently, four generations of her family attend St. John Fisher.

“When Steve and I first got married, we were living in an apartment and we were not really close [to St. John Fisher], but we just liked St. John Fisher and we kind of felt like, ‘Well, when we buy a house, we’ll figure out what we’re doing.’ But then we bought a house and we just didn’t want to leave. We just felt very at home at St. John Fisher, honestly, right from the beginning,” said Chris.

As they planned for Jenny’s increasing physical and mental challenges, this sense of home became even more important to the family as they planted their roots.

“When Jenny got older, we knew she would go to public school and that was part of it too. We felt that St. John Fisher was extremely welcoming to her, and we felt like our kids had a big place at St. John Fisher because they were the kids of the parish,” said Chris. “The funny thing is, now, since Jenny started to use a wheelchair full time, we had to move from our two-story house, so we actually moved closer to St. John Fisher. Now we’re right there.”

Although Jenny’s condition has progressed through the years, she has not let it stop her from being an active participant of parish life at St. John Fisher. She attends Mass every Sunday and is part of the Fair Trade team. In fact, Jenny’s faith has been a major influence on Chris’ own faith journey and a great inspiration to all those who have gotten to know her.

“Jenny has been a strong force in showing us how to be faithful…She’s a very prayerful person, she’s a very resilient and positive person. She knows everybody at our church,” said Chris. “It helps us to see the effort that people make with her. When we go to Mass, there’s never a time when people aren’t talking to her. Fr. Aaron specifically makes a huge effort with her, which is very appreciated. I think my mom, my kids, my grandkids seeing that – it’s hard for me to really put into words the impact that has had on all of us.”

Looking back on her life, learning to surrender to God’s will remains a constant theme in Chris’s faith journey. This lesson has noticeably deepened Chris’ understanding of her Catholic faith and enriched her experience of motherhood.

“In some ways, when you have a child that struggles, you have to let go of control of a lot of things and you have to just put your faith in the fact that she’s the person that she’s meant to be - the person God intends her to be,” said Chris. “You’re not going to do everything right and you just really have to have faith that you’re trying to help your children be the best that they can be and that God is with you [in that].”

Through all of life’s twists and turns, Chris still finds herself returning to the place that has remained a refuge through every season of her life. What began as a brief stop during one of many childhood moves became the parish where she married, raised her family, found community, and continues to grow in faith.

“The older you get the more of a privilege it feels like to have a church that you love. To be able to get to Mass and make friends there with many different people of such strong faiths - I have learned a lot,” said Chris. “I am blessed to be part of the social action team. The people on that team, who do so much to help others, are an inspiration to me.”

Drawing from her own faith journey, she encourages others to embrace God’s blessings in whatever form they may take.

 “Try to be open to the opportunities you have as life goes on, to not take them for granted, to appreciate what you have and the friends and opportunities that are still to come!”