St. Katharine Drexel Parish June 2019 e-Newsletter
In This Issue


Upcoming Events

    
Tuesday, June 4th
Serve breakfast at The Banquet
5:30-8 a.m.
 
Friday, June 7th
1st Friday Eucharistic Adoration (Chapel) 
6 a.m.-7 p.m.

Tuesday, June 11th-Friday,
June 14th
No daily Masses or confessions
(Fr. Tschakert will be on retreat.)

Thursday, June 13th
Baptismal Planning Class
(Parish Office Conference Room)
6:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, June 15th
Men's Group meeting
(Gathering Space)
7:30-9 a.m.

Beloved Women's Conference
(Sioux Falls Convention Center) 
8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
 
Friday, June 21st
Serve supper at the
St. Francis House  5-7 p.m.
 
Monday, June 24th-
Thursday, June 27th
Discipleship Camp
High School Session 1
(Broom Tree Retreat Center)
 
Tuesday, June 25th
Anointing Mass (Nave)
6:30 p.m.
 
Theology on Tap
(Luciano's North lower level)
7 p.m.

Thursday, July 4th
Parish Office closed

Friday, July 5th
1st Friday Eucharistic 
Adoration (Chapel) 
6 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sunday, July 7th- 
Wednesday, July 10th
Discipleship Camp
High School Session 2
(Broom Tree Retreat Center)

Wednesday, July 10th
Serve breakfast at The 
Banquet 5:30-8 a.m. 

Thursday, July 11th- 
Sunday, July 14th
Discipleship Camp
Junior High Session
(Broom Tree Retreat Center)

Thursday, July 11th
Baptismal Planning Class 
(Parish Office Conference 
Room) 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 14th- 
Thursday, July 18th
ROAR!  Vacation Bible School
(school)  6-8:15 p.m.

Friday, July 19th
Serve supper at the St. 
Francis House 5-7 p.m. 

Saturday, July 20th
Men's Group meeting
(Gathering Space)
7:30-9 a.m.
 
Tuesday, July 23rd
Theology on Tap 
(Luciano's North lower level)
7 p.m.
 
Tuesday, July 30th
Anointing Mass (Nave)
6:30 p.m. 

Friday, August 2nd
1st Friday Eucharistic 
Adoration (Chapel)
6 a.m.-7 p.m.
 
Monday, August 5th
Serve breakfast at
The Banquet
5:30-8 a.m.

Thursday, August 8th
Baptismal Planning Class
(Parish Office Conference 
Room) 6:30 p.m.

Friday, August 9th-
Sunday, August 11th
SEARCH Retreat (Holy Spirit 
Parish, SFSD) 

Friday, August 16th
Serve supper at the St. 
Francis  House 5-7 p.m.

Saturday, August 17th
Men's Group meeting
(Gathering Space)
7:30-9 a.m.
 
Tuesday, August 20th
Serve supper at
The Banquet West
4:30-7:30 p.m.
 
Tuesday, August 27th
Anointing Mass (Nave)
6:30 p.m. 
 
Theology on Tap
(Luciano's North lower
level)  7 p.m.

For more events,
visit our parish calendar,
where you can automatically
add events to your
personal calendar!

Check out upcoming
Grief Programs
at
605-988-3775
 
 
Check out one or three-day silent retreats for men & women, couples, inner healing, and Marian retreats and Days of Recollection at broom-tree.org
605-263-1040


We Made It Again

I have heard it said that South Dakota winters build character. If that is the case, then we should have depth of character after the winter just past. It was long, cold, snowy, and dreary. Many days we debated whether or not to cancel events, but most of the time we didn't. South Dakotans keep going.
And now that it's spring, we enjoy the sunshine all the more.
During those dreary months of winter, good things kept happening at St. Katharine Drexel Parish. In February, Bishop Swain visited our parish for Confirmation, and I really was honored to present our candidates. These young men and women give me cause for optimism for the future of our Church and our world.
All through these months, our parish RCIA continued on schedule also. RCIA is always one of my favorite activities, and this year was an especially good contingent of men and women. They were faithful in attendance and really bonded as a group. Celebrating their reception into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil was a real high for me.  
Whenever adults ask to be received into the Church, it is an opportunity for each of us to ask why we are Catholic and to deepen our own awareness.  
Over the past month, Deacon Denny and I have been visiting the homes of children preparing for First Communion. I always appreciate the opportunity to know families better and to rejoice with them as their children continue their faith formation. This year we had especially good reports on our new First Communion preparation program.
This year we also invited members of our parish to pray for particular candidates and to communicate with them occasionally throughout the process. Several of these adult "prayer partners" and several families mentioned that this was a very positive experience.
Over these months, children in our schools and Religious Education programs and youth ministry continued to grow also. As a long-time pastor, I continue to search for ways and means that will assist in passing the faith to the next generation. More and more often I recognize that this happens most in families. In addition, our parish formation activities need lots of faithful volunteers.
As I continue to search for a parish youth minister and to dialogue with our parish youth leaders, it becomes more apparent that even a perfect youth minister could not achieve all that we need to accomplish. We need more and more faithful adults who can donate generously of their time in the work of imparting the faith to our young people.
I am very grateful to all those who have generously assisted with these many works of evangelization. And I hope that many more will respond with a hearty "I will," when asked to help moving forward.
We made it through another South Dakota winter.  And it probably did deepen our character, even if it did make us cranky in February, March, and April.
     
Father Gregory Tschakert
St. Katharine Drexel Parish
Advent
We Welcome Our Newest Members

At the Easter Vigil Mass, we welcomed the following members to our parish:
Kimburley Burley
Scott Bonfoey
Jared Cornish                                                               
Jenna Fitzpatrick                                  
Kelli Hoyle       
Andrea Joslyn                               
Kim McNulty                                               
Matt Misar                                     
James Patrick Noonan               
Shelly Noonan   
Justin Rey   
 
Already with some knowledge of Jesus and Christian teachings at the time they began, the new Catholics learned the teachings of the Catholic Church in a more formal way and discerned that they were ready to commit to living according to these beliefs. They went through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) process over a period of several months. 
 
Kim McNulty decided she wanted to become Catholic as she regularly went to Mass at St. Katharine Drexel Parish with her husband, Scott, a life-long Catholic. McNulty enjoyed meeting those in her RCIA classes and getting to know their faith journeys. But most of all, she enjoyed Fr. Tschakert's presentations. "He taught me so much about the Catholic faith and his stories were always fitting and so entertaining," she said. Being able to receive her First Communion at the Easter Vigil Mass was her most enriching experience.
 
Some who joined had never been baptized, so they received the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. Others who had already been baptized in another Christian faith entered the Catholic Church through a profession of faith and reception of Confirmation and Eucharist.
 

Scott & Kim McNulty
SharingOurGifts
Rosary Groups - Households that Pray Together  

Often times in our lives, we find ourselves in unpredictable circumstances and that was the case for Eric and Jennifer Sammons in 2003. Eric had an unexpected job loss when they learned about a Rosary Group from one of their friends from Christ the King Parish. Jennifer said, "They loved the concept and decided to start one of their own on the west side of town."
"We began by inviting friends, mostly people who we knew who were going through difficult life struggles (health, job, kids). Everybody has something going on that prayer seems the only thing that can change it." Eric said. "Some of the couples had never met each other prior to our first Rosary Group. I remember walking out of one of our kids' school music programs and an acquaintance told me that her husband was job hunting. I asked if they would be interested in joining our Rosary Group. She was excited, but said, 'My husband is a convert and I'm sure he's never said a Rosary before.' They joined and are still a part of the group 15 years later." Jennifer said.
Members of the group were from St. Michael Parish (where they were all members at the time). When they began, there were kids in the group as young as five years of age. It was empowering to see and hear all the kids sit down to join in prayer. Some of the joys and sorrows that were prayed through over the years included two spouses dying of brain cancer, breast cancer, marriages and divorces of children, moving parents into nursing homes, deaths of parents, siblings, and children, First Holy Communions, retirements, births of grandchildren, and milestone birthdays.
The Sammons' Rosary Group meets monthly, but if something comes up outside the usual monthly gathering, a text is sent and most often whoever can come to the Chapel at St. Katharine Drexel Parish comes and prays the Rosary. Currently, there are 14 families (42 kids) in their Rosary Group; rotating at each other's home. The host of the month provides the meat and beverages and the rest of the group brings a potluck dish. "Every two years we have a lottery drawing. When your family's name is drawn, you get to choose what month you want for the next two years. The month of December, we don't bring our kids, just grownups," Jennifer said.
There are currently more than a dozen Rosary Groups meeting and praying each month at St. Katharine Drexel Parish and they are varied  in membership, size, and structure. "Faith, Food, and Fellowship" is the common theme with a Rosary being prayed as well as praying for personal intentions.
Take the initiative and start your own Rosary Group or contact the Parish Office to find an existing group to join. You'll be blessed!

 
Welcoming
Summertime Thoughts
"Summertime and the living is easy." That's what Gershwin's famous song says. The living may be easy, but often the giving is not. Summer collections often drop significantly in our parish because of vacation travel, sports schedules, and other activities that cause parishioners to attend Mass at other parishes. If you would like to make your giving easy and consistent this summer, please consider our Online Giving option. Currently, 265 parish families are using this simple and secure way to make and track their parish giving. If you would like to learn more, please contact Anne Williams at the Parish Office at 275-6870  or financeoffice@stkdsfsd.org  
or check out our Online Giving website: 
https://www.myowngiving.com/Default.aspx?cid=392.

 
Stewardship Thoughts
 
"Let us remember the past with gratitude, the present with enthusiasm, and the future with confidence."
-- St. Pope John Paul II
 
"Patience is at the core of any great relationship because it takes patience to listen and really understand the heart of another."
--Matthew Kelly

St. Katharine Drexel Parish on the Web   
 
  Mass schedule, calendar, Online Giving, readings, and much more. Our parish website address is www.stkdsfsd.org. Check it out!

 
 Have you "liked" St. Katharine Drexel Parish yet? It's a great way to stay up-to-date on parish events. Visit www.fb.me/stkatharinedrexelsfsd.

Our parish YouTube page includes eight videos. Do you have an idea for a video on our channel? Talk with Fr. Tschakert (275-6870/

 Stay current on parish news and events on Instagram! Search St_Katharine_Drexel and follow us today!