Progress 2017: Faith & Charities

Minot Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2017

Faith & Charities

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Growing by leaps and bounds

Souris Valley United Way

By MARK JONES Staff writer mjones@minotdailynews.com

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MAKING BIG STRIDES

By MARK JONES • Staff writer • mjones@minotdailynews.com

Souris Valley United Way has been an important part of the Magic City for quite a long time. And with the help of donations, SVUW is hoping to be around for years to come.

If you take 36 weeks, times that by 10 (dollars) and 250 (students), that’s $90,000.

– Pat Smith

IMPACTFUL GIVING

says Souris Valley United Way executive director about the Backpack Buddies program.

The Minot Area Community Foundation continues to build a legacy of positive impacts

SVUW was founded in 1930 as the Minot Community Chest, which at the time was the name of the United Way. In 1985, the organization changed to its current name.

SVUW is involved in a variety of charities throughout the Minot area, including Backpack Buddies.

The program offers a bag of food to school children, who may not have food over the weekend. The bag of food contains fruit, canned food and a variety of snacks.

The food is transported to the school each Friday where each teacher places the bag in certain backpacks.

The program began in the 201314 school year with 55 students at Sunnyside Elementary.

Currently, SVUW provides this program for 239 students at five different elementaries in Minot – Sunnyside, McKinley, Roosevelt,

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Washington and Lewis & Clark.

SVUW executive director Pat Smith says expansion of the program is unlikely, at least for now.

“If you take 36 weeks, times that by 10 (dollars) and 250 (students), that’s $90,000,” she said. “We know there is a need, but it depends on our donations.”

In addition, the SVUW is also the local sponsor for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

In this program, children, from birth until the age of 5, receive a new book in the mail once a month.

Smith says since 2012, this program has increased by 2,000 children.

Such programs are funded through donations to SVUW, which are then granted back into the community.

In 2016, SVUW had a goal of reaching $1 million.

“We’ve had that goal for three years,” Smith said.

And unfortunately, SVUW is heading in the wrong direction of reaching its goal.

Smith says SVUW raised $718,000 in 2014; $678,000 in 2015 and $585,000 in 2016.

And the decline in donations is a cause for concern.

“It’s the economy,” Smith said.

“With the oil backing off and the agriculture backing off, (it’s just hard right now).”

Over the years, SVUW has gone from supporting five agencies to 21 and offering more than 28 programs to the Minot community.

Any further growth by the organization will be determined by the assistance of others.

“It all depends on the campaign donations (we receive),” Smith said.

Since 1948, members of the Minot community have donated more than $14 million to improving the area.

While there is no way to know for sure what the future will hold, Smith, who is retiring in the near future, is optimistic about the SVUW’s growth.

“It’s been up and down,” she said. “I started in 2008 and it’s grown in what we have been able to serve. I know the new executive director will be able to (find new ways to make it grow).”

The Minot organization is one 1,800 United Way chapters across the nation.

Across the wall of Ken Kitzman’s (to the left) office, are framed photographs of the hundreds of donors who have entrusted their gifts to the Minot Area Community Foundation. Each day, Staci Kenney, right, and members of the foundation are reminded of their responsibility to honor the visions of their donors.

Photo by Allan Blanks/MDN

BY ALLAN BLANKS • Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com

Over the span of 17 years, the Minot Area Community Foundation has established a trusting bond with its donors while building positive partnerships throughout the city of Minot.

Ken Kitzman, president of the Minot Area Community Foundation, is proud of the foundation’s progress and honored to serve the vision of his donors.

“We have the best job in Minot,” Kitzman said. “We work with the best people. They’re very humble and they just want to do good things.”

From providing gifts to Minot-area churches to creating city-wide parks for the youth, the Minot Area Community Foundation is helping donors to give the gift of a positive impact.

According to Kitzman, creating a community impact starts with earning the trust and the respect of donors.

“When we started, we struggled to stay alive and we worked really hard to do the right things,” Kitzman said.

“This has been a long-term process.

You have to earn the respect and trust of the donors and it’s taken a long time to do that. We work a lot with the state and even though a donor may believe we are worthy of their support, we may not see their gift for 10 years.”

In addition to gaining trust and respect, the combination of hard work, impeccable decision making along with unshakable patience allows the Minot Area Community Foundation to provide meaningful differences in the

lives of Minot-area residents.

Today, the Minot Area Community Foundation is a name that Minot families trust and a respected establishment on the rise.

“Our reputation of doing good is starting to resonate within the community,” Kitzman said. “The dollars that we’re doing now is staggering to us. We’ve gone over $14 million in grants given back to the community.”

Currently, the Minot Area Community Foundation is responsible for more than 100 different types of funds designed to impact families, infrastructure and resources available in Minot.

See MACF — Page 2

The Pursuit, a nondenominational church in Minot, is not only one of the community’s newest church, but is also one of the fastest growing as well.

The church was established in January 2014 by Pastor Tom Foisy.

“It was a couple of families in a living room praying and dreaming of starting a movement,” Foisy said.

At the time, there was a just a handful of individuals attending worship services at the church.

Now, there is more than 1,000 individuals attending Sunday worship, which includes men, women and children. Foisy says there are ministries for specifically children.

The congregation meets every Sunday at the Holiday Inn-Riverside, 2200 E. Burdick Expy., with services at 9:30 and 11:15 a.m.

“We have a passion to reach out to people who others haven’t reached,” Foisy said. “We try to provide a safe space for all people to come together.”

Foisy, a native of Washington state, met his wife, Shannon, at Northwest Nazarene University. She is from Sidney, Mont.

Upon graduation, they decided to move closer to family. Once she was offered a job at a hospital in Minot, the Foisys decided to call Minot their home.

“We preach from the Bible that Jesus is our Savior,” Foisy said.

With the growth in the congregation, the Pursuit will have a new home for worship services later this year.

Foisy says the church has purchased the old Magic City Harley-Davidson building. He says the closing date on the purchase is June 3.

After some repairs to the building, Foisy says the congregation will be worshipping in its new home by this fall.

He says the growth of the church is truly humbling.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “It’s so cool to see God doing extraordinary things.”

As for the future, Foisy expects his congregation to continue to grow.

“The big thing is as long as people don’t know Jesus and are going to different churches,” he said. “There is always an opening for growth.”

He says one of the things that makes the church special is the authenticity.

“You can spot a phony,” he said. “All the people who give up their time and talents to serve in the church and then they live it out in their own lives.”

Foisy says the church gives back to the community in a number of ways including service projects and helping in causes such as reducing abusive homes and sex trafficking.

But through it all, Foisy says he is human just like anyone else.

“I’m a pastor,” he said. “But I’m a guy. I’m preaching from personal-live experiences.”

According to the church’s website, the Pursuit is based on six core values, which include: people matter; bring the mess, Jesus can handle it; do whatever it takes; take ownership; take next steps, radical generosity.

“We are one of the many awesome churches (in Minot),” Foisy said. “We are so blessed to be a part of the faith-based community.”

For additional information on the church, go online to thepursuitminot.org.

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Saturday, April 8, 2017

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Serving at American Red Cross

By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

The American Red Cross in Minot has been serving the community for 100 years.

The first chapter had its beginnings in a group of women from Carpio who sought permission to start a branch of the Red Cross Auxiliary during World War I. Over the past decades, the Red Cross has changed and restructured to better meet its mission of responding when disaster strikes, but volunteers have always been on hand to help out within two hours of a disaster.

Current executive director Terri Philion said Red Cross volunteers are often the first people on scene to help a family after a tragedy like a house fire.

They provide assistance for immediate needs, like a voucher for a hotel stay, a comfort kit, or a loaded debit card that the family can use to buy supplies like clothing so they can get back to work as soon as possible. The help the Red Cross gives addresses the pressing needs during the first 72 hours, she said.

A few years ago the national American Red Cross did some restructuring.

At one time, 51 cents of every dollar donated to the Red Cross went to help disaster victims; now it is 91 cents of every dollar that goes directly to the mission. Philion said people might not see as many paid staff in the office, but there are still hundreds of trained Red Cross volunteers who are ready to serve at a moment’s notice and trailers that are equipped with emergency sup-

MACF Continued from Page 1

Numbers aside, Kitzman and the members of the Minot Area Community Foundation treasure the names and faces of visionaries, who make it possible to impact Minot’s future.

Throughout the hallways and across the wall of Kitzman’s office, are framed photographs of the hundreds of donors who’ve entrusted their gifts to the Minot Area Community Foundation.

Each day, members of the foundation are reminded of their responsibility to honor the visions of their donors by doing their best to be an impactful organization.

“Their photographs create the big picture,” Kitzman said.

“These are the people we work for and every one of them has a

Terri Philion, executive director of the Minot chapter of the American Red Cross, poses by a sign in the Red Cross office on March 22.

Photo by Andrea Johnson/MDN

plies stashed in towns throughout the area.

Volunteers handle disasters both large and small, from weather emergencies like hurricanes and flooding to local forest fires. Recently, the Red Cross in the state responded to the needs of a couple who had lost three of their children in a house fire. Philion said Red Cross volunteers go through stringent background checks and training that help them to approach and help the often traumatized victims of disasters.

Philion has been on the job for a few months.

Allan McGeough, who served as executive director from 2002 to 2015,

unique story about who they are. When I started, they were all alive and now there are 20 people on this wall who are no longer with us. Our commitment to them has never changed and our job is to carry out their wishes.”

Friend, donor and beloved member of the Minot community is the late Mike Dolan.

When Dolan’s name is mentioned inside the Minot Area Community Foundation, fond memories paired with a bright smile is instantly expressed by Kitzman.

“Mike Dolan was a very good businessman,” Kitzman said. “He had the vision to say ‘We shouldn’t be spending out just for today, we should be spending out for the future.’”

Recently, the Minot Area Community Foundation gave a grant of $60,000 to the Young Women and Children’s

said his own tenure started out with a bang - literally.

A train had derailed west of Minot in 2002, resulting in an anhydrous ammonia spill, and Red Cross volunteers were called upon to help house and feed families that had been displaced by the derailment.

At the time, the Minot area also had about a dozen Red Cross volunteers who had been dispatched to New York City to assist people in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In the next several years, McGeough said his time as executive director continued to be eventful. Minot was part of the Red Cross Response Center Network, a national call center

Homeless Charity in Minot, from the Arnold I. Besserud Fund.

Staci Kenney, the finance and program director of the Minot Area Community Foundation, described Besserud as a quiet man who frequented soup kitchens.

After Besserud died, the Minot Area Community Foundation upheld his wishes by sharing his gift to soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters across Minot.

“The YWCA is the largest provider for homeless care for women and children,” Kitzman said. “They do more sheltering than anyone else in the community. This was the Besserud Fund. When we think about him, we believe he would be nodding his head because we got this one right.”

Getting it right comes from listening to donors and focus-

that fielded incoming calls about emergencies all over the United States. At one time, the center processed about 33,000 calls, he said. Most of the time, volunteers provided information about where victims of a disaster could find local resources to help them. But on one or two occasions, they ended up saving lives.

During Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, a volunteer took a call from a woman in Texas who said her parents were stranded on their roof top in Louisiana with flood water rising around them. Red Cross volunteers got in touch with an amateur radio club who were able to relay a message to the Coast Guard, who were able to then

send a boat to pull the couple off their rooftop in Louisiana.

A few years later, in 2011, it was Minot’s turn to benefit from the help of neighbors when the Souris River flooded much of the community. The Red Cross ran three shelters at the Minot Municipal Auditorium, at the Minot State University Dome and the All Seasons Arena. But of 11,000-plus people displaced by the flood, only about 500 ended up staying in shelters.

“That was good because it meant the community took everybody else in,” said McGeough.

Though the Red Cross handled many major disasters during the 13 years he was executive director, McGeough said he is probably proudest of the help they gave on a regular basis to people in the Minot community.

Whether it was helping a family displaced by a fire or helping military families communicate with loved ones who were deployed overseas or teaching lifeguard certification and CPR classes or writing grants that put defibrillators in different locations throughout the area, McGeough said the Red Cross helped thousands of people.

They could not do it without the help of hundreds of dedicated Red Cross volunteers, said McGeough.

“It was honor for me to serve, a pleasure,” said McGeough. “...None of the work we did would have been possible without the hard work of those volunteers.”

ing on the impact.

“The dollar amount doesn’t determine the impact,” Kenney said. “Everytime you drive by a playground at Roosevelt Park or visit the hockey rink at Maysa Arena, it feels good to see people enjoying themselves along with their children. Again, it’s the impact that really matters not the dollar amount.”

Founded on the principle of creating community impact, the Minot Area Community Foundation was established in 2000.

During the flood of 2011, the vision and strength of the Minot Area Community Foundation would be tested.

“Those were really hard times,” Kitzman said. “We had some amazing volunteers. I believe we had a core of eight.

They prayed and they cried as people yelled at them. The people had no one else to talk to, we were the first line of human beings that many people had interactions with.

Those were really emotional hard times for the flood recipients and the volunteers. We were trying to do everything that we could.”

Along with the dedication of his volunteers, Kitzman recalls the outpouring of donor support for the Minot community.

When Minot needed a positive impact, the Minot Area Community Foundation was there to lend a helping hand.

“That experience was a good turning point,” Kenney said. “Our name gained recognition and we continued to take

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more steps to show the community what we could do.”

For Kitzman and Kenney, both have emotional and familial ties to Minot.

As members of the Minot community, Kenney and Kitzman feel a lifelong calling to serve the place they call home.

“Community is a big deal to us,” Kitzman said. “We have an ethical and hometown uniqueness about Minot. It’s real, this is home and what we do is very near and dear to many people. I think this is why we’ve had success with the donations and contributions.”

To learn more about the Minot Area Community Foundation, visit www.centerforcommunitygiving.com.

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First Lutheran Church is Minot’s first congregation

By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

Minot’s First Lutheran Church was the first congregation in Minot when it was established in 1884 by the largely German and Norwegian Lutheran pioneers who had settled in the railroad town on the banks of the Souris River.

According to a history of the church written for its 125th anniversary in 2009, the land on which the church was built originally belonged to Erik Ramstad, who had been a member of First Lutheran Church.

The “first” red brick church that housed the congregation was built in the early 1900s. According to a history put together by long time church members, each family with a wagon was asked to donate a load of bricks for the church.

A quarter of a century later, a white brick church was built just south of the red brick church. Another addition was added in the 1950s.

During the past 130 years, the church has been greatly active in the community.

First Lutheran was involved in the Nurses Training School at Trinity Hospital and in the founding of Trinity Nursing Home. The First Lutheran Church Foundation, which was founded in the late 1960s, provided funds to send church members to the seminary and on overseas missions to foreign countries. A free clinic, City and County Health Clinic, is staffed by volunteer medical personnel, and located in the lower level of the church’s Luther Hall.

Rev. Ken Nelson, who recently resigned as pastor at First Lutheran, said in January that the church’s strength is its caring congregation.

Following the Souris River flood of 2011, the church pulled together to help those who were hurting. First Lutheran Church was flooded too, though not as badly as some other churches in the community, and the basement had to be renovated. The church met

Submitted Photo

during the summer of 2011 at Zion Lutheran Church until it was able to return to its own building months later.

The Nelson family was also hard hit by the flood and learned once again about the kindness of neighbors. When their home was flooded, friends in the church gave them the use of a home at Rice Lake while they were waiting for their FEMA trailer to arrive. Another friend gave up her garage for the better part of two years so the Nelsons could store their items there.

Years ago the church recognized the deep need for child care in the community and is hosting the Acorn Hollow Early Childhood Education Center.

The basement that was flooded years ago is now a fellowship hall that is used by different community groups. Minot Air Force Base groups meet there on occasion and Lutheran Social Services holds training sessions. Three local music groups, the Heritage Singers, Minot Chamber Chorale and Minot Nodakords also meet at First Lutheran.

Since Nelson left to take a new call at Calvary Lutheran Church in Brookfield, Wis., the current pastor at First Lutheran is the Rev. Brandy Gerjets.

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Page 3 First Lutheran Church’s second parsonage.

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First Baptist Church is old but vibrant

By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

First Baptist Church is 129 years old but it is vibrant, thanks to its multitude of young church members, said its pastor Rev. Barry Seifert.

“We have a lot of young families (with) a lot of eagerness to grow and learn and be engaged in the community,” he said. “I think people want to be a part of a spiritual family, with others who have a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Every week, newcomers to the congregation come to the church and are eager to volunteer.

“I just baptized 13 people a couple of weeks ago,” said Seifert.

First Baptist also has an active children’s ministry, with an active Sunday school and youth group for teens. The AWANA program takes over the church building on Wednesday nights with many youngsters who are there to learn Bible verses. Elaine Carlson, who heads up the children’s ministry, said a number of the children who come to AWANA are not part of First Baptist but belong to other denominations.

Carlson said kids in the program play games, sing songs and learn about Jesus. Kids also participate in activities like the Pinewood Derby style racing car event.

First Baptist has had a successful AWANA program since the mid-1970s. These days program attracts about 250 children from ages 3 to high school.

AWANA is an international ministry program that is of-

fered throughout the U.S. and in foreign countries, said Carlson.

Longtime church members Marlys Orluck and Beverly Lorenz said the church has always attracted young families, like those who come from Minot Air Force Base, who are looking for community.

Church members have been willing to lend a friendly hand to help young mothers away from close relatives who needed advice on how to care for their babies. Other church members opened their homes to newcomers from the base and were friendly.

Lorenz, the longest continuous member at First Baptist, joined the church as a teenager in the late 1940s. She and her late husband, who was also extremely active in the church, were married there in 1951.

According to a church history, First Baptist was started on April 1, 1888, when Rev. George W. Huntley, as the General Missionary, met with three couples about establishing a Baptist church in the community.

The founding members of the church were Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Mears, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Crow and Mr. and Mrs. D. Coleman.

The first church building was constructed in the fall of 1888. The building accommodated 100 people and cost $1,800 to build. A church parsonage was added in 1905 and cost $1,200. In 1913, an addition was built, bringing the seating capacity of the church to 220 people. The old build-

ing was divided into Sunday school rooms.

In 1958, the growing church decided to build a new church, which would be able to seat up to 650 people. The new church building was dedicated in 1959. A church building extension was added in 1975.

The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in August 2013.

With the enthusiasm of its members, it is likely to be a fixture in the community for decades to come.

Adam Carr, current AWANA commander, is working with Peyton Vix during Book Time.

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The power of giving

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Submitted Photo

By ALLAN BLANKS • Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com Providing hope for the future by strengthening communities defines the intended impact of St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation.

Throughout Minot, the shelves of food pantries are being filled as shelters continue to prepare beds for families in need.

During the span of 18 years, the determination of community organizations alongside the devotion of caring volunteers have been aided with grants and sustainability from St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation.

Shelly Weppler, the president of St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation, believes anyone can make a positive difference if they follow their heart and sustain their ability to give.

“My hope is for someone to see a greater light,” Weppler said. “Every day, the actions of a non-profit organization impacts lives. I hope members of the community continue to follow their hearts by taking action and giving back. People can really make a difference if they listen to their hearts.”

More than a century ago, the Sisters of St. Francis brought their zeal, compassion and unfaltering altruism to the city of Minot.

Founded in faith and constructed by deeds, the vision of providing healthy and —Shelly Weppler, sustainable financial president of St. gifts continues to stand strong.

Joseph’s Community From empowering Foundation Minot’s brave first re-

My hope is for someone to see a greater light.

St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation sustains charitable legacy sponder’s with life-saving defibrillators to inspiring the city’s youth with educational tools and resources, the mission of St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation has been a beacon of light for 103 years and counting.

For Weppler, carrying on the tradition of giving sustainable resources is a proud and rewarding endeavor.

Recently, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation distributed more than $400,000 to over 90 Minot-area organizations during their 18th Annual Regional Grant Luncheon.

“The organizations are so thankful for the money they receive,” Weppler said. “It allows them to impact the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional well being of the clients they serve.

The organizations along with their volunteers are truly the lifeblood to the community.”

Devoted to the values of their founders, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation was established in 1998.

According to Weppler, 1998 was a transformative year that revealed her life’s calling.

“I am blessed to have the opportunity to grow with this foundation from the very start,” Wep-

Over the course of 18 years, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation continues to provide financial gifts that provide life-saving tools and defibrillators to the Ward County Sheriff’s Department.

pler said. “While I was working at Minot State University’s foundation office in 1998, I received a phone call asking if I’d be interested in pursuing this opportunity.”

After accepting the position of president, Weppler’s first test was to help the newly formed foundation to complete its recent transition.

“At the time, we had two hospitals in Minot and one was going to sell,” Weppler said. “When a non-profit hospital is sold, the money has to return to the community as a non-profit. During this time, nuns from Colorado owned the hospital and the decision was to split the assets. Fiftypercent would go to the nuns who had worked at this hospital and done good things.”

When the assets were finally split, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation came into fruition.

With $2 million earned in partial money, Weppler along with members of the foundation were eager to help the community by making an immediate impact.

“Six months after we started, we made a grant,” Weppler said. “We had $2 million to operate with and we gave a financial gift to the Ward County Sheriff’s Department. Some of the board members were hearing from the community that this was a need. During this time, there weren’t defibrillators in the vehicles and they were the first on the scene. We bought two defibrillators to put into vehicles at the time.”

As St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation continued to grow, so did its identity.

Two years after its creation, Weppler along with members of the board decided to commit their services toward community needs.

“We serve as an umbrella of resources,” Weppler said. “In our community, we don’t have a lot of the resources that we offer. If you’re in Minnesota, there are many foundations to reach out to See ST. JOE’S — Page 6

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and ask for funding. In Minot, we’re one of the few.

So, the dollars that we provide offers such a great relief to all of the non-profit organizations that are doing such great work in our community. For them, just knowing that we are available offers them great hope so they can continue doing great work.”

Based on the fiscal philosophy of St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation, financial sustainability is the key to charitable continuity.

“As a community foundation, this allows us to not only use the money we were going to get but to also encourage organizations that are helping others to set up endowments for their own sustainability. We help to grant out the money we receive along with helping organizations build an endowment of their own.

We advised organizations to think about their financial sustainability rather than going out every year and asking everyone for a whole lot of money. It’s important to think about what happens if the money is no longer there.”

In 2007, the North Dakota tax credit for charitable giving was introduced and provided St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation the ability to help several organizations establish sustainability.

“The tax credit offers people who can afford to give greater gifts a 40 percent tax credit,” Weppler said. “This really opened the door for larger gifts. Such gifts were required to go into an endowment or a savings account. ” In addition to helping organizations sustain their funds, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation has also aided individuals as well.

“Several people come in to give gifts wherever their heart wants to go,” Weppler said. “Some people set up their own cause which allows them to decide where their gift goes every year in

a donor advised fund.”

While sustainability creates the opportunity to give, making a positive impact in the community is equally important to everyone at St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation.

“We’re really focused on the mission of organizations and not the dollar amount,” Weppler said. “The most important number is how many people will be impacted.”

At the end of every year, St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation requires organizations to provide a performance report to asses how different programs continue to impact their communities.

According to Weppler’s performance reports, over 35,000 people have received help by the financial gifts contributed by St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation.

“When you hear that 35,000 people have been impacted, you know that a difference is really being made in someone’s life,” Weppler said. “Grant day is always a great day. It feels like Christmas.”

For Weppler, being in the presence of charitable volunteers and dedicated organizations is an inspiring moment for her and the foundation.

“This is for the people who work in the food pantries, the youth camps and for organizations that may not have the funds to ship them off to a conference outside the state,” Weppler said. “At our luncheon, we not only want to give our money out but we want to create a little moment of inspiration. I want the organizations and their volunteers to know that it’s all about you guys. The ones who are out in the trenches and making a difference in their communities. If it wasn’t for these good people, what would our mission be?

They’re helping us get the money to the people who need it most.”

To learn more about St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation visit www.communityhealthfoundationnd.com.

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Fai t h & C h ari t i es

Page 7

Sprucing up St. Leo’s

By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com salvation of souls, proclamation St. Leo the Great Catholic of the Gospel and the building Church is the mother church of will continue to serve as an imthe Catholic world in northwest portant cultural touchstone for North Dakota, said the Rev. the community.

Justin Waltz, the current pastor.

A few years ago, Grace Fisher “It’s the first Catholic church completed the self-published in Minot,” said Waltz and has “St. Leo the Great Catholic been an important symbol for Church, Minot North Dakota, A Christianity in general in Minot.

History Book I.” The present building at 218 St. Leo’s Catholic Church 1st Street SE in Minot was conwas one of 28 churches across structed in 1908. The building the Bismarck Diocese in the year before that was in place by the 1908, according to the book, late 1800s. while St. Leo’ Catholic School A few years ago, the present was completed in 1925. The building was spruced up, with a parish opened an elementary $3.7 million exterior renovation school in 1926 and added a high project. The building was tuckschool by 1929. pointed, the brick was reconditioned, the interior of the The book, which drew on the church steeples was rebuilt and archives at St. Leo’s, tells the a new roof was added. story of the early years of the Now, Waltz said, it is time to church and the priests who do some work on the interior served there. The many achieveand basement of the historic ments and legacy of the church’s church. early priests, Monsignors John “We are in a campaign Hogan and Joseph Raith, is covprocess,” said Waltz, who ered. hoped that construction work Raith had a way with the would begin by May 29. “We children at the school, Fisher are essentially rebuilding and wrote. One parishioner rememrestoring the entire interior and bers the way that Raith used to basement of the church, bringthrow peanuts to children who ing it back to what the original gathered outside his home and church was, using modern loved teasing them by pinching technology.” their noses. Raith also liked cars The work on the interior will and drove his Willys-Knight include an updated HVAC sysdown the middle of the street, tem and reinforcing the struchonking at other drivers. ture.

Hogan was also beloved by “A lot of people don’t realize the students, who remembered there’s a dirt basement,” said how he turned his office into a Waltz. gathering place for them and exAlong with the interior rencelled as a basketball and drama ovation Waltz said a concrete coach.

MDN File Photo basement will be put in.

Fisher includes biographies At the end of the restoration, the newly restored church will be in good shape for another 100 of most of the early priests, from Hogan to Raith to Rev. F.J. McKanna, Rev. Marvin Klemmer and years, said Waltz.

Rev. Christian Walter.

Waltz said the “old, big, beautiful” church is not being restored only for sentimental reasons It covers the remodeling of the church in 1949 and the construction of a new rectory in 1953. or because it is of such historic importance to the community.

Waltz came to Minot in 2008. Another recent priest at St. Leo’s was the Rev. Austin Vetter.

“We’re at a crossroads, the same crossroads they were at in 1908,” said Waltz.

The Minot area has also produced an impressive number of young men who are interested in A newly restored St. Leo’s will help set the Catholic faith in Minot for another century of the exploring a vocation to the priesthood, so the next century of Catholic life in Minot looks well set.

Page 8

Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Faith & Charities

Saturday, April 8, 2017