Sales Secondary to Souls at local Catholic bookstore

A large, muscle-bound man walks into the bookstore, fresh from the gym.

He looks a bit stunned. “I don’t even know what I’m doing here,” he says, shaking his head a little, in confusion. “Something just came over me and somehow I walked down here.”

And he begins to sob, overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit.

His story is one of many lives touched by God’s work through Newman’s Bookshoppe.

“We exist to evangelize and catechize.”

Newman’s Bookshoppe was established by the Catholic Information Center of Southwest Michigan in 2007 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Guided by Reverend Robert Sirico and several lay people, and with the purchase of the inventory of Holy Family Books and Gifts from Gerald and Roselyn Casey, the store on W. Michigan Ave. was renovated to become a haven reflecting the beauty of the Catholic faith “in the midst of the world.” Brian Trainor served as the initial executive director, succeeded by Clare (Brockway) Zemlick and Steve Goffeney, who has served in the position for the past 11 years.

“The store itself is symbolic of a beautiful church,” says Steve. “When you walk in, just like when you walk into a church, you see the beauty and it touches you on a different level. Everything in the store was thought out, even the way the store is lighted, the music we play in the background and the types of shelves we use.”

Everything inside the diocese’s only Catholic bookstore is aimed at helping evangelize or catechize in some way (its motto, borrowed from Pope Benedict XVI, is Cooperatores Veritatis — “Co-workers of theTruth”). And beyond what is stocked, Steve says the store serves as an invaluable information resource for those looking to learn more about the Catholic faith, regardless of where they are on their faith journey. To that end, Newman’s has assisted and sponsored bringing popular Catholic speakers to the area, including Peter Kreeft, John Martignoni, Pat Madrid, Sr. Joseph Andrew and Scott Hahn. In addition, the store has hosted men’s and women’s conferences and regularly (pre-COVID-19) visited parishes, offering an onsite selection of books and products from the store.

With its location in the middle of the downtown Kalamazoo business and shopping district, the store receives a variety of walk-in customers, from those waiting for their pizza to be ready, to those dropping off their mail, to those who wander in out of curiosity.

“We’re a solid Catholic gift and book store in Kalamazoo, Michigan; we’re also a tiny blood cell in the Body of Christ. It’s an awesome thing to think of, how we’re an active participant in something so much bigger,” says Steve.

The favorite part of Steve’s job, he explains, is working closely and building relationships with the people in the trenches, doing the work of Christ out in the world. He particularly enjoys interacting with those customers who wander in off the streets or stop in regularly and feels blessed to witness their faith journey.

“In a lot of ways we’re like bartenders,” he says. “Someone who has recently lost someone or endured some kind of major upset in their life, has left the faith, etc., comes in to buy a prayer card or, just something unknown to them draws them into the store. They often end up staying for an hour just to talk,” says Steve. “Lots of tears have been shed on our front counter; and we’re happy to serve in that way.”

But how do you get started with evangelizing? Steve says it doesn’t have to be complicated.

“Evangelizing can be as simple as holding open the door for others, as if you were holding open the door for Christ,” he says. “We try to operate under the understanding that every single person who walks through the door we’re evangelizing, even if all we do is say hello.”

Steve remembers a favorite story of one of his regular customers.

“One of our regulars was on her way into the store to pick up a book she had ordered,” he recalls. “She had to take the bus and there were some young boys with skateboards sitting across from her. After pulling out her rosary to pray, the boys asked her about it and after explaining what the rosary was, she offered hers to them. By the time she got to the store to get her book, she also needed a new rosary.”

Steve says it’s not uncommon for strangers to meet at Newman’s, overhear some part of each other’s conversation and end up inviting each other to their Bible study or women’s group.

“You can come down to Newman’s and we will do our best to help answer your questions and connect you to resources so you can keep learning on your own. If God brings them to us, we evangelize them and that helps prepare them to evangelize others,” he says.

Like every small business, adapting to the current pandemic presented challenges, including state-ordered “Stay at Home” quarantines during the first Communion and Confirmation seasons driving sales down. But with people staying home more and turning to their faith during times of uncertainty, there has also been growth in other areas, such as those looking to pray and read more as a family, or put together home altars and even those looking to plant Mary gardens.“

As the world gets crazier and more uncertain, it seems like more Catholics are digging deep and focusing on their faith,” Steve says. “People are remembering that God is our only certainty and that our call is to spread the Gospel to everyone we meet.”

And that man mentioned in the begin-ning? He’s now attending seminary in his home country of the Philippines. He still occasionally receives books from Newman’s, gifts from the friends he made there.