Fr. Steve Pullis: Welcome to another episode of Open Door Policy, where each time where you sit down with a different joyful missionary disciple in the Archdiocese of Detroit, who is unleashing the gospel. And today special edition, we have two of them, we have a husband and wife, Al and Suzanne [Krall 00:00:20]. Al and Suzanne, welcome to Open Door Policy. Suzanne Krall: Oh, thank you. Alan Krall: Thank you. Fr. Steve Pullis: Danielle Center, how are you? Danielle Center: Friend, I am good. How are you? Fr. Steve Pullis: Good. What's God doing in your life these days? Danielle Center: Well, some of the listeners will remember my brother, Paul, he's from another episode, and he has an idea to work on a new performance. So we have been working together on some collaborative art during quarantine, over Zoom and all that, so writing a play, writing songs, that kind of thing. And our guests today are artists as well. Isn't that right, Mr. and Mrs. Krall? Suzanne Krall: Yes, I guess in a way we are. Fr. Steve Pullis: Well, let's jump in and get to know you both a little bit with some rapid fire questions, are you ready? Suzanne Krall: Guess so, let's go. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right. First question, and we can go ladies first here, and then Al once your bride gives her answer you can jump in. First question is, what was your first job? Suzanne Krall: Working on the counter at Hardee's Hamburgers. Alan Krall: That's going back. Suzanne Krall: First job. Alan Krall: I guess I was... My first job. I worked at a sprinkler company, putting underground sprinklers in. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right, what's the most beautiful church you've been to? Suzanne Krall: St. Peter's Basilica. Alan Krall: Same. Fr. Steve Pullis: What is the most recent song you have stuck in your head? Suzanne Krall: The Lord is my Light and my Salvation. Alan Krall: Yeah, I guess, because that's what we were talking about singing later on. Danielle Center: Oh, sweet. Fr. Steve Pullis: (singing) is it that one? Alan Krall: Yep. Suzanne Krall: Yep, that one. Fr. Steve Pullis: You're like, I'm not sure if it's that one. Alan Krall: You got the right idea. Suzanne Krall: It was the wrong pitch for me. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right, moving on. In what fictional world would you want to live? Suzanne Krall: I don't know, I'm thinking about Outlander. Speaker 6: (singing) Alan Krall: Man, I don't know if I have any fictional world I can't live in that life. I don't know, I'd probably be on a sailboat somewhere. Danielle Center: Ooh. Fr. Steve Pullis: What is your favorite breakfast food? Suzanne Krall: Pancakes. Alan Krall: Scrambled eggs. Fr. Steve Pullis: What location did you have a powerful encounter of God in? Suzanne Krall: Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. Alan Krall: There was a couple of times that I've thought about it. I'm thinking that the Palestrina Chapel in Rome. Fr. Steve Pullis: What's your favorite Bible verse? Suzanne Krall: I don't know if I can tell you which Bible verse it is, but it's the things that... since Sunday, talking about hope. Yeah and just before that, those have really been resonating with me, I think with all our quarantining and things going on in the family, I'd say hope. Alan Krall: I have to agree. Yeah, between the Archbishop homily on Sunday, and the response songs and that was all about hope. Suzanne Krall: Yeah. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right, and have either of you met anyone famous before? Suzanne Krall: Yeah, I met Bill Laimbeer once a really long time ago, he'd never remember it. Fr. Steve Pullis: Al, how about you? Alan Krall: I met Bill Clinton. Danielle Center: Ooh. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right. Suzanne Krall: We even have a picture of it. Danielle Center: Oh wow. Alan Krall: Yeah. Fr. Steve Pullis: We'll get back to that, so save that story, we'll follow up with that in a minute. Who's your hero? Suzanne Krall: Father Patrick Gonyeau. He's my hero, I love him. Alan Krall: My wife is my hero. Fr. Steve Pullis: That's what marriage is all about helping each other. Alan Krall: Yeah. Danielle Center: Yeah. Fr. Steve Pullis: And last but not least. What is your favorite book you've ever read? Suzanne Krall: I loved Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Computer: Daphne du Moria. It was an English author and playwright. Her stories have been described as moody and resonant. Suzanne Krall: I don't know, for some reason that book just really stuck with me. I mean, I read it 50 years ago and I still love that story. I have pick that up and read it again. Alan Krall: Boy, I was just looking at title of a book here and it's The Life of Captain James Cook. And if I had read one, that one I would like to read, but it's like 3000 pages. Fr. Steve Pullis: All right. Danielle take her away. Danielle Center: Heard That. You bet. Okay. So the one I'm going to start with is where I saw a little bit of overlap. You both were really touched at St. Peter's. So when did you go to Rome? What brought you there and what touched you about St. Peter's? Alan Krall: It was a pilgrimage with the Archdiocese and chorus for... Suzanne Krall: Epiphany. Alan Krall: Epiphany. What year was that? Suzanne Krall: Four years ago, in 2016. Alan Krall: Yeah. And so we were there for... saw the Pope and it was quite a, uh, experience. Danielle Center: That's super beautiful. And then you said you guys are praying a little bit with hope right now. What's what is touched you about what the Archbishop said? Suzanne Krall: I think it's because so many people are afraid right now with the pandemic. And you just keep trying to give people a little bit of hope. That, yeah, this can be bad, but you know the vast majority of us are going to make it through it and it'll be sad, whoever doesn't. But, I think it was, too, when I was talking to my daughter and my son, separately, when this started. I should say our daughter and son. I said to them, "You know, if it comes down, if I get really sick and there aren't enough ventilators to go around, I've lived a good life. I've had kids and raised them. I had a great career. I've had a wonderful marriage. I lived in nice homes. And if there's somebody who needs that ventilator...", back when they were talking about not enough ventilators. I said, "You know, kids, I'm okay. I know where I'm going from here and I'm not afraid." So, my daughter was the one, my son just kind of nodded his head. But our daughter said, "Yeah, you know, that's a good time to talk about this. And, yeah, I kind of understand what you mean." So it was good to hear that. So I think that's the thing; there's hope through all of this and it'll be okay. The world had gone through this before and come through this sort of thing. So, It'll be all right. Danielle Center: Yeah. I have one question more for each of you. For you, Father Patrick Gonyeau, what is a beautiful story that you have about him? Suzanne Krall: I think it was when he was leaving the cathedral, when we did our little goodbye thing down in the social room there. So many of us just said, "I think he's the closest person to Jesus I've probably ever met." You can just feel the spirit and Jesus just emanating from him. And he's so much fun. It isn't like you have to be serious to be Holy. I guess that's what I like about him. He used to look at us up on Sundays, singing up in the choir loft. And when mass was over, He'd say to the choir, "Hey, you guys ran a Holy Spirit party up there". It's great to watch. Danielle Center: He's such a doll. He's such a doll. And a question for you, Alan, is you mentioned sailing. Are you a sailor? Do you have a boat? Alan Krall: We currently do not have a boat. But I have boated all of my life. Danielle Center: And if you could boat anywhere, where would you go? Alan Krall: I guess right now I'm thinking about the Caribbean. Danielle Center: Great. All right. Well, that is our rapid fire questions. I really appreciate you guys. Thanks so much. Fr. Steve Pullis: Thank you both. Suzanne Krall: Oh, you're welcome. Fr. Steve Pullis: In trying to find out a little bit about you before you came on, we saw essentially a little worksheet to know a little bit. And Suzanne said she is the Cradle Catholic. So, I put my Sherlock Holmes hat on and deduced from that that Al is a convert to Catholicism. So, as we talk about testimony, Alan, would you share with us a little bit about how you became Catholic? Alan Krall: Well, I guess my wife. I grew up in the Episcopal church and after we went through the marriage counseling and it was just the hallway. The process that we went through and she told me, "Well, our kids are going to come up, be brought up Catholic." I was like, "Okay, fine." And they went to Catholic schools and we participated in the church. Father Tom, he kind of, they, I should say they, asked a couple of different times... Fr. Steve Pullis: Who is Father Tom? Alan Krall: Father Tom Meagher in a White Lake... Fr. Steve Pullis: St Pat's. Suzanne Krall: Yeah, St. Patrick's in White Lake. Alan Krall: St. Patrick's. And, [they] just kind of like, "What are your thoughts?" And we had conversations, but they never really came to any real answer. One day father Jerry Slowinski said to me, "Al, what are you doing? You've been here all this time. You're doing all this stuff." He says, "Why don't you just do it?" And I said, "Okay." There you go; there's the history, Danielle Center: Wow, there's the power of invitation, man. Alan Krall: Yeah. Fr. Steve Pullis: Yeah. I was going to say a little bit of peer pressure, but "invitation" sounds a lot better. So, good call Danielle. Suzanne Krall: Yeah, he was confirmed the same year our son made his first communion. Fr. Steve Pullis: What year was that? Suzanne Krall: 1993. Danielle Center: Approximately. Suzanne Krall: Give a year or two. Fr. Steve Pullis: That's before you were born. Danielle Center: Yeah, about how long have you guys been married? No, no, it's not. I was a child. Approximately. How long have you guys been married? Suzanne Krall: We've been married 40 years, in August it will be four, zero, 40 years. Danielle Center: Wow. Congratulations you guys. And how we know you is you sing in... Joe Balistreri is also a guest on the podcast, and you sang in his choir. How did you join the choir and how has God been ministering through the gift of music in your lives? Suzanne Krall: So, one of my girlfriends from college, we had kind of lost touch with each other. So it must be about seven years, eight years ago. Now she found me on Facebook and we started conversation. And, "Wow", we both sing, and, "how cool," and we're just talking and that. And then when we decided to downsize, to leave the family home. Kids had been gone for five, six years. Said, we needed to get something smaller and I work here at Henry Ford Hospital. We said, "Well, let's look into moving to Detroit. Things are happening and let's see about that." So we ended up buying a condo here in Midtown. My friend, Cathy Lozan, who's in the archdiocese choir, was like, "Well, Sue and Al, oh my gosh, you guys are just down the street from the cathedral. You have to audition." And we're like, "Oh no, no, we're not good enough that. Oh, no, no, no." And she's, "No, no, come on. You have to." And so she talked us into it and we auditioned. The next thing we knew we were in. And it was funny, 'cause when we told the people at St Patrick's in White Lake where we'd been singing in the choir for several years, that we were coming down here and that we might, we didn't know what parish we'd be in, but maybe the cathedral. They're like, "Oh yeah, you'll get to go sing for the Pope." And we're like, "Yeah right. We're not going to be in that choir." And there we are. Danielle Center: Wow! Suzanne Krall: So God had a plan. Danielle Center: Yeah. And then you guys both said that you had a really powerful experience there. And Alan, you mentioned going to the Palestrina Chapel. Was that the same trip or a different trip? Alan Krall: Yeah. Yep. Same trip. We sung at numerous churches around the city and it was just one of the stops that we made. We were in that chapel and had a little bit of background and how it all came to be, and we happened to be singing a Palestrina piece. And, it was again, just very moving, but we turned around and there were 200 people standing behind us. It was very moving. Suzanne Krall: Yeah. That was an amazing experience. There were people who were standing there with their arms outstretched, upraised, and their eyes closed. And people who looked like they were deep in prayer, some were kneeling, standing. And we were like, "Oh man, we really did something here." The whole choir, all of us, we looked at each other and we all felt it, the spirit was in us and really, really involved in that music. And obviously, because like I said, we had so many people standing behind us and we went, "Oh my gosh, look at all of them." They were all together. Fr. Steve Pullis: Did anyone miss a note? Alan Krall: Oh, I'm sure. Suzanne Krall: That's what makes live music so interesting. Fr. Steve Pullis: Did anyone on this podcast miss a...? No, I'm not. Suzanne Krall: Of course not. Fr. Steve Pullis: No, I'm not going to [inaudible 00:15:23]. But was that intimidating or was it kind of like just pure, kind of like fun and joyful? Alan Krall: Oh, it was fun. Joyful. And at times intimidating. it's hard to describe the feeling when you're in a space like that and the history in that space and yeah, I don't know. I don't, I don't have the words for it. It's just kind of takes your breath away. Danielle Center: Do you guys feel like God tends to minister to you through, do you feel drawn to a specific kind of music that you most like to sing or are you kind of free with everything? In your personal life, how do you feel God working through music with you? Suzanne Krall: I think any kind of music really. I love singing with our grandchildren, the wheels on the bus. Danielle Center: Yeah. Suzanne Krall: And I think I'm all of that because that helps cement the bond, when people are singing together. There's all kinds of research and everything on the way people's hormone levels when they sing together, who up and down together, heartbeats often are in synchrony when people are singing together. So I think that's part of the magic that happens with music. I know both of us tend to really loves singing the Masterworks, majorworks, and the sacred music. So that's why this choir has just been perfect for us. We get a little bit, we get enough of a sprinkling of gospel as well. That's so much fun. 'Cause people are just loving that. Danielle Center: Yeah. And you guys also sang at the tree lighting this year, right? The choir sang at the Detroit Christmas Holiday Tree Lighting. Suzanne Krall: Yeah. Alan Krall: Yep. We did. Danielle Center: What was that like? Alan Krall: It was, I guess, a very produced project. I mean, it was like, here was the time and you had to do it. You had this amount of time, and boom in and out, and run around, and someone else sang. And then we were back on, and then it was all over. Danielle Center: Wow. Okay. Alan Krall: You know everything- how TV is? Suzanne Krall: And then, oh, what's his name? The guy from Channel 7 who was introducing us. What did he say? Archdiocese? Alan Krall: Dave Rexroth. Suzanne Krall: Dave Rexroth, yeah. And he said the archdiocese [inaudible 00:18:14]. I was like, "Ah, come on, your a professional Fr. Steve Pullis: I was interviewed by someone on a secular radio station. And they, it's funny, the things you take for granted, like you're saying, that they said director of evangelizing Asian, you know that they're reading it. They're like, wait, wait, what is this word? They said, what's the word? I said, "evangelization". It is interesting words that we take for granted, other people just, it's not even in their mindset. Suzanne Krall: You know, it's funny because I talk to people, I say, you know we have a culture. I mean, there's an American culture. Just like, there's a French culture, an English culture. I said, then we have our Catholic culture. I mean, it just, it is what it is. And I know I'm very comfortable in it because it's been my whole life and I think Al's very comfortable in it. Fr. Steve Pullis: So, let me ask you both one question here. What is your favorite part of being Catholic? 'Cause we talk about testimony and kind of witnessing to our faith. What, what do you love about being Catholic? Suzanne Krall: What I love about being Catholic is our tradition. It's the pageantry. It's a stories over the years and that it continues and continues and it's there. And it's Ever changing because people change, but it's still the same. And that's what I think is my favorite part of being a Catholic. Is that I know it's always there and it will always be there for me and for my family. Alan Krall: I would guess I would say kind of the same thing. Yeah. That you know what You get. Suzanne Krall: Short and simple. Danielle Center: That was great. Thank you so much. Okay. Friends. This is what I'm thinking about. Suzanne, you talked about a place that you had a special encounter and experience, at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. And I know Father Steve used to be the Archbishop Secretary. So he has emceed, at least one mass there, I would say. Right? Fr. Steve Pullis: What? Danielle Center: So you've had a couple experiences at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral. And Alan is also in the choir. So, maybe let's talk a little bit about this location. What have you guys seen? What have you experienced? What is bringing you hope about the church? Fr. Steve Pullis: That's a great question, Danielle. Danielle Center: Thank you. You thought of it on the break. And then I was like, I'll lead it, no problem. What is one of your favorite experiences at the Cathedral, Father? Fr. Steve Pullis: Oh, we're going to me? You know, what I thought would be kind of fun to talk about this with the Kralls, is just kind of being there. They've been singing for five years and seeing the transition. I am seeing all the Archbishop's masses as his secretary for four years. And to see how things had kind of shifted from before the SynED, to being there for the mass for pardon, and being there for the Senate and then being there afterwards. And, just seeing that, it became very clear to me how much people looked forward to the Archbishop's preaching. He's never a short preacher. So, I think some people didn't look forward to the length all the time, but I think they did look forward and appreciate the way that it was very clear to me and to lots of other people, how the Holy spirit was using him. Particularly from [inaudible 00:22:00] from his cathedral, to kind of lead us in this way that we're called to be a band of joyful missionary disciples. So, to have a privileged place to see that and to see people kind of rally around that was really cool. And I thought it'd be cool to think about what people in the choir loft saw. And how they saw like, big mass by big mass, what was going on in the Archdiocese of Detroit? Alan Krall: The one thing that always strikes me is when someone walks into the cathedral for the first time. It's like anytime you walk into a big building, you look up, you look around, and you can see the amazement that they have, that they're experiencing. And they go through the mass, or whatever we're doing, and, on more than one occasion, there has been someone who has said, this has been an amazing experience. Suzanne Krall: What really impresses me about being at the cathedral and singing and what is happening with Unleash the gospel is... When you have a large mass, the one that really comes to mind that the biggest one that we participate in, would be the Priest Ordination every year, which we're not going to be able to do this year. It is heartbreaking. I'll tell you when I heard that terminology, Unleash the Gospel, I thought, "wow, that is the coolest thing." I mean, the gospel is just trying to break right out of that Bible, trying to break right out of our lives, we've been holding it back on a leash. It's like, unclick that leash and let it go. And that was the coolest thing, when I heard that. And when I heard the title of that, it's like, what does this mean? What does this mean? Fr. Steve Pullis: I hear from people who sometimes think like, it makes me think of a dog. Suzanne Krall: Of course. Fr. Steve Pullis: That's the main criticism is when people say, what is the gospel of dog? It sounds like a dog. But I think there is a way that, when we think about unleashed, like number one, it's setting free, that sometimes it's pent up inside us and we have to give permission for the gospel not just to impact me internally, but for it to go out. But also there's like a wild part of the gospel. There's a wild part of following Jesus that's like, when you let it go, you don't know what it's going to do to you and to other people. And what it does is not something tame. We can't control it. And so there is something intense and, and wild about following Jesus. Danielle Center: So true. Go ahead. Suzanne Krall: You know, a couple of years ago I put this in some of my remarks to... My son and daughter in law are not attached to any church or religion. Her son is kind of stepped away from the Catholic Church. And I said, can I start taking our oldest granddaughter to church with me on Sundays? And I figured I'd take her to a Catholic Church that was close to their home, and kind of look for one that had a preschool program and that sort of thing, and try to get her involved. And it was like, yeah, yeah, that'd be fine. Yeah, she, she needs to learn how to go to school, 'cause their mom's a stay at home mom, and she's home all day with her mom. And, and then I got to take her once. And then after that there was a reason not to, and another reason not to, and another reason that too. My heart was just broken. So, it came down to just, we brought her down to the cathedral for a concert, children's concert, one time and, oh, she was taking my camera, snapping pictures of all of the stained glass and everything. And I took her to the back to the statue of Mary and Jesus. She was just stared at that statue. And she was stroking Mary's foot. And then she went home she told her mother, she says, "I met my great-grandmother." She goes, "You met your great-grandmother?" I said, "Yeah, Mary." She said, my, great-grandmother. And when we were leaving, so she's three at this time, she started crying, "I don't want to leave my great-grandmother and baby Jesus." That was so moving. And then I just couldn't get them to let me bring her back regularly in it. And it's been hard. So, like I said, that's mostly been, you talk, you say little things, and whenever we would go over there we'd say, "Could we please say grace before dinner?" You know, we'd like to see grace before the meal. And they started picking up that, we started picking up that habit in their family too. So they're starting to do that. And they're talking about having the girls baptized. Danielle Center: Wow. Fr. Steve Pullis: Praise God. Praise God. Suzanne Krall: Yeah, I know. Well, her grandmother also is very devout, but she's in Lutheran Church. So they're tending to go towards the Lutheran Church, which I'm happy they're making that move- Fr. Steve Pullis: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Danielle Center: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Suzanne Krall: ...to a kind of a standard religion. And I thought, "Well, you can still talk about the Catholic stuff." Fr. Steve Pullis: Danielle, what church were you baptized in? Danielle Center: So don't judge this. I was baptized through the Shrine of the Little Flower, but back in the hippie day- Fr. Steve Pullis: Oh! I won't judge that. Danielle Center: No, listen to this. Back in the hippie day, I was baptized in a backyard. So it happened. Yeah. But it's a valid baptism. Fr. Steve Pullis: Wow. Was it Father Ed Prus? Danielle Center: I think it was a deacon. I have a photograph, and baptismal certificate somewhere. Fr. Steve Pullis: No, I believe you. I believe you. I'm not calling you out. Danielle Center: On the air, you're like, [inaudible 00:28:22]. Was it in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit? Did you use water, did you use the sign of the cross? Fr. Steve Pullis: Was it fresh water? Did the priest attend? Did the deacon attend? [inaudible 00:28:33]. Danielle Center: I'm like, I don't know I was an infant. Fr. Steve Pullis: But, I am so thankful for the grace of my baptism. And you know what else? My grandma attended Shrine of the Little Flower and she's not with us anymore, but there's something about the faith of grandparents. It's something really profound and important in someone's life. I worked at St. Anne for so many years, and I remember one time the Archbishop gave a homily and he said, "Isn't it beautiful to think that the vocation of these two people was to be the grandparents of Jesus." Also, the parents of Mary, but really their crowning moment was this later. Maybe they were like, when they're like 13 and 15 and 17, "Wow, we're so cool and young." But really, their really cool moment was to be a grandparent. That's something I think about too. That's this is a really amazing moment in your life to be the grandparent of someone. Suzanne Krall: Yes. It is. Fr. Steve Pullis: Some people were grandparents at 13 back then. Suzanne Krall: Not at thirteen. Danielle Center: No. Are you crazy? Fr. Steve Pullis: Oh. Oh, okay. Danielle Center: Okay, sounds great. Well, you know what, as we come to a close, we usually ask our guests to share if there's anything else they want to share with our listeners. Is there anything on your heart that you would really like the listeners to take home with them? Fr. Steve Pullis: And Al is still with us there, right? Alan Krall: Yeah. I am still here. Fr. Steve Pullis: Okay, great. Alan Krall: I have been involved in all of these stories and events that have been communicated here. So I've witnessed it all. Fr. Steve Pullis: Yeah. Suzanne Krall: He was actually active in many of them as well. Alan Krall: Well, somebody had to drive the car. Danielle Center: Yeah. Suzanne Krall: I'm like, you're just being... trying to placate everybody, but you know what? It'll all be okay. This is all going to turn out okay. The world has been through a lot of things before and whatever it is you're going through, whether it's the pandemic, whether it's heartbreak, whether it's loss of a job, whatever it might be, just feeling lost yourself. It's going to end up being okay. That's the hard part is finding your way to it. But I think I'm fortunate that I've had some help along the way from people who helped guide me all through my life. Even just recently as well, that kind of came from places you didn't expect. You just have to kind of be open and and realize that it's things are going to work out. Alan Krall: Amen. Thank you so much for being with us and sharing your stories with us. Suzanne Krall: Well, thank you for asking us. It was quite a surprise. Danielle Center: Thank you for everything. Suzanne Krall: (singing) Alan Krall: (singing) Fr. Steve Pullis: How joyful was that, to have Al and Suzanne and the Open Door Policy studios singing their joy of the gospel and sharing their confident faith with us? Danielle Center: If you liked this episode, please share it with your friends, your neighbors, your relatives, your Trader Joe cashier. You can also leave us a review on iTunes. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Our handle is @opendoordetroit. Help us unleash the gospel. Open Door Policy was produced by Ron Pangborn and the creative team of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Fr. Steve Pullis: Has anyone ever complained of too much, Danielle? Danielle Center: No. Yes. My mom! Fr. Steve Pullis: I'm father Steve Pullis with Danielle Center. Danielle Center: And this has been another episode of Open Door Policy.