St. Isidore the Farmer Area Faith Community

2nd Sunday of Lent
March 1, 2015
St. Isidore the Farmer
Area Faith Community
St. Francis, St. Bridget, St. Malachy, Sacred Heart, Visitation Oratory
Fr. Jeremy Kucera, Pastor
Cyndi Stifter, Faith Formation Director
Address: 508 13th Street North, Benson, MN 56215
Website: www.stisidorethefarmerafc.org
E-mail: [email protected]
Area Office: 320-842-4271
Fax Number: 320-843-2264
Murdock Office: 320-875-2451; kitchen 875-4320
Mondays 8:30 am – 3 pm
Fr. Jeremy Kucera
Cell#: 507-828-5247
[email protected]
Cyndi Stifter:
320-842-4021
Area Office Hours:
Monday-Thurs.: 8 am – noon; 1-3:30 pm
Fridays: 8 am - noon
[email protected]
LITURGY SCHEDULE
Tuesday, March 3
Wednesday, March 4
Thursday, March 5
Weekend Masses
Saturday, March 7
10:30 am
8:30 am
8:30 am
10:30 am
BENSON – Anointing Mass
DEGRAFF
MURDOCK
GOLDEN LIVING
4:00 pm
BENSON
6:00 pm
DEGRAFF
Sunday, March 8
8:00 am
BENSON
10:00 am
MURDOCK
Fr. Jeremy and Cyndi Stifter will be on a Youth Retreat March 6-8.
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Eleanor Vander Weyst
Jim McCarthy
Msgr. Leonard Zwinger
For our Priests
Barry Jungwirth
Brian Fernholz
For the People
Bob Dahl
Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturdays, 3:00 pm Benson; Sundays 9:30 am Murdock
* Marriage Preparation: Please contact Area Office at least six months ahead of time to plan and prepare
for your wedding.
If one party has been previously married, the wedding cannot move forward unless an annulment has
been granted by the Catholic Church.
* Baptism Preparation: Please call Fr. Jeremy Kucera at 507-828-5247
* RCIA: Anyone interested in joining the Catholic Church please call Jack Wagner at 842-9693 or the Area
Office for fall registration.
* Registration/Moving: To register in a parish or if moving, call Area Office at 842-4271 or Murdock
office at 875-2451.
Catholic Charities - offering personal, marriage, family and pregnancy counseling 1-866-670-5163.
*PASTORAL CARE*
If any parishioner or family member is in need of a pastoral care visit and Holy Communion, please call the
parish office. Today’s privacy laws do not permit hospitals to contact churches when a patient is in need of a
pastoral visit. We are made aware of it only when the individual or their friends and family contact us. We are
also not always aware of parishioners that are homebound and would desire a pastoral visit.
The Vocation View
Peter, James, and John saw the Lord transfigured before their eyes and heard,
“This is my son, my beloved, listen to him.” Are you listening? (Mark 9:2-10)
DAILY SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 1
Tuesday, March 3
Wednesday, March 4
Friday, March 6
Saturday, March 7
Sunday, March 8
The Holy Rosary will be prayed ½ hour before Masses in Benson & Murdock
Coffee and treats following 8 am Mass in Benson
9:15 am Sacred Heart Choir Practice
Coffee and rolls following 10 am Mass in Murdock
9:30 am Confessions in Benson
10:30 am Anointing Mass in Benson followed by a light lunch
5:00 pm St. Francis Administrative Council meeting
10:30 am Fr. Jeremy will visit residents at Parkview
2:00 pm Rosary in Benson – that we open our hearts to living a law of love,
grace, and freedom.
Grades 1-6 Home Lessons
6:45 pm Class grades 7-11
8-10 pm Teen Talk in Upper Room
6 pm Stations of the Cross at St. Francis
The Holy Rosary will be prayed ½ hour before Mass in Benson
6:30 pm Bunco Party at Sacred Heart
St. Patrick’s Day Program following 6 pm Mass in DeGraff
Food for the Poor Missionary
The Holy Rosary will be prayed ½ hour before Masses in Benson & Murdock
Food for the Poor Missionary
A Healing / Anointing Mass and luncheon for the Lenten season is scheduled for Tuesday March 3 at St.
Francis. Fr. Jeremy will begin hearing Confessions at 9:30; Mass will be at 10:30; followed by a light luncheon
in the Gathering Space. This opportunity for healing is open to all in the AFC.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 131st annual Black and Indian Mission Collection last
weekend. Your prayerful support enables people to come to know Jesus Christ in African American, Native
American, and Alaska Native communities all over the U.S.A. Spreading the Gospel couldn’t happen without
your support.
VALENTINE OF LOVE PROJECT ♥♥♥♥♥♥
The Valentine of Love Project provides basic food for the Maya - corn, rice, and beans - to the children,
widowed, and handicapped persons of the parish (which includes 23 villages) of San Lucas Toliman. This is
their daily sustenance, and helps them to have enough food. The project also helps provide simple school
supplies to children. You can make a difference - this is how easy it is:
There is a table with valentines in the Gathering Space at Sacred Heart and St. Francis.
1. Please sign a valentine with your first name.
2. Place the valentine and a $2 contribution in the envelope.
3. The valentines and small bags of food are distributed to children, widowed, and
handicapped in the San Lucas Toliman parish.
Have you checked out the neat website for our mission? sanlucasmission.org
We will be hosting a visiting priest from Food For The Poor the weekend of March 7 & 8. He will be
flying into Minneapolis on Friday, March 6 and returning Sunday, March 8. If there is anyone who would be
willing to pick him up from or return him to the Minneapolis airport, please contact the area office as soon as
possible. Thank you.
Please join us the weekend of March 7, 2015 to hear Rev. Louis J. Villarreal speak at all the services about a
ministry providing direct relief to the poor throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Fr. Villarreal will
share personal witness about the Food For The Poor’s mission to care for the destitute as a means of
living out the Gospel mandate to love one another. Fr. Villarreal was ordained in 1965 for the missionary
Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Before joining Food For The Poor, Fr. Louis has worked as a missionary in
Mexico, for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in evangelization of Hispanics and as a pastor or Beaumont,
Texas and Tucson, Arizona. Please join in welcoming Father Villarreal.
The Swift County Fair Board be serving a Fish Fry on Friday, March 6th from 5-8 pm at the DeGraff Liquor
Store. Serving fish, baked potato, coleslaw, dinner roll, and dessert. $9 for adults, $5 for ages 12 & under.
Take-outs available by calling 843-3107. Proceeds will support building renovations at the fairgrounds.
BUNCO PARTY FOR EVERYONE
What: Bunco Party and Refreshments
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 - no charge
Where: Sacred Heart Church Parlors
Who: Everyone - including teens and tweens - in St. Isidore Area Faith Community
Why: To have fun, laugh with others, meet new people, socialize If you have never played Bunco, please come - it is very easy to learn and fun for all. "Movies, toys and
activities will be provided for the children - everyone is welcome." This is sponsored by Sacred Heart Council
Catholic United Financial.
St. Bridget’s will have a St. Patrick’s program and luncheon at the community center on
Saturday, March 7th following the 6 pm Mass. Please join us with some singing and story
telling.
Sacred Heart CCW meeting on Monday, March 9 at 7 pm. All parish women are encouraged to attend this
meeting. We look forward to your support and ideas!
The 2015 Bishop Lucker Lecture and Diocesan Distinguished Service Award Ceremony will take place
Monday, March 9, 2015, 7 p.m. at the Church of St. Catherine in Redwood Falls. Our featured speaker will be
Fr. Raymond de Souza. His talk will be on “The Future of Religious Liberty in America.” Fr. de Souza
was ordained a Catholic priest on July 20, 2002, for the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ontario. He currently serves
as chaplain at Newman House, the Roman Catholic chaplaincy at Queen’s University. He is the pastor of
Sacred Heart of Mary Parish on Wolfe Island where he currently lives. Fr. de Souza teaches at Queen’s in the
Faculty of Education and the Economics Department. He is a longstanding weekly columnist for the National
Post, and contributes a weekly column to The CatholicRegister, Canada’s largest Catholic newspaper. He is
the editor-in-chief of Convivium, a magazine examining the role of faith in our common life. All adult
parishioners are invited free of charge. A social time will follow the ceremony and the presentation.
REGION IV CCW SPRING GATHERING MARCH 10
Please come to the Region 4 Council of Catholic Women Spring Gathering on Tuesday, March 10, at St.
Andrew's Church in Granite Falls. "The Role of a Deacon's Wife" will be presented by Deb Reitsma, Tami
Kober, and Tina Myhre.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN EVENING TO SHARE WITH OTHER LADIES, SHARE THE
PRESENTATION AND A MEAL, AND ENERGIZE YOUR FAITH! THE EVENING WILL INCLUDE:
5:30 P.M. REGISTRATION - $6 FEE
6:00 P.M. HOLY MASS
7:00 P.M. DINNER AND PRESENTATION
PLEASE COME AND BRING A FRIEND. REGISTRATION FEE FOR SACRED HEART LADIES PAID BY
SACRED HEART CCW. NO NEED TO HAVE A CCW IN YOUR PARISH TO ATTEND. ALL LADIES
ENCOURAGED TO HAVE A NIGHT OUT AND ENRICH YOUR FAITH. Want to carpool? Call Judy at 2645228 or e-mail [email protected].
Faith Formation Family Supper March 11 6:00-6:30 pm
Don't worry about making supper on March 11. Instead join us for BBQ's, chips and a bar. All Faith Formation
students and their families are encouraged to join us Wednesday, March 11 for supper at the Benson High
School Cafeteria. Serving from 6 - 6:30 pm. If you would like to donate bars or cookies for the event please
contact Janet Pagel or Michele Samuelson. Free will donations accepted. See you on the 11th!
The Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus are renovating their convent in New Ulm at 515 N. State Street.
Please consider joining them on the scheduled work days which begin at 9am and end at 3pm. Bring a friend
and share the joy of the Gospel in your service of love! Work Days: March 14, April 18, May 9. Please contact
Jess Collins for more information at 320-875-4520.
Make this Lent special! Consider attending Lectio Divina Retreat, which is an ancient prayerful & Biblical
reflection on God’s Will for your life. To be held March 20-22 at the Abbey of the Hills. Please register online at
AbbeyofTheHills.com or call 605-398-9200.
This Lent, a second collection for the Prairie Five Food Shelf operated in Swift County is scheduled for all
Masses during the March 14/15 weekend. March is "Food Shelf Month" in Minnesota. Prairie Five is able to
purchase $8-10 worth of food with every dollar donated by working with Second Harvest Heartland. THANK
YOU for your past generosity!
 One in 10 Minnesotans, or more than 500,000 state residents, experience food insecurity on a regular
basis. That is more people than attended Minnesota Vikings home games during the 2014 season.
 More than 49 million Americans, including more than 16 million children, live in households that do not
have consistent access to nutritious food. That is the equivalent of the populations of California and
Ohio going hungry.
 In 2011, 900,000 vets (not including homeless vets) relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program to provide food for their families.
Faith & Justice Internship in the Diocese of New Ulm. Internships are offered during Summer/Fall 2015.
The intern will assist CCHD (Campaign for Human Development) staff in promoting CCHD in the diocese.
Tasks will vary but may include: parish education, training and outreach; letter and article writing; research;
visiting funded groups; and developing relationships with community organizations. Internships are paid at a
rate of $12/hour. Apply at www.dnu.org. For more information, contact Deacon Tim Dolan, Director of Social
Concerns at 507-233-5326 or [email protected].
Red Cross Volunteers Needed
Red Cross Volunteers power our humanitarian mission and are engaged in a wide variety of activities. Some
volunteers assist with disaster responses on a local or national level, while others teach CPR or First Aid
courses. We also engage volunteers in preparedness activities, service to the armed forces, financial
development and facilities. Whether you enjoy working with people or being behind the scenes, the Red Cross
has a volunteer opportunity for you. Find great opportunities at www.redcross.org/mn.
Join the Diocese of New Ulm on a pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families and welcome Pope
Francis on September 22-28, 2015 in Philadelphia. Canterbury Pilgrimage and Tours now has the registration
page up and is ready to take your registrations. The cost of the pilgrimage package is $1,875 per person,
double occupancy. The package includes roundtrip coach transfer from new Ulm to the airport, roundtrip
airfare from Minneapolis to Philadelphia, hotel accommodations for six nights with breakfast, coach
transportation while in Philadelphia and for associated pilgrimage trips, and two dinners. Information on
additional costs for children can be obtained directly from Canterbury Pilgrimage and Tours. The pilgrimage
package does not include the registration for the World Meeting of Families, which must be completed through
the official World Meeting of Families Web site. This site can be accessed from the diocesan Web site,
dnu.org, Office of Family Life page. There are various registration packets available. Funding for scholarship
assistance is currently being sought. If you have questions about the registration options or scholarship
opportunities, please contact Sr. Candace Fier at [email protected] or 507-233-5328.
*Reflections for the weekly readings are part of this bulletin. This publication is sponsored by the Knights of
Columbus Council #2129.
OUR WEEKLY OFFERING
St. Francis - Benson
Sacred Heart - Murdock
Adult
Student
Loose Plate
DUF
Fuel
Easter
Black & Ind. Miss.
Votive lights
Easter Decorations
Danvers Oratory
Parish Cemetery
Ash Wednesday
People in Need
$2,135.00
$23.00
$138.00
$15.00
$40.00
$25.00
$79.00
$12.35
$25.00
$565.00
$60.00
$389.00
$409.84
Total
$3,916.19
St. Malachy Collection figures will
be in next week's bulletin
Adult
Student
Loose Plate
Black & Indian Mission
Ash Wednesday
Initial Offering
People in Need
$2,858.00
$49.00
$226.14
$40.00
$280.00
$5.00
$264.00
Total
$3,722.14
St. Bridget - DeGraff
Adult
Student
Loose Plate
Ash Wednesday
People in Need
Total
$975.00
$2.00
$96.00
$10.00
$98.00
$1,181.00
Wednesday, March 4 Lenten weekday
Let an exam of conscience be your guide
Today is the first day of a novena in honor of Saint Francis Xavier,
co-founder of the Jesuits. The novena is modeled on the Spiritual Exercises, and each day includes a focus on your relationship
with God as it is really lived. For example, on Day 6, you are
encouraged to make an examination of conscience, asking which
thoughts, words, and actions that day you are most proud of and
which you regret. Each day, an important tradition is stressed, but
always focusing on the life and healing power of Francis Xavier.
You can do this without a novena, but this devotion might jump
start a deeper life of faith.
Today’s readings: Jeremiah 18:18-20; Matthew 20:17-28 (232).
“Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
Sunday, March 1, 2015 Second Sunday of Lent
Along for the ride
When you choose to follow God, amazing things can happen. The
journey, though, takes faith. It requires listening and surrender; it
means recognizing you’re not in charge. You follow in the footsteps
of a God who leads. Moments of transfiguration give guidance,
while sacrifice challenges and fosters trust along the way. Life isn’t
a journey straight to the top. You can find yourself led to the highest of heights by the most unusual of paths. Being able to honestly
declare, “Here I am, Lord,” you give God the liberty to take you
higher than you ever imagined possible.
Today’s readings: Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Romans 8:31b34; Mark 9:2-10 (26). “He was transfigured before them, and his
clothes became dazzling white.”
Monday, March 2 Lenten weekday
Thursday, March 5 Lenten weekday
Growing tips for faith
Trees figure prominently in the Bible and often serve as symbols
of our faith. Those who first heard the words of scripture—being
people living on the edge of the desert—were quite aware of the
special care trees require to grow strong and bear fruit: Droughts
and floods, weeds and critters, and even the occasional curse from
an angry messiah can kill a tree in short order. Care for your faith
as you would a sapling. Weed and water and protect it against the
elements. And be mindful of the seeds of faith you plant in others.
Today’s readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10; Luke 16:19-31 (233). “He
is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to
the stream.”
Friday, March 6 Lenten weekday; day of abstinence
Let us pray
Jesus said: “In everything do to others as you would have them
do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.” A version of this
Golden Rule exists in all the major world religions—Judaism,
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism—and the ethical idea dates back to
antiquity in Babylon, Greece, China, Egypt, India. In psychology, it is the healthy ability to empathize, necessary to experience
compassion—a truly universal rule that each person is required to
universally apply. And the more it’s practiced by you, the more it
might be practiced toward you.
Today’s World Day of Prayer is an ecumenical movement begun
in the 19th century by Christian women so that they may “meet
and pray with each other and [be] reminded to live a reconciling
and forgiving life with others. . . . Anyone who wishes to join this
movement makes a commitment to spend time in prayer whenever
she has a strained relationship with another person and to uphold
in prayer others who are victims of jealousy, hatred, violence,
and injustice.” This offers a focused and practical way of holding
yourself to faith “in deed and not only in word.” Find out more at
www.wicc.org/world-day-of-prayer/history-prayer/.
Tuesday, March 3 Saturday, March 7 Feast of Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs
The leader of the pack
In the third century, Felicity and Perpetua were imprisoned in
Carthage because of their faith. While there, Perpetua kept a diary. It is one of only a few extant works written by martyrs in the
early church who were women. The account conveys Perpetua’s
deep trust that the Spirit had not abandoned her and Felicity, but
offered strength in the face of hardship and death. The story is part
of the long Christian narrative about our God—always present,
with us in all circumstances. Pray today with Felicity and Perpetua,
reflecting on God’s faithfulness in your life.
Gift that keeps on giving
Today’s readings: Daniel 9:4b-10; Luke 6:36-38 (230). “For the
measure with which you measure will in return be measured out
to you.”
Feast of Katharine Drexel, virgin, religious founder; Lenten weekday
Her family called her Kate. In girlhood she felt a vocation to the
church but balked at obedience. She just couldn’t take orders from
a superior who might be “stupid,” she told her spiritual director
frankly. Also, life would be dreary if the community consisted of a
bunch of “old maidish dispositions.” Kate concluded religious life
wasn’t for her: “I hate never to be alone.” The solution was simple.
Katharine started her own vigorously active order with a rich
contemplative lifestyle, hand-selecting the women she would lead.
Follow wise leaders—or become one yourself.
Today’s readings: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20; Matthew 23:1-12 (231).
“Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah.”
Today’s readings: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a; Matthew
21:33-43, 45-46 (234). “The stone that the builders rejected has
become the cornerstone.”
A diary dear to all believers
Today’s readings: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
(235). “You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.”
Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow—a day at a time.
©2015 by TrueQuest Communications. TakeFiveForFaith.com; 800-942-2811; [email protected]. All rights reserved. Daily email sign-up and App available online. Art may be subject to additional
copyright. Noncommercial reprints permitted with the following credit: Reprinted with permission from TakeFiveForFaith.com. Scripture citations from the New American Bible Revised Edition.
Contributors: Alice Camille, Sister Colleen Gibson, S.S.J., Daniel Grippo, Father Larry Janowski, O.F.M., Sister Maxine Kollasch, I.H.M., Jennifer Tomshack, Patrice J. Tuohy, Sister Julie Vieira, I.H.M.
St. Isidore the Farmer AFC—March 2015 (subject to change)
Sun
Mon
1
8 am Mass Benson
Coffee & treats following
Mass in Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
Coffee & rolls following
Mass in Murdock
4 pm RCIA in Benson
2
8
8 am Mass Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
Food for the Poor
Fr. Jeremy and Cyndi on
youth retreat
15
Wed
3
4
9:30 am Confessions in Benson
10:30 am Anointing Mass in
Benson
Light Lunch to follow Mass
5 pm St. Francis Admin Council meeting
8:30 am Mass DeGraff
10:30 am Parkview visit by Fr. Jeremy
2 pm Rosary in Benson
Grades 1-6 Home Lessons
6:45 pm Class grades 7-11
8-10 pm Teen Talk in
Upper Room
9
7 pm SH
CCW mtg
10 8:30 am Mass Benson
9 am Priest, Prophet &
King Bible Study in B
9 am—5 pm Eucharistic
Adoration in Benson
7 pm Area Social Concerns
meeting in Benson
6 pm Mass Danvers
11
16
17
8:30 am Mass Benson
9 am Priest, Prophet &
King Bible Study in B
6 pm Mass Danvers
18
24
8:30 am Mass Benson
9 am Priest, Prophet &
King Bible Study in B
6 pm Mass Danvers
7:30 pm KC meeting
25
31
8:30 am Mass Benson
9 am Priest, Prophet &
King Bible Study in B
April 1
8:30 am Mass DeGraff
Home Lessons Grades 1-6
No Class—Holy Week
8-10 pm Teen Talk in DeGraff
8 am Mass Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
Coffee & rolls following
Mass in Murdock
2nd Collection for Food Shelf
4 pm RCIA
22
8 am Mass Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
7 pm Holy Hour & Confessions in Clontarf
4 pm RCIA in Benson
23
29—Palm Sunday
30
8 am Mass Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
4 pm RCIA in Murdock
——————————
April 5—Easter Sunday
6:30 am Mass Danvers
8 am Mass Benson
10 am Mass Murdock
Tue
8:30 am Mass DeGraff
9:30 am Westwood visit by Fr. Jeremy
2 pm Rosary in Benson
6-6:30 pm Supper prior to Rel. Ed. Classes
6:45 pm Parent-Child Night
6:45 pm Class Grades 7-9
Grades 10 & 11 Mentor meetings
8-10 pm Teen Talk in Upper Room
8:30 am Mass DeGraff
2 pm Rosary in Benson
Grades 1-6 Home Lessons
6:45 pm Class grades 7-11
8-10 pm Teen Talk in Upper Room
8:30 am Mass DeGraff
2 pm Rosary in Benson
Home Lessons Grades 1-6
6:45 pm Class grades 7-10
6:45 pm 11th Grade Confirmation
practice & interviews
8-10 pm Teen Talk in Upper Room
Thu
Fri
5
8:30 am Mass Murdock
10:30 am Mass GL
6
Fr. Jeremy and Cyndi on
youth retreat
6 pm Stations of the
Cross at St. Francis
7
12
8:30 am Mass Murdock
9 am—6 pm Eucharistic
Adoration in Murdock
5-6 pm Confessions in
Murdock
10:30 am Mass GL
13
8:30 am Mass Clontarf
Stations of the Cross
after Mass in Clontarf
6 pm Stations of the
Cross at St. Francis
14
3 pm Rec. Benson
4 pm Mass Benson
6 pm Mass Clontarf
2nd Collection for Food
Shelf
19
8:30 am Mass Murdock
10:30 am Mass GL
20 8:30 am Mass Clontarf
21
9 am—1 pm 1st Communion Retreat in B
3 pm Rec. Benson
4:00 pm Mass Benson
6 pm Mass DeGraff
26
8:30 am Mass Murdock
10:30 am Mass GL
7 pm Chrism Mass in
Willmar
27 8:30 am Mass Clontarf
Stations of the Cross after
Mass in Clontarf
4 pm Stations of the Cross at
Sacred Heart
5-7 pm SH Youth Group Fish
Fry in Murdock
6 pm wedding rehearsal in
Benson
28
April 3—Good Friday
3 pm Clontarf
6 pm Benson
April 4—Holy Saturday
8:30 pm DeGraff
April 2—Holy Thursday
7 pm Mass Murdock
Adoration for 1 hour
after Mass
Stations of the Cross after
Mass in Clontarf
9:15 am Scofield visit by
Fr. Jeremy
6 pm Stations of the Cross
at St. Francis
Sat
3 pm Rec. Benson
4 pm Mass Benson
6 pm Mass DeGraff
St. Patrick’s Program
following Mass in DeGraff
6:30 pm Bunco Party at
Sacred Heart
Food for the Poor
Fr. Jeremy and Cyndi on
youth retreat
2 pm Wedding of
Anthony Holleman and
Maggie Minor in Benson
3 pm Rec. Benson
4 pm Mass Benson
6 pm Mass Clontarf
Dear Parishioners,
Peace in Christ!
This past Monday the pastoral leaders from our region met with Bishop LeVoir in Appleton. We were
continuing the discussion of pastoral planning that I have informed you of from my letter in the bulletin
a few weeks ago. The Fourth Plan for Parishes calls for one pastor per Area Faith Community. At this
meeting Bishop LeVoir decided that the parish of St. John in Appleton will be joining our Area Faith
Community of St. Isidore the Farmer on July 1st, 2015. The plan is that there will be another priest in
charge of that parish along with the parish in Dawson for the next year (Dawson will be joining Fr. Paul
Timmerman's AFC of Montevideo/Granite Falls/Clara City). However with retirements coming up
quickly now, it is looking more and more like this may be for one year. The key point in the matter is
that at some point in the near future our St. Isidore the Farmer Area Faith Community will all be under
one pastor.
What does this mean for us? We will need to start praying about and thinking about how we can take
on one more parish in possibly a little over a year without another priest to help. I'm not quite sure how
we should handle all of this just yet since it's so new and I will need time to pray just like you. To begin I
will simply meet with all of the parish administrative councils and listen to them and go from there. Be
assured that I will be listening to what you have to say on the matter.
Thank you for your time and be assured of my thoughts and prayers for you all of you as you are praying
about this also. The good news is that we have nothing to fear. Jesus Christ is Lord and he will not
disappoint us if we follow him and listen to him.
In Christ,
Fr. Jeremy