This is the story of Micah and Eleanor Kiel. Both grew up in Minnesota — Micah in Stillwater; Eleanor grew up in Golden Valley. Both were raised Christian — Micah’s father was a pastor in the Evangelical Free Church of America; Eleanor was raised Catholic attending St. Margaret Mary Parish and School in Golden Valley. Micah and Eleanor’s paths crossed their first year of college: Eleanor at The College of Saint Benedict; Micah at Saint John’s University, where both studied music and shared the same vocal instructor.
The two, both involved in campus ministry at Saint John’s, began dating their senior year. Micah made the decision to become Catholic and began the formal process, receiving the sacrament of confirmation at Saint John’s Abbey in the spring.
After graduating from the colleges in 1998, they continued dating and were married in 2000 at The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. Each pursued advanced degrees: Micah earning a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and Eleanor earning a master of music from Mason Gross School of the Arts and Rutgers University.
Micah went on to earn a Ph.D. at Princeton with a focus on New Testament biblical studies, while Eleanor used her talents teaching voice, performing on stage and working in ministry. Happy to be closer to family, the couple moved to Davenport, Iowa, in 2007 where Micah began teaching at St. Ambrose University.
A few days into his new job, they both began a new role: parenthood. Their first son, Harrison, arrived. Three years later, their second son, Brendan, was born.
After 17 years in Iowa, something unexpected happened.
“It had always been our dream to make it back to Minnesota and to our Alma Mater, but in this day and age in higher education, especially in theology, we weren’t certain it would happen,” Eleanor said.
Twenty-five years after they began their last year as students at CSB and SJU, Micah began his first year as faculty there.
They both agree that the nostalgia of the area and beauty of the campuses drew them back. Micah also cites the reputation of Saint John’s School of Theology and the impact it has had on the Church in the last 100 years.
But the Benedictine values, specifically the value of stability, was the primary influencer.
“It’s a deeply human problem to be unsatisfied, to always be looking for the next thing. Stability asks you to look at the world differently — to look for fulfillment and sense of peace that is different from what the world offers,” Micah said. “It’s not common in our world to have people choose to commit to something and stay with it.”
He continued, “I feel [the value of stability] seeps into the whole area. It’s just very powerful and beautiful.”
Eleanor feels blessed to have found a new role in the Church, working as a pastoral associate for the Harvest of Hope Area Catholic Community, where her family can be deeply integrated.
“In every move and every place we’ve gone, there’s been a pull to keep using my skills in the Church,” Eleanor said.
Harrison and Brendan, now 18 and 15, attend Saint John’s Preparatory School and enjoy playing music at school and at St. Benedict Parish in Avon where Eleanor leads their teen ensemble.
The Kiels look forward to finding greater stability in their work, their parish and in their community.
“We know it’ll take time, like it did [in Davenport],” Micah said.
“We just can’t shy away from delving in and inviting people to our home, establishing relationships and getting to know our neighbors better,” Eleanor said.
While they know this takes time, there are truths they can rely on.
Eleanor can rely on Micah.
“He’s passionate, an amazing thinker who remembers everything. He’s dedicated, has good dad jokes, is artistic and has a lot of passions,” Eleanor said. “He spends his time wisely with good balance to his life.”
Micah can rely on Eleanor.
“She’s very energetic and passionate. She is very good in a crisis and has a lot of natural pastoral qualities. She’s a good mother and daughter. She works hard but also does a good job of doing things that are rejuvenating,” Micah said.
Harrison and Brendan can rely on their parents’ love for one another.
“Even though they have busy schedules, they show up for one another,” Harrison said. “And they do a really good job of collaborating.”
The boys can also rely on Micah and Eleanor to teach them their faith.
“They teach us how to worship,” Harrison said. “Dad helps us understand things on a deeper level.”
“Mom teaches us through music,” Brendan said.
And the whole family agrees that one thing that remains stable is Micah’s ability to turn watching the TV show, “The Chosen,” into anything but a straightforward event.
“Micah’s not allowed to talk when we watch ‘The Chosen,’” Eleanor said.
“He would pause it and explain everything,” Harrison said.
“And tell us how everything was wrong,” Brendan teased.
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About Her
Eleanor currently serves as the music and liturgy pastoral associate at Harvest of Hope Area Catholic Community, which includes the parishes of St. Anthony in St. Anthony, St. Benedict in Avon, St. Martin in St. Martin and Seven Dolors in Albany.
Q: Was there a moment or experience that made you feel called to serve ?
A: During our senior year at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, when working with Micah in campus ministry, I found that my gifts for organization, music, communication and relationship building worked well in the ministry setting. After completing my student teaching for the K-12 music education degree, I had two job offers, but had reservations about working in the school setting. I found that my education training translated well to church music ministry, without the drain of discipline and school politics, which I felt was at odds with my (then age 22) personality. Instead, working in the Church, I could use my gifts toward a higher purpose.
Q: What does a “typical day” look like for you as a pastoral associate? Is there such a thing?
A: I love the flexibility and variety that being a pastoral associate brings. Each day is different based on the needs of the community and what is going on. I appreciate working from home a few days per week so I can really “hunker down” and be efficient in accomplishing my tasks that need to be done for each week (preparing for weekend liturgies, communicating with various parish groups, planning for our new faith formation programming which includes large group prayer with a teen praise and worship ensemble, etc.). Other days, I am in the office, attending Mass and conversing with our (mainly retired) parishioners over breakfast, visiting Serenity Village care facility to bring communion, visiting our two student interns whom I serve as mentor for who are studying at Saint John’s School of Theology, running rehearsals for our music ensembles and leading music for funeral Masses.
Q: What part of your work brings you the most joy?
A: Over my 25 years of service in the Church, working with young people has brought me the most joy. I am inspired by the faith of our young Catholics! I want to passionately stress that they are not the “future of the Church,” they are the “young church” here and now! Those of us in our 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond can learn a lot from them: their relationship with God, their hopes and dreams and their vision for the Church. In particular, I love cultivating the gifts of our teen music ministers, empowering them for leadership and validating their baptismal call as priests, prophets and kings.
Q: Accompaniment is a big theme in Church life today. How do you see Church life today. How do you see that playing out in your ministry?
A: I love the little moments that God offers us throughout our days if we simply pay attention. Accompaniment to me means being in the moment with people that we encounter. For a simple example, acknowledging people who cross our paths and having a brief conversation can be an opportunity for accompaniment and grace. Recently, as we launched our new ACC-wide faith formation program for middle and high school students, I enjoyed hearing from a group of young people about the most impactful worship experience they have had. I asked each student follow-up questions and enjoyed delving into their personal experience on how God is present to them. I could tell that it meant a lot to them that an adult wanted to hear their story and really valued their experience. I also enjoy being with people going through all stages of life, from a mom welcoming a new baby to families grieving the loss of a loved one. Each day,
I experience the depths of our Catholic faith lived through the lives of the faithful as we encounter God’s gifts and promises through moments of joy and suffering.
About Him
Micah is an associate professor of theology at Saint John’s School of Theology, Saint John’s University and The College of Saint Benedict. He is the author of the recently published and award-winning book, “Be Transformed: A Biblical Journey Toward a More Just World,” published by Liturgical Press.
Q: What inspired you to write this book? Was there a moment or experience that sparked your interest in this topic?
A: I’ve worked a lot with the poor or marginalized at various points in my life. I lived in Central America for a year as a volunteer teacher. I worked feeding the homeless in Davenport, Iowa. I have mentored people recently released from prison. I’ve worked with refugees. So, all that to say, it’s been increasingly important to me to find ways to bridge the academy and scholarship with real world concerns about justice. There is one related concern, which is that when people think about the Church’s social teachings, they most often think of the teaching of Jesus, and this is right and good, of course. But it also ignores large parts of Scripture which also teach or guide about such things. In particular, I wanted to have a robust discussion of the apostle Paul in the context of the Church’s social teachings, to try to show that Paul was radical in many ways, but also to try to broaden our understanding of the connection between justice and Scripture.
Q: As a professor of theology, how do you balance academic rigor with the pastoral dimension of teaching — accompanying students to not only understand Scripture but also engage it as a living source of meaning in their lives?
A: I always try to have an open and pastoral approach to how I teach. But I definitely think that the rigor of scholarship absolutely needs to inform those who are being trained for ministry. Sometimes it can be easy to drive a wedge between academic study of Scripture and its pastoral or spiritual meaning, but these two have to go together. The Catechism is very clear that every interpretation or all the senses of Scripture need to be based on the literal sense. What that means is that reading the text in its historical context and all the history and languages that go along with that are absolutely key in our ability to read Scripture well. The trained reader then has new insights and is equipped to translate those understandings into various pastoral situations. It can often be disorienting for students when they first enter my classes, but that’s good because that allows us to re-orient and build up exegetical practices and strategies for understanding what Scripture “meant” so that we can figure out what it “means” today.
Q: When you’re not writing or teaching, what do you enjoy doing? Give us a glimpse of your life outside the pages.
A: I like to be with my family. I like to cook. I fish. I ride my bike. I like to travel. I enjoy a good happy hour with good beer and friends. I love when I wake up early and can make it to morning prayer with the monks at St. John’s. I hate yard work. I mean, I really hate it.
Q: If someone’s picking up your book for the first time, what do you hope they walk away with? Is there a message or feeling you hope stays with them?
A: I think too many Catholics and Christians think there is no connection between salvation and our obligations toward justice and charity in the world. Such a bifurcation is a lie and a total misunderstanding of what it means to be a Christian. So, I hope they see the inherent connection between the way we are saved and the obligations put upon us to work to make a world of peace and justice.
Q: What’s next for you? Any new projects, ideas or directions you’re excited about?
A: Good question! I’m planning to write another book, maybe on the topic of Benedictine values and Scripture, or maybe on the topic of the diaconate and Scripture. Those are the two ideas I’m kicking around. I’m working on an article for a scholarly journal that is an offshoot of the book I just published, digging deeper into the connection between Paul, especially the Corinthian correspondence, and the Church’s teaching about the universal destination of goods.
Great article on the Kiels!