New director for Diocese of Salt Lake City Office of Marriage, Family and Pro-life

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Crystal Painter

SALT LAKE CITY – Crystal Painter has always wanted to help other people. Since her own marriage 21 years ago, she has been especially drawn to the area of marriage and family. So last year, when her friend Veola Burchett told her she was planning on retiring in October from her position as director of the diocesan Office of Marriage, Family and Pro-life, Painter was immediately interested.

“For me, it just felt like it was something close to my heart,” she said.  “I’ve always been very involved, even at the parish level, with anything regarding family, marriage and prolife. I’ve been very active in the prolife community here in Salt Lake.”

Painter applied for the position and was hired; her first day was Feb. 8.

Painter has volunteered with Catholic Engaged Encounter in Utah since 1999 when she went through the program with Nathan, now her husband. After training, the two became a presenter couple and served for several years. Since then, they have performed several functions in the organization, including as coordinators and, most recently, as registrars.

A Utah native, Painter grew up in West Jordan and attended St. Francis Xavier Parish. The couple now lives in Sandy; both are active in St. John the Baptist Parish, where Crystal Painter has served as a catechist since 2014. She also is a member of the parish’s Pro-Life Advocacy Council.

The couple has three children: a son who is a student at the University of Utah, a daughter who is a senior in high school and a son who is in eighth grade.

For the past five years, Painter has worked for a local IT service provider, SOS, as a service delivery manager. She will continue to work for SOS part-time while working 20 hours per week for the diocese.

“I just feel very called to marriage and families and supporting marriage and families,” Painter said. “I’ve always felt like there’s been a gap after couples get married until they have children and then they’re ready to come back into the Church. I’ve just always felt like we need to provide more support to our parishes and families and couples at the diocesan level but also locally and just work as a community to support each other.

“A lot of these couples, especially in their first couple years of marriage – it can be a struggle and sometimes I feel like they’re kind of out on their own,” she added.

With Pope Francis’ designation of 2021 as the Year of St. Joseph and his renewed focus on the domestic Church and families, “now is the time to really strengthen families,” she said.

Over the last few weeks, Painter has been getting up to speed on the position and learning about the resources the diocese offers local families. Among her goals are updating the office’s webpages so that local families can readily access information that can help them, particularly as the pandemic continues.

“I hope that people know they can reach out to my office if they have any questions or needs regarding anything – if they’re preparing for marriage [or] are in a marriage and need community enrichment.  I’m open to suggestions,” she said. “I’m also asking for a lot of prayers to be able to fulfill whatever God wants for me in this role.”

Jean Hill, Painter’s supervisor at the diocese, who also is director of the diocesan Office of Life, Justice and Peace, said she was excited to introduce Painter to the Marriage and Family Life director role. “She brings intelligence, enthusiasm, a solid understanding of our Catholic faith and an ability to respond to people professionally but also with compassion,” Hill said. “Crystal offers skills that will benefit the diocese as a whole and is a great addition to our diocesan family.”

Burchett retired in October after 28 years in the Office of Marriage and Family Life.