Priests facilitate religious ceremonies for their parish community, but most of their duties lie in planning, organizing events and assisting parishioners.

“I don’t think there is a ‘typical day’, when working in ministry,” said Rev. Melvin Verhoff, who serves as chaplain of St. Thomas More Parish on Thurstin Street. “There is some consistency, but every day is different.”

Rev. Verhoff has been working at St. Thomas More for about one year, and enjoys talking to students and residents about spiritual issues.

He starts each day at 7 a.m., prays and looks ahead at the challenges he will face. Much of his day is devoted to meetings about the state of the parish, and responding to phone calls and e-mails from students. Communicating with students about their daily lives is something that is very important to Rev. Verhoff.

“I’ve always wanted to do work connected with the University,” said Rev. Verhoff, of his choice to work in Bowling Green. “I asked to work here and they thought I could, which was exciting.”

Rev. Verhoff previously served as a pastor of two parishes for seven years, and worked as the Diocesan director of youth for the Toledo Diocese. Now, he has many of the same responsibilities as he did before, but in a university setting.

The parishioners of St. Thomas More Parish, who are mainly University students, stop by Rev. Verhoff’s office to talk about a problem or to say hello. Rev. Verhoff says that St. Thomas More is a place for everyone, and that everyone will feel welcome.

Giving spiritual guidance to students and other members of his church takes up a major portion of Fr. Verhoff’s day.

While in eighth grade, Rev. Verhoff’s godfather suggested to him that he should be a priest. Ever since that moment, the thought of priesthood has been in the back of Rev. Verhoff’s mind.

“After my godfather told me that, I thought about it and went to the seminary,” Rev. Verhoff said. “I didn’t decide for sure until about two years before I was supposed to be ordained.”

Before becoming a priest, Rev. Verhoff served as a missionary in Zimbabwe for a few weeks, and worked with runaway teenagers in New York City.

“It made me realize that there are a variety of different experiences out there,” said Rev. Verhoff. “Working with these people helped me to realize how blessed I am. I asked myself, ‘How do I use these blessings to help others in need?'”

Rev. Verhoff focuses on the issues of spirituality and counseling. His goal is to guide people through their spiritual lives.

Although every day brings new challenges, Rev. Verhoff remains excited about working in the Bowling Green community.