CHARLOTTE — Regular Mass-goers get to know the faces of their fellow parishioners, often sitting in the same pew at the same Mass time.
But too often we do not really know the people we see each week at Mass. A face becoming more well-known to local Catholics with each class he teaches is Michael Coyle.
Coyle grew up in Belmont and has been a member of various Charlotte parishes since moving back to the area. After attending and working at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he earned a theology degree, Coyle obtained an information systems job at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in 1991. Since 2011, he has been employed at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., as a programmer/analyst and he attends St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Charlotte.
Despite being in the software profession, Coyle had a calling as a teacher and has been teaching religious education for 36 years. He has led classes at both St. John Neumann and St. Thomas Aquinas churches in Charlotte, including those for confirmation preparation and RCIA. He has taught classes on the “Living the Good News Focus” series on each of the four Gospels, Church history, the “Doors of Mercy: Exploring God’s Covenant With You” series, and the “Catholicism” video series by Bishop Robert Barron.
Coyle began teaching faith formation classes in Greensboro, during his freshman year in college, when he was asked to replace a sixth-grade teacher for the remainder of the school year.
To Coyle, teaching the faith is a powerful way to evangelize.
“Catholicism is so rich,” he says. “All Catholics are called to be fully invested, engaged missionary disciples, personally connected to Christ Jesus, and alive in the Holy Spirit. I am so grateful for the Second Vatican Council, since it was all about renewing the interior life and the outreach of Catholics. The New Evangelization means that Catholics are called to be explicit in sharing the marvelous gift of their faith.”
Most recently he taught the 10-week “Catholicism” class at All Saints Church in Lake Wylie, S.C., in the Diocese of Charleston after being asked by the pastor, following his offering of studies on the Sunday Mass readings to Catholic campus ministry students at Winthrop University, at the Oratory in Rock Hill.
His reputation as a knowledgeable and enjoyable theology teacher has spread so much that members of different parishes in the Diocese of Charlotte and beyond can be found sitting in his classroom.
A recent student was Dominican Sister Zeny Mofada. “I attended Michael’s adult religious education class using the insightful and moving ‘Doors of Mercy: Exploring God’s Covenant With You’ video series,” said Sister Zeny. “I chose to join the weekly discussion as part of my reflective journey during the Year of Mercy. Indeed, it was a splendid one.”
Asked if she would recommend the class, she said, “I highly recommend attendance in Michael Coyle’s classes. I find Michael a fervent adult religious educator. He maximizes time and teaches altruistically, enriching the discussions with relevant input.”
Another class participant said Coyle has a great ability to capsulate information. Still others said that he is full of lots of great facts, is very organized and teaches with conviction and enthusiasm.
Coyle is also a regular lector at St. Thomas Aquinas and can be seen around town at various Catholic events such as the yearly Eucharistic Congress. He also structures the format of the annual weekend retreat of the parish men’s group, the Men of Veritas.
Coyle served as one of the key organizers of two large Catholic evangelistic regional events known as FIRE Rallies. The first was at Belmont Abbey in 1999 and the second in Fort Mill, S.C., in 2004, where both the bishop of Charlotte and the bishop of Charleston presided.
Coyle’s next class will focus on the book “Understanding the Mystery of the Mass” by Father Matthew Buettner, pastor of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia. It will be held on Thursdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 7-Oct. 12 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Registration is required; contact the church office at 704-549-1607.
— Diana Patulak Ross, Correspondent