Meet Parishioner
Karen Boyer
Finding Home and Community in Our Church
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aren Boyer's journey to the Catholic Faith and Immaculate Conception was a long and winding one. But now that she is here, she’s so very thankful. When she was growing up, Karen attended religious services with both sets of grandparents — her Methodist maternal grandparents and Baptist paternal grandparents. When she was 15, Karen went on a road trip to California with her family. She remembers stopping at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NM, and seeing the mysterious spiral staircase. Intrigued, and despite not knowing anyone who was Catholic, Karen started learning more about the Catholic faith. In high school and college, Karen learned more about many different faith traditions. By the time Karen got married and had her son, Michael, she didn't feel that she needed religion. “I would say that I was spiritual but not religious,” Karen says. As the years passed, Karen found community in her work family. She also had a large extended family with whom she had always been close. When Karen’s family members started to pass away, she felt very lost, but she couldn’t understand why. That’s what finally brought her to the doors of Immaculate Conception in 2013. “I was feeling so alone and lost,” Karen says. “I passed Immaculate Conception all the time, so I decided to try attending Mass.” Karen participated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process and entered into the Catholic faith in 2014.
Karen Boyer feels at home here at Immaculate Conception.
“I really liked RCIA, and I wanted to come back to help,” Karen says. “I’ve been helping with set-up, greeting people, and take-down ever since.” Karen is still learning about the Catholic faith and finds that she learns something new continued on page 8
“I would tell everyone to get involved at the parish, It’s a connection you can build with other people at Immaculate Conception. You can get to know people and hear their stories.” — Karen Boyer
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