Upcoming Events

Eucharistic Revival Evening of Prayer
March 23 – Aberdeen, SD
March 29 – Watertown, SD
April 5 – Yankton, SD

Going Deeper Retreats
March 31 – April 2, Abbey of the Hills

D-Camp 2023
June 18-21, Broom Tree (High School)
July 9-12, Broom Tree (High School)
July 13-16, Broom Tree (Junior High)

Power Hour
Tuesdays at 1 p.m. over Zoom 

More Info

Last Collar Standing
The winner of the 4th Annual Last Collar Standing was Fr. Nick Haiar from Yankton, SD. We want to thank all the priests who participated and were such good sports. A big thank you to all our sponsors: Cassie Pease Designs, Lucky W Ranch and Kennel, Deacon Tim and Kathleen Tracy, St. George Parish Society in Hartford, and the Knights of Columbus from St. Mary Parish in Sioux Falls. And a thank you to all our donors from across the diocese who supported Lumen Christi through this event. We would not have the Lumen Christi program without you! 

If you missed this event or just want to go back and watch your favorite part again, the video (which already has 2.8K views) can be found here: https://www.sfcatholic.org/lumenchristi/lastcollar/

National Eucharistic Congress
As part of the National Eucharistic Revival, tens of thousands of Catholics from across the country will be gathering in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 17-21, 2024 for a National Eucharistic Congress. This five-day event will be a pivotal, unifying, and transformative moment for the Church in the United States, and we want to invite Catholics from across the diocese to participate.

To that end, we have been able to secure some “early bird” tickets, which we will be making available for purchase soon. In the meantime, please email eucharist@sfcatholic.org if you’d like more information about this Congress and our diocesan participation in it.

Come witness the Holy Spirit do something amazing!

Deanery Eucharistic Revival Evenings of Prayer
The diocese is offering deanery-wide Eucharistic Revival Evenings of Prayer in response to the USCCB’s invitation to a revival in devotion and belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. We will be hosting these events in Aberdeen on March 23, Watertown on March 29, and Yankton on April 5 as a model for those looking to host something similar during the year of the parish, which begins in June 2023.  

Eucharistic Revival Prayer Chain
This is an opportunity for Catholics across the diocese to participate in the Revival in one of the most fundamental and important ways: through their prayer. We have launched an Intercessory Prayer Chain for the Revival, and folks can participate by signing up online here. The sign up is toward the bottom of the page. Please spread the word in your parish in whatever way you and your pastor think would be most effective.

Eucharistic Revival Testimonies
We would like to collect “testimonies” from Catholics across the diocese about the ways in which the Eucharist has impacted their lives, and a small selection of those testimonies will be video recorded and made available for viewing online. We are asking that anyone who would like to offer such a testimony to reach out to us at cbassett@sfcatholic.org. Once again, please spread the word about this initiative in the best way possible for your parish.

 

Eucharistic Revival – Parish Small Group Initiative
As we move from the Year of the Diocese and closer to the Year of the Parish, we wanted to offer faithful Catholics across the diocese an opportunity to be formed in how to begin and lead a small group, with guided practice in that process which will hopefully foster confidence in their ability to do so if called upon in the future. 

WHO WOULD BE A GOOD FIT FOR THIS?

• • Parishioners looking for something intentional to do over Lent
  • Those with a desire to give back to, or to see more lay people involved in, the life of the Church
  • Someone you’ve considered inviting to lead a small group for a parish initiative (or whom you’ve actually asked before) who has seemed hesitant in their ability to do so
  • Someone with a group of people they’d like to/could meet with more regularly to grow together in the faith

WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

They register for the Diocesan Small Group Initiative, hosted by Alaina Hecht, the Lumen Christi Formation Coordinator. Participants watch a series of videos (at their own pace) to help them walk through the steps of beginning a small group/study for Lent. The sessions address:

• • Discovering Your “Why” // The Vision of Small Groups
  • The Pathway of Discipleship (overview) // Not Losing Sight of the Individual
  • Setting the Purpose & Intention of Your Small Group
  • Making Invitations & Planning the Content
  • Considerations as a Leader (Facilitating Discussions, etc.)

By signing up, your parishioners also receive three suggestions for different types of materials (incl. discussion questions) to use for their group, as well as the opportunity to receive support from Alaina as they plan for and begin their meetings.

There is no cost to register. We only ask that they commit to completing the training and then using one of the suggested materials to lead a group which will meet around 4-6 weeks. Participants are also encouraged to let you, their pastors, know if they have signed up to do this. 

WHERE DO I DIRECT PARISHIONERS?

The sign-up is open on the Eucharistic Revival Website: https://www.sfcatholic.org/eucharisticrevival/. We’ll then be in communication with them about how to register/access the material.

Lumen Christi Recruiting for Summer 2023
The Discipleship and Evangelization office is planning to form, equip, and send out 20 Lumen Christi missionaries from May 26 through August 6 of this year! We are inviting YOU to partner with us in these recruiting efforts by identifying exceptional candidates to apply. If you know someone who loves their faith, is college aged, and would be an amazing witness to youth, please encourage them to apply now! To learn more about Lumen Christi and to submit an application, please visit our webpage at: https://www.sfcatholic.org/lc

We are still taking requests for Lumen Christi teams for the summer of 2023. To find out more about Lumen Christi and to request a team for next summer, please visit sfcatholic.org/lumenchristi/

D-Camp 2023
D-Camp 2023 registrations are filling up fast! If your parish would like to support youth financially in attending camp, please let us know. We can create a discount code for your youth to register, and then we will bill the parish after camp. There are only about 100 spots available for each camp, so encourage your youth to register ASAP. The link can be found on our website: https://www.sfcatholic.org/youth/d-camp/

Bulletin Blurb: D-Camp 2023 registrations are filling up. Register today to reserve your spot! https://www.sfcatholic.org/youth/d-camp/

Going Deeper Retreat – Spiritus
This retreat is focused on providing a fundamental teaching and theology on the Holy Spirit and his role in our everyday life. Youth grades 9-12 who are active in the parish and looking to go deeper in their faith are invited to attend. For more information, visit www.sfcatholic.org/deeper.

Bulletin Blurb: The spring Going Deeper retreat, Spiritus, is accepting registrations and will fill up fast. Register today to reserve your spot! www.sfcatholic.org/deeper

Anniversary Mass – 2023 (Attention Parish Secretaries)
It’s that time of year again where we collect names for couples to be invited to Bishop’s annual Anniversary Masses. We have a new process that will hopefully make things easier for you. We will pull the names of couples from your Parishsoft database, and email you an excel spreadsheet. You will be responsible for reviewing the list to make sure it is accurate, and reply to the email with any updates. Please watch your parish email inbox for your list. It will be coming in the month of February.

Hector Bautista’s Arrival
The Office of Discipleship and Evangelization is very pleased to welcome Hector Bautista to the team as the director of mission engagement. Thank you to the many pastors and PCL’s who have met with him already. If you haven’t heard from Hector yet, he will be reaching out this month to get to know you. Please offer him a warm South Dakota welcome as he and his family settle into life in the Midwest. 

Power Hours
For a couple of years now, we have been holding weekly Zoom calls supporting Parish Catechetical Leaders (PCL) from around our diocese by offering an opportunity for growth in both spiritual and professional development and to have a space to bounce ideas off one another and inspire and encourage one another in our shared mission (PCLs include priests, deacons, DREs, YMs, discipleship coordinators, RCIA coordinators, etc.). Power Hours are held at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays approximately every other week. Zoom invitations are sent to the PCL email list weekly.

PCL Email List
If you are new or newly diving into our offerings, we invite you to join the PCL email list. You can sign up on the diocesan For Parish Leaders webpage.