A long-time public school educator can now exercise her Catholic faith in a richer way as she assumes the helm of Epiphany Parish’s religious education program. Kim Lorentzen, a fifth grade teacher in the Marlboro school system, is eager to assist the 35 catechists at the Brick church and learn about their Catholic faith. The new director of religious education is eager to guide the program as the catechists instill the tenets of faith in about 300 children.

Lorentzen earned a bachelor’s degree in education and minored in creative writing in New Jersey City University, Jersey City, then a master’s degree plus 30 credits as a reading specialist from Georgian Court University, Lakewood. Once a paralegal in New York City, she now is employed as a fifth grade teacher in Marlboro.

The public school educator admitted, “I appreciate that I can profess my faith in the classrooms at Epiphany,” and opined why Catholic-based education holds a place of importance in the lives of the children they teach.

“With so much going on in the world, and all the other activities the children have, they are not in touch with their faith as they should be,” Lorentzen noted. “Their faith is an important component of life. It keeps them grounded, making better decisions.”

Spending her days in the public school classroom, she is well aware of the challenges students face daily, and the difficulties they may experience as they attempt to incorporate their faith into a secular-based education process. Catechesis is crucial, Lorentzen, a parishioner of Epiphany, asserted. “[The students] deal with so much in life. If they follow the media and society, they may not go down the right path.”