2 minute read
MEET Kayla West, Our New Director of Evangelization & Missions: “It’s a Blessing to Share the Gospel
Evangelization is a mission near and dear to Fr. Eric Clark and our entire parish. Recently, Fr. Clark used the Gospel of Mark — in which Jesus “summoned the Twelve and sent them out two-by-two — to introduce a new position and staff member to the parish.
We welcome Kayla West as the new Director of Evangelization and Missions. In this role, Kayla will help meet Fr. Clark’s goal of eventually visiting every home within our parish boundaries, among other tasks and objectives.
Advertisement
“I know how impactful a personal invitation can be,” Kayla says. “I am excited to reach out to people. We want people to know they are missed and invited. We want you here.”
Previously, Kayla served as a Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionary for three years, having most recently served at Eastern Washington University. Raised in Wichita, Kan., Kayla graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in speech pathology and a minor in Spanish and education. She also served in AmeriCorps, teaching in Spanish in Austin, Texas immediately after college graduation.
Now, she is so excited to be back in Lincoln and serving in this position at St. Peter.
Kayla West is excited to be back in Lincoln and serving as Director of Evangelization and Missions at St. Peter.
“I just love that working for the church, I am always getting to talk with people about how the Lord is working in their lives and how He is working in mine,” Kayla says. “It’s a blessing to share the Gospel with other people. It’s the best thing in the world you can give them.”
Kayla will be working in a variety of areas in the church and school, like helping with the CCD program, as well as planning mission trips and pilgrimages. She will also work with school marketing, teacher recruitment and teach Spanish as an elective at the middle school.
Importantly, this position will allow Kayla the valuable opportunity to do work for which she is passionate. She truly loves getting to know people and hearing their stories.
“I receive so much by hearing how the Lord has worked in other people’s lives,” she says. “I get to know the Lord better by seeing how He works.”
In her free time, Kayla loves to cook, bake, read, hike, and enjoys the outdoors. She fell in love with hiking and camping while living in Washington State. She looks forward to getting to know parishioners and settling in at St. Peter.
“I feel so welcome here,” she says. “I’m just so happy to be here. I truly am.”
In the near term, Kayla will be starting a St. Monica Adoration Apostolate. This will be a dedicated time to pray for family and friends who have left the faith.
“We need to make sure we are praying for all of these people,” Kayla says. “There is a lot of power in this dedicated prayer time.”
