June 14-18 – Abbey of the Hills, directed by Fr. Larry Gilick
Oct. 24-28 – Broom Tree Retreat Center, directed by Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ
Contact either Abbey of the Hills (www.abbeyofthehills.org) or Broom Tree (www.broom-tree.org) to reserve a spot of the retreat.
Providing a healthy and safe environment in our parishes and schools is a ministry to which we are all called. To foster our common diocesan vision of Lifelong Catholic Missionary Discipleship Through God’s Love, the diocese will be marking Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. The weekend of April 24-25, our bishop will celebrate Mass for the healing of victims/survivors and all affected by abuse. Attached is a Rosary for Healing booklet and a Novena for Healing that can be provided to groups (especially prayer groups) in your parish. Media to post on your website or share on social media along with a date for a live streamed Rosary for Healing will be forthcoming. All parishes are encouraged to include an introduction/announcement in their bulletin in the month of April introducing the local coordinator at your parish, school or ministry. Please plan to participate with us in prayer for the safety and wellbeing of all children that they may flourish as healthy, happy, holy Catholics within our communities. Please contact the Safe Environment Coordinator, Alison Conemac (aconemac@sfcatholic.org) with your questions.
St. Thomas More Parish, Brookings, seeks applicants for three positions available for the 2021-2022 fiscal year:
Director of Evangelization & Discipleship
Coordinator of Evangelization & Discipleship
Administrative Assistant
If interested, you may find more information on our website: stmbrookings.org or you may contact Fr. Terry Anderson at 605-692-4361 or frterenceanderson@sfcatholic.org
St. Agnes Parish, Vermillion, welcomes you to a teaching and exposition of Sacred Relics. Over 150 relics will be present, some as old as 2,000 years. Among the treasures will be relics of St. Agnes, St. Joseph, St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Faustina Kowalska. In addition there will be a piece of the veil which belonged to Our Lady, along with one of the largest remaining pieces of the True Cross in the world.
Presented by Fr. Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross and held in the church on Sunday, May 2 at 3 p.m. Visit www.treasuresofthechurch.com for more information.
If you’ve lost a child due to miscarriage, still birth or shortly after birth, The Angel Lee Cronen Memorial Fund is available to assist you in dealing with your loss by helping you secure a proper burial for your child. Most parents don’t know what to do when faced with this situation and are often unable to pay for the services involved. This fund exists to help during this difficult time. For more information, contact Deacon Bill Radio at 605-336-7390 or dcnwilliamradio@sfcatholic.org.
March 9 – Diocesan Finance Council, Catholic Pastoral Center
March 18 – Chrism Mass
Ordination to the Permanent Diaconate – May 15 @ 11 a.m.
Ordination to the Diaconate – May 27 @ 11 a.m.
Ordination to the Priesthood, May 28 @ 11 a.m.
Save the Date – Bishop’s vision is coming to a parish near you!
Members of the Office of Discipleship and Evangelization are hitting the road to help share Bishop’s vision for our diocese. They will be traveling to five parishes throughout the diocese. The people of your parish are invited to come to any one of these talks to hear directly the invitation that Bishop has for each of us. More info to come. For now save the date!
Holy Spirit, Mitchell – March 23
St. Anthony of Padua, Hoven – April 6
Immaculate Conception, Watertown – April 15
St. Benedict, Yankton – April 20
Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Sioux Falls – May 11
Catholic Conversations: Bishop DeGrood’s Vision
March 13 | 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. | St. Thomas More, Brookings
In prayer last spring, Bishop DeGrood received from God a direction or vision for the diocese: Lifelong Catholic Missionary Discipleship Through God’s Love. He is inviting all of us to engage in this vision. In this presentation, Dr. Chris will explain the vision and help you see how you can respond to Bishop’s call for us by living it out yourself.
Ignition Episode – Bishop’s Vision
If you are looking for a quick version of Bishop’s vision, check out Dr. Chris’s podcast.
Spiritual Impact Bootcamp Retreat
Spiritual Impact Bootcamp is a retreat for adults looking to take the next step in their formation. The retreat will be led by Fr. Scott Traynor on March 26-28 at the Ulmer residence in Aberdeen, SD. The details and registration can be found on our website. Get away for the weekend and join with other adults in our diocese who are seeking to deepen their prayer life, strengthen their faith, and discover the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. This is also a great opportunity to invite others who you think could benefit from this retreat, so please feel free to spread the word.
Bulletin Blurb: Join with other adults in our diocese seeking to deepen their prayer life, strengthen their faith, and discover the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual Impact Bootcamp Retreat, March 26-28. Find all the info at www.sfcatholic.org/adultformation/sib.
From Christendom to Apostolic Mission
Father Scott Traynor and Dr. Chris Burgwald have created videos and study guides to help your small group leaders facilitate discussion about From Christendom to Apostolic Mission. Bishop has invited parishes to offer this study during the season of Lent. If your parish is interested in joining, you can find all the resources on our webpage.
Respect Life Leaders Meeting
Last Fall Emily Leedom took a new position as the Executive Director of Catholic Family Services, and most of her responsibilities as the Director of Marriage, Family and Respect Life remain with the Office of Discipleship and Evangelization. To continue to build momentum for the Pro-Life movement in East River South Dakota, Fr. Scott Traynor would like to invite all parish Respect Life reps, and anyone who might be interested, to a Zoom meeting on March 8, 2021, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. To join the meeting, please email discipleship@sfcatholic.org by Friday, March 5 with your name and parish, and the zoom link will be sent to you. If you know someone who would like to get involved, please pass along this invitation.
Check out a complete list of upcoming events for adults.
Encounter Events (NET):
March 7 – Ipswich
April 18 – Sisseton
May 2 – Watertown
Power Hour Meetings:
Tuesdays @ 11 a.m. – Zoom meeting
Going Deeper Retreats:
April 9-11 – Abbey of the Hills
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
We are excited to introduce you to Deborah Janklow Syed! Deborah is the new diocesan coordinator for CGS. If you are interested in learning more about CGS, you can contact her at cgs@sfcatholic.org. We are working with Deborah to help connect people who have been trained as a CGS catechist. If you have had any training or would be interested in being trained, please fill out this short form. If your parish has a CGS atrium, please fill out this short form.
There will also be two CGS training sessions this summer. Level 1 Part 1 is being hosted by Sacred Heart in Aberdeen, July 12-17. Please visit the Sacred Heart webpage for all the info and to register. Questions about Part 1 training can be sent to Thomas Eskro at thomas@sacredheartaberdeen.net or 605-225-7065. Level 1 Part 2 will be hosted by the diocese at Immaculate Conception in Watertown, June 7-12. To register please fill out this form. If you have questions about the Part 2 training, please contact Deborah at cgs@sfcatholic.org. If you need both Part 1 and Part 2, you can still attend both even though they will be out of order. Please register with each group.
NET Encounter Events
The NET team is heading to the Ipswich area. Don’t miss their last three events in the diocese. You can find all the info on the NET webpage.
Bulletin Blurb: Join the NET team for a night of fun at a parish in your region. This event is a great opportunity to re-energize your faith, receive additional faith formation, and to develop relationships with other faith-driven families in your region. Check out the diocesan website for more information: https://www.sfcatholic.org/youth/encounter-events-net/.
Going Deeper Retreat – April 2021
The ‘Spiritus’ Going Deeper Retreat is open for registration. Promotional material is available on the Going Deeper webpage as well as the link to register. Open to teens wishing to delve deeper into their faith. This retreat is primarily charismatic with emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Bulletin Blurb: Registrations are open for the ‘Spiritus’ Going Deeper Retreat April 9-11 at the Abbey of the Hills. Find all the info at www.sfcatholic.org/youth.
D-Camp
The high school D-Camp for 2021 is now full. Please direct your high school students to sign up on the waitlist in case a spot opens up. Spots are still available at the Junior High Camp July 15-18. Youth entering grades 7 and 8 in the fall of 2021 are invited to join. Find out all the info at the D-Camp webpage.
Bulletin Blurb: Junior High D-camp Registration for July 2021 is available online! Sign up fast to reserve your spot. www.sfcatholic.org/youth/d-camp/.
Lumen Christi
We are looking for young adults who have graduated (or will graduate high school in 2021) interested in becoming a Lumen Christi missionary this summer. You can find all the information at our webpage. Please spread the word and pray for missionaries.
Bulletin Blurb: If you are a college student looking for a fulfilling summer job, pray about becoming a Lumen Christi missionary for the summer of 2021. Find all the info at www.sfcatholic.org/youth/lumen-christi/
“Power Hour” for Parish Leaders
Every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eric Gallagher, Dr. Chris Burgwald, and Fr. Scott Traynor host a “power hour” for the parish leaders via Zoom. Our hope is that this weekly hour will draw everyone who is actively engaged as leaders (priests, parish staff, and others) around the diocese to rally around Bishop DeGrood’s vision and will offer very direct responses to needs we are seeing. These meetings will be recorded. To get involved in these meetings, please ensure you are on the PCL email list and join our new PCL community platform ComeFollow.Me. If you are not already receiving these PCL emails, you can sign up for them at the For Youth Leaders page on the diocesan webpage.
Stay up-to-date by texting SFDIOCESE to 84576 or visiting sfdiocese.flocknote.com.
