Serving with Love: Kary Lara’s Journey of Faith in Mountain Parishes

(Photo provided)

For Kary Lara, ministry is more than a role; it is a calling that has shaped every part of her life. As director of religious education (DRE) for St. Vincent and St. Mary of the Crown Parishes in Basalt and Carbondale, she serves both English- and Spanish-speaking communities nestled in Colorado’s mountain region, helping families encounter Christ through faith formation, sacraments and service. 

Since the parishes are small and close-knit, Lara wears many hats. She coordinates marriage preparation, schedules parish appointments and Mass intentions, manages the bulletin and website and directs OCIA in both languages. She also organizes quinceañeras, baptisms and weddings, ensuring that each family feels guided and welcomed. 

Beyond administration, she lives her faith in community. She and her husband lead in the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano Católico. She participates in Adoración Nocturna and serves as lector, sacristan, usher and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion whenever needed. 

“I’ve attended the Catholic Church since I can remember,” Lara said. “First in my hometown in El Salvador, where I joined catechism class and became a lector and usher. When I came to the United States 11 years ago, my husband and I were invited to serve as lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion during our marriage preparation. We said yes, and we’ve been serving here ever since.” 

That “yes” led to much more. When her former pastor, Father Rick Nakvasil, asked if she could assist in the parish office, Lara accepted. There she discovered that faith, when lived in service, deepens in unexpected ways. 

“I thought I had a great faith,” she said, “but working in the parish showed me I only had a small piece of it. Being around people who seek God and who already know him has made me grow deeper in Scripture and in my daily call to serve as his daughter and his instrument.” 

Lara said her journey has been sustained entirely by grace.  

“With my own strength, I know I couldn’t have done it,” she said. “God formed me from my mother’s womb, as the prophet Jeremiah says, he keeps forming me — not just as a human being, but as his daughter.” 

That conviction drives her commitment to help others encounter Christ.  

“Maybe we’re the only chance someone will have to hear about God,” she said. “My commitment is to him, and through that, to his Church and my brothers and sisters in Christ.” 

Over the past two years, Lara has seen new life blossom in her parishes through the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano Católico, Adoración Nocturna and faith studies with Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO). She also helped revamp catechesis programs to better engage families. 

“There’s such a need for God in families, especially in marriages,” she said. “Children need to see their parents active in their faith so they can live it, too.” 

Her greatest joy, she said, is witnessing conversion and reconciliation as moments that reveal God’s work up close.  

“Those moments mark you forever because you realize what God does through us,” she said. 

Many of the couples she has guided through marriage preparation were once parents in the parish catechism program.  

“It fills me with joy to see their faith grow,” she said. “Their children’s formation opens their hearts to the vocation of marriage.” 

Her service, she said, has transformed her relationship with God.  

“Every day is a journey of uncertainty,” she said. “But when we walk hand in hand with God, that journey becomes like the road to Emmaus. It’s an opportunity to know him more each day.” 

Lara is especially grateful for the Archdiocese’s Office of Evangelization, which she said has accompanied her growth as a parish leader.  

“They’ve given me tools and direction,” she said. “Their workshops have helped me become a missionary disciple.” 

For Lara, parish work is not a job but a vocation of love.  

“Working for a parish is a service of love that might not always be recognized by people,” she said, “but it is always seen by God. Having the certainty that we speak of God in our workplace is such a blessing.” 

She recalled a phrase from St. Benedict that her pastor once shared: Ora et labora et noli contristari — “Pray and work, and do not be disheartened.” 

It’s a motto Lara lives by every day as she continues to serve, lead and love the people of her mountain parishes. 

Congratulations, Kary, for being named the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal Disciples of the Month! 

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