A catechist whose ancestral pedigree in Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, stretches back more than 100 years is now in the position to educate another generation of Catholics in the capital city.
“My family, the Feehans and the Ecks, have been a part of Sacred Heart since 1900, beginning with my great-grandmother Mary Feehan Eck,” declared Donna Lee-Kuebler, the parish catechetical leader of the urban Mercer County parish. “My aunt, Doris Feehan, and I continue to be a part of [the parish] and helped celebrate [its] 200th anniversary in October, 2014.”
The Trenton youth was baptized and received her First Holy Communion and Confirmation in Sacred Heart Parish, graduated from the city’s Trenton High School with honors, and has taken courses at Ewing’s Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) over the years.
Lee-Kuebler was married in the parish in 1997. The choir member and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion first served as coordinator of religious education for nine years beginning in 1998 and is excited to once again serve at the program’s helm.
Sacred Heart Parish’s program consists of more than 100 students from grades kindergarten through eight; at the present time, Lee-Kuebler is assisted by seven teachers and six aides (“and, yes, we continue to recruit volunteers for both of these positions,” she admitted.) Classes meet each Sunday morning for an hour of instruction.
The seasoned catechist, who signed a missive with her name and the evangelical imperative to “Lift High the Cross,” stated a few goals for the program, ideals which seem destined to create and nurture more family traditions of faith much like her own.
“We want to ensure that our children know that God loves them and is with them everywhere they go,” Lee-Kuelber stated. “I want them to talk freely with God about anything, and know that he is listening. He may not answer right away, but an answer will come.”
She continued, “As catechists we can’t do this alone, so another goal is to encourage the parents to involve themselves and talk to their children about our faith and what they’re learning in class. I want them to remember 3 letters: K for kindness, L for love, and M for mercy.”