Faith Leader Spotlight: Learning the Faith to spread the Faith

“It's so awesome — can we tell people about this?!"

That was Heather Hicks’ question after learning about the online faith formation courses offered through the diocese’s Institute of Missionary Discipleship (IMD). The newly appointed Director of Religious Education for St. Cyril Parish, Nashville, was embarking on completing her catechist certification and was enthralled with the online courses, which are offered through a partnership with Franciscan University of Steubenville.

“It’s a goldmine,” she exclaims when talking about her newly started DRE track of courses. Heather was so taken with the explanation of Salvation History that she decided to make it her front and center bulletin board. “I want to show the salva-tion story,” she explains, so anyone coming upon it will know, “he loves you and he wants you back.”St. Cyril’s is like many par-ishes in the diocese that are restarting religious education classes after a temporary hiatus brought on by the pandemic. Heather, who had been a catechist throughout the years as she raised her three children — now young adults — felt a stirring in her heart to get the program up and running again.“I’ve lived here my entire life, and St. Cyril’s is my home, my family,” she says. “You really have those call-ings in your heart you can’t ignore — as it’s written in the Bible, ‘he calls us first.’”For Heather, learning about her Catholic faith is not a new venture. In addition to being a catechist, she’s attended the diocesan annual catechetical conferences and participated in her parish’s women’s group studies. She even has notes from a talk the late Bishop James Murray gave years ago. And her enthusiasm is evident as she recalls, “I remember how everything he said was so amazing that I just grabbed what was in my purse and started taking notes — on napkins! ”Interestingly, Heather’s own path was a little less traditional. She was baptized at St. James Parish, Mason, Mich., and when the family moved to Nashville, she had just missed attending reli-gious education.However, her family became close friends with neighbors and at the urging of Nancy Brown (a parishioner who Heather claims as her “second mom”) she became active in her faith, even making her First Communion when she was a senior in high school.“Father Pohl was here at the time,” she remembers, “and he did my First Confession. When time came for my First Communion, I begged him not to say my name,” she laughs.This fall, Heather along with recruited catechists and volunteers, will restart the elementary grade classes at the parish, meeting in the hall adjacent to the church. She’s quick to credit the support of Father Stephan Philip, MSFS and all those who have gone before her paving the way. And she can’t stop gushing about the joy she’s re-ceived from diving into her faith. “It’s all just so inspiring — I love it. I need it like I need air!”And even though a lifelong Catholic, she only recently realized the wealth of information found in the Catechism when it came to her scripture study.“Every time you listen or read the Word you can get something new,” she says. One source that helped her explore her study of scripture was the Catechism — check-ing the cross-references that help to explain a passage. Heather’s hopeful the religious ed program will get off to a good start and will continue to grow. And she knows it’s not her alone doing the work.“When our students come to CCD they’re not coming to spend time with me or their teachers — they’re having a meeting with the Holy Spirit. We’re just the speaker.”When asked how she would inspire others to volunteer and pass along their faith, she offers this advice:“He doesn’t call the perfect but the people who are willing to hear and are humbled to witness. I’m humbled to do it — it’s such a wonderful gift.”