Welcome Seminarian, Michael J. Goodwin

 
I grew up on the east end of Long Island, NY in a loving evangelical Christian family.  My family was active in our Bible Church throughout my childhood.  I attended public school through high school and then decided to attend a Christian college in Ohio.  I majored in education, but toward the end of school I decided to enter into the Army Reserve and attend an evangelical seminary in Grand Rapids to become an Army Chaplain.  
 
During college and then evangelical seminary I had growing questions and concerns about the history of Christianity and the divisions between different Christian churches.  During my final year of Army Chaplain training, I was invited by a Catholic seminarian to attend the Mass on base.  It was the first Mass I ever attended.  This experience opened my heart and mind to even more questions.  I returned to Grand Rapids with the conviction that I needed to seek communion with the Catholic Church.
 
In 2011, I entered the Catholic Church in Grand Rapids at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Andrew's Cathedral.  I became a part of a Catholic young adult group and some friends asked me if had considered the vocation to the priesthood.  I was open to this path and I was put in touch with our diocesan vocation director.  
 
I entered Catholic seminary in the fall of 2013 and am now in my second year of theology.  I look forward to learning, growing and serving at St. Mary's of Spring Lake, MI.  If you want to learn more about my story, I go into greater detail on my blog site and also include a link to the Journey Home interview I did on EWTN:  http://easterpeople.me/about/
 
In Christ,
 
Michael