The Catholic Family Sharing Appeal (sfcatholic.org/cfsa), the annual effort to raise funds to support the ministries of the Diocese of Sioux Falls, has been positively impacting the faith life of families for generations. The appeal kickoff coincides with the season of Lent.
Among the goals of the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal is to encourage and support family life in all its facets – reflected in the theme, One Faith, One Family. Generations of families have been supported through the ministries funded through this annual appeal.
The Steve and Carol Smith family, members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Groton offer an example of how that plays out generation after generation with Newman ministry, youth ministry, parish ministry and many other Catholic Family Sharing appeal supported ministries impacting their whole family.
“We’ve just seen so many benefits – from the Newman Centers, from discipleship camps, Totus Tuus, natural family planning – all of it works together to build faith in our family,” said Steve Smith.
Adds Carol Smith, “we have grown so much as a family; what a blessing it has been.” Their family, including children, Marah, Sam, Luke, Eric AnneMarie and Isaac, continues to grow with Marah’s husband, Shane, Sam’s wife McKinsey and their daughter Gemma, and more in-laws on the way.
In the 1980s, Steve and Carol met at South Dakota State University. Both came from families with active faith lives, but Carol was not Catholic.
Pius XII Newman Center in Brookings was a key place for them, helping them wrestle with how best to blend their two faith backgrounds. Ultimately, Carol signed up for RCIA at the Newman Center and Steve went along, amazed at what he learned though he had been a cradle Catholic.
They also benefitted from marriage preparation through the Newman Center, then continued to seek, learn and grow as they began their married life together.
“I think because I wasn’t a cradle Catholic, we searched, we wanted to find out more,” Carol said.
They read books by Scott Hahn and others and took natural family planning classes after their first child was born, and attended Marriage Encounter weekends.
“Natural family planning was a whole new trusting God and giving to your spouse,” Carol said. “It required a lot of faith.”
“I would say it is similar to tithing,” Steven said. “We are tithing trusting God is going to provide and with natural family planning, we are working with God to plan our family. I learned a lot about Carol that I’m sure I never would have learned. With natural family planning you have to communicate as a couple and it just strengthens your marriage.”
Now 30 some years later, the Smith’s children have participated in parish and diocesan youth ministries, participated in retreats and found their own faith deepening at Newman Centers. Two of their children are married, and of course, met their spouses through the Newman Centers – one at SDSU, and another at USD.
And currently their son Luke is benefitting from Newman Center ministry at St. Thomas More Newman Center at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. Luke and fiancé Alexis Soldatke are appreciating the Newman ministry, marriage preparation courses and have a deep history with discipleship camps, the Totus Tuus program and more.
“I think this type of generational support is exactly what Bishop Lambert Hoch, who built the Newman Centers in the 1960s had in mind,” said Bishop Paul Swain. “Generations of families have found their faith there.
“And that the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal is a part of sustaining this ministry is no doubt what Bishop Paul Dudley had in mind when he refocused the annual appeal as the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal. It is as impactful as ever,” he said.
Fr. Jeff Norfolk directs the St. Thomas More Newman Center. He works with many couples preparing for marriage, including Luke and Alexis.
“I definitely see the support of the Office of Marriage, Family and Respect Life in the monthly, weekly opportunities in which I am working with couples to prepare them for marriage,” he said.
Drawing on the diocesan resources available, he is able to somewhat tailor the preparation to best meet the needs of the various couples, something Alexis and Luke, who intend to be married next July at Alexis’ home parish, St. Lambert, Sioux Falls, have noted and appreciated.
“Fr. Jeff is very good about having these resources and providing them when it is something that we need … he has created this marriage prep specifically for us as a couple … that’s been a beautiful gift to us,” said Luke.
Luke started attending diocesan discipleship camps in 7th grade and kept going each year. He appreciated the opportunity to be with others who desired to know God more.
“It changed my heart – before I just went to Mass, maybe because my parents wanted me to – but I realized Jesus wants to love me and love me in the Eucharist at Mass,” he said.
Alexis was friends of those attending camps but didn’t start attending until part way through high school.
“After going once I met people who I wanted to keep seeing and experience the Lord in that way – all of the joy, all of the peace that was experienced in those people was so good,” she said.
Both credit additional diocesan ministries – such as the Going Deeper retreats and Steubenville conferences as helping them develop their faith along the way.
Alexis said along the way she began attending daily Mass while at O’Gorman High School, and eventually served for two years as a Totus Tuus team member.
“It’s very clear to me the connection,” said Fr. Norfolk.
“The couples that are strongest in their preparation for marriage are those who have been involved in youth activities in the diocese. They come into college with already a deepening of faith, they want to keep growing in that faith, they come to the Newman Center and get connected in that faith and many of them start dating and eventually get engaged,” he said.
Melinda North who leads the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal said she is grateful to hear people of all ages talk about the impact of Appeal funded ministries.
“We are seeing the fruits of all the ministries working together to build God’s church,” she said.
That working together through the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal includes not only diocesan ministries, but parish ministries as well, in the form of seminarians who become parish priests, support for youth and other discipleship and evangelization programs in parishes, the availability to people in all parishes of the TV Mass, The Bishop’s Bulletin, social media and sfcatholic.org.
Included in the offerings of the discipleship and evangelization effort are the Going Deeper retreats which aim to help young people deepen, sustain and share their faith with others.
Several of the Smith children have attended the retreat with this result: “The biggest thing we saw was a deeper respect for their siblings,” said Steve Smith. “They could have the relationship with Jesus, and it is so important that I want to share it with my family.
“You worry your kids will leave home and lose their faith, but instead they came home and challenged us,” he said, giving credit to the priest chaplain/Newman Center directors at SDSU, USD and Northern State.
“I think our Newman Centers are more inviting, more active and more about evangelizing to draw kids back to the Church,” Steve said.
“That’s the biggest reason we felt we really needed to support our Newman Centers – we can’t afford to be losing kids when they go to college,” he said.
But the Smith’s also give much credit to the Totus Tuus program for getting their children the right start. Totus Tuus is a diocesan program, heading into its 17th year, which sends teams of young adults to parishes around the diocese for summer bible camps.
“We give Totus Tuus credit for getting our kids started on their faith,” Carol said.
“The first year we had Totus Tuus groups come they also invited the kids to d-camp (discipleship) and that was the beginning of their faith journey,” she said. The three oldest of their children – Marah, Sam and Luke – have gone on to be members of Totus Tuus teams.
And there may be more in the future. Erin, a freshman at SDSU has already been involved at the parish level in Totus Tuus, d-camps and the Going Deeper retreats. AnneMarie, a high school junior has a similar resume. Both have been active in their parish too – Erin as a cantor, AnneMarie as an organist. Isaac, a high school freshman, has d-camp experience and loves helping with Totus Tuus when the team comes to their parish.
“Having the witness and mentorship of both men and women on the teams is important,” said Steve Smith.
Fr. Norfolk credits donors to the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal with making an impact in almost every ministry in which he is involved.
“Whether it is marriage and family, whether it is students being daily impacted at the Newman Center through the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal and the funding that comes through that; definitely in the parishes that I help with (Dakota Dunes, Jefferson and Elk Point), we see how it makes more programs available,” he said.
“Smaller parishes may not have the resources, but the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal opens those possibilities up for them because the resources (like youth programs) are accessible to them,” said Fr. Norfolk.
He also noted the impact of ministries like chaplains at the state correctional facilities, which impacts not only the incarcerated, but their families as well.
“I wouldn’t be where I am at if it wasn’t for that – for the support of individuals families, parishes,” Fr. Norfolk said.
“To see that because of youth ministry opportunities on a parish level, on a diocesan level, eventually I became a seminarian. Once in the seminary because of Catholic Family Sharing Appeal I could continue through the time in the seminary.
“Now as a priest in the ministry that I’m involved in whether its hospital chaplaincy, whether it’s Newman Center at USD, I’m a living person that is affected by it.
“I just know that having experienced the effects and the benefits of it that I want to encourage people to hear my words and see my life and that it would not be possible to do what I’m doing and be who I am without the support of the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal. I hope I am somewhat of a living witness to what their sacrifice has benefitted,” he said.
“We are the body of Christ, the communion of saints and we need to be building each other up and carry each other,” said Steve Smith.
“Through Catholic Family Sharing Appeal we can do those things, we can enable our diocese to do those things that we can’t do on our own. We give because we have been so blessed and we see our family has lived the benefits of what Catholic Family Sharing Appeal does – we just have to give back,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s hard to realize the blessings right away,” added Carol.
“I feel like giving is something that you see later. I don’t think when we first started giving we saw or expected to see any fruit. We are definitely seeing the fruit now. We see it in our kids’ friends who are going to these camps and the friends that our kids have met at the Newman Center and Totus Tuus throughout the diocese. It’s been a blessing,” she said.
The Catholic Family Sharing Appeal theme of “One Faith, One Family,” makes sense to Luke Smith.
“Our faith is what unites us and allows us to be a family,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what our history has been or our experience or what culture we come from … our faith can unite us and bring people together that might normally never interact,” he said.
“Our actions impact others, even if we don’t see it,” Luke said. “So by donating to the Catholic Family Sharing Appeal you may not see the impact directly, (that the diocesan ministries are having), but it’s there … it is enabling people to encounter the Lord.”
Alexis notes that impact has a way of spreading easily.
(Catholic Family Sharing Appeal) “Impacting Totus Tuus teachers, who impact youth, who impact younger siblings, their families, and vice versa, the siblings impacting the rest of the family and the youth impacting the Totus Tuus teachers – I have experienced so many blessings and graces from everybody I’ve encountered,” she said.
Alexis and Luke, young as they are, already are finding ways to pass along what they have received to the next generation, serving as small group leaders for the youth discipleship, grades 7-12 at St. Teresa of Calcutta in Dakota Dunes. “It has a snowball effect on every family,” she said.
You can find more information about this year’s Catholic Family Sharing Appeal and the ministries supported through the appeal
at sfcatholic.org/cfsa.
