Join Us in Welcoming Meghan Fiebelkorn to the Awake Staff!
This week we are honored to introduce Meghan Fiebelkorn, Awake’s new full-time associate director, who is based in Michigan. She brings tremendous gifts and relevant experience to this role. In addition to managing a range of new and established programs, she will also oversee Awake's communications, public relations, and fundraising efforts.
As we bring Meghan on board, it’s a good moment to express our gratitude for the generous donors whose contributions have made it possible for Awake to expand its staff.
These early days are truly busy for Meghan, but she made time to answer a few questions about herself, giving us a chance to learn a little about her career background, what she and her family do for fun, and the projects she is the most excited to undertake with Awake. Please feel free to add your own note of welcome in the comment section below!
Q. Welcome, Meghan! To help us all get to know you better, tell us a little about the career path that brought you to Awake.
Associate Director Meghan Fiebelkorn
A. A few years after graduating college I took a job in the front office of a parish and immediately fell in love with the ways I could interact with people, listen to their stories, and be present to them in all their varied circumstances and situations. This led me to pursue further graduate work in pastoral ministry before feeling called to mission work in Uganda. When I returned to the United States, I re-entered parish work and led a variety of ministries including adult faith formation, marriage preparation, and oversight of communications and Christian service.
At the same time, I was becoming more and more aware of the real harm that the institutional Church can cause people. I personally experienced and witnessed systems of abuse, became acquainted with and listened to clergy sexual abuse survivors, and increasingly felt the need to be more involved in standing in solidarity with those who have been harmed and working for change. Two ministry partners and I began leading formation opportunities for lay volunteers and professional ministers in the Church to assist them in doing their work in safe, healthy, and integrated ways and to help them recognize unsafe environments and the cultures that tend to foster abuse. Around this time, one of those ministry partners became involved with Awake, and I read a few articles and listened to some podcasts where Sara Larson appeared as a guest. I was really drawn to Awake’s approach of being survivor-centered and hopeful, and of working for reform from within the Church and out of love for the Church while respecting everyone’s individual spiritual journey. So when I saw the job posting for associate director, I really felt that it would be a great use of my experience, passion, and gifts.
Q. So you really understand parish life and are also driven to create a Church that is safe for all. We’re so glad your journey brought you here, Meghan. What does your life look like beyond work?
A. Outside of work, I love traveling and experiencing new places and cultures. With five school-age kids, I don’t do much of that currently, but I hope to get back to it with the children once they’re a little older. I really enjoy live music and seeing shows in venues ranging from large arenas to tiny clubs. I’m an avid sports fan in general, but Detroit Tigers baseball and Michigan Wolverines football hold a special place in my heart. Together with our kids, my husband and I like having family movie nights and taking road trips from our home in Brighton, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, to beautiful northern Michigan.
Q. Wonderful! Life with five kids is very busy, I’m sure. What has your faith journey looked like?
A. My relationship with God is at the center of my life and everything I do. My family came into the Catholic Church when I was 14 years old and although I practiced the faith, it wasn’t until just after college that I had a profound experience of God’s love and mercy and it became more personal. Admittedly, the abuse scandal and some of my own personal experiences have really tested my faith and caused me at times to question the Church and to question God’s goodness. And yet I have also deeply and personally experienced God’s goodness in the Body of Christ as well. The Lord continues to pour out his graces in the sacraments, most especially the Eucharist. I stay grounded in personal prayer time, sacramental grace, and my wonderful small group of friends and family as we support each other in living out the Gospel.
Q. Thanks for sharing all of this, Meghan! We’re so pleased to have you on the Awake team. As you look ahead, what aspect of the work with Awake is the most exciting for you?
A. First, I have to say that even in the short time I’ve been in my role, Sara, Esther, Catherine, and the entire Awake community have all been so welcoming and wonderful. I am truly humbled and grateful to join such an excellent organization. I’ve already learned so much about Awake and have come to appreciate the intentionality of Awake’s leaders in everything they do. One area I’m excited to tackle is development; Awake has accomplished so much and has had a profound impact in such a short amount of time, and I can’t wait to grow that solid foundation so we can have an even larger impact in people’s lives and in the Church as a whole.
—Interview by Erin O’Donnell
