YOUR STORY MATTERS HERE: Katelyn Lemke

By Tim Wesley

In the beginning, her parents forced Katelyn Lemke to attend Dutilh’s worship services.

Well, sort of.

“I’ve been going to Dutilh since I was a baby, so I had no choice; they just put me in the car seat and off we went,” said Katelyn, now 16 and quite pleased with her parents’ unilateral decision.  “I love Dutilh.  It’s fun-loving and welcoming.  You’re welcome to be yourself, and you’re welcomed into the door by a family welcoming committee shaking your hand.  You feel very included, and it’s a wonderful way to start a Sunday morning.”

That’s certainly music to her parents’ ears, which, in this case, is nothing new to Dan and Shawna Lemke.  To Dutilh’s congregation, Katelyn might be one of the sweet voices you hear singing a solo during worship, but to mom and dad she’s not only a big sister to Nathan, 14 on Jan. 5, and Allison, 10, she’s the toddler-turned-teenager who has always been a song bird.

“All little kids sing and put on a show, and as parents sometimes you want to cover your ears, but with Katelyn it was always just kind of pleasant,” said Shawna, who claims no singing talent and said Dan “won’t even attempt it.”

“Singing has always been second nature to me,” Katelyn said.  “Ever since I could talk, I was also singing.  I enjoyed it, and it became part of my life.”

At Dutilh, Katelyn started singing in the children’s choir and followed a typical path of her peers, leading to Sunday school classes, then to FISH (Friends in our Savior’s Hands) and next to an important crossroads for sixth graders who attend Dutilh:  To become or not to become a confirmand.

Unlike when her parents strapped her into that car seat many years earlier, that choice was Katelyn’s.  Dutilh had revamped its confirmation process under Sarah Hogue’s leadership, with new requirements for service hours and adult mentors, and the Lemkes wanted to make sure Katelyn would be invested in and committed to the process on her own, without being forced.  Katelyn chose wisely, and it sparked a new fire for her faith.

“With Miss Sarah, confirmation wasn’t a class, it was personal,” she said.  “That’s the first time I really found my faith.  You hear all the Bible stories in FISH, but in confirmation you really live into it, why Jesus did what He did in His lifetime and why He was crucified.  It sets your foundation, so that when you sit and hear the pastors’ sermons you understand and you get where they’re coming from.”

Katelyn’s faith journey and her singing both seemed to blossom after confirmation.  At Dutilh, she joined the youth group, which later spawned a “friend group” of boys and girls of different ages and from different school districts who rely on each other in times of need.  She joined the youth band and the Saturday worship band.  She watched Reagan Curry sing a solo during a Christmas Eve service and decided to give it a shot herself, debuting with “Thy Will” at age 13, and she soon became a regular member of the team.  As a student in the Seneca Valley School District, meanwhile, she joined show choir and concert choir, and performed in musicals.

With all of that performing, you might think she no longer experiences stage fright, but you’d be wrong.  While confessing she still gets nervous, even at church, Katelyn stifles the jitters by telling herself, with a laugh, “It’s church; they have to be nice to me.”

Even so, she has forgotten the words to her songs many times on stage, including during a recent youth band performance of “Way Maker” when she noticed Nathan wrestling with a friend in the back of the church.

“I’m thinking, ‘What is he doing?’ and I just got totally distracted and forgot the words,” she said.  “When that happens, you just have to get back on track and move on.”

A junior, Katelyn plans to move on after high school and attend a college close to home to major in early education, but she’ll continue singing, too.

“I love kids and working with them,” she said.  “And I’ll still want to be involved with the church and active in performing. I’ve really decided singing in the church is what I’m supposed to be doing.  It’s not just about singing for fun, but about having an impact on people.  I think it’s a taste of what life will be like after I graduate, where I’m not competing with someone for a part but just worshipping the Lord.  I don’t know what God has planned for me, but music has always been a big part of my life.”

A big part, yes, but not everything.  She also volunteers at Vacation Bible School, helps with the children’s choir and babysits.  A few years ago, she discovered another passion, perhaps rivaled only by her singing.

To nine-year-old Max, the son of a family friend, Katelyn might as well be singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”  Max has played baseball in the Cranberry Township Miracle League for the past four years, and Katelyn has been his buddy during games, keeping him safe and making sure he’s having a good time.

“He’s like a little brother to me,” she said.  “He’s always loved baseball and just wants to play.”

Helping Max play out his dream is just one example of how Katelyn tries to live out her faith beyond the walls of Dutilh.  She makes time for prayer every day and receives a daily Bible verse on her phone.  And she seems to understand that preaching her faith can be done through actions, perhaps more so than words.

“We are all sinners,” she said.  “But I try my best to live so I can sleep at night without being disappointed in myself.  I try to stay on the right path and show my faith through my actions, in how I treat people.  If I see someone sitting by themselves at lunch, why not invite them over to come sit with us?  Why wouldn’t you do that?  Show you are a Christian through actions, by being kind to people and treating them with respect, which is how Jesus treated people.”

That’s often a tall task for a seasoned, adult Christian, let alone a 16-year-old young lady.  But from her humble beginnings in that car seat, Katelyn Lemke seems to have started off on the right note.

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If you or someone you know in the Dutilh family has an interesting story or profession, send us your ideas! We would love to help tell the story. Email: communications@dutilhumc.org.