Course Facilitator Details

April M Dietrich

Picture of April M Dietrich

Location: Mount Airy, Maryland, United States

Born and raised in snowy Buffalo, New York, I came to Maryland by way of even snowier Syracuse, NY where I was first called to the Catechetical Ministry. I became Director of Religious Education at St. Augustine Church in Baldwinsville, NY (At the age of 23). My husband and I moved to Maryland in 1994, where I was hired as the Director of Religious Education at St. Athanasius Church in Southern Baltimore City. We moved to rural Maryland in 1997, and I received my Masters in Theology from the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore Maryland in 2002. I directed Adult Catechesis at St. John the Evangelist Church in Frederick Maryland for 6 years before becoming a Pastoral Associate for two parishes: St. James in Boonsboro, Maryland; and St. Augustine in Williamsport. During this era, I belonged to NCCL (National Conference for Catechetical Leadership) where I was on the Adult Faith Formation Committee, Annual Meeting Planning Committee, Leadership Discernment Committee and was Chair of the Parish Catechetical Leaders' Forum. While I have unofficially retired from full-time ministry, I recently worked at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Maryland. And yes, it’s as strange as it sounds, as the Director of the Letterman Institute, the leadership training branch of the museum, I facilitated programs for the US military medical departments and other groups, keeping my hands in adult training. I also maintained part time ministry as Coordinator of Confirmation at St. James/St.Joseph/St. Augustine parish community. I had been working part time at an ordinariate Parish in my area, St. Joseph Catholic Community, but have finished my work there and am now doing RCIA at another parish. In my spare time I keep very active with VLCFF -- I’ve been a facilitator for over 10 years and am constantly learning from my students every single course! My greatest passion with VLCFF is facilitating courses for AVOSA students who are just beginning their VLCFF journey. I have witnessed what a blessing VLCFF can be for catechists the world over and am honored to be a part of the lives of so many wonderful people!