Elizabeth Carroll

Elizabeth is a dedicated and loving catechist.  She seeks out formation for herself so that she can better serve the children, she builds up the community of catechists, and she reaches out to families to draw them into the faith formation of their children.

Elizabeth has sought out and attended Catechesis of the Good Shepherd courses over the past few years and has read and studied pedagogy and theology to be able to give the best Catholic Faith Formation possible to the students she teaches.  She leads an atrium class of 3-6yr olds every Sunday morning, and a class of older elementary students every Sunday afternoon.  It is beautiful to observe her with the children, and she is truly a master catechist, drawing the children into the mysteries of our Faith, allowing them to enter and encounter Our Lord in each lesson she presents.

Elizabeth has brought forward various initiatives to build up and support our catechists.  She has organized materials-making sessions, invited and encouraged others to attend formation events or courses, and has helped give training sessions to new catechists.  She has inspired volunteers to go from showing up to assist, to wanting to deepen their faith and commitment to the children they serve.

One of the beautiful gifts Elizabeth brings each class of students she has taught is her connection with their parents.  She communicates with them, gets to know them, and often invites them to be part of what is happening in class.  This year she also organized several parent workshops to share with parents what their children are learning and to give them tools to help their children grow in faith at home.

Elizabeth also helps out leading sessions at children's retreats and is the kind of person who is always available to help out during the summer with preparing materials and throughout the year when there are last-minute needs. 
Nominated by Maria Jones