Anthony Corder, Clayton Graham, Steve Joebgen and JoAnne Lacey are bringing the House System to the Holy Land! In 2014, JoAnne gave a power point presentation about the House System (thanks to Karen Matuszek of Moeller) to Fr. Faysal Hijzen+ then General Director of the Latin Patriarchate Schools. Father was very excited about the House System but what grew his enthusiasm for it was his visit to Moeller in 2015. On the spot, Father invited not only staff members but the students ( who really impressed him) to bring the House System to the LP schools in the Holy Land! The team is eager to to not only help implement and tailor the House System to the LPS’s needs,  but to also learn ideas from the Jaffa of Nazareth school to bring back to Moeller. 

Clayton, Anthony, Steve and JoAnne

Meet Anthony Corder

Anthony married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer- whom he met in the drama club at Purcell Marian.  They  have 3 daughters, Lucy (12), Molly (9) and Josephine (4).

Anthony earned his BA and MA in Theology from Xavier University and have been in education for 18 years.He teaches Religious Studies at Archbishop Moeller High School and serve as the Eveslage House Dean.  He also runs the Stewardship of Creation program for Moeller and takes students to live in solidarity with members of the Navajo Nation each spring.

Anthony has not been to the Holy Land but has gone on pilgrimage to Rome, Assisi and the Vatican at the time Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, the founder of the Marianists, was beatified.

Anthony is looking forward to visiting The Church of the Holy Sepulcher,  making connections with our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, and presenting the Moeller House System to the LP School in Jaffa of Nazareth.

Meet Clayton Graham

Clayton is originally from St. Louis. He attended  Chaminade College Prep which is a Marianist high school like Moeller.  After earning his degree in Theology and  teacher certification he ended up teaching at his former high school. After a few months of  teaching,  he went on a retreat in Dayton where he met my wife. Soon after he ended up moving to Cincinnati and getting a job at Moeller High School. They have two daughters.  Clayton currently teach Bioethics to seniors,  junior religion and is the Pillar House dean.

This will be Clayton’s first time in the Holy Land. He is looking forward to seeing the Temple Mount, having taught Hebrew Scriptures he knows a lot about it. He also is eager to work  with the students and teachers from Jaffa. He realizes that interaction  with the people of the Holy Land  will make this experience unique.

Meet Steve Joebgen

Steve was born in the south suburbs of Chicago, IL, but moved to Champaign, IL when he was 5 and grew up there. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from Eastern Illinois University in 2011 and then spent a year interning in campus ministry at EIU while living in a Catholic Worker community. He earned his Master’s degree in Theological Studies from the University of Dayton in 2014 before he began his present job in Pastoral Ministry at Archbishop Moeller High School.

This is Steve’s first trip to the Holy Land! He is  most looking forward to the Church of the Annunciation. He is very enamored with the Annunciation and Mary’s fiat.

Steve is also very excited to develop a relationship with Jaffa of  Nazareth school, especially in working with them to create and implement the House System in their school. He’s  looking forward to learning about their school community and culture. Plus he’s excited to try the food in the Holy Land.

Steve hopes to come to a greater understanding of the needs of their school community and to assist with the implementation of the House System at Jaffa Nazareth. He hopes to be able to offer his experience of the pastoral care and comradery that the House System provides so that our twinning partners can serve their students effectively. Finally, he hopes that he will gain a perspective that will help him to better serve his students here in the United States.

Meet JoAnne Lacey

JoAnne Lacey was born and raised in Erie, PA where she attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through college. She has been married to Ken and has lived in Cincinnati for thirty years.  They have three children: Lauren (23), Mark (21) and Sean (19). Lauren is a second grade teacher at Metro Catholic School in Cleveland. Mark and Sean are students at the University of Dayton, and former students of Moeller High School which makes JoAnne a Moeller Mom. JoAnne taught junior high at Villa Maria Elementary School in Erie and St. Gertrude School in Cincinnati. Presently, she works at St Paul Village Retirement Community where she assists with the social activities. Working with the elderly allows her to serve people in the last years of their lives, which she finds to be truly fulfilling and rewarding in many ways.

This will be JoAnne’s fourth pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She went in 2010, 2012 and 2014 with HOPE. She finds it difficult to pinpoint one site that she is most looking forward to seeing. But, knowing that she will be living for four days in Nazareth, the place where the Word was made flesh is an incredible feeling for her that no words can describe!

JoAnne is looking forward to better know her fellow pilgrims, visit with many friends in Jordan, Palestine and Israel and meet new friends along the way, and of course the children…the reason she is going to the Holy Land!

JoAnne will be hosted in Nazareth by a friend that she met in 2011. Her host Hala is married to Farah and they have two boys. Hala is a school psychologist.  She came to Cincinnati in 2011 with educators from Palestine, Jordan and Isael. Hala and JoAnne became instant friends! That friendship has sustained the test of time and distance.

 JoAnne’s hope for this mission is to help implement the Moeller House System by tailoring it to the needs of the school and help it  become  a model for the other LP Schools.

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