Read the full article by Katie Peterson here on Nashville Catholic.

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Seventh and eighth grade students from four parochial schools in the Diocese of Nashville learned they have what it takes to make a difference after spending the summer reading “Kingdom of the Poor” by Father Charles Strobel.

Weeks after they returned to school, dozens of students from St. Edward School, Christ the King School, St. Matthew School in Franklin, and St. Rose of Lima School in Murfreesboro came together for a book club meeting on Thursday, Sept. 4, in the St. Edward School gymnasium. They were joined by members of Father Strobel’s family and guests of Room In The Inn for panel and roundtable discussions about the book.

The event was organized by school librarians – Jill Ellis of St. Edward, Teresa Davis of Christ the King, Katie Hubbuch of St. Matthew, Regan Smith of St. Rose, and Harriet Hudson of St. Henry School, whose students were unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict  –  who wanted to find a way to bring their school communities together.

“The librarians in the diocesan schools meet quarterly, and we were talking about how we could get all our schools to join together, improve literacy, and promote reading,” explained Davis. “The book club is what we started with and then, when we chose ‘Kingdom of the Poor,’ it started snowballing into this huge event.”

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Alice Eadler, Father Strobel's sister, third from left, answers questions as her fellow panelists listen. They include, from left, Tim Logan, Room In The Inn guest; Rachel Hester, executive director of Room In The Inn; Katie Seigenthaler, Father Strobel's niece and co-editor of the book; Jeffrey Moles, Room In The Inn guest; and Morgan Strobel, Father Strobel's nephew. Photo by Katie Peterson

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At the start of the day, students listened to a panel discussion led by two student moderators who asked questions of the panelists – Alice Eadler, Father Strobel’s sister; Katie Seigenthaler, Father Strobel’s niece and co-editor of the book; Rachel Hester, executive director of Room In The Inn; Morgan Strobel, Father Strobel’s nephew and Christ the King sixth-grade English and literature and middle school history teacher; and Room In The Inn guests Tim Logan and Jeffrey Moles.

Afterwards, the panelists joined the students for a guided book discussion and trivia to end the morning.

The book “teaches them the history of the Catholic community in Nashville, and we wanted them to understand that the community they’re living in is not just what they have right in front of them. It’s got a history that comes with it and many people who came before them,” Davis said. “I hope that by learning all those lessons from Father Strobel through the book and listening to the panel discussion, they realize that we are all at one table. Whether we’re at Christ the King, St. Rose, wherever, we need to come together as a community to learn how to love God the deepest like Father Strobel did.”

Several students said that they took multiple lessons from Father Strobel’s book, particularly lessons of forgiveness as he showed in the case of the man who murdered his mother, and service to the poor and marginalized like he did through Room In The Inn.

“The book was very heart-touching because of all the big events in it. I feel like a big thing we’ve all learned from it is to forgive others because Father Charlie forgave a lot of people who have hurt him,” said Hiab Tesfay, an eighth-grade student at St. Edward. “It teaches us to always have a good attitude about everything and, no matter who does you wrong, treat them with the same kindness that you would want to be treated.”

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Betsy Bateman, an eighth-grade student at St. Matthew School in Franklin, smiles as she listens to one of her table's adult mentors during the guided book discussion. Photo by Katie Peterson

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“It was really special how many lives he impacted,” added Betsy Bateman, an eighth-grade student at St. Matthew. “It is like reading a guide to being kind and going to heaven. That’s how I felt about it.

“My family is really close with the Strobel’s, and it really is a privilege to have known him,” she added.

Joseph Head, an eighth-grade student at Christ the King, said the book helped him learn more than he ever thought he would about Nashville, even as a lifelong resident.

“It gave me a sort of window into the lives of the marginalized, and it helped me understand how we can help them,” Head said. “I didn’t know a lot about Father Strobel, but I knew about Room In The Inn. It is pretty crazy how quickly it started and how quickly it gained momentum. He grew up just like anybody else, but what he did with his life, he created a legacy that will be here for a long time.”

Eli Hargrove, a seventh-grade student at St. Rose, said he also took note of how Father Strobel was just an ordinary person who accomplished extraordinary things.

“When you see an impact that big by someone, you think about maybe they’re rich or a celebrity or something. But Father Strobel did it so humbly. Not only was he helping others, but he made an impact that spread everywhere,” Hargrove said. “He made such an impact on Nashville that there are still people today that have been impacted and are still being impacted by what Father Strobel did.”

As a result, the students said that they were inspired to continue his legacy of service, whether by volunteering at Room In The Inn through their church or school, participating in more service projects, or donating goods to charities.

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Christ the King students Zachary Riggan, eighth grade, left, and Brendan Casey, seventh grade, flip through "Kingdom of the Poor" during the open-book trivia. Photo by Katie Peterson

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“It is important to give hope to others,” Bateman said. “You can also help make the people you’re helping have more faith and lead them to heaven.”

“Even little acts of kindness can be so big. Father Strobel thought he was just going to start something that would affect Nashville, but it has affected so much of the U.S.,” said Hargrove. “If someone has ever been kind to you, this book is that. It is the start of someone being kind to someone and that person being kind to another, and it keeps going and going and going.”

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