Meet Hope Glidewell, Our Coordinator of Faith Formation

Hope Glidewell has always been deeply drawn to the Catholic faith even as an adolescent.

“As a high school student, I would walk by the church and go in to sit there and be present with Christ in the Eucharist,” Hope says. “That was me. I knew I wanted to attend a Catholic college, and that was my next step.”

Hope was coordinating the Music Ministry at Quincy University when she met Fr. Tom Donovan in the fall of 2018.

“He came up to me and said, ‘I might have a job for you,’” Hope says. “The people at St. Anthony are so wonderful and generous. You just have to ask if you need help, and sometimes you don’t even have to ask.”

Hope received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in the spring of 2019, registered as a parishioner at St. Anthony, and started teaching at St. Dominic School in the fall of 2019.

“I taught for two years in seventh-grade language arts in the middle school, and this year I started teaching eighth grade and science,” Hope says. “The eighth-graders are at this great stage where they’re getting the faith and understanding why we do what we do and that you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.”

On July 1, 2021, Hope became St. Anthony’s new Coordinator of Faith Formation, and she has continued teaching full-time while taking on this new role.

“It’s a great experience for me, and I’m also currently completing my Masters in Catechetics and Evangelization through Franciscan University of Steubenville,” Hope says. “It’s nice to be able to take what I’m learning in my studies and to apply it and put it immediately into practice.”

As Coordinator of Faith Formation, Hope oversees all the sacramental preparation for the parish including curriculum and instruction. She also works with several people who lead religious enrichment courses for the school.

“I would say that my vision for this coming year includes seeing more adult participation in the children’s faith formation,” Hope says. “I would love to implement more of a family model since the parents are the first educators of their children.”

Hope would like to thank everyone for their prayers and patience as she begins her new position. She underscores that her door is always open and that she’s always ready to hear new ideas.

“Personally, right now I am finding a way to balance everything that I am doing while always keeping Jesus at the center of what I do,” Hope says. “I do this by spending time listening in prayer with Him so that I don’t lose sight of the goal of helping people grow in holiness.”

Hope Glidewell with her nieces and nephews upon graduating from Quincy University

Hope Glidewell (far left) with her class from St. Dominic’s on the steps of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield