25 catechists certified at missions in central Utah

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OGDEN — A collaboration between Nelda Troyer, a certified lay ecclesial minister from Holy Family Parish in Ogden, and Father Marco T. Lopez, administrator of St. Bridget Parish in Milford and its associated missions St. John Bosco (Delta) and Holy Family (Fillmore), has resulted in 25 men and women completing their requirements for catechist certification.

Troyer has been offering her services as a master catechist since 2010, but this was the first time she has collaborated with offering formation in a bilingual English/Spanish setting.

Serving the Church is a calling that has been in Troyer since she was 10 years old, she said.

“Coming from the Philippines, I grew up going to Church very frequently,” she said. However, she never had a Bible until she was an adult, and she didn’t have any teaching background. Nevertheless, in 2010 she began providing the Echoes of Faith catechist program for the diocese’s northern region.

“I live in Ogden, so I used to drive all the way to Salt Lake to facilitate the program there at the pastoral center,” she recalled.

This she did for 10 years. Then the pandemic brought a halt to in-person instruction.

“When COVID hit, I thought, ‘Oh no, no. We are not going to stop doing this.’ … Little did I know that it ended up being a blessing,” she said.

To continue offering the program, she turned to using Zoom, and through the online instruction the program was able to expand to the diocese’s southeast region. It also allowed her to do what had been unthinkable for her: reaching Catholics in two languages and across hundreds of miles.

With the help of two bilingual catechists to provide translation, and the support of Fr. Lopez and Susan Northway, director of the diocesan Office of Faith Formation, Troyer offered catechesis to Spanish-speaking Catholics in central Utah.

The Echoes of Faith material is bilingual, so Spanish speakers can use it in their native language, but at the same time join their English-speaking classmates.

 “God works in mysterious way for sure, and that is how the formation started,” said Troyer, who appreciates the witness that people are doing in their parishes and missions.

“Their hunger to learn their faith – especially the Hispanic folks, since they are in a mission and day to day they have to work and they don’t have much time to travel. … They also have very limited resources; they don’t have a laptop, but thanks be to God they go to the classes through their phones,” she said.

Fr. Lopez is very supportive of his flock, she said.

“He has also encouraged people to participate in the English class, telling them that it is going to help them, and the English folks are very generous and kind and patient. We  also have a translation [process] that they go through. It is wild, but it is great,” she said.

Being able to form laypeople has been a priority for Fr. Lopez.

“It is very important to discover that the physical distance is not a limit for the faith formation,” he said.

The catechists were very cooperative throughout the nine-month program, and are happy to now be able to pass their faith onto their families, especially to their children, said Troyer, adding that she also discovered that those who went through the program became effective catechists by sharing their experiences

“When they have been shy to show their face, I tell them, ‘No, no, we are all children of God and this is how we learn to pass our faith to our younger generations,’ and most of them become witnesses, share their experiences and all  are very excited,” she said.

This whole teaching experience was challenging, Troyer said, “but the Holy Spirit is always working when you are doing a mission for God.”

Faith formation is an ongoing process, she said, adding that the Echoes of Faith program will equip people to be catechists, if they have that calling. People just need to  have the passion; “the Holy Spirit will take care of the rest,” she said. “When you say ‘yes’ to God, he takes care of the rest.”

Northway, the Office of Faith Formation director, said Troyer took a very creative approach to offering the required classes for catechists.

“Nelda Troyer is a master catechist and certified lay ecclesial minister who generously serves as a formator for catechists,” Northway said. “When Covid-19  hit, she adapted her program to an online version and this year we have a wonderful new group  of certified men and women who will serve in their parish religious education programs.”