In 2016, Mary Freitag approached her then-pastor Fr. Tom Thompson at St. Anthony the Abbot in Cumberland about starting a health ministry. Eight years later, and following a pandemic hiatus, the ministry team is going strong and continues offering programs to the clustered parishes in Cumberland, Almena and Turtle Lake.
Following the diocesan-wide all-deanery meeting on planning and evangelization on March 10, led by Bishop James P. Powers and the Diocesan Planning Team, parishes are being called upon to reevaluate their current operations and make a concerted effort to transition from maintenance mode to active mission engagement.
The third annual Bishop’s Legacy Circle Mass and Dinner took place Wednesday, May 29, at St. Joseph Parish in Rice Lake and Turtleback Conference Center.
What started as a day when Sr. Julia Walsh planned to revisit some favorite childhood memories ended with her in an emergency room due to traumatic injuries sustained in a fall that could have killed her. As with many instances of suffering, this one led Sr. Julia to reflect on her life and faith. She shares her story in the memoir, “For Love of the Broken Body,” and we discussed it recently on “Christopher Closeup.”
Fr. Ron Serrao, pastor of the Northern Lakes Catholic Communities, led a crowning of Mary ceremony with faith formation youths on May 1.
Mary and Tom Gelhaus, founders of the nonprofit Muchas Sonrisas (Many Smiles) Inc., led a group of eight to San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, the last week-and-a-half of April. The mission church was built in 1584 and has been supported by the New Ulm Diocese in Minnesota for more than 70 years.
Asked what she will miss most about teaching, award-winning Catholic school teacher and Ashland resident Deb Cline answered, “Every day is different. I enjoy the conversations and being around a group of kids that are eager to learn and happy to share their faith.”
How do you celebrate May Day and all it stands for, in an (increasingly) concrete jungle, like the asphalt-covered downtown area where I now live? Just take a walk and look around.
The evening of Friday, April 26, St. Patrick, Hudson, [...]
The annual Diocesan Sisters’ Forum meeting was held at St. Paul Church in Catawba on Thursday, May 9. Sisters of the diocese, along with Bishop James P. Powers, attended.
