Attention Priests and Deacons: Save the date Wednesday, September 23, 2020 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Father Kevin O’Dell and Mary Weber (interim director of Catholic Family Services) will be offering an in-service opportunity titled “Understanding Compassion Fatigue: Strategies to prevent it and recover from it.” Priests and deacons are welcome to join in person at the Chancery or join via Zoom. Mark your calendar and watch your email for additional details.
Upcoming Events
Sept. 24 – Presbyteral Council
Oct. 5-8 – Clergy Days, Cedar Shore
Fall Parish Administration and Finance Workshops postponed
We have decided to cancel the Fall Admin and Finance Workshops this year. We will have a one day end-of-year workshop that will be available to attend at the Chancery or through Zoom meeting technology. It will also be recorded. We will also look at having the Parish Administration and Finance Workshops in the spring. Please watch your emails for the future workshops.
Safe Environment Training
All persons age 18 or older who are an employee, a volunteer with minors, a volunteer with vulnerable adults, a volunteer with financial or custodial duties, incardinated clergy, visiting clergy, and/or religious personnel are required to complete the Safe Environment Training, renewed annually. Completion of Safe Environment Training is a condition of employment and volunteering. Each adult is required to have a CMG Connect account to complete their program. This account is accessible to all parishes, schools and agencies within the diocese. The adult’s account is managed by the local coordinator for the parish, school, or agency where the adult is active. An adult’s account may be associated with more than one location within the diocese. If you are volunteering or employed within the diocese at a Catholic church, school or ministry, please contact someone at your site and connect with the local coordinator at your parish, school or ministry. Check out the diocesan Safe Environment Office site for more information and resources. www.sfcatholic.org/safe-environment
Broom Tree Retreat and Conference Center Events
Silent Retreats:
Women’s: September 17-20, October 1-4, November 5-8
Men’s: September 24-27, October 15-18, November 19-22
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.
September 15 – “Our Lady of Sorrows” directed by Father Jeff Norfolk
October 13 – “You Must Become as Little Children” directed by Father David Roehrich
November 17 – “A Month of Saints” directed by Father Joe Forcelle
December 15 – “St. Joseph, Our Spiritual Father” directed by Dr. Teri Kemmer
Special Retreats:
Inner Healing Retreat – Oct. 9-11, directed by Mike Snyder and Jane Barz
Couples Retreat – Nov. 13-15, directed by Fr. Scott Traynor
IT Updates
YOU’VE GOT MAIL…but it’s not from us.
Recently many priests and deacons received an email that appeared to be from Bishop DeGrood, UNTIL you looked closer at the email address. It was an email address that tried to impersonate Bishop DeGrood but was actually an @gmail.com account. All diocesan email has an @sfcatholic.org domain. In the past few years there have been many such attempts to use various email and text accounts to convince the people of our diocese to send money in the form of gift cards or to click on a link within the message. Many other dioceses across the world have also seen these types of scams. Sadly, this is a common tactic that modern-day thieves use to steal. It’s difficult to stop because it is so easy for scammers to establish different iterations of free emails accounts. So you can block one email address but the next day there is a slightly different one that is being used.
If you or your staff would like to learn more about the latest scams and tactics and how to stay safe while using technology, contact Dawn Wolf (dwolf@sfcatholic.org or 605-988-3707) about an excellent security awareness training program that you and your staff can participate in for the nominal cost of $10-$12 annually per person. These informative security awareness videos can be viewed from anywhere and on any device and cover all kinds of security topics.
Around the Diocese
Two Old Priests on Bikes
Father Terry Anderson from St. Thomas More Parish, Brookings, and Father Mark Lichter from St. Wenceslaus Parish, Tabor, and St. John the Baptist Parish, Lesterville/Sigel, are gearing up again for their annual “Two Old Priests on Bikes” bicycling tour of the great state of South Dakota. The bike trek begins on Tuesday, September 8 and ends on Tuesday, September 15. The priests will be in their home parishes on the weekend between these dates and encouraging donations. The bicycling begins in Niobrara, Nebraska, and ends in Lake Benten, Minnesota, for a total of around 250 miles. The race always ends in a tie, but the big competition is on how many donations each priest can garner for their parishes. Fr. Terry and Fr. Mark have always had a fun time with the competition and it goes for a great cause. For Fr. Terry all donations will go for the Catholic School in Brookings, and for Fr. Mark all donations will go to the youth in the parishes (religious education, youth group, D-Camps, Life March, Steubenville trip, and all youth activities), and Broom Tree Retreat Center. Information can be found on the following web sites: stmbrookings.weebly.com, stwenceslaustabor.org, stjohnls.org, broom-tree.org.
Respect Life Events
40 Days for Life Kickoff Rally
Sunday, September 20 at 7 p.m. at Abiding Savior Free Lutheran Church 4100 S. Bahnson Ave., Sioux Falls. Guest speaker is Seth Gruber who has decided to commit his life to exposing the truth of abortion and he has the energy to boot. Check him out at sethgruber.com.
40 Days for Life takes place September 23 through November 1. This prayer vigil has opportunities for groups or individuals to sign up at www.40daysforlife.com/siouxfalls or learn more on Facebook.
2020 Vision for Life – the 49th Annual South Dakota Right to Life Convention
Friday, October 2 beginning at 7 p.m. and Saturday, October 3 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Sioux Falls First Church. Middle and high school students and adults are welcome. An empowering weekend of education, motivation and celebration for the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. To register, contact Sioux Falls Area Right to Life at www.siouxfallsarearighttolife.org, email righttolifesf@gmail.com, visit our Facebook page or call 605-743-0777.
Life Chain
Sunday, October 4, 2-3 p.m. Join us on 41st Street in Sioux Falls from Kiwanis Avenue to Sertoma Avenue. This life-saving public witness occurs simultaneously across the U.S. and Canada as part of the National Life Chain. Life Chain signs are supplied and can be picked up from the O’Gorman parking lot or the Sioux Falls First Church parking lot. For more information contact Ann Wipf, 605-929-6531 or lawipf@gmail.com for your parish to be assigned a location along West 41st Street.
Office of the Bishop
Third quarter 2020 Council Meetings at the diocese:
- Sept. 24 & Dec. 3 – Presbyteral Council 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Oct. 29 & Dec. 10 – Finance Council 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Clergy Days – October 5-8, 2020
Please have your reservations in our office by Sept. 18 to enjoy this beautiful time with your brother priests. Please note that you must register for a hotel room by calling 605-234-6376.
Priestly Retreat Information 2020-2021
The following retreats have been confirmed:
- October 25-29, 2020 directed by Fr. John Klein, OMV, from the Lanteri Center of Ignatian Spirituality at Broom Tree Retreat Center, to register contact Boom Tree at (605) 263-1040.
- June 14-18, 2021, directed by Rev. Larry Gillick at Abbey of the Hills, to register contact (605) 398-9200.
Offerings from Catholic Family Services – Bulletin Announcements
Catholic Family Services Counseling Service-During this pandemic, another option we are offering with our current in person counseling is a HIPPA compliant tele-health format. It is user friendly and can be accessed by phone or computer as long as you have internet availability.
**New Program** GriefShare is a worldwide Christian grief program for adults. It combines educational videos, a personal workbook to keep, and group discussion. It blends professional education with time for small-group sharing and reflection. It is a well researched and a well thought out program. Catholic Family Services will present the video portion in a larger group format then allow for smaller breakout discussion groups according to the participants particular loss such as loss of a spouse, a child, a parent/sibling, etc.
CFS Fall GriefShare will run September 15, 2020 through November 24, 2020. This 11-week program will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. The overall cost of the group is free with a free will offering available. Each personal workbook cost $15 with scholarships available if needed. For more information about GriefShare, please email cfs@sfcatholic.org or call 605-988-3775.
Surviving Divorce Program – begins Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 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.