Meet Parishioner Myles Rick: Serving in the Body of Christ

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks of the importance of each member of the Body of Christ. Each of us has designated gifts and talents with which we have been entrusted, in order to build up the Kingdom of Heaven. We are blessed at Our Lady of the Angels in that our parishioners have an abundance of gifts to offer. Myles Rick is one of these parishioners.

“I can see that He has made us all different and that is what makes us special to Him,” Myles says. “Without His ability to make us all different, we wouldn’t have all these special unique skills that we have. I like knowing that I have grown closer to Him throughout all the times I have helped teach about Him, as it keeps me wanting to show to others that just volunteering is enough to make God happy.”

For Myles, being involved in the parish community means more than simply going to Mass on Sundays. Fond of our active parish community, Myles has been a parishioner of Our Lady of the Angels since his family moved here in 2007.

“The main thing that I love about my community is how many people there are that are attending Mass and helping throughout various ways in the Mass or outside the Mass — that they want to be closer to God and are trying to build a relationship with Him,” Myles says. “It is a real honor to live in a community that is so loving of God and all His creations.”

Myles currently volunteers at Our Lady of the Angels, as well as at Centre for Christ in Sauk Centre. He first came to serve at Vacation Bible School (VBS) when he was in seventh grade — his mom had asked for help making snacks for the program.

“After that year, I helped in various ways throughout VBS and extended it to teaching it in the religion classes and helping at the (junior high) youth group events,” Myles says.

Serving God through our community is important to Myles. He enjoys telling others about God and encouraging other young people to learn more about the faith — something he used to think was just for older people. Instead, helping out with teaching religion classes and youth group events has helped him to grow spiritually.

“It has allowed me to see that I am not alone when I struggle with any issue because I have God to help guide me through it,” Myles says.

Myles Rick with Kathy Knoblach, Director of Religious Education/ Youth Ministry at Our Lady of the Angels