by Jill Ragar Esfeld
jill.esfeld@theleaven.org
TOPEKA — “We have done everything from learning how the nuns at Conception (Missouri) made the altar bread, to covering the Eucharistic Congress,” said Julie Anderson. “We’ve covered the March for Life several times, and so many different things.”
Julie and her husband Marc are freelancers for The Leaven newspaper. On Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, they celebrated 25 years of reporting on our archdiocese.
“I think what’s interesting to us is we get to be a part of so many events and meet so many people,” Julie said. “And it makes our life so much richer.
“We get to see the universal church in action and the many different ways the Holy Spirit showers gifts on people.”
The Leaven’s managing editor Anita McSorley appreciates the couple’s expertise.
“Marc and Julie have deep roots in the Catholic faith,” she said. “But they never hesitate to leap at the chance to learn more.
“I can’t count the number of times they have thanked me after turning a story in for giving them the opportunity to learn more about a particular devotion, parish or ministry.”
Two for the road
The Andersons work as a team. Julie, with a degree in mass media, does the bulk of the interviewing and writing. Marc is the photographer and editor.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux is their inspiration. A favorite quote from the Little Flower that guides their work is:
“Before taking up my pen, I knelt before the statue of Mary . . . and I begged her to guide my hand that it trace no line displeasing to her.”
“A lot of times on our big stories,” said Julie, “we have written a draft and then sat it in front of Saint Thérèse, Saint Joseph, the Blessed Mother and Jesus in our living room and let them work on it for a few days.
“We say, ‘Here, it’s yours. Tell us what to do with it.”
The method works. The Andersons have won several Catholic Press awards. But the most surprising aspect of their success is that, in addition to freelancing, each has a full-time job.
That means evenings and weekend and lunch hours are often spent attending Catholic events, doing interviews, fine-tuning drafts and taking photographs.
On several occasions, the couple has been double-booked. Marc has dropped off Julie to cover one event while he’s gone to cover another event at the same time.
Again, prayer is their ticket to success.
“We pray a lot and ask God to multiply our time,” said Marc. “It’s amazing how he does that and we’re able to get both jobs done well.”
It amazes Leaven editor Father Mark Goldasich, too.
“Freelancing is very challenging, especially when you are doing it on top of a full-time job,” he said. “I think what makes Marc and Julie Anderson so unusual is that theirs is a partnership.
“Their skills complement each other, and they are able to tackle even the biggest projects head-on, because they’re doing it together. “
Being Topeka natives is also a plus.
“It helps that they have lived and worked in Topeka so long,” said McSorley. “And they seem to have family everywhere in the archdiocese.
“No matter where I send them, they can hit the ground running because they’ve got the right sources in all the right places.”
Channeling love
Despite all the work, the couple still finds time for fun. They met when they were both 16 and have been together ever since. They’ll celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary in July.
Along with playing board games and watching football, the Andersons love to travel. They made a pact years ago that they would visit all 50 state capitals before they turned 50.
They managed to complete the mission in 2022 when they turned 49.
Their favorite capital building was in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. But their favorite states to visit were Alaska and Hawaii.
The Andersons are also dedicated to their families, including several nieces and nephews.
Sadly, they buried their only child, infant William Anderson, in 1997.
“People are like, ‘How do you do all this?’” said Julie. “Well, a lot of people have children and grandchildren on earth.
“That is not our life. Our life is that our baby is in heaven and so we have all this time and all this love that we have to channel somewhere.”
The couple still celebrates the anniversary of William’s short life each year in a very special way.
“We always spend time with each other and honor baby Billy,” said Marc. “We think of how old he would be, and something he would like to do, and we go out and do that.”
Making connections
Their experience losing a child and the fact that they were both born in October 1973, nine months after the Roe v. Wade decision, has greatly influenced the Andersons’ commitment to the pro-life movement.
“We were pro-life before, but losing our baby,” said Marc, “that gave us even more incentive.
“Pro-life is our favorite and dear-to-our-hearts beat.”
The Andersons attribute their fruitful and lasting relationship to communication and a mutual love for serving God.
“Working our two main jobs and then doing this on the side,” said Marc, “we’ve had to communicate; there’s just no way around that.
“We’re both really agreeable on what we need to do.”
Their devotion to St. Thérèse is companion to a devotion to St. Joseph. Marc wears a ring, a gift from Julie, engraved with the words: “To My Saint Joseph.”
“Starting with the year of St. Joseph,” said Marc, “I’ve learned more about him and I’ve tried to emulate him.
“I do everything I can as a husband to make Julie feel safe and protect her as my family.”
They love the Catholic Church and the opportunity The Leaven affords them to see its interconnectedness.
“Only when the veil is lifted at the end of our lives will we see all the connections and all of the influences we had on other people,” said Julie. “And we’ll see how the beautiful tapestry was created.”
