Little Falls Catholic Community Newsletter — September 2021

September 2021 Special Edition

HAVEN OF MERCY

A rea C atholic C ommunity

Little Falls

Catholic Community

BUILDING DISCIPLES: My Dear Friends in Christ,

A

A Community-Wide Focus

s we begin to move into this Fall, Fr. Jimmy and I would like to re-focus on the Haven of Mercy Catholic Community planning process. This process was begun back in the summer of 2019 when Bishop Kettler indicated that as a diocese, he wishes that Area Catholic Communities (ACCs) form and work together to continue the mission of the Church in the Diocese of St. Cloud. This ACC planning process is one way that our diocese seeks to address the radical changes we are facing in today’s world.

Bishop Kettler at the St. Cloud Diocese Annual Conference for Clergy at Arrowwood Resort in October of 2019 shared the many reasons and context of why we are engaging

this diocesan Area Catholic Community planning process. He assures us that our diocese is not in “survival mode.” In addition, it is not primarily because of a priest shortage. The greater reason is that the world is changing radically and we need to do Church differently.

He says that most dioceses in the United States are doing some kind of planning process to address the current changing times and the ACC process is one way of doing it. He says it may not be the only way and/or even the best way. But we need to do something. He also says that parishes will have a hard time going it alone today and in the future. He is excited by the prospects of an opportunity for greater lay involvement and shared resources among continued on page 2

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family Our Lady of Lourdes

BUILDING DISCIPLES continued from front cover

Holy Family

St. Mary's

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the ACC communities. It will take work! Yet, Bishop Kettler assures the pastors and the people alike that his diocesan offices are making this planning process and their support the first priority. Bishop Kettler would like to ask, “How can we better serve our people?” He is very interested in the areas of youth ministry, adult and child faith formation, evangelization, RCIA, social concerns committee, vocations, liturgy and music, and finances.

Fr. Jimmy and I had started meeting with our Haven of Mercy Area Catholic Committee monthly since the Fall of 2019 until the COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place took effect in March of 2020. The Haven of Mercy Catholic committee had two representatives from each of our six parishes, which include Sacred Heart in Flensburg, St. Stanislaus in Sobieski, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. Mary’s in Little Falls, Holy Family in Belle Prairie Township, and St. James in Randall. By Jan. 1, 2020, we came up with an extensive list of goals that address the areas of “Religious Education”, “Youth, Young Adults, and Young Families”, “Worship and Sacraments”, “Operations”, “Communication”, “Finances”, and “Hospitality.” During the pandemic, we took a hiatus in order to address the more immediate pastoral concerns of the pandemic. We reconvened in the Fall of 2020 and have conducted a logo contest and chose one. We’ve brought our directors of religious education together to begin talking about what they are doing currently with their programs and we are seeking to work together and possibly streamline. We purchased Flocknote as a tool that we used throughout the pandemic to provide weekly communication with parishioners via email. We have also looked at job descriptions of all the staff to begin the discussion of how staffing six parishes might work.

One large initiative we are doing this Fall is utilizing a Catholic Company, Lighthouse Strategic Solutions, who will help us with hiring a business manager that would serve the six parishes. They will help us to do two phases.

The first is an organizational assessment, where they will interview all of the staff. These will be confidential interviews, but they will ask the staff for their insights on how things are done currently, how they might be done as a six-parish community and what their individual strengths might be. The company will do a second phase to help hire a business manager that would serve the six parishes.

This would help many areas of communication, following through on many of the goals established by the Haven of Mercy Catholic Community, and help reduce the current amount of administrative work on the priests so that they continued on page 3

BUILDING DISCIPLES

Sacred Heart

continued from page 2

can be freer to be about the spiritual needs of the people.

The pastors will still have the final say on all that happens in the parishes, but the business manager will help with much of the legwork.

Moving forward, the Haven of Mercy Catholic Community committee would like to begin with the following communication strategy to keep everyone informed: We wish to begin with this introductory newsletter on the Haven of Mercy Catholic Committee and to have it sent to all the parishioners of the six parishes.

Fr. Jimmy and I would like to visit all neighbor parishes to celebrate Mass one weekend a month to get to know the communities better. We would like to establish a small section in the bulletin to keep you abreast of the Haven of Mercy Catholic Community planning process. We will also be creating a prayer that we can pray together as a Haven of Mercy Catholic Community to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before each weekend Mass. We are planning to publish all of the minutes of meetings and make them available. We also have suggestion boxes in each of our parish churches that parishioners can offer feedback and questions. We are doing our Confirmation Mass together on March 20, 2022, and are looking to do major youth events together for the summer of 2022. We will also be looking to have some joint parish council meeting nights where parish councils can meet side-by-side, but then we can come together to pray or have time for reflection.

The Haven of Mercy Catholic Community planning process is something that has been given to us by our bishop. Fr. Jimmy and I believe that in following the directives of the bishop, we are responding to God’s will for our faith communities. We are called to be about the mission of Jesus Christ, which is to bring the Kingdom of God to our area. We are called to make disciples together!

To be collaborating as several parishes at one time is pretty uncharted territory for the history of the Church.

Being that the case, I invite all of us to be open and patient. This will take time. There will be bumps in the road. But I believe that there will be beautiful fruit that will come from this!

St. Stanislaus

St. James

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Ben Kociemba 3

St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family

Excitement Abounds for New Year at Mary of Lourdes Catholic School “Each of Us Is Loved, Willed, and Necessary”

We’re excited to come together for a new year of Catholic education at Mary of Lourdes.

P

rincipal Jodi Vanderheiden joined the community of Mary of Lourdes Catholic School in 2018, and over the past three years, she has deeply valued her relationships with the school community.

“Every day is a new day,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “What I most enjoy about my work are the connections and relationships I have with students, staff, teachers, and families.”

We’re excited to come together for a new year of Catholic education at Mary of Lourdes, and with a new year comes new goals for our school community.

“The biggest goal we currently have for our school is to have more cohesiveness between the buildings,” says Principal Vanderheiden.

“While working toward the goal, we’re integrating a character education and virtue education curriculum this year.”

The school’s particular focus for the academic year of 2021 to 2022 will center on character and virtue education. The theme for the year is “Each of us is loved, willed, and necessary,” and it is a quote from a homily offered by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in

With a new year comes new goals for our school community!

St. Peter’s Square on April 24, 2005.

“Each of us is the result of a thought of God,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “I think we need to go back to who we are and how we are connected to God and created in His likeness. We are loved and necessary. We have a purpose.”

During the coming year, we’ll see a few new faces around the school as we welcome new teachers and staff to our school community.

“Noelle Kedrowski is our new science teacher for sixth through eighth-grade science,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “Becca Czech is our new administrative assistant at the elementary school.”

We also hope to see a return of some of the school’s traditional events as we saw during the spring months.

“Towards the end of the year, we had more of our school events like our spring concerts,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “In December we’ll get to have our Christmas program together with people in the audience again.”

The school thrives on the support of all the Catholic faith community members in our area and across our parishes. continued on page 6

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MEET PARISHIONERS

Wade and Mary Margaret Mathers: Faith and Family Go Hand in Hand

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s Christians, we are called to bring the Good News out in our everyday lives. We aren’t meant to only practice the faith at Sunday Mass and simply proceed with our week. For those who work in a secular career, bringing the faith into our workplaces can be a little more challenging.

Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners Wade and Mary Margaret Mathers both work in public education, so they know the delicate balance of faith and work.

“I’m just always trying to keep my priorities straight,” Wade says. “I always try very hard to have faith, family, then work.”

Wade is the Principal of Little Falls Community Middle School. Mary Margaret is the Assistant Special Education Director for the Freshwater Education District. Mary Margaret has also worked as a teacher in the past. The couple has a daughter, Samantha, who lives in Duluth with her husband, Andreas, and their son, Soren.

The COVID-19 precautions and shutdowns of the past year and a half have presented challenges for all of us, but those working in education have been particularly affected. But through all of life’s ups and downs, Wade and Mary Margaret strive to keep their faith at the center.

“We struggle every day, just like everyone else,” Wade says. “I am just always trying to say ‘no’ to human nature, and go back to complete surrender and child-like faith. There’s conversion every single day, even through each hour in the day.”

For Mary Margaret, it’s important to keep her faith at the center, even in the midst of the simplest daily tasks. She always strives to let God be in control.

“I always try to keep faith as the priority, no matter where I am,” she says. “I want to always be Christ for others and treat everyone with dignity.”

Our Lady of Lourdes parishioners Wade and Mary Margaret Mathers

Wade and Mary Margaret Mathers with their daughter, Samantha, son-in-law Andreas and grandson Soren

continued on page 6

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family

Wade and Mary Margaret Mathers continued from page 5

They both agree that keeping the faith and letting God be in control helps them be a better spouse, parent, grandparent, and employee.

“We love God and we love each other,” Wade says. “We fail often, but we keep getting up again. We are learning over and over how to surrender.”

Both Wade and Mary Margaret are on the Stewardship Committee for our parishes. They also serve as a Mentor Couple for the Marriage Prep Ministry. Mary Margaret is also a lector and Wade teaches high school-level religious education.

Being a Principal means that, at times, Wade does have to have tough conversations with students. He tries to follow the example of Fr. Mike Schmitz, a popular Catholic priest and

speaker, by delivering a message with love.

“I try not to be afraid to deliver the truth with love,” Wade says. “I also find that if I try to be open to the Holy Spirit, the scales are taken off my eyes, and it’s easy to follow His will.”

For Mary Margaret, St. Therese of Lisieux is an important saint to whom she feels a very personal connection. For Wade, St. Padre Pio is the “go-to” saint — his mother prayed to St. Padre Pio when Wade was a teenager. He feels those prayers made a big difference in his life.

Wade and Mary Margaret enter the upcoming 2021-22 school year with hope and continued faith.

“I believe I was created for the time I am in,” Wade says. “The world can be topsy-turvy, but you can be excited about the time you are in.”

New Year at Mary of Lourdes Catholic School continued from page 4

“Without your support, we wouldn’t be here,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “Without the assistance of our parishes, we wouldn’t be able to exist. Financially, it is a huge commitment on your part and a huge blessing for the school. Spiritually, it is so important that you are all praying for our teachers and students to keep us vibrant in our faith.”

Principal Vanderheiden would like to emphasize her gratitude for how all the members of our faith community have supported and continue to support Mary of Lourdes Catholic School.

“Thank you so much,” Principal Vanderheiden says. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without your financial and spiritual support.”

The school thrives on the support of all the Catholic faith community members in our area and across our parishes.

If you would like more information about the new school year at Mary of Lourdes Catholic School, please reach out to Principal Jodi Vanderheiden at 320-632-6742.

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THE

Eucharist

AND

Stewardship

AS A WAY OF LIFE

I

n 1992, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a pastoral letter titled Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response. This document was an invitation to follow Christ Who gave of Himself for us. Each of us is called to serve our neighbors and to be stewards of God’s creation and of all that has been entrusted to us. However, to truly understand stewardship, we must look to the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is the total gift of our loving Savior to us. Stewardship is our response to that gift.

Even the word “Eucharist” implies stewardship. The word “Eucharist” finds its roots in the Latin word eucharistia, which in turn came from the Greek word eukaristos, which meant, quite simply, “gratitude” or “thanksgiving.” How fitting that we, who are called to be a stewardship people, celebrate at the focal point of every Mass an act of thanksgiving and gratitude — namely, the reception of Jesus’ gift to us — the Eucharist.

In their pastoral letter on stewardship, the bishops speak of the Eucharist in this way: “The Eucharist is the great sign and agent of this expansive communion of charity… we enjoy a unique union with Christ and, in Him, with one

another. Here His love — indeed, His very Self — flows into us as disciples and, through us and our practice of stewardship to the entire human race.”

When we receive Christ’s Body in the Holy Eucharist, we hear the minister say, “The Body of Christ.” To this, we respond, “Amen” – which means in Hebrew, “Yes; it is so.” This is the essence of stewardship. We should enter the Church for Mass out of “gratitude.” We recognize the presence of the Lord in Holy Communion, and then we truly receive the Lord. What is left for us to do is the fulfillment of stewardship — that is, sharing what we have received in love of God and neighbor. Our entire experience speaks to stewardship — we are grateful; we recognize the real presence of the Lord; we receive the Lord; and then we share what we have received.

Christ’s gift to us through the Eucharist is an invitation to us. We are called to give beyond what is convenient or what may be comfortable. We are called to forgive even when forgiveness may not be deserved; we are called to love even when that love is not returned. We are called to love as God loves us.

The Eucharist is stewardship celebrated. continued on back cover

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St. Mary’s • Our Lady Of Lourdes • Holy Family Parish Office: 208 West Broadway Little Falls, MN 56345 (320) 632-8243 www.littlefallscatholic.org

The Eucharist and Stewardship as a Way of Life continued from page 7

The Mass is more than a ritual. It is an actual encounter with God, with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We need to respond to the Eucharist with our complete selves. What we experience in the Eucharist should, in turn, translate into our daily lives. We are committed to the Church, which is Christ’s body. We show our love for His body through acts of charity and generosity. We spend time in prayer, expressing our gratitude and our love.

God’s greatest gift to us is Christ’s great love for us — this was shown when He was crucified on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to give us eternal life. God’s love for us is without limit, and He offers Himself to us in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Stewardship is how we respond to that gift.

“The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ ‘The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and the works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church.’”

– Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1324

September 2021 Special Edition

HAVEN OF MERCY

A rea C atholic C ommunity