July, 2021 - Ministry Forum

Radio programs and podcasts available for Catholics

The Communications Office of the Diocese of Sioux Falls is working hard to provide ways for Catholics in your parishes to learn more about their faith. Did you know we produce several podcasts available on different platforms? Four programs are currently available on the diocesan website (sfcatholic.org), Real Presence Radio, YouTube, and podcast platforms such as Spotify and Stitcher. Programs include:

Catholic Views: Hosted by Renae Kranz and featuring various priests, deacons and lay people from around the diocese to talk about all things Catholic, including their own life experiences living the faith. Bishop DeGrood has even been known to drop by on occasion!

Ignition: Hosted by Dr. Chris Burgwald, this show teaches regular Catholics in a way that ignites a fire of desire to grow closer to Christ and his Church and go out and evangelize others.

Faith and Politics: A podcast of the South Dakota Catholic Conference. Join Executive Director Chris Motz as he and his guests explore a variety of contemporary civic issues through the lens of a classical Catholic moral and ethical framework.

Leedom to Life: Hosted by Emily Leedom, this podcast is for the relationship minded individual to explore the topics of dating, marriage, family, friendship, parenting and community. Emily talks to people who share real life stories of discovering what it means to be authentically human and fully alive.

This is a great way to evangelize and attract younger people in your parishes by giving them a way to learn the way they prefer. And it’s a great way for busy people to learn while doing other things! Thank you for spreading the word!

Bulletin blurb:

Do you love podcasts and YouTube programs? Your diocese offers four programs to help you learn more about your Catholic faith and about other Catholics trying to live it just like you. Check out any of these programs by visiting sfcatholic.org/radio-podcasts or our YouTube channel at SFDiocese.

Catholic Family Services

Catholic Family Services Counseling-Are you dealing with difficult events in your life? We have professional, caring counselors who are available to provide individual, marriage, and family counseling. Please call us 605-988-3775 to schedule an appointment.

Surviving Divorce Program-This six-week program begins Tuesday, September 14, in Sioux Falls. Sessions are held on Tuesday evenings, 6-8 p.m. Cost of $45 per person includes a “Personal Survival Guide,” refreshments and all materials for 6 weeks. For information or to register, contact Catholic Family Services, 605-988-3775 or cfs@sfcatholic.org. Scholarships are available.

Catholic Family Services is honored to host and facilitate St. Joseph Cathedral’s GriefShare program!

GriefShare is a worldwide Christian grief program for adults. It blends faith, educational videos, a personal workbook and group discussion. The video series is watched as a large group followed by small group discussions according to the participant’s particular loss (loss of a spouse, child, parent, sibling etc.) The program will run for 11 weeks with 13 different topics surrounding grief being covered.

GriefShare will begin again on September 14 from 6-8 p.m. Cost of the workbook is $15 (scholarships available) and there will be an opportunity for a free will offering to help cover the additional costs. For more information about GriefShare, or to register, please contact Catholic Family Services at 605-988-3775 or email cfs@sfcatholic.org. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

Online GriefShare Program

This program will run for 13 weeks, with 13 various topics surrounding grief being covered. GriefShare online will begin again on September 10, 2021-November 19, 2021 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. The workbook’s cost is $15 (scholarships available), and there will be an opportunity for a free-will offering to help cover the additional costs. For more information about GriefShare or to register, please contact Catholic Family Services at 605-988-3775 or email cfs@sfcatholic.org. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required.

Necrology needed for 2020-2021

Each year in the November issue of the Bishop’s Bulletin, we feature a complete listing of those of our diocesan family who have died during the past year. We need your assistance in compiling that list.

Please check your records and list the names of all members of your parish(es)/community who have died on or after October 1, 2020, through those who have died on or before September 30, 2021, in a Word document or email.

Please list (per parish/religious community)

Names of the dead, first then last name (no nicknames, only proper names, like Helen Jones, not Mrs. Johnny Jones, or Jones, Helen).
Date of his/her death in chronological order. Day of the week is not needed.
For example your report should look like this: Helen Jones- Oct. 24; Jim Smith- Nov. 18; Carol Nelson- Jan. 17

Please respond even if your parish/community has recorded no deaths in this time period. Simply state “no deaths.”

Please send your report in a Word document or type it directly into the email so it can be easily copied and formatted for the Bishop’s Bulletin, and indicate your parish(es)/community in the email subject line.

Brianna will respond to your email when she has received it. If you don’t hear from her, she did not get it.

We need your necrology information by October 8 or sooner. Please email Brianna Wingen at bwingen@sfcatholic.org or mail to Bishop’s Bulletin Necrology, 523 N. Duluth Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104 with your completed Necrology report.

Thank you for your help with getting this report compiled. If you have any questions, call Brianna at 605-988-3789 or email at bwingen@sfcatholic.org.

Open positions in the diocese

We are so excited to announce we have been given the green light to announce the following openings in the Chancery Office. Bishop DeGrood’s vision for creating Lifelong Catholic Missionary Disciples through God’s Love has demonstrated the need to fill the following positions:

Marketing Strategist
Database Administrator
Administrative Assistant
Parish Accounting Services

These positions are all posted on our website, as well as the following openings:

St Thomas Newman Center – USD – Vermillion:

Assistant Director of Campus Ministry

Catholic Community Foundation:

Chief Operating Officer
Gift Planning Officer – Pierre Office

I realize we have asked for a lot of parish bulletin space lately. Please know we appreciate your assistance and we prefer to hire out of your parishes when possible. Your parishioners are vested in helping the Church flourish in eastern South Dakota and understand our culture.

As always, if you would list these in your bulletins for the next two weeks we would be so grateful. Please feel free to list the position titles and direct them to the website for more information.

Also, some of you asked if we would notify you as positions are filled. We have several new faces in the building as we have filled open positions. Heidi Comes has been hired as the Campus Ministry Director for the students at Dakota State University and Abbie Yusella is the new Billing Specialist in Catholic Family
Services.

Thank you for dedication to the mission of the Church and your efforts to help us serve you better!

Deacon Formation Classes

The Diocese of Sioux Falls will begin a new Deacon Formation Class in 2023. If you are interested, please contact Deacon John Devlin at 605-988-3715 or email to
dcnjohndevlin@sfcatholic.org.

Adoption services offered in Diocese of Rapid City

Catholic Social Services (CSS), a widely recognized organization with a 45-year history in the Diocese of Rapid City, is transitioning the family services adoption program to Trinity Pregnancy and Adoption. CSS is committed to building and supporting strong families in South Dakota. CSS has over four decades of experience with the placement of more than 300 children with “forever” families.

Trinity Pregnancy and Adoption is the only accredited agency in South Dakota by the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME) organization. IAAME’s purpose is the accreditation, approval, monitoring and oversight of adoption service providers providing intercountry adoption services.

Trinity offers free pregnancy counseling, international adoption resources, monthly support group for foster and adoptive families, and contracted home studies. As Catholic Family Services in the Diocese of Sioux Falls has moved away from adoption services, Trinity will be the Catholic option for adoption services in the state.

Trinity Pregnancy and Adoption will continue to provide thoughtful adoption services through Catholic Social Services. Trinity is available to assist all parties of the adoption triad (birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted children) across South Dakota.

For more information visit Catholic Social Service’s website cssrapidcity.com or call 605-348-6086 or visit Trinity’s website trinityadoption.org. Click the link below for a flyer for use in your parishes.

Trinity adoption

Broom Tree Retreat and Conference Center Events

Silent Retreats:

Women’s: August 12-15, September 16-19, October 7-10, November 4-7
Men’s: August 19-22, September 23-26, October 21-24, November 18-21

Day of Recollection: Broom Tree Days of Recollection begin at 10 a.m. and include conferences, time for Adoration, Mass, and an opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The day ends in mid-afternoon. Because lunch is served, we ask that you please register. A prayerful donation is requested.

2021 Days of Recollection
August 17- “The Gift of Forgiveness” directed by Teresa Henrickson
September 14- “Saint Paul at Athens- Talking to an Unbelieving World” directed by Fr. Paul King

Undone: A Healing Retreat
October 15-17, 2021
Directed by Fr. Scott Traynor

Jesus desires to bring healing and restored wholeness to every person. Healing is central to Jesus’ life and mission. By our own sin or the sufferings of the human experience, our hearts can easily become wounded or distant from God, who alone can offer true restoration. Under the patronage of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, this retreat will assist participants in becoming aware of Jesus’ desire to bring restoration in their lives and will offer opportunities to encounter His healing grace.

Conferences for the retreat will focus on the power of Jesus to heal in mind, body and spirit, and will offer participants practical ways to invite that grace into their own lives. A collaboration of Broom Tree Retreat Center and Catholic Family Services, this retreat will offer time for individual spiritual direction as well as one-on-one discussion with licensed Counselors from Catholic Family Services.

Couples Retreats
November 12-14, 2021
Directed by Jim and Meg Beckman

During this retreat couples will have the blessed opportunity to spend time together receiving from the very heart of God. The environment at Broom Tree makes for a perfect couples get-away … no TV, no radio, no phones or computers, just beautiful, peaceful surroundings, good food, and all the time and good direction you need to experience renewal in your marriage. Register early.

Safe Environment

Certified as Compliant with our Safe Environment Policy

Training on CMG Connect is live and ready for all active employees and volunteers with minors or vulnerable adults to take and complete by Friday, July 30, 2021. Please note the background check and annual awareness training that makes one certified as compliant with our safe environment policy are both completed before an individual employee or volunteer active in their position. The training will remain available on CMG Connect for new and returning users throughout the year as they step back into their roles or join for the first time.

Local Coordinators

August dates for training (both new and returning users) have been emailed out. Reach out to me if you can’t make those dates and I’m happy to schedule a one-on-one. Please know that I am happy to help; my goal is to help make your role as Local Coordinator as clear and easy as possible!

Please always feel free to contact me directly with your questions at 605-988-3722

Reminder-ParishSOFT Offering Module is Getting a New Look

*We shared this information during our June Admin Workshop days in Aberdeen, Mitchell and Sioux Falls

CRITICAL INFORMATION

Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22, we will be migrating your current version of ParishSOFT Offering to a new enhanced version. Your system will not be available during the update process.

You can learn more about how to use the updated tool in 2 simple steps:

Log in to PATHFinder, our online learning system.
Then, search for the Offering in the Content Library screen where you will find FREE training courses.

If you don’t already have a login to PATHFinder, you can follow the steps below to create one.

How to Register for PATHFinder:

Go to https://parishsoft.litmos.com/self-signup
When prompted for a code, enter the following: Welcome
Enter your name and email address to create your PATHFinder account.

Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to log into the PATHFinder site. Your first course will be PATHFinder Overview. After you have completed this initial course you will have access to the Offering training courses. Don’t forget to bookmark the PATHFinder login page so you can come back any time to complete other courses as needed: https://parishsoft.litmos.com/account/login .

What’s new in ParishSOFT Offering?

New easy-to-use user interface
Faster overall system performance
New reporting features and reports, statements, and lists
New posting method for improved data entry
And more

Below are a few screenshots of the enhanced ParishSOFT Offering software. Click on any image to enlarge it.

For additional resources available to you prior to moving to your redesigned Offering software including how to register for an upcoming live webinar, please visit ParishSOFT’s Offering Module Support page.

Webinar Series: Introduction to ParishSOFT Offering

We want to introduce you to the newly redesigned Offering module. This webinar will cover how to navigate through the redesigned interface and the areas you will need to review to be prepared to use the updated Offering system. Select the date and time that works best for your schedule. The same content will be provided at each webinar. After attending the webinar, you will gain temporary access to a site that allows you to login and practice what you learn. You can also watch the webinar on-demand.

Register for Introduction to NEW ParishSOFT Offering LIVE Webinar

OR

View Introduction to NEW ParishSOFT Offering Webinar On-Demand

Webinar Series: Newly Redesigned Offering Advanced Processes

Join us to learn more about some of the advanced processes in the newly updated Offering module. Select the date and time that works best for your schedule. The same content will be provided at each webinar. You can also watch the webinar on-demand.