Our Staff

About Us

Fr. Peter Vu

Pastor - pvu@stmmagdalen.org

I love and enjoy my pastoral care work. Taking care of the sick, the dying, the broken, the lost, and our veterans is something I cherish and look forward to doing each day. My tools and supplies for that type of work are prayers. Without prayers and faith, our world would turn dark and become hopeless. I appreciate the following people who have helped me mature in my prayer life:

My Family: Grandparents, parents, uncles, and aunts, who first taught me how to pray and laid the foundation for me to build a strong and faithful prayer life.
My Teachers: Priests, religious brothers and sisters, deacons, catechists, and laypeople, who lifted my prayer life to a higher level and gave it depth and tradition but also challenged me to pray often.
My Parishioners: Families and individual members, who have let me be a part of their lives and faith journey and to see their daily struggles have added real flavor to my prayer life, as I try to remember them often in my daily prayers.
My Friends: These dear souls have helped and encouraged me with this project.

Molly Wisdom

Faith Formation Coordinator - mwisdom@stmmagdalen.org

My family and I have been a part of the St. Mary Magdalen faith community since we moved to the Kentwood area thirteen years ago. I have volunteered as a catechist for both the elementary and preschool programs and have served as a Pastoral Council member.In 2004 I began working for the parish as the Coordinator for the Spirituality Ministries. That part time position has evolved into a full time passion for ministry and I am now the Coordinator of Faith Formation.

I am involved in the preschool programs, the elementary, middle school and adult Faith Formation programs, RCIA, (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), Mother’s Group, Sacramental Preparation and miscellaneous parish retreats. These ministries have allowed me to interact with the parishioners on both a professional and personal level and I have grown spiritually from that experience. I am blessed to serve such a vibrant, supportive and loving faith community.

Emily Rushmore

Director of Music - erushmore@stmmagdalen.org

The first time I walked in your doors, I sensed community, felt joy, and discovered your strong sense of mission. What a great place to be! I am so grateful to be a part of this beautiful parish community. Thank you— to staff and parishioners— for your warm welcome of me to St. Mary Magdalen.I graduated in 2007 with a degree in Liturgical Music from Aquinas College. During my last year of school, I was hired as Coordinator of Music at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Wyoming (now The Pastoral Center at St. Dominic after its merge with St. Francis Xavier Church). I served in this position for 10 years. Being able to combine my love of music and my faith has been so fulfilling; I am so grateful for this vocation. Above all, I treasure my vocation of motherhood. I have three small children: preschool through 2nd grade. I am in the stage of life that includes crunched cereal underfoot after breakfast, cleaning up after the magic that happens when 3 year olds and Crayola meet, and tackling the never ending pile of laundry. I love the beauty and joy in the everyday mundane living of family life. (Just haven’t found it in the laundry yet! ) Thank you once again. I look forward to serving your parish as Director of Music.

Lauro "Larry" Cadorniga

Office Manager - lcadorniga@stmmagdalen.org

I am the new Office Manager here at St. Mary Magdalen. We recently moved from the Pacific NW to be closer to family. I have 20+ years of ministry experience including youth ministry, stewardship and liturgy. I graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree. I am also a Gallup Faith Strengths Coach and Small Group Facilitator. My wife Amy and I have been married 19 years. We have three children and two guinea pigs. I enjoy golf, hiking and spending time with my wonderful family.

“Seeking Christ in Others; We Find Christ in Ourselves”

Ruth Bush

Christian Services Coordinator - rbush@stmmagdalen.org

My family has called St. Mary Magdalen our faith home for the past 30 years. I volunteered in several ministries where I really did not have to be Catholic until 1996 when I went through RCIA and received my first Holy Communion and Confirmation at Easter Vigil. My family is a ‘regular’ at the 5:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday. In 2003 I had the privilege of becoming a staff member where I have worn many hats and have gotten to know many of you personally. My current position is Coordinator of Christian Services where I help the parish with opportunities of living their faith by seeing the face of God in others around them.

I am grateful to be part of a Parish that gives of their time, talent, and treasure so freely.

Laura Moore

Parish Secretary - lmoore@stmmagdalen.org

Hello,

My name is Laura Moore and I could not be more excited to be Parish Secretary. My family and I have been attending St Mary Magdalen for almost three years. As soon as we came, we were welcomed and made to feel at home. We especially love the diversity of our parish and are proud to add to it.

Since our son left for college, I discovered just how busy he had kept me. So I have been exploring and learning lots of new things that I enjoy such as reading, cross stitching, biking, and going out with friends. My husband and I have also discovered just how important our faith is to us. We both enjoy participating in various activities here at church and I encourage everyone to try to do just one activity. You will be amazed at how just doing one small thing can make such a big difference in our community and in our faith.

I have already met so many wonderful people in our parish and hope to meet many more. I am also looking forward to welcoming new people into our faith community, just as my family was so warmly welcomed. As I said, St. Mary Magdalen feels like our home and I think making others feel welcome is important, not only as part of my position, but as an important part of living my faith. I am hoping to bring a joyful and welcoming presence to everyone entering the church office. Please stop by to say “Hi” and introduce yourself, I look forward to meeting everyone.

Michelle Mason

Administrative Assistant - mmason@stmmagdalen.org

My family belonged to St. Mary Magdalen from the time I was in the 3rd grade until I graduated from high school. My husband Charles and I have been parishioners here for over twenty-five years. We have four children who are now young adults. While they were growing up, I was blessed with being a stay-at-home mom. This gave me the opportunity to volunteer here and get involved in several ministries. We think of St. Mary Magdalen as our second home and family, and so it is awesome that I have been given the chance to work here in the office. A couple of my duties involve helping Molly Wisdom with the Faith Formation program and the sacraments. Working as the Administrative Assistant has also given me the chance to see what a wonderful parish we have. I enjoy watching our parishioners reach out and help each other.