Catholic Techie Beth Nicol

What's it mean to be a "Catholic Techie"? After over a year of interviews, I still don't have a set definition (which sometimes makes it hard to convince people to be interviewed). One thing that seems to come out, though, is a level of awesomeness and a love of faith that flows through everything.

Take Beth Nicol, for example. She's definitely a techie: she's the person behind keeping a number of Vincentian sites afloat, including famvin.org, famvin.com, and cmglobal.org. She's also behind mobilecursillo.org, the online home of her local Cursillo movement, and it's no surprise that she maintains her own blog, Journey2myself.org.

Beth's passionate about her Catholicism in a way that's contagious. Let's spend a few moments with her, shall we?

Tell us about yourself in five words or less.

Grandmother, musician, computer geek, photographer.

Of your pursuits, what's your favorite?

My current favorite pursuit is photography -- learning to capture a story, a life, a moment in a picture. Music and photography often speak deeper than words.

When you think of the New Evangelization from your approach as a "Catholic Techie," what excites you? What makes you want to continue?

New Evangelization means that I can spread the Word in a way that I believe I have a gift for. How often do you find something you love and it gets to be your job? And so I continue to follow a call that helps me to know that I am using my gifts in a useful way, in service of the Gospel.

What's the most rewarding aspect of your work?

It would be hard to pinpoint the most rewarding part of my work. When I see that work help to connect people with God and each other, or I see it tear down a wall, or broaden a horizon, then it feels like a reward.

In your spare time, what are we likely to find you doing? Do you have a gadget in hand or do you go native and screenless?

Spare time? Is there such a thing? Seriously, I am likely to be working on my photography skills, processing images, writing for my blog, reading and running (I did my first marathon last year). I do spend time walking with my dogs, or carrying a backpack in preparation for walking The Way (Camino de Santiago de Compostelo) in Spain this fall. I am trying to break away from always having a gadget in hand or close by.

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Copyright 2013 Sarah Reinhard