Divine Treasures: Both a ministry & a business

February 20, 2025

For some, Divine Treasures is a Catholic bookstore and gift shop, the only one serving the Des Moines area.

For some, Divine Treasures is a place to celebrate First Communion, confirmation and being received into the Catholic Church at Easter, as well as providing materials for the much-anticipated canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis on April 27.

And for some, Divine Treasures is the place they found prayer, a listening ear, and hope after a death in the family or during a troubled relationship.

“I was hoping that it would be a Catholic oasis,” said Lois Brookhart of the Basilica of St. John, who founded Divine Treasures with Susan Greenwood, also of the Basilica of St. John, in 1992. Ownership expanded to include Cindy Kodis of St. Augustin Parish, who joined them in 2010 and served as bookkeeper.

All three gave thanks for what has happened over the last 32 years during an open house marking their retirement and the store’s new ownership on Jan. 25.

“God put it on my heart that we needed something like this, yet we never dreamed it would become what it became,” Brookhart said. “And all the friends we’ve made over the years!”

Inheriting the valued ministry they started and the many loyal customers are Chris and Angela Oberreuter of St. John Parish in Adel, who bought the store on Jan. 1. Their management team includes Michelle Miyazaki of St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Moines, Sarah Hurm of the Basilica of St. John, and Dan Beneventi of Assumption Parish in Granger.

^{Michelle Miyazaki, Sarah Hurm and Dan Beneventi stand in front of a display devoted to Blessed Carlo Acutis, who will be canonized on April 27. They said that walking with people through joyous moments like this, as well as the hard times – all done with prayer and hope – is what makes Divine Treasures Inc. so special.}

There’s still a family connection – Miyazaki is Cindy’s daughter and a longtime employee.

“We took up the call”

Divine Treasures opened with just 800 square feet in Franklin Plaza in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines. Now located at 5701 Hickman Road, the store has 5,000 square feet of books, rosaries, crucifixes, holy cards, saints t-shirts, statues and more.

Greenwood gave all the credit to God for the store.

“God told Blessed Mother about it. Lois, our partner, went to Medjugorje on a pilgrimage. Blessed Mother inspired Lois. Lois came back home, talk to me about it and inspired me. That was how it got started,” Greenwood said.

Brookhart said it was only possible because of the seeds planted by Ila Daly, who ran Daly’s Catholic Supply out of her family home in Urbandale. The business was getting more demanding and Daly was looking for someone to do something.

“So we took up the call,” Brookhart said. “Medjugorje just kind of solidified it for us.”

Last year, when it became time for Brookhart, Greenwood and Kodis to retire, God stepped in again.

Right person, the right time

Chris Oberreuter, a certified public accountant at a firm based in Adel, said he had been looking for a way to dive deeper into his faith for many years, but nothing really panned out. Until Angela mentioned that Divine Treasures was for sale, that is.

After connecting with Brookhart at the Christ Our Life conference in Des Moines last September, Oberreuter consciously turned it over to God and things started to fall into place. By the end of December, his questions were answered and he had the management team in place.

“Everything about this ministry has been when God’s ready and what he wants to do,” Brookhart explained. “When (Chris) came up to me and said he was interested, I felt at peace about it from the very beginning. He would order books from me by email all the time. That’s why I remembered his name.”

And when she heard who the Oberreuters were bringing in as the management team, “I immediately knew that this was the right thing.”

“A lot of people today are thanking us for keeping it going. People were concerned,” Angela Oberreuter said.

Noting that the employees have made them feel like part of the family already, she said they are introducing her and Chris to people “who have been coming here forever,” most of whom they know by name.

“I want to keep what Lois, Sue and Cindy have started: A Catholic-based book and gift store that supports the Catholic community in Des Moines and surrounding areas,” Chris said.

^{Angela and Chris Oberreuter, the new owners of Divine Treasures Inc. in Des Moines, stand in the book section of the 5,000-square-foot store at 5701 Hickman Road.}

Walking with people in important times

Michelle Miyazaki said Divine Treasures is so vital to the community because the store and its staff have walked with people throughout the best moments and worst moments of their lives.

Knowing their customers in a personal way allows them to stock holy cards and other supplies they anticipate people will want. Most importantly, it helps when people just need to talk, Miyazaki said.

“Just praying with people. Listening. Maybe there’s a book, maybe there’s something here that would help inspire them,” Greenwood said. “Then you just turn it over to God. It all starts with him and then he uses you maybe as an instrument. It’s really the Holy Spirit.”

Beneventi summed it up by saying Divine Treasures is a ministry where commerce just happens to take place.

“It’s amazing because some of the things bought in a Catholic bookstore can change people’s live, literally,” he said. Among them are information and items about St. Peregrine, patron saint of those with cancer, which affects so many people, or gifts for First Communion, baptism or confirmation.

“These are all substantial life events,” he said. “It ends up being more than just a transaction.”

The blessings include Greenwood’s husband, Randy, and Brookhart’s husband, Jim, coming into the Catholic Church. “We said if it wasn’t for anything but our husbands becoming Catholic, that was enough,” Greenwood said.