Catholic Faith Brings Faith And Unity To A Family In Michigan
A psychologist's 'yearning for the Eucharist' prompted him to lead his family on a quest.
A family of five in Michigan took a winding journey through various church communities, questioning their faith — until finding unity and a haven in the Catholic Church.
An interview with the Bingham family of Ann Arbor revealed individual and joint paths of inquiry as they navigated faith communities. Dan and Hannah led their children to fully participate in these faith communities, especially in music ministry, but also in Bible study and group sessions. They also led them to the Church.
Dan is a psychologist, overseeing more than a dozen therapists. He has taught psychotherapy and spiritual discernment to professionals and religious communities and is trained to integrate Christian spirituality and psychotherapy. He had long adhered to a broadly fundamentalist faith, which he professed when he met Hannah while they sang in a Baptist choir in Kentucky. Hannah has led choirs and music ministry, having trained in the field at Ohio’s evangelical Cedarville University.
The Binghams are vocal about their newfound faith. Dan was frank in saying that his spiritual journey towards the Catholic Church was gradual but accelerated as he and Hannah sought more complete marital unity.
Hannah knew Dan had long wished for more frequent communion in the Protestant tradition.
“So, long before this revelation or whatever the Holy Spirit was doing, Dan wanted communion every week, even when we didn’t understand what the Eucharist was,” she recalled. Finally, this led to a spiritual crisis for Dan.
“It was during a service at my former church that I felt a strong yearning for the Eucharist,” he said.
This yearning wasn’t satisfied by the congregations they tried. One of these, for example, offered readings from Buddhist and Hindu books. Moving several times, they tried various churches, including Baptist, Presbyterian and the United Church of Christ.