A graduate of Gonzaga University with a BA in English and Religious Studies, Katy holds a Masters in Pastoral Studies with a CGS focus from Aquinas Institute of Theology. She was drawn to Montessori and CGS when her twin daughters entered the toddler community at Juneau Montessori School in 2005 in Juneau, Alaska. Amazed at their peace and love for the work offered in their Children’s House, Katy wanted to learn more. While DRE for Juneau’s Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary she learned there was a Montessori method for children’s religious formation; she waited and prayed for an opportunity to attend CGS catechist formation.
At the beginning of her CGS journey Katy had the good fortune to train under Catherine Maresca who, she noted, ”…had the wonderful ability to make the essential shine, to put things simply, and introduce them in a way that children really respond to…” Over the years, Katy has traveled extensively to participate in CGS formations and conferences across the United States. In 2015 she became a formation leader for Level I and in 2019, for Level II. As a formation leader she found the resources offered by the Center for Children and Theology a way to improve the practice of catechesis in real situations. Along the way Katy received her Montessori guide certification for 3 to 6 year-olds and worked in both religious and secular Montessori schools.
While Katy enjoys adult formation and spiritual conversations, her main passion continues to be working with children in the atrium. In 2016 Katy and her family moved from Alaska to Boise, Idaho where they currently reside. Since then, Katy has continued to offer Level I and II CGS formation for adults while also volunteering in all three levels of atria at two local Catholic parishes in her Boise community.
Katy is also an accomplished preacher, speaker, and author, having published over 40 articles for publications including Catechesis of the Good Shepherd US Association Annual Journal in 2018, 2019, and 2023. From 2020 to 2021 she co-authored Living Liturgy: Spirituality, Celebration, and Catechesis for Sundays and Solemnities, reflecting on the Sunday scriptures and providing homily prompts. She is a contributing preacher for The Word, a Dominican podcast. She presented at the Cavalletti Symposium for the Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2017 and delivered the keynote at the National Gathering of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in Canada in 2018 and 2019.
Katy’s nonprofit experience includes serving on various committees for CGSUSA including as a member of the Journal Team tasked with editing their annual journal. In the past four years she has also served on the Mission Guiding Circle for the Sheepfold Collaborative, an ecumenical consortium that supports CGS catechist formation in Washington state through which she has trained in sociocracy, also called “dynamic governance,” a structure that utilizes shared power and offers tools and systems that support deep listening and discernment as individuals come together in service of a shared goal. We are thankful for her service this past year on the Board of the Center for Children and Theology. The Center for Children and Theology is honored to welcome Katy Beedle Rice into this new role and looks forward to the inspiration and collaboration she will ignite.
