Faith groups led to walks down the aisle for Rowan students
Faith groups led to walks down the aisle for Rowan students
January 11, 2008
For dozens of students at Rowan University, joining a campus faith-based group not only brought them closer to God, it also brought them a spouse. Here are some of their stories.
***
You could say Phil Janisse was an answer to wife Kari Palmieri Janisse's prayers.
Not that way.
Oh, sure, she'll acknowledge that he's good-looking and smart and fun. But when Kari, now 26, first heard of Phil, she wasn't praying for him to ask her out. She was praying for his soul.
Phil, now 28, worked at Scotland Run with Lori Dempster, a friend of Kari's from the Newman Center at Rowan University. Lori often would speak with Phil about faith and the Roman Catholic Church into which he had been baptized but in which he was no longer active. She asked Kari to pray for Phil's conversion, and Kari did. Eventually, Phil agreed to attend a retreat in 2002 to which Lori had invited him - lured as much by free food and a free weekend away in a mansion as by spiritual matters.
Phil said he learned on that retreat that his faith had much to offer him. He came back very peaceful and told a friend it was the best weekend of his life.
Kari's take on the weekend? She wasn't even there. But she continued to pray for Phil, and Phil continued to explore his faith. Phil returned for a 2003 retreat with a friend, and he and Kari met at the Newman Center just before leaving for the retreat house.
Afterwards, the duo hung out at Newman and got to know each other better there, according to Kari, a native of Bloomfield. "We would see each other several times a week at meetings, Mass and events. Plus we met many friends through Newman, many of whom we still are very close with today," she said.
Kari said faith was one of the qualities she valued most when looking for a suitable husband. Phil demonstrated that quality in various ways during their courtship, including praying with her about whether they should marry and even having Newman chaplain Fr. Cadmus Mazzarella bless the engagement ring before he proposed to her.
Kari and Phil married in April 2007 at St. Bridget's Church, Glassboro. The pastor, "Fr. Mazz" as he is known, celebrated the Mass. And - no surprise - three bridesmaids, four groomsmen, one greeter, and the family that brought up the gifts - the Dempsters -all had ties to Newman.
Today the Williamstown couple, who both graduated from Rowan in 2004, are happily settled in Williamstown, he working as an account manager for CH Robinson and she as a freelance graphic designer and stilt walker, clown, balloonist and face painter at special events and parties.
***
Jeremy Goren owes a lot to the Newman Center at Rowan University.
The five-month-old's parents, Keith Goren and Lisa McDonald Goren, met at the Center when they were mechanical engineering and elementary education students, respectively.
The couple, who lives with their baby in Glassboro, met and got to know each other first as friends at Newman.
"Before we even dated, we hung out in a big group of friends, so we felt comfortable being ourselves. Not having pressure in a one-on-one situation made it fun getting to know each other. Then, when we were ready to start dating, we felt like we knew each other really well," Lisa said. The two served on the Newman Club's Executive Board together (Keith was the treasurer and Lisa was the secretary), completed service projects together and hung out in a lot of social settings together with the club.
The religious connection was important to both Keith, 25, originally from Bloomfield, and Lisa, 24, originally from Washington Township. "We both felt it was important to share our faith, be involved in church ministries together and raise our children Catholic," said Lisa, who graduated in 2005, a year after her husband.
That religious connection also played a part in their engagement.
Keith proposed at Eucharistic Adoration at the chapel at nearby St. Bridget's Church in Glassboro. "He didn't plan on proposing on any significant date, but when the store where he bought my ring called in early September to let him know it was ready, he realized the Blessed Mother's birthday was also in September. Since the Blessed Mother guided both our friendship and dating relationship, he waited until September 8th to ask me to marry him on the Blessed Mother's birthday!"
Keith and Lisa married at St. Bridget's in August 2006, with Fr. Mazz officiating and two bridesmaids, the best man and two groomsmen from their Newman days as part of the wedding party. Another couple the Gorens met at Newman read from the Bible during the ceremony.
"It was such a blessing to have friends from the very place we met as a part of our wedding day," said Lisa, who today is a stay-at-home mom while Keith is a math teacher at Sacred Heart High School in Vineland.
***
Carl Nalbandian, associate pastor of Victory Assembly of God Church, which meets at Schalick High School, Pittsgrove, earned a B.S. in management (2003) and MBA (2005) at Rowan University along with the love of Christine Busovsky, now Christine Nalbandian.
Carl, 26, originally from Tinton Falls, and Christine, 24, originally from Phoenixville, Pa., met through Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, a campus-based organization for Protestant students.
It was, they said, extremely important their future spouse share their beliefs.
"This was particularly important because Carl already knew his plan to enter full-time ministry. It was important to be of one mind in our faith," said Christine, who earned a B.S. in accounting in 2005.
Carl and Christine both were involved with the worship music at Chi Alpha, jointly led Bible studies while in college and very often participated in on-campus talent shows/coffee houses.
They knew each other and worked together on a number of projects as friends for three years in Chi Alpha and other Christian organizations before they started dating.
"Being part of Chi Alpha together helped us to learn about each others' character. We saw in this small setting how each interacted with other people, how our faith played out in our lives, how we responded to different situations (good and bad!)," added Christine, who lives with her husband in Lindenwold and is a senior tax accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia.
"All of our memories of time spent together in Chi Alpha are sweet to me because they represent the foundation of friendship and partnership on which our love and marriage are built," Christine said.
Carl proposed to Christine at the altar of Woodstown Presbyterian Church, where the couple went on to marry in November 2005
***
You could say Phil Janisse was an answer to wife Kari Palmieri Janisse's prayers.
Not that way.
Oh, sure, she'll acknowledge that he's good-looking and smart and fun. But when Kari, now 26, first heard of Phil, she wasn't praying for him to ask her out. She was praying for his soul.
Phil, now 28, worked at Scotland Run with Lori Dempster, a friend of Kari's from the Newman Center at Rowan University. Lori often would speak with Phil about faith and the Roman Catholic Church into which he had been baptized but in which he was no longer active. She asked Kari to pray for Phil's conversion, and Kari did. Eventually, Phil agreed to attend a retreat in 2002 to which Lori had invited him - lured as much by free food and a free weekend away in a mansion as by spiritual matters.
Phil said he learned on that retreat that his faith had much to offer him. He came back very peaceful and told a friend it was the best weekend of his life.
Kari's take on the weekend? She wasn't even there. But she continued to pray for Phil, and Phil continued to explore his faith. Phil returned for a 2003 retreat with a friend, and he and Kari met at the Newman Center just before leaving for the retreat house.
Afterwards, the duo hung out at Newman and got to know each other better there, according to Kari, a native of Bloomfield. "We would see each other several times a week at meetings, Mass and events. Plus we met many friends through Newman, many of whom we still are very close with today," she said.
Kari said faith was one of the qualities she valued most when looking for a suitable husband. Phil demonstrated that quality in various ways during their courtship, including praying with her about whether they should marry and even having Newman chaplain Fr. Cadmus Mazzarella bless the engagement ring before he proposed to her.
Kari and Phil married in April 2007 at St. Bridget's Church, Glassboro. The pastor, "Fr. Mazz" as he is known, celebrated the Mass. And - no surprise - three bridesmaids, four groomsmen, one greeter, and the family that brought up the gifts - the Dempsters -all had ties to Newman.
Today the Williamstown couple, who both graduated from Rowan in 2004, are happily settled in Williamstown, he working as an account manager for CH Robinson and she as a freelance graphic designer and stilt walker, clown, balloonist and face painter at special events and parties.
***
Jeremy Goren owes a lot to the Newman Center at Rowan University.
The five-month-old's parents, Keith Goren and Lisa McDonald Goren, met at the Center when they were mechanical engineering and elementary education students, respectively.
The couple, who lives with their baby in Glassboro, met and got to know each other first as friends at Newman.
"Before we even dated, we hung out in a big group of friends, so we felt comfortable being ourselves. Not having pressure in a one-on-one situation made it fun getting to know each other. Then, when we were ready to start dating, we felt like we knew each other really well," Lisa said. The two served on the Newman Club's Executive Board together (Keith was the treasurer and Lisa was the secretary), completed service projects together and hung out in a lot of social settings together with the club.
The religious connection was important to both Keith, 25, originally from Bloomfield, and Lisa, 24, originally from Washington Township. "We both felt it was important to share our faith, be involved in church ministries together and raise our children Catholic," said Lisa, who graduated in 2005, a year after her husband.
That religious connection also played a part in their engagement.
Keith proposed at Eucharistic Adoration at the chapel at nearby St. Bridget's Church in Glassboro. "He didn't plan on proposing on any significant date, but when the store where he bought my ring called in early September to let him know it was ready, he realized the Blessed Mother's birthday was also in September. Since the Blessed Mother guided both our friendship and dating relationship, he waited until September 8th to ask me to marry him on the Blessed Mother's birthday!"
Keith and Lisa married at St. Bridget's in August 2006, with Fr. Mazz officiating and two bridesmaids, the best man and two groomsmen from their Newman days as part of the wedding party. Another couple the Gorens met at Newman read from the Bible during the ceremony.
"It was such a blessing to have friends from the very place we met as a part of our wedding day," said Lisa, who today is a stay-at-home mom while Keith is a math teacher at Sacred Heart High School in Vineland.
***
Carl Nalbandian, associate pastor of Victory Assembly of God Church, which meets at Schalick High School, Pittsgrove, earned a B.S. in management (2003) and MBA (2005) at Rowan University along with the love of Christine Busovsky, now Christine Nalbandian.
Carl, 26, originally from Tinton Falls, and Christine, 24, originally from Phoenixville, Pa., met through Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, a campus-based organization for Protestant students.
It was, they said, extremely important their future spouse share their beliefs.
"This was particularly important because Carl already knew his plan to enter full-time ministry. It was important to be of one mind in our faith," said Christine, who earned a B.S. in accounting in 2005.
Carl and Christine both were involved with the worship music at Chi Alpha, jointly led Bible studies while in college and very often participated in on-campus talent shows/coffee houses.
They knew each other and worked together on a number of projects as friends for three years in Chi Alpha and other Christian organizations before they started dating.
"Being part of Chi Alpha together helped us to learn about each others' character. We saw in this small setting how each interacted with other people, how our faith played out in our lives, how we responded to different situations (good and bad!)," added Christine, who lives with her husband in Lindenwold and is a senior tax accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia.
"All of our memories of time spent together in Chi Alpha are sweet to me because they represent the foundation of friendship and partnership on which our love and marriage are built," Christine said.
Carl proposed to Christine at the altar of Woodstown Presbyterian Church, where the couple went on to marry in November 2005